What is the best HTPC software?

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boomhower

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2007
7,228
19
81
If your not using a cable card don't use WMC. It's to limited in formats and a pain in the rear to get working. XMBC is a much better option for a non CC system.
 

velillen

Platinum Member
Jul 12, 2006
2,120
1
81
If your not using a cable card don't use WMC. It's to limited in formats and a pain in the rear to get working. XMBC is a much better option for a non CC system.

huh? it's played everything just fine for me. Mostly .flv, and mkv remux's of blurays though. Never had a problem with it playing back media.

Though once xbmc implements tv i might give it a go. But then again why change something that isnt broke. Same reason im pretty sure im a few versions behind on updates for shark007 and MB at this point
 

Binky

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
4,046
4
81
As I said before, if you can't make WMC+MB work well with certain file types, just have it launch MPC-HC to play those files. It's seamless to the user.
 

lockdown571

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2012
9
0
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Another great option is Jriver Media Center. It definitely tailors to video audiophiles with sophisticated playback features like madVR and reClock. This stuff can be done via MPC-HC, but with Jriver it's all built into the front end and easy to configure.

Honestly, the feature set of Jriver is absolutely astounding. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but Jriver absolutely has the best support of any front end software period. Ask a question on the forums, and a developer answers you in five minutes. They also listen to users very closely and are eager to implement requests. It does cost $50, but that's really not bad considering the functionality and support. There's a fully featured trial, though, so there's no reason not to try it.
 

sep

Platinum Member
Aug 1, 2001
2,553
0
76
i use xbmc, the aeon skin is just pure sex. blows people's minds when they see it for the first time.

combined with sickbeard & couchpotato & sabnzbd = pure htpc nirvana :D

Wow. I have been missing out. Weekend project will be to integrate these in my system. Thanks man.

Xmbc and WD live plus
 

RyC

Junior Member
Aug 30, 2012
15
0
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I use XBMC to playback blu-rays and downloaded TV, and Windows Media Center for TV recordings recorded by the Ceton InfiniTV 4. I have activities on my Harmony One remote to switch between the two programs and it works well.
 

lockdown571

Junior Member
Aug 29, 2012
9
0
0
i use xbmc, the aeon skin is just pure sex. blows people's minds when they see it for the first time.

combined with sickbeard & couchpotato & sabnzbd = pure htpc nirvana :D

I disagree. Aeon is gaudy and headache inducing. IMO, the best skin is Quartz. Simple, beautiful, and functional. I wish there were more 'clean' skins like Quartz for XBMC. Just my 2 cents :p
 

Jammor

Member
Sep 1, 2012
45
0
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Ive always used XBMC because it just works and its got the android remote doodad, ive never tried WMC, or plex, or anything else. Are there any advantages to them? A lot of this stuff seems to use XBMC at the core anyways.

Been using SageTV server/clients setup since 2007 and Beyond TV from 05-07. I absolutely love SageTV but unfortunately, it is now the property of Google and has stopped development and shut down the online store. The jewel in the crown are their HD300 extenders ($150 when they were available new). The HD300 can play anything I've thrown at it and its the size of a large deck of cards.

For *me* HTPC software must have TV recording / playback with EPG. Commercial identification/skipping is a definite need too. I've checked out WMC from afar but I don't want an XB360 at every TV in order to watch live TV (at least that's the way I understood it?). And can you watch live TV from Windows/MAC/Linux clients using WMC?

I have a friend using server/client Media Portal along with For The Record and I've checked it out - looks & works pretty good.

Also interested to see what the new Ubuntu TV will look like when it's finally available.
 

Ryan_M

Junior Member
Sep 8, 2012
7
0
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I'm curious why mediaportal is never mentioned? I use it because (atleast a couple years ago) integrating an external bluray player into XBMC was a PITA and flacs were always sketchy on WMC. I wouldn't say I'm a power user with HTPC's as I only use it for my media... BD's, DVD's, and music (flacs). Just wanted to put a plug in for mediaportal since it's often over looked.
 

jhansman

Platinum Member
Feb 5, 2004
2,768
29
91
I'm curious, has anyone gotten TVersity (or any other media server) to work with a DLNA compliant device? I tried it with my Sony BD player, but could never get the two to communicate. The player could see the sever (via ethernet), but would stream nothing. I have Plex working great with my Roku in the BR, but I'd like a solution for the LR that will work with DLNA. I am beginning to suspect the player, as Sony has become notorious for mandatory firmware updates that lock down the player from playing certain streamed media. Otherwise, I'm looking at getting another Roku for the LR.
 

Shyatic

Platinum Member
Apr 5, 2004
2,158
21
81
I actually like MyMovies with WMC better. Even the free version, because it's an "all in one" solution and works really well.
 

lotus503

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2005
6,502
1
76
Ive always used XBMC because it just works and its got the android remote doodad, ive never tried WMC, or plex, or anything else. Are there any advantages to them? A lot of this stuff seems to use XBMC at the core anyways.

As a former XBMC user, I switched to Plex for the central database ease.

I think XBMC is great for one HTPC with a NAS or somethign but if you plan to use tablets, IOS devices and multiple TVs I think Plex is the out of the box way to go.
 

Arkitekt

Member
Aug 11, 2012
52
0
0
As a former XBMC user, I switched to Plex for the central database ease.

I think XBMC is great for one HTPC with a NAS or somethign but if you plan to use tablets, IOS devices and multiple TVs I think Plex is the out of the box way to go.

What about XBMC for front-end and Plex Media Sever for back-end?
 

lotus503

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2005
6,502
1
76
What about XBMC for front-end and Plex Media Sever for back-end?

Since plex is an xbmc fork, I suppose it's possible however I wouldn't know how to do it, I've heard of folks using MySQL as a central xbmc database.
 

Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,596
2
71
It seems Plex Media Center is incapable of HD audio (?) so if Plex server access is required then the XBMC add-on may be better.
 

joutlaw

Golden Member
Feb 18, 2008
1,108
2
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I use WMC for live and recorded TV front my Ceton card. I use XBMC for any other audio and video.
 

slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
I use XBMC to playback blu-rays and downloaded TV, and Windows Media Center for TV recordings recorded by the Ceton InfiniTV 4. I have activities on my Harmony One remote to switch between the two programs and it works well.

Please elaborate more on xbmc playing blu ray disks. I don't think its natively built in and I'll be damned if I'm going to be forced to buy powerdvd again. I bought powerdvd 9 when it came out and bought the upgrade to ultra. Now it wont play anything made in 2012 and cyberlink says they have EOL'd the software. I still think they should allow playback, just not new features, but whatever. I paid close to $75.00 for this, there's no reason I should have to buy their newer version of the software to just to watch a damn blu ray movie.
 

assassin24

HTPC Moderator
Mar 27, 2005
394
0
0
Bluray playback is not built in to XBMC. You can however potentially hack it a bit with MakeMKV which will grab the longest track which may or may not be the movie.
 

Auric

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
9,596
2
71
XBMC can use external players such as MPC-HC for the formats of your choosing and MPC-HC can play BD without menus. Commercially, ArcSoft TMT3 is more than three years old but still updated without forcing an upgrade to TMT5.
 
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