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HI,
I'm trying to get a sense of the essential difference between an htpc and media player. In the past I have owned a pch a200, sagetv hd 300, and currently have a boxee box. I like the boxee box because it has a simple interface and the library management is very good. My mine gripe with the bbox is the hd audio dropout issue that likely will never be fixed.
Recently I started contemplating the purchase of an htpc. I have a few noob questions....
1. When you power the unit can you have it go directly to an interface...say XBMC?
2. Is it really that difficult to maintain?
3. Im looking for a high end system, low profile, can do hd audio, works perfectly with my Harmony, and is preassembled. Price is not a concern. Any recommendations?
The asrock vision 3D series looks nice
Thanks
1. When you power the unit can you have it go directly to an interface...say XBMC?
2. Is it really that difficult to maintain?
3. Im looking for a high end system, low profile, can do hd audio, works perfectly with my Harmony, and is preassembled. Price is not a concern. Any recommendations?
The asrock vision 3D series looks nice
1. Yep, you'd just place that app in the startup folder. But in theory, your HTPC wouldn't be turned all the way off ever (standby)
2. Really depends on how much you tinker. THink about your laptop--do you work that hard to maintain it? Totally depends how much you install and what you hope to achieve. In theory once you have everything set up, it's pretty low maintenance.
3. Curious why you say "high end" system here. If the sole use of the system is HTPC usage, then "high end" really isn't necessary. There's so many platforms that can do a phenomenal job for HTPC, blu-ray, etc. Take a look at some of our Intel & AMD reviews.
TO your core question, the difference between HTPC & Media Players is simple--Media Players you are confined to whatever applications the device supports--so say Facebook decides to start their own amazingly awesome video streaming application--you can't use that until your media player is (if ever) updated. On an HTPC, there is literally NO limit.
SO, there's nothing a Media Player can do, that an HTPC system CAN'T. But the same can't be said the other way around.
Mike Garcen (shadymg) MissingRemote Editor-in-Chief Windows Entertainment and Connected Home MVP (formerly Media Center MVP) Twitter @mikegarcen MissingRemote on Facebook