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I'm ready to join the HTPC (home theater pc) revolution - what to get?

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superboyac:
1080p still requires fairly beefy or optimized equipment.  I don't know all the technical details, but I have played around with different devices and experimented with different kinds of 1080p formats, and many of the devices that claim to do it have issues.  Sometimes it is stuttering, sometimes it is weird slow-motion effects, some have issues seeking.  Most full size pc graphics cards don't have an issue with it.  raspberry pi i'm pretty sure won't be able to play many of the files I'm talking about.  I bought a little android htpc stick (see the gadget thread) which claimed to be able to do it, but it couldn't (stuttered a lot).

I will give a huge  :up: :Thmbsup: to this little chinese device that seems to have no problem playing back 1080p.  All you need is to attach a usb drive to it and it will do the rest.  It's only $60 and I take it with me everywhere.  It's from a company called Diyomate.



I'm ready to join the HTPC (home theater pc) revolution - what to get?
Now, your tv probably has multiple inputs.  Put the diyomate on one input, this will be where you watch all your movies.  For your internet requirement, get the android stick i was talking about, called the mk808b:
I'm ready to join the HTPC (home theater pc) revolution - what to get?
Now, to control the internet from that android interface, you need some kind of airmouse.  I've heard the gyration and mx air will work with it, but I haven't confirmed it.  But sticking to this chinese theme, you can buy a cheap airmouse that does work well, called the rc11:
I'm ready to join the HTPC (home theater pc) revolution - what to get?
The remote has a keyboard on it to boot.  The more expensive and better quality option is the gyration mouse/keyboard combo.

But using this route, you get everything you want, and it costs total under $200.

wraith808:
I guess I'm missing something.  I see no reference to 1080p in mouser's requirements.  I do realize BluRay is 1080p, and I acknowledge that the Pi isn't going to handle that.  But that looks like a "nice to have" feature, not a "must have" (based on mouser's initial post).

Since it's a one time payment, it might not be a huge deal to pay out an extra $250 for a machine that can handle BluRay, but if you can settle for plain ole DVD...hard to beat the price of a Pi.
-AJay (July 11, 2013, 10:47 AM)
--- End quote ---

As I said, it was in the interest of disclosure.  If he doesn't have the need for it, and doesn't really care about the streaming, then he might choose to do without that, or suffer a bit.  But knowledge is power, and that's what this thread is about- giving mouser the benefit of our collective knowledge, not making a decision for him.

As 40 would say... onward!  :Thmbsup:

mouser:
I think I'd rather have a higher powered desktop-cpu class machine that I could maybe also use as a NAS..

wraith808:
I think I'd rather have a higher powered desktop-cpu class machine that I could maybe also use as a NAS..
-mouser (July 11, 2013, 12:41 PM)
--- End quote ---

Hmmm.. saying that, you've really zeroed in on something I added to my living room setup.  It's not as flexible as a HTPC, but for media type uses it's aces.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=570

I got it for about $120 from Best Buy on sale with 1TB.  It's great, and I haven't had to do anything with it.  I have the 1TB onboard, but I also connect to my network to get stuff off my NAS that I don't access enough to keep on the internal drive.  And it is dead simple.

Not as flexible again, but it's basically a settop device, for all the good and bad that means.

superboyac:
so now my parents are replacing their dvd player.  their requirements are similar to mouser, except it should be an off the shelf product.  what is good?  it should be able to play dvd/bluray, play video files of differing formats, have a remote?

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