PC as Jukebox

O

oneils

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 18, 2005
Messages
475
Hello guys. I have an older pc that's been lying around for a while. The plan was to turn it into an HTPC...but I haven't really been watching tv or movies lately, so I have basically been using it as a jukebox.

So, it's a jukebox connected to a Yamaha Receiver with two Paradigm Titan Speakers.

I have Windows XP Home loaded on the PC. I was wondering if there was any software that could make my pc "couch friendly."

I don't even have it hooked up to my TV. I have an SD CRT, and the computer desktop is unusable at that resolution. So I've just set my old LCD monitor on top of the PC and use that when I need to access the pc.

I really just want something that would allow me to use the pc as a jukebox from my couch. But, I have no idea what I would need for it. A remote? Some sort of software? Wireless keyboard and mouse? One thing I'd like to avoid is upgrading to a new OS - too much of a PITA right now.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

edit: if it helps, below are the system's specs.

Asus K8V-X motherboard
Athlon 64 2800+ (s754)
1.5gb DDR 400 Ram
6800GT
120gb HD
Antec 380Watt Truepower PS.
Antec Sonata Case.
 
Download a copy of meedio or GB PVR. Both are free.

Beyond Media or SageTV will also work great but they cost money.

Then get a firefly or MCE remote and you should be good to go.
 
Hi J282, thanks for the tip. Meedio looks cool, but you can't download it from their site anymore. It just sends you to a message that Meedio has been sold to Yahoo.

Would you happen to know where i can download it? It looks exactly like something I've been looking for.

Thanks.
 
Ah, looks like its been rebranded has Yahoo! Go. I'll give it a try. I'll try it out with an MCE remote.
 
You might also give MediaPortal (also free) a go. I've played around with it a little bit, and it's pretty slick and easy to use. And it's pretty easy to set up as well.
 
I think you can still find meedio 1.41 somewhere in the community forum on the old site. Another option is Xlobby. It's primarily a jukebox.
 
If you have Vista you don't need any 3rd party software as the built in MCE does what you want. You just need to buy the MCE remote with infrared sensor and enable MCE in Vista. Or you could buy a wireless trackball and use any media player as a jukebox if you have the PC hooked up to your TV. That's what I do right now but may go the MCE route instead. I have used MCE streaming to my Xbox360 and used that as a jukebox for a while but don't like having the 360 on when I listen to music as it is much noisier than my PC. That's the biggest flaw in the 360, apart from the hardware failures they have had, it is too damn noisy.
 
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