ok, so basically my nan lives in a quite bad reception area. I've installed a new ariel and on digital channels there's still degredation. I've pinned the issue to the in-built TV tuner ( I know as I tested all the same channels using a PC). My solution to this is to use my HTPC fail that's lying around with an atom in it ( ). I'm going to mod the case to use a full height card with riser, remove the stock PSU and put a picopsu in, and fill the empty PSU space with storage. I might OC the atom , and I'll give the case a paintjob. I'll sleeve the cables with mdpc as well ( there'll only be 12 of them ). Now, the software. As my nan doesn't have a clue when it comes to tech, I'm going to dumb down xbmc (if possible ) and setup a BASIC remote. Before anyone says anything about getting a low-profile tuner, I might put a freesat tuner in there at some point, which I can't find in low profile. So that's it guys! Ciao ¬_¬
For ~£20 + postage you could buy her a nice Bush Freesat box and she wouldnt have to contend with a computer as such ( assume you could plug it in via scart and tune the tv to a spare channel to watch the freesat feed vs the input tuner feed ). It is your nan who has to live with and use the thing after all, you wont reap any benefit so the effort/ attention to detail would largely be wasted.
I was going to get an HD setup. The computer I have lying around, it'll be cheaper to mod it than to get an HD box. But you make a valid point there.
