Why do we ever need HTPC ??

[druk2004]

I have been reading most of the articles in this forum.

HTPC does not seem to be a hassle free option so I fail to understand why do ever need it ?

if the intent is to play Media and having some web services support with blu ray playback ... then I guess the Blu Ray players available today can do this job without any hassle.

Can someone educate what are the clear advantages of HTPC ?

 

[manniraj]

The best advantage is all formats playback without any issues and above all future ready and upgradable at any point in time. Choose which software you want to use and does not depend on the firmware updates from the individual media player companies or bluray players.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

In addition to that, we have countless upgrade options both in hardware and software segments. Torrent download . Etc. Etc.

 

[sam9s]

For me at the time I assembled my first HTPC,in 2011, XBMC was one sole reason I shifted to HTPC, it was groundbreaking in terms of polished look and feel......interface drooling with quality and superb cover art integration. (check out my HTPC thread) Second main reason was the support to Bitstream DTS MA and DolbyTHD. and then yes support for every format you throw at was also something that HTPC had the upper hand to. 3D support(Frame Sequential NOT SBS or TB) was also one thing that was there with an HTPC

Cut to 2015, we have media players supporting XBMC out of the box so yes that might push us to consider media players as well, but the functionality of XBMC is still limited in media players and with loads of plugins thrown in with heavy themes, if XBMC is your prime front end for media playback, HTPC still has the upper hand....

 

[shibashis]

One particular instance where HTPC is very useful is when watching foreign language films, you need subtitles and then you need it to sync with the movie, with a HTPC there are various options and possibilities to get the job done. With a bluray player there is very limited option or none at all in this regard, I face this time and time again.

 

[spirovious]

One more advantage,you can skip movie fast :lol:.
Just move a cursor and you reach desired movie scene so fast.

 

[doors666]

you get a good quality music source with an htpc and a sound card, while a good quality cd player costs a fortune.

 

[sam9s]

One particular instance where HTPC is very useful is when watching foreign language films, you need subtitles and then you need it to sync with the movie, with a HTPC there are various options and possibilities to get the job done. With a bluray player there is very limited option or none at all in this regard, I face this time and time again.

Also with XBMC you can download the subtitles on the fly, a very handy feature which I dont think any media player has as of now.

 

[Sendhil.k]

If you stay in a place where there is more than one tv / sound systems in different floors.
You could set up decent networking and connect all these devices together. A htpc would then be the single source that will feed input to all the devices. You can also set up "zones" (different configurations for different systems). The Htpc will take care of transcoding source material into various formats that are compatible to your devices and also make management of all your content (digital , ripped cds/dvds) much more easier to manage.
Given that we can control most htpc setups with your mobile as a remote , the freedom that this provides is quite cool.
PS: I use jriver with a windows pc and external HD with some good wifi networking to achieve all the above.

 

[sam9s]

XBMC is not the solution if "Transcoding" is required, PLEX is ... ofcourse with PLEX you need more hardware since it is based on client server model.

 

[BOSS8055]

Everyone are busy explaining advantages of htpc. But no one pointed out what is the necessity of htpc! Let me take care of that part:
1. First and foremost, you need it if your display unit is projector and have a video file in your usb storage device. Projectors AFAIK does not support video through usb. So the only digital video input option left is hdmi. You can connect your AVR to projector by hdmi but again your AVR won't support video though it's usb port. So now you have to plug in a hdmi source into your AVR. That can be a Blu-ray player... which though supports video through usb but can play only few file types. Or a htpc which can deal with anything you chose to throw at it! If you don't have AVR, then you can connect your htpc directly to projector. So projector+video file in usb drive, htpc/media player is must.
2.Ironically, media players also have file support limitations but not as much as Blu-ray players. So media players are also not a total solution. So what you need is a htpc!
3.Media players get out dated. But htpc can be upgrade as much as you wished for... both on software and hardware front.
4.Even if your display unit is TV, a smart tv can play few file types but not all.
Note: I didn't bother to mention about audiological (music/songs) advantages as there are better alternatives in that aspect.

