[reltech]

I want to compile a complete breakdown of what an HTPC is capable of functionally. From there, I want to define levels of what hardware is needed to meet each level of needs. For example, if you can play 720p, you can obviously play 480p as well. Therefore, 720p and 480p must be on the same level.

How to contribute:

# Point out any HTPC features I may be missing. I want this to be completely comprehensive.
# Tell me if something belongs under a different level.

Level 1: BASE
Your cheapest build to meet basic media playback needs. Something like a Intel Pentium G850 with HD 2000 graphics.
+ DVD optical (480p)
+ Blu-ray optical (1080p)
+ SD 480p
+ HD 720p
+ HD Audio

Level 2: MAINSTREAM
Something like an Intel i3-3225 HD 4000
+ 720p 3D
+ HD 1080p
+ HD 1080p 3D
+ Hulu 1080p
+ Netflix 1080p

I will keep refining this first post as people contribute.

[teaguecl]

This list is redundant (Eskro's "groups"), and also flawed. For example, one piece of functionality that is a deal-breaker for me is "no moving parts". This doesn't fit into you're definition of "functionality" in any way, and therefore breaks the whole paradigm. There are many other examples (eg: "want it to look nice in my apartment", "minimal power usage", etc.). Also, I find having an optical drive to be completely pointless - so no machine I build would ever make "Level 1", regardless of it's other capabilities - which is silly.
There are also an infinite number of permutations. For example, what if one of your features is "must be able to play console emulator X at full speed"? This may work on some machines that would fall in Level 2, but not on some in Level 1.
As we run into every day in this forum, every build is unique and every builder has their own requirements - often times not aligning with anyone else's. Until we have a magical algorithm that takes requirements from users and spits out parts recommendations, we're just going to have to do it the old fashioned way - with our grey matter. It's messy, but it works - there's just too many variables here (and they change constantly) to simplify this problem.

In an attempt to be more constructive, I would suggest you re-think your levels. Re-organize them based on components, and what they can do. For example "CPU Level 1" might be something that has enough power to decode 1080p 3D. "CPU Level 2" would be enough for 1080p, etc. In a completely different column you would have "Optical Media Level 1" which could be "ability to read and write Blu-ray and DVD". OM Level 2 could be "read-only Blu-ray", Level N would be "no optical drive". You would need another column for "Local Storage Level 1" which might be defined as "all media storage on local hard drives". Other levels would be shades of this, down to "no local drive, boots from network or usb key". The GPU column would vary from "crazy high end graphics card that accelerates everything" down to "no dedicated GPU". You would also need a column for "OS Level", since some functionality (streaming for example) is intimately tied to the OS.
The point being, each of these "columns" is independent of one another - you can't just munge them together into an arbitrary "level" and have it make any sense. Even what I suggested above breaks down at some point - for example, you can't choose a system that only supports WiFi, but also want to play 1080p 3d off of your NAS over the network - so those two columns("Network" and "CPU Level") have a dependency on one another.
We don't really need another "standard" for measuring a system's capabilities, see xkcd for the reason. http://xkcd.com/927/

[Valdysses]

Also, at this point, anything you build will reliably run 1080p. A raspberry pi decodes 1080p. Any AppleTV you buy in a store will decode 1080p. Apparently there are android players the size of USB sticks that play 1080p.

Unless one of your hardware levels is "I found this machine on the street", 1080p is basically a given.

Past that, I like Teaguecl's suggestions. When I built a system, I wanted it to play 3d, fit in a component shelf like an appliance, hold 8TB of media, play games, and be totally silent. Which level is that?

[reltech]

@teaguecl - There is some redundancy, but give me a chance. You misunderstood me on what I meant by functionality. This thread focuses on strictly playback quality and features, not whether or not the storage is mechanical. Examples of functionality:
+ Plays 1080p
+ Plays Hulu 1080p
+ HD bitstreaming

Examples of not:
+ Power efficient
+ Hardware looks pretty
+ Case comes with a teddy bear

The optical drive you speak of is extended functionality. This thread focuses on whether the hardware is capable of streaming video from a Blu-ray player. Whether you actually choose to have an optical drive is optional and irrelevant to the purpose of this thread.

What if one of my features was being able to play console emulator X at full speed? Great! I can add it to the list. What is the minimum hardware requirement? While there is a small market for emulators, I don't consider that high on the list of what most people think about when they think HTPCs.

While a lot of builders have their own requirements like you said, I firmly believe it's feasible to come up with a shortlist of standards that would address the majority. It's worth a shot at least anyway.

Thanks for the constructive feedback. Organizing based on components might be a better alternative, but that's subject to change as I intend to evolve this thread as I gather feedback.

I'm aware of eskro's groups, but I believe a more clear and concise paradigm is achievable.