I think I'm done with the whole HTPC thing. Other suggestions

N

no_control

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 6, 2006
Messages
1,429
I'm just reallyl tired of tinkering with the HTPC none of the front ends I've tried work/look to my satisfaction. I consistantly find myself just using the desktop instead. I don't need all the fancy "look what I can do" crap. I've spent way more for this for marginal results and I don't feel like spending more. I'm at the point where either I hire someone to set this up or I ditch it for something simpler.

I just don't have the time to tweak on this stuff anymore. Between work, school, new baby, wife, side business....you get the picture.

Looking for something to play DVD & BD rips and downloaded TV shows and music. I don't need the web browser nor do i need the flexibility of a PC.

I'm looking for options.

Must play DVD & BD rips (iso, TS_video, wmv, avi, H264, yadda, yadda...) from my WHS box
DVR not needed I have DTV DVR, netflix and the internet I can just DL/rent whatever I miss.
Must have good WAF & KISS qualities

That's it! if it happens to play music, or has other functions great, but not required.

So far only thing I have found that is remotely attractive is Popcorn hour. But I'm open to other ideas & suggestions.
 
I use mymovies, has a WHS plugin, and I do most everything in Vista Media Center. My HTPC boots up in VMC and I can browse my blu-ray collection (all .ISO files), when I select one it will open up PowerDVD 8 (Ultra) and play the movie.

The only downside I have really found is leaving PowerDVD to get back to VMC without a keyboard, the only way I have found with my remote is get the pop up menu and can select exit. After a few seconds I get back in VMC.
 
If you do decide to just have somebody custom setup your system or fine tune it then I've done that in the past with several people (as well as custom HTPC builds), discretely. PM if interested.

Other then that, you're not going to find anything short of an HTPC that can play all of your content but the Popcorn Hour is one I've heard does the most.
 
SageTV HDTheatre is worth looking at.
I setup some friends like that because they did not want a PC in their living room nor did they need all the functionality a PC brings.
Also these things draw like 7watts.

It plays almost everything under the sun.

File formats supported: AVI, ASF, MKV, MOV, MP4, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 PS, MPEG-2 TS, M2TS, DVD ISO, DVD VIDEO_TS, VOB, M4A, MP3, FLAC, OGG, WAV, WMA

Video formats supported: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, H.264 up to 1080p, WMV9/VC-1 up to 1080p

Audio formats suppported: MP2, MP3, AAC, WMA, PCM, Vorbis (stereo only), AC3 (stereo down-mix/pass-through), FLAC, DTS (pass-through)

Media sources supported: Online Video, external USB Mass Storage Devices, NAS or Mac/PC over SMB/CIFS, UPnP, SageTV Media Center
Click to expand...

It does not require SageTV as a backend. But if you want to watch and record live TV it does. So you could take your tuners out of your HTPC and put them into the WHS, Install SageTV, and this little box and your set for everything, or just get the box and you can watch anything thats already on your WHS.
 
theDreamer said:
I use mymovies, has a WHS plugin, and I do most everything in Vista Media Center. My HTPC boots up in VMC and I can browse my blu-ray collection (all .ISO files), when I select one it will open up PowerDVD 8 (Ultra) and play the movie.
Click to expand...

Yeah I tried mymovies and Power DVD and it works well but the VMC just leaves alot to be desired along with PDVD. So far my experiance with it anyway. Not enough gui customization in VMC. It's the only thing I've used that works half assed decent.

If you do decide to just have somebody custom setup your system or fine tune it then I've done that in the past with several people (as well as custom HTPC builds), discretely. PM if interested.
Click to expand...

PM sent


SageTV HDTheatre is worth looking at.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks I didn't even consider one of these! Yet I've known about them for some time now lol :p
 
Whoa! I didn't know the Sage box cold work like that! 0_0 Going to have to look into picking one up then. :)
 
CrimandEvil said:
Whoa! I didn't know the Sage box cold work like that! 0_0 Going to have to look into picking one up then. :)
Click to expand...

