Alright to start, here are my specs:
Athlon 64 3400+
ASUS Mobo
1GB ram
Onboard X200
DVD Drive
Standard Definition TV
OK so heres whats up. I currently don't use this PC. Like ever. My Wireless died, and I've always wanted a Media Center PC, So I'm gonna try it. Note: I do not want DVR or anything. I just want to play my Media on my TV. Also, my TV has a S-Video Port if that makes a difference. My Questions:
1. My Graphics card only has VGA. How can I hook it up to my SDTV? Will I need to buy something?
2. I'm planning on using Linux Media Center Edition, does anyone have any clue if this will work with my X200? I doubt it, but still.
3. How will my SDTV handle this? I play videos from my brothers Zen occasionally, and there your normal 700MB DVD Rip and they look Perfect. I would love to have the same result.
4. Also, would something like this (http://www.cablesnmor.com/vga-rca-cable.html) be exactly what I'm looking for? Or is it a more complicated process than just that?
5. And finally, Do I have to use a remote? Can't I just use a Keyboard or a mouse?
So yeah, thats about it. Just ask if you need anymore info, like TV ports or anything like that.
EDIT: Fixed Typos.
You cant hook it up to you tv as far as I know. You need a graphics card with an s-video out. I would suggest an nvidia chipset, because ATI's S-video is known to be very difficult to get working with an Xwindows system(in other words anything more than a text interface in linux).
If all you want is to use your tv as a monitor then this probably wont be the OS for you. Ubuntu or Kubuntu would work fine if thats all you wanted. If you do chose to use LinuxMCE then i would suggest a remote because I find if difficult to just use a keyboard and mouse as I don't know any of the shortcut buttons, and I can't find a list.
If you need play just media you can use one of following applications - http://smart-home-blog.com/archives/743
LinuxMCE is more than just media system. It's a system to automate whole house. And media functionality it's just it's part.