So in case anyone cares I decided to begin building a media server. The purpose will essentially be to manage media for multiple computers (thats pretty obvious).
Anyway, I am planning on setting it up on a Linux distro, likely
Ubuntu. I will use
Myth TV for the media server interface.
Basically I want it to be able to record TV and download internet video, music, etc. I am also planning on using it to store all the TV shows I have already recorded, as well as music, and legally downloaded video. Of course it will also serve as a backup server for all of my files.
I am planning on the media server being able to disseminate all of that data to multiple sources: my laptop and PDA, desktop computers, and the TV at the least. I also would like the media server to be able to play the recorded content on a TV and I will be looking into the possibility of being able to stream the data across the internet.
Progress: Right now I am trying to find a good TV tuner that will work well with Linux and is fairly inexpensive. In case anyone cares I will keep you up-to-date on my progress and include steps if you want to try it someday.