Need some advice on entertainment source - HTPC?

commited · 31 Mar 2011 at 13:04

Hey guys,

I've recently moved to Australia and am setting up home etc (was only meant to be a holiday but I've been offered a good job). I am having my Projector shipped over, and will be running a 2 channel amp and speakers. I don't want 5.1 sound so it's not a consideration. I also have an Mvix media player which will be sent over but it's pretty old and would like to find an all in 1 solution if possible.

This is my projector:
http://www.projectorcentral.com/ViewSonic-PJ400.htm
It's nothing special but I have it so it's something I don't need to buy. It has inputs for the following: video, S-Video, RGB.

I want to have a one box solution for which I can listen to all of my music, stream content from online and watch hard disk based movies/tv episodes all controlled from my couch by remote. Ideally, it will also have a TV tuner with PVR and download Torrents.

From what I can see there are 4 options:

1. HTPC
This looks like the most flexible option but most likely the most expensive. I haven't really kept up to date with current trends so, money aside, would a HTPC be my best option? Any good guides on HTPC building/software etc to get a good idea of what I'd be working with.

2. PS3
From what I've read it looks like this could be a good option, I'm just not sure about using it as the interface for my main music system? No TV tuner or torrent abilities but upshot is Blu-ray and obviously being able to play games on it.

3. Media player with built in PVR
I'm a bit sceptical as I've found the media players just seem to have a terrible GUI and using one everyday as my TV tuner too could get tedious.

4. Classic XBOX with XBMC
Probably the cheapest option and similar functionality to the PS3 without the upshot of blu-ray and PS3 games!

Any other suggestions? All I have here with me is a laptop as it is, so I'll have to buy whatever I get so ideally I'd like to buy something that will last for a few years.

Thanks
Mark

Rich · 31 Mar 2011 at 13:25

Boxee Box. Expensive imho but its playback capability and overall polish is very good. Glad I finally bought one. £185 + cost of an external disk. XBMC/Mplayer under the hood.
Torrents and PVR = no however.

londonbairn · 31 Mar 2011 at 13:40

Rich said:
Boxee Box. Expensive imho but its playback capability and overall polish is very good. Glad I finally bought one. £185 + cost of an external disk. XBMC/Mplayer under the hood.
Torrents and PVR = no however.

Agree with above. It is a wee bit costly but it's really good. Seems to play anything I throw at it.

Rich · 31 Mar 2011 at 13:51

Yeah it has played everything for me so far without issue. Media tagging/cataloguing also works very well. I would have no qualms sticking one of these under my Parents telly for them to use too, so definitely a very polished interface.

commited · 1 Apr 2011 at 00:15

I hadn't heard of that, thanks. From what I can see though it's HDMI only which wouldn't hook up with the projector.

How about a first gen Apple TV? Looks to have component out and digital out and can have Boxee and XBMC loaded onto it. Or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Rich · 1 Apr 2011 at 13:05

HD playback on an original ATV wont be great. You would have to replace the internal Wireless card with a Video Decoder to play HD. Surely there is a way to convert HDMI to Whatever...

Sounds like you might need to build something to meet all your needs. In the end I accepted that I would have to compromise somewhere and bought the Boxee. The compromise being no download capability etc.

londonbairn · 1 Apr 2011 at 13:53

Rich said:
Yeah it has played everything for me so far without issue. Media tagging/cataloguing also works very well. I would have no qualms sticking one of these under my Parents telly for them to use too, so definitely a very polished interface.

Yeah, gonna do the same for my parents, and get one more for our place for the bedroom. Used to have a HTPC but to be honest prefer the Boxee.

Rich · 1 Apr 2011 at 16:26

My only complaint, albeit a small one, is that it isnt passively cooled. The fan isnt exactly intrusive but you can hear it. Cant hear it when the films are on though and thats what counts.

commited · 2 Apr 2011 at 02:35

Thanks for the advice, but after reading up on the PS3 with playTV, it seems to tick all the boxes:
HDTV with PVR
Will connect to Projector
Stream content from online
Download Torrents
Media player for music and movies
Bluray
Games

It probably isn't as slick as the Boxee but will be much more versatile and cheaper than HTPC.