Comparing media streamer to htpc and recommendation

[Gunserotti]

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 

 

 

[Mike Garcen]

[quote=Gunserotti]

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

[/quote]

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.

[Gunserotti]

Thanks for the reply.  Basically I want a system that is “overpowered” so that I dont have to upgrade anytime soon. I’m hoping for seamless performance and the ability to bitstream the HD video codecs. I guess I’m saying I don’t mind paying for the “best” components if it will make the experience better.  

 

Based on my research intel sandy bridge processors seem to be ideal.  I also want an excellent GPU to power the system….

[Aaron Ledger]

The GPU built into SandyBridge should serve you well unless you require something special. The Core i3 is probably a good choice for your requirements for serving you well into the future. If you think you might be doing something like commercial skip analysis, you should probably consider the Core i5.

[mpatnode]

[quote=Mike Garcen]

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.

[/quote]

Not 100% true.   Today’s HTPCs cannot stream HD movies from many of the major streaming services (Amazon, Vudu, Netflix?, etc..) due to Hollywood DRM restrictions while a good dedicated media player shouldn’t have this restriction.   Intel recently released the Intel Insider technology to address this limitation, but I’m not yet aware of any streaming media players which take advantage of it.    So if streaming 1080p + Surround Sound is important to you, you might want to have another device to augment the HTPC.    My personal suggestion is a BD player which supports the services you desire, since BD playback on an HTPC is surrounded with DRM pitfalls as well.    Nothing that can’t be overcome with money and time, but I wouldn’t recommend it for the casual user.

(I’m not a Netflix user, so I can’t speak to whether they’ve addressed this issue.)

[SJMaye]

[quote=mpatnode]Today’s HTPCs cannot stream HD movies from many of the major streaming services (Amazon, Vudu, Netflix?, etc..) due to Hollywood DRM restrictions while a good dedicated media player shouldn’t have this restriction.  [/quote]

I sure wish they would make it easier to add streaming apps to Win 7 MC.  Having Netflix is great, but it would be nice to add the others that are up and coming.

[SJMaye]

[quote=mpatnode]Not 100% true.   Today’s HTPCs cannot stream HD movies from many of the major streaming services (Amazon, Vudu, Netflix?, etc..) due to Hollywood DRM restrictions while a good dedicated media player shouldn’t have this restriction. [/quote]

I like having Netflix.  I sure wish it was easier to new streaming sites like Amazon to MC.

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