Basically im new to this who thing and i really want to do this and i have a few questions. I want to build 1 of these things for under $500, i want it to have 5.1 surround and want it to record HD and standard def. Ive built comps before so i know what im doing i just dont know what parts to buy.
i also have a few questions.

1. the Happuage PVR 350 and 250 both say they support 125 channels out of the box.. i have digital cable (obviously) will i get all of my channels or only the first 125.

2. for 5.1 do i need a sound card that supports it or is that all inside the tuner.

3. Finally can i burn a dvd to my hard drive with this software and play it back??

I would like a good easy set of hardware and would like to c what u guys have

Thanks i hope this is possible for under 500

That's a pretty tall order for under $500. For starters both of the available HDTV cards run around $170. This instantly brings the budget for the rest of the box down around $330. To playback HDTV reliably you need something in the neighborhood of a 3Ghz CPU or equivalent, so figure roughtly $170-$180 for that and we're down to ~$160, Now you'll want an optical drive (somewhere in the $15 to $50 range) and a HD. I'd recommend a 250Gb HD for roughly $120 (HDTV takes up lots of space, you can half that cost but the value proposition gets worse and the box is far less useful). We haven't even figured in a motherboard or a case yet, let alone a SDTV tuner...

It's limited to 125 channels (like most TVs) with the tuner on the board. With a cable or satellite box however you're talking about a seperate external tuner which you'll need to control somehow.

You'll need a sound card or integrated sound on the motherboard. The tuner only captures it, you still need to play it back somehow.

Within limits. KnoppMyth doesn't come with support for decrypting commercial DVDs due to the DMCA and other results of the best government that money can buy kowtowing to their corporate masters.

BTW - These are all FAQs. One of us runs through this with somebody at least once a month or so. Please go search the forums and the Wiki for more detailed discussions.