Poll: What type of HTPC do you use?
By Ben Drawbaugh 
posted May 16th 2010 12:00PM
posted May 16th 2010 12:00PM
posted May 16th 2010 12:00PM
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I keep all my storage in a WHS server, so I don't have to worry about storage drives taking up tons of space inside my HTPC. I current have a low profile HTPC case, and this was mostly because at the time I needed a dedicated graphics card (PCIe) and a dedicated sound card (Xonar HDAV, PCIe) to really make the HTPC perform as good as a stand alone Blu-ray player.
I think when the new HD Homerun cable card tuners come out I'd do another HTPC design because now the HDAV is obselete, so the only expansion slot I'd need would be for a video card. Maybe I'd even wait until bitstreaming support is built into the CPUs. That would be a pretty kick ass small form factor HTPC.
I am probably the most unique HTPC user, and have been forever.
I have a MacBook Pro (previously PowerBook!). I use a swappable drive enclosure, 1 ATA, 1 SATA, and Delicious Library to keep track of what's on my drives. I actually streamed all my HD content to a D-VHS deck (required MPEG2 TS) via firewire. Now I stream to the PS3 using ethernet.
Since I have a CRT based HDTV, I have never been interested in an HTPC per se, due to burn-in issues. Also, I don't need to buy any special hardware. I simply use an off-the-shelf MacBook Pro (needed for work) and the PS3. This is cheaper than any HTPC requiring the horsepower to play HD content, especially since my work payed for the MBP. Though almost any Mac has the power to serve the PS3, since that's what's doing all the real work.
-Pie
Currently I use just a secondary Frankenstein PC I threw together originally to test Win 7 beta. It became my HTPC though it sits at my desk and I use the extender setup.
I think I am going to build a real HTPC to put at the TV though it will go in a mid tower since I have an unused case in my closet. Of course I look at my backlog of shows to watch and keep putting it off.
@brennok
Protip: AMD Sempron 140 is God's gift to DIY HTPC cheapskates. It costs $33, and a lot of motherboards can unlock it to a dual core. I just spent $150 to get the Sempron, a Radeon HD 4350 motherboard with HDMI, and 2x1GB DDR2-800. I'm cannibalizing the case, PSU, and HDD from another machine.
And it helps that I had a $50 NewEgg gift certificate. So I effectively just spent $100 for a dual core HTPC.
The Acer Aspire Revo is a great cheap solution. $200 and it streams 1080p just fine from my server. WMC runs a bit slow though. Overclocking helps a bit.
Well soon I'll be changing to the one in the post! That thing is sweet.
At the moment, an Antec Fusion.
I have a 2008 Server on the backend and currently a standard HTPC case on the front end. I have the current HDHomerun and I just ordered a Foxconn NT-330I to test as a slim front end.
I chose the last option...
To this day I still have no idea what Engadget means when they say HTPC...nor do I know what the benefit of one would be...
Does it replace an HDTV? My laptop? Whats the big deal?
@TheLondonExchange HTPC is Home Theater Personal Computer. Usually it's a PC that's installed in a case that looks more like something that belongs with your Surround sound receiver and DVD player and other A/V hardware, not a normal PC case. The Picture above is one, though a fancy High End version. You can also think of it as a computer used full time only in your Home Theater setup. What type of setup/features can vary greatly. Normally Tuner Cards and DVR capabilities, Possibly Hundreds of Movies stored on it, who knows. Using Media Center or other Software to control everything. It's not replacing a HDTV, you need that to watch everything.
I don't really have any need for a HTPC because I can do pretty much everything I need to with my TiVo, PS3 and Xbox 360. I can watch TV, stream movies, music and pictures from my NAS to PS3, and play netflix on all three. Sometimes I hook up my laptop to my tv via hdmi to watch Hulu, but I could just as easily get PlayOn and get that on my PS3 if I used it very often. I can't think of anything else I would need a HTPC for besides spending a ton to add a cablecard and eliminate TiVo fees.
@engadgetcomexcludeengadget
An HTPC is not nearly as expensive as it used to be. PCs just get cheaper and cheaper while the task of playing video remains pretty much the same. It used to be that some castoff could easily handle analog TV. Now it's starting to get that way with HDTV.
As time goes by, those monthly/lifetime feeds grow larger and larger relative to what a system or a tuner costs.
Then there's the whole "multi-room" thing & the fact that Sat doesn't use Cable Cards.
Tivo is long overdue for a cheap "extender".
I use a full sized nmediapc case- it's still smaller than my avr.
I have one PC at my desk that I use for everything. It has 2 CableCard tuners and 2 ClearQAM tuners. I do have it connected to my home theater over HDMI but I usually use my Xbox 360 as an extender. I use the same PC for web surfing, word processing, etc. I don't really see the need for a dedicated HTPC.