Yea they are pretty slick but they are not cheap, and I never see them on ebay....all I can gather from that is once people have one they keep it.
 
Can popcorn or sagetv boxes output Master Audio/True-HD?

And is it required to hook up a computer to them (via network), or can they run off of a hard drive alone? I'm pretty sure the popcorn can being that you can put an internal drive in it, but i wasn't clear with the sagetv box.
 
This is what i read from a cnet review:
"The other major change is the switch to HDMI 1.3a, which now means the A-110 is technically capable of sending DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD to a compatible decoder. It can't decode these formats internally however, so make sure your AV equipment can before you get too excited."

It's right near the bottom of this page. I might have to pick up one of these and just make the HTPC into my WHS/HTPC for my bedroom.
http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/accessories/0,39100115,49298605,00.htm
 
What exactly is wrong with using the standard Windows interface? I have used HTPC for over a decade at least and have always just used plain old Windows gui for it. I have yet to find a Media Center interface which I can go through my list of stuff as fast as I can with file explorer. I even have Windows XP MCE as my OS, but never use the MCE application.

I just don't see what is wrong with using the desktop interface. We all use computers enough that we are really fast with it, so unless you are wanting to just control the thing with a remote, why stop?
 
What is a pain? Using a remote or using a keyboard? I'm about 12 feet away from my TV when I sit on the couch and do not feel like it is a pain. If you choose the right keyboard solution I don't see why it should be. The font size in Windows is adjustable, so reading menus is a breeze as well. My wife can even read names from the couch without her glasses.

And in this day and age who cannot use any desktop interface? DVDs, Blu-Ray, CDs and other types of media can be setup to autoplay, so that is no different than any other system either.

It may not be the "cool" solution, but it works as well, if not BETTER than any remote I've ever used.
 
FalseGod said:
What is a pain? Using a remote or using a keyboard? I'm about 12 feet away from my TV when I sit on the couch and do not feel like it is a pain. If you choose the right keyboard solution I don't see why it should be. The font size in Windows is adjustable, so reading menus is a breeze as well. My wife can even read names from the couch without her glasses.

And in this day and age who cannot use any desktop interface? DVDs, Blu-Ray, CDs and other types of media can be setup to autoplay, so that is no different than any other system either.

It may not be the "cool" solution, but it works as well, if not BETTER than any remote I've ever used.
Click to expand...

Bahhh whatever

yea my mom can read the screen too....but that does not make it intuitive.
The fact of the matter is the idea should be that anyone regardless of age or computer knowledge should be able to sit down at my TV and pick up the remote and be able to use it effectively without me babysitting them.
Your right most people know how to use a computer but you dont want people to know they are using a computer, you want them to just watch TV or movies or music. not use windows or linux or apple or etc.
 
This thread has sparked an interest in extenders for me (thx OP :( now more money go baibai). Anyways, which would be the better extender between the contending SageTV box and PopcornHour? And what are the differences (they're competing products.... right?)
 
Have you considered running xbmc on the pc? It runs primarily off of either a thumbdrive or linux install, but can also run on osx or windows. It has one of the more robust interfaces that I've seen.
 
I ditched my SageTV box for a TiVo Series 3 and a PopcornHour about 18 months ago and haven't looked back.

The wife is a little annoyed by the PCH but that has more to do with how I've got my Harmony remote configured.
 
FalseGod said:
What is a pain? Using a remote or using a keyboard? I'm about 12 feet away from my TV when I sit on the couch and do not feel like it is a pain. If you choose the right keyboard solution I don't see why it should be. The font size in Windows is adjustable, so reading menus is a breeze as well. My wife can even read names from the couch without her glasses.

And in this day and age who cannot use any desktop interface? DVDs, Blu-Ray, CDs and other types of media can be setup to autoplay, so that is no different than any other system either.

It may not be the "cool" solution, but it works as well, if not BETTER than any remote I've ever used.
Click to expand...

