Please help me to determine the best solution for me.
Requirements:
I AM LAZY. I don't want to spend a lot of time trouble shooting or setting things up. I don't want to trouble shoot. I don't want to be a support person for my family when they use it.
DVR capability for over the air TV from a HDHomeRun device.
Netflix, Hulu, Youtube
Watch ISO, MKV, M4V & MP4 files.
Output via HDMI
What I have:
Receiver with HDMI in
i5 PC with plenty of HD space connected via Ethernet to router, running Windows 7. PC can be left on 24*7 if necessary. PC is very far from receiver, can't be used as display device.
Router close to the receiver
HD homerun connected to antenna and to router via Ethernet.
Space in the basement just below the receiver to put a loud machine.
What I used to use:
I used to have a HTPC running Windows 7 and media center to record and watch TV. It also had the files.
The HTPC computer is dead. I could try to fix I believe either the motherboard or power supply is broken.
I have copies of all the video files which I can leave on my main PC if necessary for streaming.
The HTPC worked ok, BUT:
Biggest problem were getting it to wake up after going to sleep I'd often need to reboot it. Not sure exactly why sometimes the HDMI handshake would fail, or it seemly just would never wake up. I tried leaving it on 24*7 but that didn't work either.
Also, after watching a Netflix movie to completion it would freeze. I tried un-installing windows updates to solve that problem without success.
What I was thinking about doing:
Run Windows Media Center on my main PC to DVR shows from antenna
Getting an X Box One to use as a media extender.
BUT X Box One cannot be used as a media extender! ACK. So, what to do?
I dislike the idea of buying an Xbox 360 as a media extender since it is at the end of the lifecycle.
I dislike the idea of buying a separate media extender for $150+  I'm sure I could fix my HTPC for less.
Thoughts?
Requirements:
I AM LAZY. I don't want to spend a lot of time trouble shooting or setting things up. I don't want to trouble shoot. I don't want to be a support person for my family when they use it.
DVR capability for over the air TV from a HDHomeRun device.
Netflix, Hulu, Youtube
Watch ISO, MKV, M4V & MP4 files.
Output via HDMI
What I have:
Receiver with HDMI in
i5 PC with plenty of HD space connected via Ethernet to router, running Windows 7. PC can be left on 24*7 if necessary. PC is very far from receiver, can't be used as display device.
Router close to the receiver
HD homerun connected to antenna and to router via Ethernet.
Space in the basement just below the receiver to put a loud machine.
What I used to use:
I used to have a HTPC running Windows 7 and media center to record and watch TV. It also had the files.
The HTPC computer is dead. I could try to fix I believe either the motherboard or power supply is broken.
I have copies of all the video files which I can leave on my main PC if necessary for streaming.
The HTPC worked ok, BUT:
Biggest problem were getting it to wake up after going to sleep I'd often need to reboot it. Not sure exactly why sometimes the HDMI handshake would fail, or it seemly just would never wake up. I tried leaving it on 24*7 but that didn't work either.
Also, after watching a Netflix movie to completion it would freeze. I tried un-installing windows updates to solve that problem without success.
What I was thinking about doing:
Run Windows Media Center on my main PC to DVR shows from antenna
Getting an X Box One to use as a media extender.
BUT X Box One cannot be used as a media extender! ACK. So, what to do?
I dislike the idea of buying an Xbox 360 as a media extender since it is at the end of the lifecycle.
I dislike the idea of buying a separate media extender for $150+  I'm sure I could fix my HTPC for less.
Thoughts?