Last week, I filled you in on my DVR history and my newfound obsession with building my own. For all the technical stuff, you should check out Adam’s article at lifehacker. Yes, it’s over a year old but the concepts are the same. He goes over the finer points of choosing a capture card and setting things up so I’ll leave that to him. I want to talk about the possibilities…

What really got me reeling about all this was the idea of building a computer for a brand new environment — my living room. What typically lives next to the television? Cable or satellite box, DVD player/recorder, DVR, audio receiver/stereo, game console(s). So why can’t we build all of that into one box and customize it to our own exact specifications? I think we can.

This is what I want on mine (I’m calling it DreamVo):

mythTV
There are lots of options out there for software and most of it is Linux-based. This was a little intimidating to me at first as I have never used Linux but I’m coming around… the idea of an OS I can make my own is pretty shiny. mythTV is available as a free download and it’s packed with tons of features and options, making it my choice on the software front. I may also check out SageTV or BeyondTV but both of those have to be purchased so I’m sticking with the free stuff for now. mythTV gives me many of the bells and whistles that are on my wish list such as:

Video editing
Cut out those commercials to save disc space and clean up files before archiving. This is something my current DVR won’t do and I wish for it every day. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to burn your favorite shows to DVD commercial free?

Electronic program guide
No subscription fees. Ever. Escape the drag of monthly subscription fees from services like TiVO by having your own interactive program guide at your fingertips. Change channels, select programs to record and view program descriptions. Did I mention it’s free?

Remote scheduling
Ah… one of my favorite things about the old ReplayTV was the ability to login to my account on their website and view the contents of my hard drive as well as set programs to record. So on those rare occasions where I left for work without setting the recorder for that night, I could quickly login and make sure I didn’t miss Party of Five or ER.

MP3 player/manager
Rip, categorize, play, and visualize MP3/Ogg/FLAC/CD Audio files. (FLAC, Vorbis, and MP3 encoding). Create complex playlists (and playlists containing playlists) through a simple UI.

Console game emulator
Another project I’ve been dying to tackle lately is to setup an emulator to play old school console games on my PC. Playing them on my TV instead? Even better. mythTV comes with an emulator for NES and SNES. I’m thinking I could acquire the skills to add Colecovision as well.

Weather
Get current conditions, an extended forecast and radar at the click of a button. Forget sitting through the morning news or waiting for your area’s report on The Weather Channel. We’re talking instant gratification, baby!

DVD player/ripper
Backup your DVD collection or use the ripper to cut file sizes down by going to a lower quality file. And of course, watch DVDs.

RSS news reader

Stay up-to-date without staying in front of the PC. Quick access to newsfeeds with this RSS reader.

What’s missing?

Web browser
Mozilla Firefox is available for Linux so it stands to reason that it could be integrated and be functional in a HTPC box. Imagine this: You’re watching a movie on DVD and having one of those inevitable “What else was she in?” discussions with your friends. You pause the movie, pull up IMDB in Firefox and have the answer!

Satellite TV on your computer
Websites like satellitetvtopc.com claim to offer software that allows you to legally watch thousands of satellite tv channels on your pc. I haven’t tried this yet either, but it’s on my list. The site lists major networks on its channel list so I’m thinking free TV is definitely worth looking into. You pay a one-time fee for the software and supposedly the channels are free for the taking… but if /when it works I’ll have to figure out how to get the DVR to record off it!

Wireless keyboard/mouse
This wireless keyboard/mouse combo available from DigitalConnection makes the perfect finishing touch to my DVR/HTPC setup. It has a small footprint, gets great customer reviews for connectivity and the built-in trackball/mouse it hard to beat! Once I get the web browser working, I’ll need to be able to reply to posts on my favorite forums or…

Instant messenger
Okay so I have a keyboard and mouse… I may as well be able to IM my friends right? I’m going to put Pidgin IM on my list. Again, it’s Linux-based so I’m thinking I can make it work.

I know this was a long list and most of the features are qualified with statements like “if I can figure out how to…” but that’s half the fun right? It is to me. I’ll keep you updated as I research and further develop the plans for my DreamVo.