Slashdot, Roadkill on the Convergence Highway:

Microsoft sometimes gets it right after three tries. Not so with Windows Media Center 2005. You do get a dancing Scooby Doo. You don’t get much Media.

This Slashdot post picks up on Duke’s article for Build Your Own PVR,
Road Kill on the Convergence Highway: Three months with Windows Media Center.

There’s no denying this user had a very hard time building a Media Center PC. However, the key issue to remember is that Media Center 2005 is only available to end consumers through OEMs (computer manufacturers like Dell, HP,..) and system builders. Yes, hobbyists can get their hands on it. But there’s a reason why we do not sell Media Center at retail - it is hard to setup and get right. For instance the user was unable to burn DVDs through Media Center. The reason being that the Sonic burn engine included in Media Center 2005 requires Sonic MPEG2 encoders which are not available to hobbyists. Without these encoders you can’t burn.

My advice to hobbyists is to go buy a Media Cener 2005 PC from someone like Dell or HP and use that as the base for your tinkering. That way you’ll be assured you are getting the right encoders, decoders, drivers, graphics and tuner cards.