The point is I don't WANT anyone to use the desktop interface. My wife is constantly hunting around trying to figure out how to launch this or that or where the movies folder is located on the server, how to find the server again?. Not to mention our parents who baby sit quite often or my 10 y/o who is just starting to learn pcs. The point isn't weather they know how to use a PC interface. It's that I don't want them to (or myself). I want something that is easy to navigate and will play everything I have on my server.

Actually using a keyboard is a total pain the ass. I have the ideal keyboard solution (edge) and the ideal remote solution (harmony). I would definatly prefer to use a remote as would my entire family and guests. Putting a keyboard in front of someone fundamentally changes their mindset. It says I'm no longer going to watch TV or a movie, I'm going to use a computer.
Case in point my mom bought a PS3 so she can watch BD, but also so my son can play games when he's there. I've spent about 3 hours trying to explain how the DS controller navigates for movies on 5 different occasions. I bought her the PS3 remote and guess what? She got it within 5 minutes.

You have completely missed the point of my post. I do not want the maint. of a PC. I already have to do that with all of the families PC's. Adding another one with a more complicated set up, just isn't fun for a novice. Sure I can handle/learn it, but do I want to? nope. Just looking for something plug n play. Maybe later on down the line I'll revisit the HTPC.
 
Rakinos said:
Have you considered running xbmc on the pc? It runs primarily off of either a thumbdrive or linux install, but can also run on osx or windows. It has one of the more robust interfaces that I've seen.
Click to expand...

No I haven't. I wish I had the time to research this stuff but life is too busy right now. I'll add it to my short list. If its easy to set up I might give it try. Otherwise I would rather stick with a plug it in type solution.


This thread has sparked an interest in extenders for me (thx OP now more money go baibai). Anyways, which would be the better extender between the contending SageTV box and PopcornHour? And what are the differences (they're competing products.... right?)
Click to expand...

Your welcome :) The are competing but PCH seems to just flat out play everything. Sage I think still needs to have a PC running on a network (i could be wrong here)
 
I switch to non HTPC and now use my file server running Sage TV feeding tv out to the devices with the Sage extender boxes, super simple and easy to work on... HTPCs suck, IMO, too much tweaking to keep things running well...
 
My HTPC, using VMC, can play any video out there. All from my couch with a remote. All from within VMC. It's seamless. Any video I download, BD rips, whatever.
Once setup there was no more tweaking needed.

I just hate using it as a DVR.

If I got rid of my HTPC i'd look into the popcorn hour.
 
I'm getting fed up with the headaches too. Just bought a standalone BR player and an Apple TV (w/ Boxee) to try and simplify life.

Boxee has been running great, as long as you're using standard def content. Popcorn Hour and the Sage box look more powerful, but how does the GUI match up?
 
Have you tried Medios? I have had no problems with it at all. It does everything I want. It even plays my DVD rips using MPC and ffdshow. all my DVD's are ripped into file structure.
 
+1 for XBMC. I've been running it since it was called XBMP. The community is growing and generally very helpful. Really all you will have to do is setup the share in the program - mostly works out of the box. Although I still prefer running it on my xboxes instead of on my PC.
 
So i spent a few hours yesterday, and I did get the XBMC up and running. Was easier/i read more into it this time. Still having issues with cover art being linked with mymovie, or being incorrect. But it doesn't look like there is a quick fix to that. Other than that and slight stuttering from time to time in the menus, works pretty good. Still think i'm going to move over to PCH here soon though.
 
UT-Jackal said:
So i spent a few hours yesterday, and I did get the XBMC up and running. Was easier/i read more into it this time. Still having issues with cover art being linked with mymovie, or being incorrect. But it doesn't look like there is a quick fix to that. Other than that and slight stuttering from time to time in the menus, works pretty good. Still think i'm going to move over to PCH here soon though.
Click to expand...

There's a fix, maybe not as quick as you would like though. You have to use a more XBMC-friendly naming scheme on some movies as they are named similarly to other movies. For instance, I had issues with Underworld being recognized as something else, so I renamed it to "Underworld (2003)" and everything works fine.

