HTPC or PS3?

D

djBon2112

Supreme [H]ardness
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Jul 29, 2006
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Alright, this is one of those "recomend me something" threads, because from what I've been reading both seem like solid choices.

I'm looking at converting my basement to a home theater room, with a decent HDTV, surround, etc. and I'm looking at ways to play my media. I have a whole bunch of HD moveis and TV shows on my fileserver connected to my network for streaming, and streaming these movies will be the device's primary purpose. It's mostly 720p but I'm working on expanding my 1080p collection. I've heard the PS3 is decent for HD playback, but can't play a whole lot of formats, and that putting Linux on it disables all but one of the cores, which isn't much help either. On the flip side, I could build an HTPC for about the same, but it wouldn't be up to gaming in any way (at least I can play games like Rock Band and Fallout 3 on the PS3), or play Blu-rays, and coupled with the fact I have no need for a TV tuner, makes it seem like a more restrictive option. That, and all the HTPC cases I've seen hare missing one of the features I'd like (really thin, and with full-sized, riser slots for a video card).

What would you guys recomend? Am I missing some good stuff with HTPCs, or would the PS3 be just as good or better?
 
djBon2112 said:
That, and all the HTPC cases I've seen hare missing one of the features I'd like (really thin, and with full-sized, riser slots for a video card).
Click to expand...
You're asking for an impossible/unrealistic case. PC components put out heat, lots more heat then your typical DVD player or Blue ray player. Adding in a video card to an already tiny, overheated, airflow restricted case is not only a bad idea but it's down right stupid once you consider how much heat it's going to add as well as noise pollution.

Anyways, Win 7 can natively playback ripped blue rays so waiting for it would be a good idea.
http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3245&Itemid=1

Other then that, I only use my PS3 for blu rays and gaming while my HTPC handles music, pictures, DVDs, movies, TV and pretty much anything else I want it too.
 
CrimandEvil said:
You're asking for an impossible/unrealistic case. PC components put out heat, lots more heat then your typical DVD player or Blue ray player. Adding in a video card to an already tiny, overheated, airflow restricted case is not only a bad idea but it's down right stupid once you consider how much heat it's going to add as well as noise pollution.

Anyways, Win 7 can natively playback ripped blue rays so waiting for it would be a good idea.
http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3245&Itemid=1

Other then that, I only use my PS3 for blu rays and gaming while my HTPC handles music, pictures, DVDs, movies, TV and pretty much anything else I want it too.
Click to expand...

I've seen it done... it's not like I'm going to be putting a 4870X2 in there or something... but even the mid- and low-end cards now a-days are full height, and pretty much every thin case takes half-height cards, hence the problem.

However, with that Windows 7 announcement, I just might make the HTPC, seems like a better solution.
 
I use playtv with my ps3, its a dual tv tuner and allows you to record tv onto your ps3 harddrive, it has EPG and can record one channel whilst watching another and it can reord in standard def and also hidef.

I think it is a very nifty little thing from sony, it has turned my ps3 into my htpc as the tv tuner pwns my hauppage piece of shit that I have for my pc.

I dont know if playtv is available in the states yet as it came out in the Uk first last year, but it is very good, dunno if that is what you are into but I am sure adding more ways of getting movies or programmes onto your ps3 is only a good thing
 
I spent the last couple of weeks ripping and encoding some of my movies to find a format that both the PS3 and HTPC can play.

The PS3 friendly format plays fine on the PC until you try to fast forward and you got yourself a frozen movie that you either need to wait for it to play again or just stop it and start it again.

I usually rip and encode my dvds using fairuse wizard free edition, the resulting 700 megs file is of decent image. I put them on my HTPC. It is encoded in h.264 avis but the PS3 does not play them.

I used this guide
http://a8t8.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!2518DD508BB713E8!162.entry?wa=wsignin1.0&sa=245019249
to produce a playable movies on the PS3 but it is a consuming process and the files don't like to fast forward or seek properly on PCs. I want a file that is playable on the PS3 + HTPC

Now it might be that I'm doing something wrong but I came to the conclusion to have my HTPC to play movies/pics/music and the PS3 for pics/music/gaming. Also the PS3 is a lot faster to boot up if you want quick music in the living room or to view pictures without the hassle of using a PC.

It is still an ongoing project that I will pursue at some point in the future but for now it is on hold.
 
boxterduke said:
I spent the last couple of weeks ripping and encoding some of my movies to find a format that both the PS3 and HTPC can play.

The PS3 friendly format plays fine on the PC until you try to fast forward and you got yourself a frozen movie that you either need to wait for it to play again or just stop it and start it again.

I usually rip and encode my dvds using fairuse wizard free edition, the resulting 700 megs file is of decent image. I put them on my HTPC. It is encoded in h.264 avis but the PS3 does not play them.

