Benefits in having a dedicated HTPC vs chromebox/roku etc

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Vatican

Weaksauce
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I always see people recommending the roku's etc, from what I understand these things are going to stream your movies from your main computer station am i correct? So if by any chance your internet is down one day then it's not possible to watch your HTPC with one of these things? Also what about things such as stuttering when the connection is lagging while playing back a 1080p high bit-rate movie?

Now as opposed to having a dedicated machine with it's own parts, you can just stack several hard drives in them and connect the thing via hdmi to the TV and have nothing to worry about the internet at all. So my question is what are the real benefits to each of these options and which one is ultimately going to provide the better cinematic experience on a high end scale?
 
an HTPC can do more than a roku ect. The question is weather or not you will use those functions. Many people are happy with a smart TV and using something like Samsung AllShare or similar software like Samsung AllShare. If you have an older tv and only watch shows and movies a ruku is fine. If you want to game or use other functions and generally mess around more, add PVR functionality than build an HTPC.
 
If you have a non-smart TV, or just plain old TV with no USB ports, or non-networked TV (no DLNA), then devices like Roku or WD TV Live can be a good solution because they add the features you don't have.

On the "smart" side, they usually support apps like Netflix, HBO Go, Youtube, etc.

On the "usb" side, they have a USB port with support for a multitude of formats (avi, mpg, mp4, mkv, wmv, mp3, etc). The WD TV has good subtitle support (SRT) and I suppose the Roku does too, but I'm not sure.

On the "network side", they usually have Wifi and some have gigabit LAN as well.


So, when you say the Roku will stream movies from your main computer, I dont think its feature scope can be defined by that. It's purpose is more streaming from the internet and the success of that will depend very much on how fast your internet is and what kind of services you are separately subscribed to (Netflix, etc).

So, what if the internet is down??
Then you can still use the Roku to play any movies that you have on your USB drive. I believe the Roku3 even has a SDcard reader as well.

And yes, you can stream from your computer to the Roku, using your local network (wifi or ethernet) with no internet connections at all. But for that, I believe you need to be running Plex Media Server or a similar service on your computer, and install the respective Plex app (free) on your Roku.

Don't mix up internet connection with local network connection. They are not the same.
 
Vatican said:
Now as opposed to having a dedicated machine with it's own parts, you can just stack several hard drives in them and connect the thing via hdmi to the TV and have nothing to worry about the internet at all. So my question is what are the real benefits to each of these options and which one is ultimately going to provide the better cinematic experience on a high end scale?
Click to expand...


Roku

Pros:
  1. price is low
  2. small device, low power consuption
  3. easy to use
  4. supports all popular apps (I dont know about Youtube, better confirm this).
  5. comes with remote control

Cons:
  1. No storage
  2. If you already have a Smart TV some of the features will be redundant.


HTPC

Pros:
  1. Build your own or buy it done - the options are virtually unlimited
  2. Storage space can be huge if you need so
  3. It's a full fledged computer, so you can do everything you want with it, even play games (directly or streaming with Steam)

Cons:
  1. More power consumption, more noise.
  2. Increased booting time
  3. Runs on Windows
  4. Supposedly, more work to maintain (windows updates, antivirus, etc).
  5. Need to buy remote control separately
 
You can go to places on the web with a HTPC the "movie sticks" and the rest won't.
 
nailzer said:
You can go to places on the web with a HTPC the "movie sticks" and the rest won't.
Click to expand...

And that is probably one of the most important aspects to consider. Htpc can access certain parts that Roku can't. For me, once I found that fire tv can run xbmc with addons, it was a no brainer.

If you don't go seeking movie streams not available on the "white" part of the Internet, then you just need to find a good stick that can get your media to your tv
 
nailzer said:
You can go to places on the web with a HTPC the "movie sticks" and the rest won't.
Click to expand...

I havd TVMC running on my $19 Amazon Stick. I can go a lot of places, it seems. I think I could have watched the Sony leaked shit a week ago, if I cared for any of it.
 
No headache building a discrete looking unit.
Little/no maintainence
Anyone in the house can use it.
 
Vatican said:
So my question is what are the real benefits to each of these options and which one is ultimately going to provide the better cinematic experience on a high end scale?
Click to expand...

For the best cinematic experience, it's going to be HTPC, no question. You get direct playback of any high content whether it's blu ray rips or some lossless source. On top of that, you get compatibility of HD audio codecs which you won't see in anything other than BD players (since it's typically unique to BD's). Add on expandable PVR support and any form of PC functionality you'd like. Whereas the cons of an HTPC are typically power usage and lack of simplicity.