 

[elangoas]

I have moved from DVD Playback > WD Media Player > HTPC after reading thru lot of posts in this forum & from help with FM here...

I listen to music / watch movies / browse simultaneously / Watch youtube videos / Daily Soaps... That flexibility alone wins hands down... This convenience has pushed me to listen to music / watch more movies hyeah:

 

[venkatcr]

I use my HTPC to watch a lot of stuff including movies online. The other day, my wife and I sat to see a Hindi movie online. At the end my wife thanked me for downloading the movie. I smiled and said that we were watching it online.

New media players are becoming good, but an HTPC will always have an upper hand in terms of playability, media handling and sometimes even speed.

Cheers

 

[neoonwheels]

Following are my thoughts:

I have an Andriod TV and a PC which a bit powerful for being called HTPC.

1. Future Proof: HTPC wins this area hands down. You can always keep on upgrading the system with minimum risk and the upgrade path is usually easy in case of HTPC.

2. Footprint: My Andriod TV measures just 4 inches by 4 inches. Its so easy to move it around that you can carry it in your pocket to anywhere you travel. This becomes handy if you travel a lot and prefers to watch movies instead of TV in hotels.

3. Hardware: Even though these days the Android Box/Apple TV etc have become powerful, they wont be able to match the HTPC power. Also HW decoding becomes easy in case of HTPC than such media players. You can opt for a lot of options in case of HTPC. For e.g. My Android box has SPDIF output for multiple channel Audio while it supports only Stereo over HDMI. My PC has Analog output (6 channels), SPDIF as well as HDMI bit streaming. Many media players dont support muti channel output but rely on stereo over HDMI. The Networking features are also very rich in case of HTPC and you can always keep on upgrading such HW to match current trends.

4. Software: You are always restricted by the firmware of the media player. If the media player vendor is slow on firmware updates you are kind of stuck. In case of HTPC it becomes easy to keep on updating on software front.

5. Cost: My Android TV did cost me 4K while the cheapest HTPC goes for around 15K. But then looking at the other positives of HTPC, you can negate such cost over period of time.

These are my personal views, which I feel are main factors to go either media player way or HTPC.

 

[bhavin.patel]

Hi Gurus,

Require your support to resolve my confusion:

1. What is basic difference between HTPC and Media Player ?
2. Is it advisable to use HTPC compared to Blu-ray player?
3. I want a solution, which can play movies (all formats), songs (all formats), blu-rays, downloaded torrents and can also work as NAS.

BR//
B Patel

 

[sam9s]

Point 3 anyhow confirms that HTPC is what that will suffice that ....

 

[kartick]

Point 3 anyhow confirms that HTPC is what that will suffice that ....

Hey Sam, Where in Delhi are you based out of? We should catch up. Its a blessing to have someone in Delhi who knows his stuff as far as the XBMC, HTPC, NAS are concerned. I have been wanting to get initiated on these aspects but never really found out the right person. Only online reading gets boring. If one can discuss it with a like minded person, it becomes better. Let me know if we can catch up sometime. Can have a music listening session too.

Cheers
Kartick

 

[sam9s]

^^ Yes sure I actually am in Ghaziabad. You are most welcome to my home any weekend. PM me when ever you are interested, and we shall see if we can materialize a meeting ....

 

[druk2004]

Hi Experts,

Can you suggest a HTPC for Media playback, web browsing ?

Tks
Druk

 

[manniraj]

Hi Experts,

Can you suggest a HTPC for Media playback, web browsing ?

Tks
Druk

You can look at my Foxconn sale thread for a HTPC. It is a barebones PC with Intel Atom processor and I am giving away a 4GB RAM stick pre-installed. You just need a internal HDD if going with Windows OS and if Linux or XBMC based media player then just a USB pendrive should be sufficient. I think this PC does not support HD audio (DTS-HD/Dolby Tru-HD) but supports other formats bit streaming like DTS/DD via HDMI port. I was using this only for music playback with Windows 7 installation but upgraded now hence the sale. PM me if you are interested and we can discuss on the same.