I have an Antec Fusion Case sitting under my TV running windows 7 it only uses one fan + PSU so is near silent. All of the data is stored on our WHS box which also has MyMovies installed. We have a couple of xbox360 as well being used a extenders.
i don't understand the appeal of cases like the one above. is it really worth 500 bucks to have a smaller screen right below your big one?
my htpc is a generic mid-tower with a dual core celeron running ubuntu lucid with xbmc. it also acts as a mediatomb server to stream video to other pcs and a ps3. i use the xbmc android app for my remote control but there's a wiimote paired to it too for my girlfriend or anyone else to use.
@jeffeulogy
They try to sell far too many of those $500 wonders and not enough cases that actually fit in the A/V footprint. You pretty much have to get something like a Revo for it will fit. Otherwise you will have some more conventional case that's so deep that it sticks out the back of your entertainment center or plain doesn't fit.
Even a lot of the smaller systems seem like they would fit much better if everything was rotated.
I run a Mac Pro and Plex. Optical audio to my receiver and HDMI to my TV. Looks and sounds great. The Mac is ultra quiet (loudest noise is HD spinup) and handles all my rips with ease. Has 4 HD bays with room for more with modification.
Now with Netflix HD through the browser, I don't need anything else. OK, maybe a blu-ray reader and HD video/ audio support. I like the PS3 for that anyways.
I have a HP Slimline with built-in IR receiver. It works wonders. I dislike the SFF HTPCs because they're always built with CPUs and GPUs that lack any oomph (i.e. struggle with Flash fullscreen).
I use a five years-old Pentium 4. Despite its age, it serves as an excellent MythTV frontend (thanks to VDPAU and backend.
I have no plans or need to replace it anytime soon, but if I were getting started with MythTV today I'd, like Slog, buy an Aspire Revo.
I record and watch everything off my MBP, but I only use the ExpressCard slot for eSATA drives.
-Brian
I have a Vaio set up for each room that has a big screen. They are networked, so I can access my 13TB of blu Ray .isos.
I would love a Mac mini or Mac pro set up, though.
No good answers to the poll question. I use a "regular" pc running SageTV on WHS and SageTV HD Extenders on my TV's to watch the content and control the SageTV software.
Dell Optiplex 960 SFF with a fanless HD5450 and HDMI out
I have a case that resembles the early shuttle cases, only I have modded it slightly with additional side ventilation holes, removed the original sfx power supply and replaced with a mini-ox dc-dc supply and external brick. Added an Antec Imon Inside (soundgraph OEM) IR report for power on/off plus MCE remote control. Inside is a zotac nvidia 9300 board and Intel 6300 dual core Pentium (core 2) CPU with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, which is the only fan in the system, so its nice and quite. 2gig ram, bluray drive and an internal card reader. wifi and gigabit network access. 500gig laptop hard drive (for lower power and less noise). Most of my media is served from a machine in my office. Was running Ubuntu for 2+ years with XBMC, but and now experimenting with Windows 7 for the DVR functionality. External HDHomerun tuner. I still prefer XBMC over WMC, even on windows.
I used to use an N330 ION machine as my main HTPC with an additional extender and an xbox360. It over heated and is now back at Zotac (RTM has taken 3 weeks so far with confirmation that it will be replaced). I'll use it as a secondary extender when I get it back.
Switched to my Quad Core server and love it because things like DVRMS Toolbox, Remote Potato, Media Center Master, and AirServer can all be running at the same time... while recording and playing back media. Couldn't do that with the ION. I kind of miss Hulu when playing back on the ION....but have since discovered automated MKV torrents in Media Center Master.
All I have now is OTA and basic cable (QAM) with 2 HD Homeruns and an addition generic ATSC tuner. Thinking about getting either the HDHomerun Cable Card or the Ceton adapter, but I'm not going to be a pioneer this time like I was with the Tivo Series 3. I'll wait to I'm sure it works with my local TWC (mis)franchise.
I am currently putting together a system for the new Ceton card based on the low profile Nmedia 1000B PC case. I will be using the intel i3 and H55 mobo for all kinds of fun.
I'm a big movie buff so my htpc is a full sized server case( nothin fancy) with 4 1tb hdd in a raid 0. Intel core i7 2.66 ghz nividia gforce 1.8gb hd graphics and a blue ray RWand dvd/cd drive. This thing is huge so its stored in my basement in a ventilated closet
@Esztuhar And of course win 7 ult
@Esztuhar
Running 4 x 1TB drives in RAID 0 is pretty risky if you ask me. Do you realize that you'll lose all 4TB of data if just one drive fails?
@NodNarb012
I agree. Not the smartest move. You aren't getting any benefit from RAID 0 when you are storing/ watching movies.
@Esztuhar
you guys are probably right but as it is I will probably create two partions for my four drives. 1 partion os/files other backup- thanks for the advice
I have a 2TB RAID1 PC with Win7 Pro as my storage, tucked away in the closet, and an ASUS EB1501 sitting on the mantle under the 58" TV as my front end, connected by Wireless-N.
That's all .... simple and works great, except Hulu - dammit! Hulu Desktop sucks arse on this (and all my boxes) ... TG for Netflix/Silverlight.
Tony
I'm lucky that my TV backs up to the wall shared by the closet under the steps. I have my Media Center PC sitting on the floor near the front where the louvered doors are, and run HDMI, SPDIF, and USB through the wall to the TV, the amplifier, and a USB hub, respectively, in the armoire.
Same as 'unverified' here. I use a small Dell tower with a dual QAM tuner internal, and three HDPVRs with boxes attached for source, and then SageTV HD Theater boxes connected to the network and each TV, and SageTV client software on the PCs.
Looked at all the other Software and Hardware options and SageTV was the best.
I'm in the process of build an HTPC. I bought a lot of the same parts mentioned in the build from last year. I bought an i7 quad core 2.66, asus P6T SE, 4 GB ram 1066, I had a 30gb SSD that I am going to use as a boot drive and I'm going to throw in a 750 gb seagate drive for storage. Also I have a ATI 4870 I think for video. I think it's a bit of overkill but I dunno we'll see. I am mostly decided to build this for the world cup because I want to record all the games in HD.
I want the ceton card but I kinda wanna wait and see if newegg or amazon pick it up.
I use a 6+ years old Signum Data FutureClient fanless PC, which I "pimped" with a ASUS HD3450 agp card to provide HDMI out and HD acceleration, and a FireDTV box for digital cable HD TV. Works flawless with Windows 7 media center.
I use a mac mini, I don't need blu ray so it's fine for me. Plus I can stream stuff to my ps3 in the other room using ps3mediaserver.
Shuttle XPC's forever!!
This poll really ought to use check boxes instead of radio buttons. I need to check full height specialty case (main HTPC) and the LP (client) options.
@andy vt
Yeah, that would be a nice option, but sadly it isn't.
Mac Mini with Win7 Home installed and usb IR. It sucks that Apple can't make a better interface with a multi-function remote. Apples current offering just isn't spouse friendly. With MCE, it just works for her and I don't get the angry "I can't watch Oprah" calls when I travel. Shame on you Apple. A perfectly good media center, stuck with a limited interface.
A full height, small form factor case. Mini-itx with 2.4GHz core 2 duo, nVidia GeForce 250, 2 Gigs ram, in a Silverstone SG-05.
Using a nmediapc with embedding Microsoft IR Blaster and a WHS to store content (I recommend for all WMC users). Upgraded to Win 7 which has been a blessing and a curse. With Linksys DMA2100 no longer supported half of my extenders are useless and only my XBOX 360 have relevance. Also with ATI jumping ship and not updating drivers....basically I have a DEAD technology. Now throw in that while I enjoy it too my wife MUST have her football team and being out of market means only DirecTV for us so Ceton cannot save me. Therefore...I would like to say thanks to the HTPC world and bid farewell. Thanks for failing me.
Use a mid-tower Cooler Master Sileo. The hard drive isn't so quiet, so I had to put sorbothane feet under it to keep it from transmitting noise to the armoire that contains the TV, receiver, and HTPC.
Content is on an NAS.
I think the HTPC is evolving every single day. I think it just depends on individuals' personal preferances. Some people limited space. Therefore, they need a small form-factor
set-up. Some people love huge hard drives and want to back-up their high definition content with huge terabyte drives, including raids. Some people like to do everything on their television and just love that full integration through Windows Media 7. I tend to love all of it. I'm building a home theater PC right now that will include a USB tuner, 1 terabyte hard drive, Windows 7 w/Media Center embedded, 7.1 soundcard, receiver, Klipcsh 5.1 system, and a LG HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Burner at 6x, and a nice quad-core processor and videocard(HDCP compliant) to enjoy all of my games. That way I can have an all around system from the start. I guess the bottom line is that it depends on the individual. Good luck everyone with those sick and crazy systems PC enthusiasts. Peace...
xbmc on apple tv.
Origenae S16T
My UL50 works great as an HTPC via the HDMI. Why have a second dedicated device!?
My HTPC setup is days away from being complete! I'm waiting on two things...
Ceton to release their 4 tuner card, and my projector that I just ordered on Saturday!
come on come on come on come on come on...
I have what I will call a "mid profile case". It's slimmer than a full-width, but accepts full-height cards. It's approx. 5.5" H.