I used this guide
http://a8t8.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!2518DD508BB713E8!162.entry?wa=wsignin1.0&sa=245019249
to produce a playable movies on the PS3 but it is a consuming process and the files don't like to fast forward or seek properly on PCs. I want a file that is playable on the PS3 + HTPC

Now it might be that I'm doing something wrong but I came to the conclusion to have my HTPC to play movies/pics/music and the PS3 for pics/music/gaming. Also the PS3 is a lot faster to boot up if you want quick music in the living room or to view pictures without the hassle of using a PC.

It is still an ongoing project that I will pursue at some point in the future but for now it is on hold.
Click to expand...

I thought the PS3 couldn't play MKVs (regardless of encoding), and couldn't play anything 264? Pretty much all my movies are x264 MKVs... are these good to go on the PS3? I'd really like to be unified as much as possible; I'm paying for half the TV, so I can only afford one or the other for a while to come!
 
As a owner of both, you are making sacrifices either way. PS3 is limited in terms of formats (but it can play x264 videos, just not in an MKV container). Media streaming requires a DLNA server. You will always have to re encode blu rays and DVDs, or at the least remux them. But the advantage is an amazing interface with smooth browsing optimized for a remote. Native blu ray playback from disc at full 1080p24 video and lossless TrueHD sound is mindblowing, especially for the price.

HTPC's on the other hand, are much more flexible. Re encoding is not nessessary. Interface is more customizable, but you are still prone to the windows background and GUI - in case of any problems, whip out the KB/M. Software is very complex to set up, especially for a larger amount of flexibility in video play back. It is also significantly more expensive - you are talking another $100 for the blu ray drive ONLY, and that is without playback software. But the flexibility is unsurpassed - I can play a DVD or Blu Ray with full menus, I can easily rip without transcoding, There is also a lot more room for experimentation. You do loose lossless sound, though, and I don't believe any PC blu ray software properly handles 24 hz playback. It is not only extra time spent to set up the software and pray that it works, but a PC interface can never be as smooth, fluid, and error free as a PS3 can be.

I own both, and I appreciate both for their different feature sets. It is really up to you, but if you are just starting out, I strongly suggest a PS3. I really do love my HTPC's flexibility, though, but the UI is a killer.

-darkmatter08
 
I don't know what exactly your talking about Darkmatter. VMC looks great and ther are plenty of Media Portal skins that make it look amazing.I actually think the XMB is rather barebones and kind of ugly, it's okay but it just doesn't intergrate well.
 
That is not what I mean. What I am talking about is the fact that you are held back by the fact that you are still running a M/KB oriented full OS behind the scenes. For example, I have to use a M/KB to start Media Center/Media Portal on windows start. Sure I can set it to auto start, but what about logging on? What about the annoying "Windows Update" messages or other tray messages? It has happened to me several times that WMC or MPC froze up, and I had to force the process to end. That is M/KB business. PS3 would handle it elegantly, just showing an error message and then returning to the XMB.

Another example: what about booting? I have to walk to my HTPC to start it up, and it takes a good ~40 seconds. PS3, though, I just hit a button on the remote and it starts up, ready to roll in 5 seconds.

Honestly I use my HTPC more because it is easier to play ripped DVDs sans transcoding. Also I recently bought about 7 HD DVDs and only my HTPC can play those things. But if I bothered to transcode my movies (which I occasionally do for use on a PSP) then it would be undoubtedly be more convenient to use my PS3. Faster, better interface, fewer errors, ect. But as I said before, the HTPC has unparalleled ability to be flexible.

I have both a PS3 and a HTPC. I have used both well. I have used PS3 media playback since day 1, and media streaming since the update for that feature was originally released. I have used my HTPC since I built it about 3 months ago.

-darkmatter08
 
The PS3 won't do anything higher than L4.1 anyhow.. it's just not capable. The amount of frame refs are far too high for the 256MB of dedicated video ram the system contains. You see the same type thing playing L5.1 encodes on video cards in PC's with less than 512MB of dedicated graphics memory. Stuttering isn't cool when you're trying to watch a movie. Even if you try playing a L5.1 on the PS3 that is marked as a L4.1 encode, you'll just get a black screen. It definitely isn't the way to go if you want future media playback.
 
1.) It's called sleep mode, that's what the PS3 and your HTPC can do it too. It takes less then ten seconds for my system to go from sleep to active.

2.) I've never had to deal with any of the regular OS stuff unless something breaks (not often) or when I want to upgrade something. Win Updates are set to never DL or notify since it's stupid to make it auto update. I learned this the hard way when a win update completely broke MCE for me. I didn't learn that it was an update until months later after suffering with the issue. You're system doesn't auto login? WTH?

Like I said, the only time I really have to monkey around with that stuff is most when I want too or when something brakes. If this is a constant thing for you then you did something wrong when you built your system.
darkmatter08 said:
That is not what I mean. What I am talking about is the fact that you are held back by the fact that you are still running a M/KB oriented full OS behind the scenes. For example, I have to use a M/KB to start Media Center/Media Portal on windows start. Sure I can set it to auto start, but what about logging on? What about the annoying "Windows Update" messages or other tray messages? It has happened to me several times that WMC or MPC froze up, and I had to force the process to end. That is M/KB business. PS3 would handle it elegantly, just showing an error message and then returning to the XMB.

