How to make a media centre without spending a ton

Plonking a media centre in your living room is the best way to show off your digital media collection on the big screen, but there’s no need to spend a fortune. Chances are, if you’ve got a games console under your telly you can use that as a media centre.

If you don’t have a games console, don’t worry – grabbing a media centre still needn’t cost the earth. Check out our simple guide to find out how you can introduce media to your living room without worrying the bank manager!

Step 1: Use your Wii!
If you’ve got one of Nintendo’s Wii consoles, you’re all set to stream media to your telly. Just follow the instructions here to set up Orb on your PC, and it’ll stream music videos and photos using your Wi-Fi network.

You can also load SD cards with movies to show them off through Nintendo’s photo channel, or point the Wii’s web browser at http://defaced.co.uk/wiiplayer to find a dedicated version of the BBC’s iPlayer, ready to serve up on-demand TV.

Step 2: Stream from PC to Xbox 360 or PS3
If you have a PC and an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 you can stream movies, music and photos to your TV. Just click here to find our guide to converting the Xbox 360 into a streaming media centre, just by installing Windows Media Player on your PC.

If you’re a PS3 owner, then follow our guide here, and within minutes you’ll be streaming films, movies or pictures across your home network. It’s super simple. You’d be a fool not to take advantage!

Step 3: Bag a bargain media centre
If you don’t have a games console, you’ll need to get a proper media centre PC for your lounge. That doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune though. Check out these media centres organised by price, and you’ll see they start at under £400.

Of course, the less you pay, the less attractive they’ll look. That’s not ideal if you want to put them under your TV, so check out TV cabinets to hide your media centre in – just make sure the remote control will still work!

Must-have accessories
HD TV – Media centres really need a HDTV to look their best. Even if you’re only streaming standard definition videos, playing DVDs or watching TV on-screen menus will look sharp and clear, and there’s always the possibility you can play HD content if you have it too.

Get chatting about media centres over at the PriceRunner Forum.

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