Ask the expert: Media centres on a budget

Q. I’ve got a collection of music files, photos and videos on my PC, but want to get them into the living room using a media centre. How can I do it without a hulking-great computer cluttering up the lounge, and without spending a fortune in the process?

A. It’s easy. There’re several options at your disposal, and not all of them come with price tags to worry an oil baron. Check out the options below, and you’ll soon be gorging on media from a big screen in the comfort of your front room.

Solution 1: Budget media PC Media Centres designed to look like other living room A/V kit are pricey options.
You can get cheaper versions, but they won’t look as nice. Still, if you can hide them away in a cabinet, you’ll save a bundle and get the same features. Just make sure they include the Media Centre edition of Windows and a remote control, otherwise you’ll need to open the cabinet all the time, shattering the illusion!
Best option: Acer Aspire T650, £398.31

Solution 2: Extend your media centre.
If you’ve got a PC with Windows Media Centre installed away from the living room, you can grab a media centre extender to get the same experience on the big screen. Media Centre Extenders look more living room-friendly than a full-blown computer, they’re cheaper, and are often fully loaded withupscaling DVD players too as an added bonus.
Best option: Linksys DMA2100, £199

Solution 3: Go the Apple way.
If you have a regular PC or Mac around the house and not a Media Centre, take a look at the Apple TV. It’ll stream movies, music and photos from your desktop through Apple’s iTunes software, as well as letting you rent or buy movies and TV programmes from the comfort of the sofa. Sure, it’s not a full-blown media centre, but it’s slick, cheap, and if your friends bring laptops round with iTunes installed, they can stream their stuff to your TV too.
Best option: Apple TV, £199

Media centre megadeals: what’s the cheapest you’ve seen? Get chatting about it over at the PriceRunner forum.

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