Thinking of getting rid of my HTPC

[boomhower]

I finally got sick of dealing with TWC and had satellite installed yesterday. I'm thinking I would be better off with just a new Apple TV at this point. Pretty much the only thing I would use it for is to watch movies which I could do via airplay. I don't due Hulu, just netflix. I gave up archiving movies digitally a long time ago, more trouble than what it was worth for me. Am I missing anything? Some use I'm not thinking of? I mainly built it because I hated paying for so many DVR's but with a 5 tuner satellite box that cost is largely equalized. Only thing I hate is the loss I'll take on it after not having it for even a year. Thoughts?

 

[smitbret]

If you don't have time or inclination to constantly update and adjust your HTPC, then a set top box will probably be the better choice. I use a WD Live Hub with my DirecTV setup and have found that I will usually browse the Sat before the media box. It's just simpler.

You didn't state which sat service you got. I am assuming it was DirecTV since you said your DVR had 5 tuners and their HR34 is the only receiver out there that I know of that has 5 tuners. If you connected it to the internet and have a decent internet connection, the VOD service from DirecTV is really pretty good, especially if you're used to the selection and limitation of online streaming. Since new customers tend to get a lot of the premium channels up front for free, I would suggest DVRing like a mad man for awhile since most people don't keep those after they are no longer free. Keep in mind the VOD selection is tied to you subscription package.

If all you want to add is Netflix then pretty much any streaming box will work. I would just suggest the Roku 2 XD unless you have an existing iTunes library then the Apple TV would be the best choice.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I think the age of the homebuilt HTPC is over. I have been recommending Roku boxes (AppleTVs for non-millionaires) for months now instead of HTPCs.

My HTPC is better than any box I can buy on the planet due to its amazing interface, raw power for old/new console games and ability to play any file I throw at it. But my box is useless to most people as these awesome features depend on piracy.

My box shows how awesomely current technology can provide entertainment if only technological limits matter. In the world we live access matters, which means the streaming options a Roku can provide.

 

[purbeast0]

being a total noob to this stuff, and it seems that this is a good thread to ask, if i wanted to simply stream mkv HD content from my PC or play it off of a USB drive, is that something that the Apple TV does?

additionally, is the wifi connection between it and a PC fast enough to actually stream true HD content? or would it have to be wired together?

 

[smitbret]

The AppleTV will do it, but it's not that simple.

If you already have a library that consists of mostly iTunes material in .m4v or .aac format, then it'll work great. However, it sounds like you have files that are mostly incompatible with the AppleTV, in which case you'll need to remux and/or reencode your files to make them work.

Boxee Box is pretty good as well as the Dune and Popcorn hour players. Pivos Aios makes a box that is inexpensive and plays about everything but the UI is terribly user unfriendly. Same with the Micca boxes. Asus makes a couple that I haven't seen in real life and the Netgear boxes support Cinavia so they would be just about the last on my list.

But, if you haven't made up your mind about an AppleTV, yet, take a look at the Western Digital TV Live or Live Hub. There simply is nothing better for ther $ for playback of locally stored media. They support just about every media format and have a pretty easy UI. They have quite a few online services, but not to the extent of Roku.

You may also want to consider a mid-priced Panasonic, Samsung or LG Blu-Ray player but, once again, you'll have the Cinavia issue with those, too.

As far as wired vs. wireless... I used to stream HD across a 5Ghz, 300mbps, N connection and can honestly say it worked pretty well as long as the signal was pretty strong. I wouldn't try it on anything less. Wired is always better for this, if possible. Even a 100mbps wired is gonna perform better than any wireless N connection.

 

[purbeast0]

thanks for the input. was just reading about the WD TV Live. that looks like the thing i will most likely get!

 

[Zorba]

If you don't have time or inclination to constantly update and adjust your HTPC, then a set top box will probably be the better choice.

Why would you have to constantly update and adjust your HTPC? Unless you just enjoyed tweaking with it. I have had my HTPC for 3 years, the only hardware upgrade I did was install a bigger hard drive so I could store more videos. I update Mediaportal maybe once a year when I get bored, I've never had to upgrade anything.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I built my first HTPC long before they were popular (2003/2004 timeframe) and through various upgrades, had one until early 2011. I finally got rid of it, as I didn't see the point of having one any longer. It was nice as a DVR, but with devices such as Roku and the proliferation of streaming media, they're pretty pointless now and I can find other solutions for DVR functionality.

 

[Tegeril]

I maintain that you still aren't capable of beating Windows Media Center at its job (especially with MediaBrowser), but if you're focused on streaming and not DVRing, then sure, switching away from it makes sense I suppose.

