I got a couple emails over the last few days asking what I use for playback as well as what programs I use. Here are my basic system specs and apps used for the two main systems I use. Keep in mind that I don't always encode my own raws, I have in the past used pre-encoded raws. All releases starting with Mobile Suit Gundam; The 08th MS Team use self-encoded raws.

Main System - UPDATED 9/18/2010
Q9450 Intel Core 2 Quad 2.66GHz
8GB DDR2-800
nVidia GeForce GTX 260 896MB
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
1x 750GB Primary HDD, 2x 1.5TB + 1x 2TB Secondary HDDs

Media Center - UPDATED 3/3/2010
Shuttle SD30G2 PLUS Barebones
E7400 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz
2GB DDR2-800
nVidia GeForce 9500GT 1GB
Windows 7 Ultimate x32
LG HD DVD/Blu-ray Combo Drive
1x 320GB Primary HDD, 1x 750GB Secondary HDD

Encoding PC 1 - UPDATED 9/18/2010
Q6600 Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz
4GB DDR2-667
nVidia GeForce 8800GTX 768MB
Windows 7 Professional x64
1x 500GB Primary HDD, 1x 400GB Secondary HDD

Encoding PC 2 - ADDED 8/25/2011
Q6600 Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz
2GB DDR2-533
nVidia GeForce G100 512MB
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
1x 1TB Primary HDD

Encoding PC 3 - ADDED 8/25/2011
Q8200 Intel Core 2 Quad 2.33GHz
6GB DDR2-800
nVidia GeForce 8400GS 512MB
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
1x 750GB Primary HDD


Encoding PC 4 - ADDED 8/25/2011
AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+ 2.5GHz
2GB DDR2-667
ATI Radeon X550 128MB
Windows 7 Home Premium x32
1x 320GB Primary HDD


Encoding PC 5 - ADDED 8/25/2011
AMD Athlon64 X2 4800+ 2.5GHz
2GB DDR2-667
nVidia GeForce 6150LE 128MB
Windows 7 Home Premium x32
1x 360GB Primary HDD

Laptop 1
Sony Vaio VGN-SZ48GN
T7200 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0GHz
2GB DDR2-800
nVidia 7400 Go 64MB / Mobile Intel 945 "Hybrid Graphics System"
Windows 7 Professional x86
1x 160GB HDD

Laptop 2
Apple MacBook A1181 (Mid 2007)
Intel Core Duo 2.0GHz
2GB DDR2-667
Mobile Intel GMA950
OSX Snow Leopard 10.6.4 + 2x Windows 7 Professional x86 (1x VMWare Fusion, 1x Boot Camp)
1x 80GB HDD

Netbook 1
HP Mini 1000
N270 Intel Atom 1.6GHz
2GB DDR2-800
Mobile Intel 945GM
Windows 7 Home Premium x86
1x 60GB HDD

Apps Used:

Media Player Classic Home Cinema - I use the latest Home Cinema version as it supports the enhanced rendering in Vista and Windows 7. Combined with VSFilter (DirectVobSub, version 2.39) and you've got the configuration I test all releases with.

Shark007's Codec Pack - I've switched to this pack from CCCP since I like that it updates more regularly and doesn't force itself on to DirectShow, damaging it in the process.

CoreAVC - One of the best H264 decoders out there. This isn't free, but it's really worth the price. I use the Professional Edition, which is only 15 bucks, but it supports nVidia CUDA acceleration.

Windows Media Center (WMC) - I use this on my media center PC. It's hacked a bit in order to get MKV support inside WMC, and I also use a plugin called Media Control that gives me remote control access to sub and audio streams. I have also begun to use a plugin called Media Browser which gives me a nice CoverFlow-style view of all the files with DVD/BD cover art.

Aegisub - This is the app I use for all my subbing work. At first glance it seems complex but it really works well and is easy to use after some practice.

Subrip - Subrip allows me to extract the subtitles from DVD's, including timecodes, allowing me to sub episodes by using existing subtitles instead of having to do it by hand or modify fansubs. It uses Optical Character Recognition, aka OCR, to read the subs. You can train it to read letters as it goes, so that it gets more accurate. With Gundam Wing, it has pretty much learned everything it needs and can extract the subs in a matter of 2-3 minutes now. Output files are .srt, which I load into Aegisub to convert to .ass files, which seem to be the standard for most fansubs.

Smart Ripper - This is the software I use as a replacement to Xilisoft DVD Ripper 5 as Smart Ripper actually extracts 5.1 audio when it says it does, unlike Xilisoft DVD Ripper.

Audacity - I used to use Adobe Soundbooth, but I find that Audacity is just as easy to use and since it handles AC3 editing and saving, it's a better choice for my audio editing.

MKVToolnix - I use the tools in this to both extract what I need from the raws and to mux the WIP builds and the final release builds of each episode. I use the GUI versions, with the exception of extracting FLAC audio from raws as the GUI doesn't support FLAC. For that I use the command prompt mode. I also use MKVMerge to split the raws up so I can insert the clean OP/ED files.

AnyDVD HD - I use this because some newer DVD's, such as Code Geass, are encrypted and so I can't rip audio or subs unless I decrypt them. This does it. Another non-free program.

Transmux - A group of utilities scripted together by Qriist that demuxes and converts files to different formats for me.

MeGUI - My encoding frontend of choice. I find it does everything I need in a small, clean interface.

AvsP - A visual editor for AVISynth scripts. Allows you to preview the changes easily before encoding.

I'm pretty sure that's everything I use. If I think of anything else, I'll update this. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments.