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Use Gaming Rig Like Console

A

ARom

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
234
I want to put a gaming rig beside the hdtv in my living room. I only want to set it up once with a M/KB.. How can I access steam & a my movies folder with an wireless xbox 360 controller?
 
Not to say that what you want to do cant be done, but I have found a much easier way to make this happen. You should look up the

Rii Mini Wireless Keyboard with Touchpad

I bought one of those off amazon for about 30 bucks, and have it hooked to my computer. Its about the size of Comcast remote and it sits right next to my TV remote. When I want to play PC games on my 55" TV, I just switch video from my PC monitor to my TV and then use the Rii mini to control my PC. I use it to launch games, and to type etc. Its quite convienient, not perfect, but definately better than having to have a full size mouse and keyboard hooked to your TV. Its also backlit, so you can see each key in the dark, and the backlight is much brighter than most cell phone keypads or backlit keyboards :)

I have the wireless xbox 360 controller dongle hooked up too, so once i launch my game with the Rii, i then use my 360 controller for in game menu's and such. Its pretty nice setup, and I have everything right where I need it.

I have been playing the Witcher 2 like this, and its quite awesome, and playing PC games on a 55" TV instead of a 24 inch LCD is quite a difference, and being able to sit on a couch is quite convienient as well :). When I am done with the witcher 2, i plan to play Dungeon siege III the same way with my friend through steam, but have the benefit of sitting on the couch playing with a 360 controller, and getting all the extra graphics a PC can pump out that my 360 cant :)
 
I have wanted to do this for so long, but most of the games I play (RTS) require M/KB so I haven't found a good application.

For single player gaming you could do this all day long as you don't have to have the twitch gameplay. For multiplayer FPS/RTS it wont work.

Keep us posted on your progress.
 
Coffee table....while playing games if necessary use the mouse/KB

Coffee table....while not playing games (that require it) put the mouse/KB under it.

All other times use that Rii Mini. Sounds very cool imo. Best of both worlds and covers all computing/gaming needs to have a full mouse/kb combo always available( which there really is no true substitute for) for when really needed.

Forgot to mention hook up whatever wireless controller you prefer. Most people go with a wireless 360 controller for ease of use and games/windows compatibility.

This is how I would do it.
 
Wait a year and then build a rig using Windows 8 and Kinect.

I'm sort of trolling but sort of not. That would actually be kind of cool. Waving through the Steam library, telling it to launch Starcraft, that sort of thing.
 
XvMMvX said:
I have wanted to do this for so long, but most of the games I play (RTS) require M/KB so I haven't found a good application.

For single player gaming you could do this all day long as you don't have to have the twitch gameplay. For multiplayer FPS/RTS it wont work.

Keep us posted on your progress.
Click to expand...

For multiplayer fps/rts/any game you want to play sitting up straight: you just need an automatic HDMI swtich going to your desk monitor. :)

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1594509

So:

Main computer with XBMC installed, automatic hdmi switch between a big monitor (controller) and a m/kb monitor I think is the simplest solution.
 
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It all depends what you're looking to do exactly. Hardware wise, you don't need too much. Look over to HTPC and Small Form Factor forums. You can build yourself a nice little mATX or mITX system capable of gaming and displaying media as you choose. Just be sure you have someway to access internet where you plan to put it - 802.11N dongle, Powerplug Ethernet (get the 500mb new versions) etc... I take it you want the Xbox360 controller to be the only controller used for this system? This is absolutely doable, but things may be a lot easier if you're willing to buy HTPC-style mini wireless keyboards with a touchpad/touchpoint?

If you want to use Steam as your primary vector for gaming, I'm going to assume you want to use Windows. Linux has some awesome HTPC setups made for navigating with a remote control or other simple device, but you'd have to use WINE/CrossOver for Steam. On Windows (7, Home Premium, or Ultimate I am assuming), you're going to be more or less limited in UI, but look at items like Rainmeter and Object Dock to create big, easy to access icons. You can also use XBMC which may solve a lot of your issues, but I haven't used it for ages. I hear that new versions of XBMC will actually allow you to type, select data and do all sorts of things from their iPhone or (better yet) Android app, so if you have a smartphone on these platforms that could be all the keyboard and mouse you need! If for some reason XBMC doesn't work for you, consider various media players as per what you wish to play - Media Player Classic Home Cinema, VLC Player, SMPlayer for video. Clementine, Songbird, MediaMonkey for audio. Of course, if you're heavily invested in iTunes, use that.

For your Xbox360 controller, you'll need a program like JoyToKey or Xpadder which will allow you to bind keyboard and mouse functions to your controller. The only thing I'm unsure about is the issue of profiles - after all, you don't want your right stick functioning like a mouse in a game that has proper X360 pad support, so you may need to create multiple profiles to ensure when you're on the desktop you have mouse/kb functions bound to the controller, but when you're in a game it just acts like a regular controller (except of course, if you're playing old games that need the gamepad to appear like a KB!)
 
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