Another example: what about booting? I have to walk to my HTPC to start it up, and it takes a good ~40 seconds. PS3, though, I just hit a button on the remote and it starts up, ready to roll in 5 seconds.

Honestly I use my HTPC more because it is easier to play ripped DVDs sans transcoding. Also I recently bought about 7 HD DVDs and only my HTPC can play those things. But if I bothered to transcode my movies (which I occasionally do for use on a PSP) then it would be undoubtedly be more convenient to use my PS3. Faster, better interface, fewer errors, ect. But as I said before, the HTPC has unparalleled ability to be flexible.

I have both a PS3 and a HTPC. I have used both well. I have used PS3 media playback since day 1, and media streaming since the update for that feature was originally released. I have used my HTPC since I built it about 3 months ago.

-darkmatter08
Click to expand...
 
CrimandEvil said:
2.) I've never had to deal with any of the regular OS stuff unless something breaks (not often) or when I want to upgrade something. Win Updates are set to never DL or notify since it's stupid to make it auto update. I learned this the hard way when a win update completely broke MCE for me. I didn't learn that it was an update until months later after suffering with the issue. You're system doesn't auto login? WTH?
Click to expand...

A bit off topic sorry...

CrimandEvil could you expand on this a bit? I hope to build my first HTPC in less then 6 months, I was hoping to have it always online. If I do so (running Vista Ultimate 32bit) I would prefer it to be as secure as possible, Virus, Windows Updates but no annoying balloon popups. Do you not set windows to auto d/l or notify about Updates because of the annoying balloon popups? Isn't there a way to disable all the baloon popups and still have the system regularly patched? If your system isn't properly patched aren't you the bit concerned of exploits being exposed on your HTPC?
 
When windows updates patches install themselves automatically in the background, it can cause video stuttering if you're in the middle of a movie. I have turned mine off and I manually retrieve them about once a month.
 
CrimandEvil said:
1.) It's called sleep mode, that's what the PS3 and your HTPC can do it too. It takes less then ten seconds for my system to go from sleep to active.

2.) I've never had to deal with any of the regular OS stuff unless something breaks (not often) or when I want to upgrade something. Win Updates are set to never DL or notify since it's stupid to make it auto update. I learned this the hard way when a win update completely broke MCE for me. I didn't learn that it was an update until months later after suffering with the issue. You're system doesn't auto login? WTH?

Like I said, the only time I really have to monkey around with that stuff is most when I want too or when something brakes. If this is a constant thing for you then you did something wrong when you built your system.
Click to expand...

What I am saying is that auto updates was just an example. The tray message could be from anything. Auto login, I have a choice - passwords or autologin. Without a password, I can't RDP or set up tasks when Windows starts. With a password, I have to go to my keyboard and login.
BTW, my system is fine, but what I saying is that an HTPC is not a perfect solution. Sometimes WMC gives me a problem, sometimes it freezes, sometimes some other process freezes, ect. It is not a constant thing, but HTPC is riddled with many flaws. So is the PS3, but after experiencing both, I would suggest a PS3 if you take the time for video encoding. I would suggest a HTPC if you can spend the time for setup and screwing around with various software. Blu ray playback is my first example.

-darkmatter08
 
Jr. Woodchuck said:
A bit off topic sorry...

CrimandEvil could you expand on this a bit? I hope to build my first HTPC in less then 6 months, I was hoping to have it always online. If I do so (running Vista Ultimate 32bit) I would prefer it to be as secure as possible, Virus, Windows Updates but no annoying balloon popups. Do you not set windows to auto d/l or notify about Updates because of the annoying balloon popups? Isn't there a way to disable all the baloon popups and still have the system regularly patched? If your system isn't properly patched aren't you the bit concerned of exploits being exposed on your HTPC?
Click to expand...
How? The only thing that I use my HTPC for (and why it's an HTPC) is media. It's connected to the internet, yes, but I don't use it to surf web pages, I don't use it for anything other then movie, music and picture, etc playback. It's kind of pointless to have it auto update when that's the case when a Win update could screw up something.

The issue I had and lived with for three months was every time I paused video it would still play even when it went to screensaver mode. I can't tell you how annoying this was to everybody (it was almost to the point where they wanted it out of the entertainment center).

Now I have to deal with/fix VMC's stupid "copy prohibited" message when live TV plays for more then 15 minutes. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Man, as soon as I have enough cash I'm going with SageTV.
 
I use SageTV, and I really like it. With it, I also run SageTV Client on my main PC or I could get a Sage extender for another room. What darkmatter was saying about a keyboard...I have a mouse and keyboard on my HTPC, but I hardly ever have to touch the keyboard. I do have to use the mouse once in a while, but I can generally do everything with the remote. I think either is not a bad choice. I just tend to think you will always be more flexible with an actual PC than with anything else. PC's can constantly evolve, but consoles generally age.
 
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