There are some other issues with the cover being in the wrong language, you just need to change the picture it's using in "Movie Information".

Edit: FYI, I bought a PCH A-100 for my mom, it's great for what it does, but XBMC is utterly amazing. If you're just lazy and don't feel like putting in some effort, go with the PCH. If you want something visibly and functionally superior, suck it up and get XBMC working right.
 
VMC is pretty easy for me (and my wife) to use. I also have a wireless kb and mouse but for TV/video we just use the remote wonder plus that came with the hdtv wonder in VMC. Took me 30 seconds to show the wife how to use it and she only called me at work once asking about changing channels (she was hitting the navigation arrows instead of the actual channel up/down). The navigation arrows actually work but once you find your channel you have to hit the ok button, so it was scrolling through the channels but not actually changing the channel shown, which was a bit confusing I guess...
 
@Vito
Yeah, all of my movies are named as you specified, and have been for a while. I do get the foreign covers on one or two and i thought i did what you said and couldn't find another option. I'll try again later though.
 
Am I right in asserting that XBMC requires its own system build to run? If so PCH for just ~$215 for a prebuild system seems reasonable.

edit: Better question, what do you run XBMC on? Is it like Windows Media Center where you can launch it as an application off the main computer? Or is it better to have a little box (what box..?) that links to the media files (I assume like what PCH and Sage does), which I guess the term would be extender?
 
XBMC isn't a standalone system, it runs on top of an OS. It works with Windows and Linux, not sure what else. I use it on top of Vista.

PCH > XBMC for cost (unless you have HTPC stuff laying around) and ease of initial setup.
XBMC > PCH in look, feel, functionality, scalability, etc

There's much more to it than cost.
 
So I can just install it on top of my regular everyday Vista desktop and use it on demand? And if it installs onto a running OS, doesn't launching it require the use of a mouse... you know, the double click, which defeats the purpose of being remote centered. XMBC's manual doesn't really introduce it and reads like you have some previous experience/knowledge of it :(

Or did I get the above completely wrong? Sorry :X, the mention of XBMC led to looking into it... then led to drooling over the interface.. and then led to the pile of interest here.

Another question is, will PCH or XBMC do net TV like Hulu (only thing I can think of... I'd rather DL than stream; Hulu's for the visitors thus I ask :X)
 
Yea, it goes right on top of Vista or XP or Linux (or ?). You can use a remote with it and just program the keys to do whatever. I don't use a remote, I use a small wireless keyboard. I just downloaded HotKeyBind (I think that's what it's called) and programmed the Windows + X key to start XBMC in fullscreen mode. You can also set it to start with Windows if your box is a dedicated HTPC with no other uses.

I believe XBMC does something with Hulu, but I've never used it/looked into it.
 
I just installed XBMC and so far I'm not too impressed. Granted I'm still setting it up & playing around. It seems faster and very similar to Mediaportal, but there is even less documentation making it harder to troubleshooot. It prettier than VMC but VMC is easier to set up.

Still haven't been able to get it to recognize all of the files on my server. I don't know if I'm issing a plug in or what. It looks like it would be a piece of cake if everything was local on the machine, but since nothing is I cannot comment on that.
 
I didn't much like it either; Media Portal is an off-shoot from the old XBMC project (in the beginning it was sort of a native Win port of XBMC but then was rewritten to be a better native implementation) which is probably why it feels similar to it.

I tried XBMC before the last recent update and while I liked the look and feel somewhat I can't see myself wasting time trying to get it too work how I want it too when there are apps like Media Portal and GB-PVR around already. Setup was annoying and it didn't work correctly with my server which has all of my media on it. Also, about half of the buttons on my MCE remote worked which was a major deal breaker for me. Sorry, it's pretty but it's also a waste of my time. I'll stick with VMC for now and then I'm moving to Media Portal + SageTV since VMC is nothing but a joke now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top