Setting up a home media network / server

Hi guys, im new to the forums so forgive me if this is in the wrong place :-s

Im looking to set up a home media server type system to host all my photos, music, home movies etc....id like to be able to access the files from any computer on the wireless network within the house (about 3 xp laptops, 2 vista laptops, 1 xp desktop and a Mac running os x 10.4 (Tiger)). Also (if this is possible) id like to be able to stream the files to a tv in the house (is this actually possible? im not sure if it is or not)

Lastly, im going to be replacing the tv in my bedroom with a 24inch computer monitor which will also act as the monitor for the server, is it possible to install a tv application onto the server computer so i dont miss out on any tv? or would you reccomend keeping the tv and using the tv as my display?

again, im sorry if this is in the wrong place, and as far as setting this sort of thing up goes im completely brain dead....is windows the best OS to use for this? i read somewhere that you can use linux to do it, although im not experienced at all with linux.

Thanks in advance,

Luke

You can use windows for file sharing locally. On every windows computer go to Start>>Control Panel>>Network Setup Wizard. Now just complete this. Make sure to use the same Workgroup Name on every computer. Then when you do this on your server, at the end it will ask you if you want to turn on File and Printer Sharing. Select yes, and it will ask you to restart your computer.
Once you do this on every windows computer, you can go to Start>>My Network Places and you should see your server listed there. To share folders on your server, find the folder you want to share, right click it and select "Sharing and Security". Then check the box that says share this folder.

As far as i know, you can't stream videos from your pc to your tv without it physically being connected, and from what i hear, the quality is sub par.

how do you share files locally do you need a hard wire to connect the computers together or can you use the wireless internet in the house?

I do almost the same as you want to do. I took a standard computer and installed windows 2003 server on it that i had bought from compusa when they went out of business last year. Its a basic server operating system that will sute you well. try it you can get a trail of it from microsoft. There are file sharing wizerds and help pages that are with in the operating system to help you out.

You can buy a TV tuner to watch TV from the server on to your computer monitor if you wish. Or plug the server in the TV as the monitor. your choice

but if you are doing mostly file sharing and you would like a small home server, Windows 2003 would be best for you.

well i got some of my files to transfer using windows easy transfer i have it on my new computer and also my xp laptop the think that frustrates me is that when i transfer files i am using my wireless router it works fine but stops in the middle of the transfer so i have to start over.

I wouldn't recommend a wireless setup for this application. Wired all the way. IMO, wireless is fine for internet sharing, but for file sharing and streaming video I would go wired