 

[sm625]

A very strong argument can be made for not archiving media. Even if you only spend $100 a year maintaining an archive and the associated hardware. If it only costs a couple bucks to watch anything on demand then you'd have to do that more than 50 times a year for it to make sense, not counting the time it takes to manage that crap. It's probably more like 100 times a year if you factor in all costs of time and money. It comes down to one simple question: do you access your own media archive more than 100 times a year?? I dont. So for me there is no point in owning any digital media that can be found on youtube, netflix, amazon, itunes, etc. It is cheaper just to pay the on-demand fee.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

I think the age of the homebuilt HTPC is over. I have been recommending Roku boxes (AppleTVs for non-millionaires) for months now instead of HTPCs.

My HTPC is better than any box I can buy on the planet due to its amazing interface, raw power for old/new console games and ability to play any file I throw at it. But my box is useless to most people as these awesome features depend on piracy.

My box shows how awesomely current technology can provide entertainment if only technological limits matter. In the world we live access matters, which means the streaming options a Roku can provide.

Only in the U.S.... not even North America.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

A very strong argument can be made for not archiving media. Even if you only spend $100 a year maintaining an archive and the associated hardware. If it only costs a couple bucks to watch anything on demand then you'd have to do that more than 50 times a year for it to make sense, not counting the time it takes to manage that crap. It's probably more like 100 times a year if you factor in all costs of time and money. It comes down to one simple question: do you access your own media archive more than 100 times a year?? I dont. So for me there is no point in owning any digital media that can be found on youtube, netflix, amazon, itunes, etc. It is cheaper just to pay the on-demand fee.

Horrible short-sightedness. But of course, you're free to do whatever you want. Like not owning anything of cultural value, because you *think* you'll always have access to it. Good luck with that.

 

[Zorba]

Horrible short-sightedness. But of course, you're free to do whatever you want. Like not owning anything of cultural value, because you *think* you'll always have access to it. Good luck with that.

This

Also how much time do you spend pulling up whatever service you have to start the stream. You probably also have to have a more expensive internet service to get the reliable speed and bandwidth quota. I will also take the quality of archived OTA broadcast over streaming any day.

 

[boomhower]

Dang I had forgot I started this thread. I picked up an Apple TV 3 just to play with and so far I like it. Airplay works very well and pretty much eliminates the need for iTunes compatible media. Play in VLC->AirPlay->enjoy. It's worked pretty well so far but haven't had much time to really test it out throughoghly.

Options for the HTPC right now is to leave it as be for archival purposes which I am starting from scratch at it. I'd leave it as is to use as an iTunes server for the Apple TV. Second option is a freenas but I think I'd get more use from the former.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I maintain that you still aren't capable of beating Windows Media Center at its job (especially with MediaBrowser), but if you're focused on streaming and not DVRing, then sure, switching away from it makes sense I suppose.

My last Media Center PC used Windows 7 Media Center integrated with the My Movies plugin and BeyondTV for DVR functions (far superior to media center for that purpose). I had my DVDs ripped and stored on a back-end server as ISOs, and the media center allowed me to stream to my Xboxes. I also could stream to the PS3 because I had PS3MediaServer running on my server.

We simply never used it. As a matter-of-fact, I finally shoved a bunch of RAM into the HTPC box and used it to run VMs because it literally wasn't doing anything aside from a recording here or there. We mainly watch streaming sources now and I can put a blu-ray in the player if I want to watch a movie.

 

[velillen]

It was nice as a DVR, but with devices such as Roku and the proliferation of streaming media, they're pretty pointless now and I can find other solutions for DVR functionality.

Curious but what do you use for DVR then? I have my htpc (which has nearly paid for itself at this point...well 1 of my two) mostly for streaming my media collection off my server as well as watching both OTA and basic cable live tv. Also use it to record OTA/cable tv.

Ive thought of going to a roku or similar for streaming media but the main things are i want a interface like mediabrowser with all the meta data and such, have it be fast, and also be able to watch live tv from hdhomeruns.

Honestly if there was a box that could do live tv with network (hdhomeruns) id be all over it if it had a good interface. Well id at least replace 1 of my htpc's with it.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Curious but what do you use for DVR then? I have my htpc (which has nearly paid for itself at this point...well 1 of my two) mostly for streaming my media collection off my server as well as watching both OTA and basic cable live tv. Also use it to record OTA/cable tv.

Ive thought of going to a roku or similar for streaming media but the main things are i want a interface like mediabrowser with all the meta data and such, have it be fast, and also be able to watch live tv from hdhomeruns.

Honestly if there was a box that could do live tv with network (hdhomeruns) id be all over it if it had a good interface. Well id at least replace 1 of my htpc's with it.

I've got a DVR/cable box combo. I honestly don't watch much TV, but my wife does.

 

[Mloot]

I am really liking the HTPC I built last November when I dropped our satellite subscription. I just added a cablecard tuner for the limited basic cable channels that we get for only $2/mo. more than our internet price. It integrates quite well with the OTA tuners that I have in WMC, and it provides a backup for when bad weather makes my OTA reception a little sketchy.