2012-07-25, 22:33
Hello all, I am looking for a little help deciding what type of hardware to use for a HTPC.
Currently a very disappointed Boxee user and looking for something better .
I place myself firmly in group #6 with an eye towards the future.I thought I knew what I wanted/needed but after spending the day reading these forums,
I keep going in circles.So I want something that will fill all the needs of group #6 easily.
My first thought was an ATV2(jailbroken) and then moved to a mac-mini and then to a pre-built htpc and finally building my own full blown htpc.
I would like lightning fast processing and no video or audio issues, and at this point would be mainly using XBMC to get to Navi-X or maybe plex.
Streaming something like Netflix with a VPN is also something I would like to do as well as my own dvd/blueray rips and maybe a little web brousing.
Remote friendly is a must with maybe even wireless keyboard mouse control.
I can live with 720p I think but audio is very important weather it's lossless music files or movie HD movie surround sound fed to my HT receiver.
I have never build a pc but it does not intimidate me at all and I find the process quite interesting.My internet connection is 20Mbps with an 80gig cap. and I could go wired or wireless.
My budget is flexible but not endless I'm thinking 5-600$ should get me something decent.
So what path would you reccommend ??
I'm not sure how much processing power/ram /ps/cooling etc. that I need to accomplish all that I want to do and if the first couple of choices would even be powerful enough to get the job done....If a jailbroken ATV2 which looks like it would cost about $200 locally, will do everything that's great but I want to do this right!
Sorry for the long first post, once I started typing, I just kept thinking of stuff...
Thanks for all the great info
Currently a very disappointed Boxee user and looking for something better .
I place myself firmly in group #6 with an eye towards the future.I thought I knew what I wanted/needed but after spending the day reading these forums,
I keep going in circles.So I want something that will fill all the needs of group #6 easily.
My first thought was an ATV2(jailbroken) and then moved to a mac-mini and then to a pre-built htpc and finally building my own full blown htpc.
I would like lightning fast processing and no video or audio issues, and at this point would be mainly using XBMC to get to Navi-X or maybe plex.
Streaming something like Netflix with a VPN is also something I would like to do as well as my own dvd/blueray rips and maybe a little web brousing.
Remote friendly is a must with maybe even wireless keyboard mouse control.
I can live with 720p I think but audio is very important weather it's lossless music files or movie HD movie surround sound fed to my HT receiver.
I have never build a pc but it does not intimidate me at all and I find the process quite interesting.My internet connection is 20Mbps with an 80gig cap. and I could go wired or wireless.
My budget is flexible but not endless I'm thinking 5-600$ should get me something decent.
So what path would you reccommend ??
I'm not sure how much processing power/ram /ps/cooling etc. that I need to accomplish all that I want to do and if the first couple of choices would even be powerful enough to get the job done....If a jailbroken ATV2 which looks like it would cost about $200 locally, will do everything that's great but I want to do this right!
Sorry for the long first post, once I started typing, I just kept thinking of stuff...
Thanks for all the great info