I have the idea of using linux to create a home media server. Here is what I am thinking.

I set up a box to hold a number of large hard drives configured with RAID mirroring for security.

I've seen programs like Handbrake to convert DVDs to Mpeg and so forth, but I would like to get the full HD (or at least close to it) experience and be able to pipe a video data stream to LCD or plasma TV.

Since I am just now thinking about how to proceed on this, I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on what to look into.

Thanks!