The streaming players give you, well, excellent streaming capabilities & ease of use. The ability of playing USB or local content is limited on the player type, and local network streaming typically requires your media to be in certain codecs/containers/bitrate. Plex solves this part, but for the best home theater experience it still falls short since you potentially have quality loss with transcoding and clunkier controls and interface (in my opinion).

I use both options for my 2 TV's. HTPC's w/cablecards (WMC + Plex) to use as my PVRs and playback my 650+ BD/DVD lossless rips. Fire TV's to give me seamless access to all of the popular streaming services and applications. I don't want to use a mouse and keyboard to login to Amazon Prime video on my HTPC or load some other front end that integrates streaming services well. Changing inputs with a universal remote is just fine by me.
 
jpm100 said:
No headache building a discrete looking unit.
Little/no maintainence
Anyone in the house can use it.
Click to expand...

You can build a HTPC in about 2 hours frankly. I did it over the weekend for a free using a small Intel all in one solution. Windows 8 installs fast. Maintaining it is easy. You can schedule it to auto update while you sleep. You can install a third party program to auto update everything else or you can forgo updates altogether if everything works as intended.

For about $300 you can build an HTPC that will last for years and years and have infinitely more expandable options both software/hardware then some $40 stick will. You can so much more with an HTPC its not even funny.

I would buy a stick media center if it was for someone without any tech savvy. Like grandma or someone to that effect. Everyone else should just spend a bit of time making an HTPC they will love.
 
It's not like you even need to run Windows on a HTPC. In fact, it's probably faster if you don't.
 
The sticks and standalone streaming boxes are getting quite good, but it will be a long time before I am rid of my HTPC for one main reason: TV. My HTPC is my DVR and it is used for live TV. I've often thought about going with a server and networking the tuner, but then I'd still need a WMC extender, and there currently aren't any solutions I like (outside of spending too much on an i3 NUC).
 
I have an HTPC, Roku3, Chromecast, and a FireStick.
I'm using Plex from my HTPC (which is really just getting and storing data now, it's in my basement away from the TVs. Used to run XBMC direct a few years ago.)
The streaming devices (Roku, Fire, etc) are good at NetFlix, YouTube, Hulu, and running Plex. For my family, these devices are easier to use. They are also easier for me to maintain - doesn't work, just unplug it/plug it back in.
My HTPC is running Ubunut, Sickbeard,CouchPotato, storing all of my videos I have ripped, etc. It's a recycled Core2Duo - perfect for what it does. I really didn't spend anything extra (except for hard disks).
 
The dedicated devices are nice and cheap, but act as such. PC's are really neither, but they also give you, well... a PC, and all the benefits of one, as well.

If it's for an old TV somewhere, or one in an odd area, go with the stick (Amazon's comes with a RF remote). If it's for a media center, then get a proper PC.

If it's for a workbench, then I'd still gravitate towards a PC, since it's just much faster looking up info/help with one.
 
I have an HTPC with 16 TB of storage on it. We really like our own personal digital on demand system, especially since we don't have cable TV. We use it to stream video and music as well. Use it every day. No stick would be able to do everything that I do with mine.
 
Htpc will be able to do more it will be able to play more formats. Should be more powerful.
 
My HTPC plays (Kodi) my 700+ lossless blu-ray rips streamed from my Server whilst also being able to run GTA V @1080P maxed (I anticipate) using a PS4 controller (Bluetooth) :D
 
HTPC is my media, DVR, and cable box in one. I have not yet cut the cord. Plus it servers as running my XBMC, plex server so I can stream content to mobile and other clients.
 
Not sure if anybody mentioned this, but with a HTPC you can buy a Tuner (like the Ceton tuner line) and get rid of your cable box (just rent the cable card for $2 a month).

The interface is much QUICKER than any "cable box" interface i've ever seen. And you can record up to XYZ shows at once (XYZ depends on which tuner and how many tuners you want to buy).

I prefer my HTPC over a roku as I actually have a home server with probably a thousand movies. I also record my TV shows directly to my HTPC so I can store a LOT of tv shows from the air. Also free OTA if you have an antenna, then you really get rid of cable costs.

NOT that easy to setup, but with the guides now adays it's actually very easy from when I first started.

HTPC costs more. Figure on spending about $500-$800 for a GOOD HTPC. Mine cost me about $800 in the end with the tuner card and the processor and what not.

Rokus are great for those TV's that have nothing fancy going on. My family uses them because they don't have big setups and it's easy to use. And they all use netflix. I don't use netflix so roku was a waste for me (there is a netflix plugin for HTPC's btw).
 
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