Does anyone know if the new Linksys DMA 2100 Extender will work with MCE 2005 (XP) the same as my Xbox 360?  Most importantly will it stream live video from my PC tuner?

Nope, Vista only.

Xbox 360 is your only option unless you want to upgrade to Vista.

---

Chris Lanier
The Green Button Forum Moderator

I guess I will have to bite the bullet and buy a new PC.  Is the Dell XPS 420 ($1300) still the cheapest way in with dual cablecard support?  Any recommendations for power, memory, or video on a new machine?

Just find a Linksys WMCE54AG or it's HP clone. Anywhere from $80-$120.

The only problem is that the Linksys WMCE54AG is no longer supported (no new firmware) and are not very stable to use everyday (your non techy family members might get frustrated).  Of course just my 2 pennies.

My 5 year old and wife like it. I have 2 and no major issues. I had a get-together for new year's and it performed flawlessly (crosses fingers for next time).

I am using a v1 linksys extender with 2005 media center, and a v2 DMA 2100 attached to vista media center. The vista machine watches the recorded folders on the 2005 mc, and those files, unless restricted,  can be played through the DMA 2100. HD programming that was recorded onto the 2005 machine from my HDhomerun will not play on the v1 extender of course, but 2005mc will play it, and  the vista machine and  v2 extender will also. I just wanted to use my v1 and 2005 for a while before switching completly to vista.