My challenge is that we have 4 TVs that get watched regularly.  Living room, kitchen, basement entertainment area, and exercise room.  I want a distributed system where everything is recorded in one place and then accessible from other locations.  I may even put one in my shop since it doesn't incur a monthly bill!  I'd just need a cheap PC and a TV.

I make it more complicated by being a geek.  I don't really want put windows on all them because it cost $100/each. (I had a copy not being used for this build).  I'd prefer to stick with a linux based setup but don't know if I have the patience to set it all up.  My goal was to do it ALL for $1,500 but I'm not sure that is attainable.