[Blackclaws]

I'm currently using a Raspberry Pi 3 with LibreElec as a Kodi box. However I've been wanting to upgrade due to the Raspberry Pi not coping well with Hi10p, recent lack of Amazon Prime support, slow speeds with large Plex libraries, occasional stutters and in general just a lack of performance.

I now wanted to build myself a custom HTPC because I thought that would allow me the greatest freedom and the best performance available to do pretty much anything I please.

My goal was to integrate a DVB-S card in it as well as a Blu-ray drive so that I could go ahead and just use it as a general media center appliance (also for playing music in the living room etc.).

Now those requirements pushed me pretty much into the direction of wanting to build an Intel/AMD based normal desktop in a nice HTPC enclosure like the Node 605 and equip it with both a drive and a PCI-E card for Sat receiving.

I also have the requirement that it should be an easy to use thing (Preferably with a remote control). That isn't too hard to use for other people in the family, i.e. as easy to use as a normal Sat Receiver or similar things.

I wanted to Linux base this thing as well so everything can be nicely automated/ I can customize the system even further.

Now after reading through the current topic here I get the feeling that this is a route almost no one takes these days. Most of the topics are about set top boxes that do only Kodi and usually don't contain any sort of optical drives let alone Sat receivers.

So I was wondering: Is it actually worth it?

There must be a reason why there aren't many people here that custom build their HTPCs. Is it a false thought that this would lead to the highest performance/customizability/interoperability etc.? Is it too much of a DIY job for most people? Whats a good resource for those that want to go that route?

[Temujin]

I've seen that trend as well, but have been a staunch HTPC guy. Tried a few Android boxes and felt the experience was lukewarm. But I think with streaming being a larger component of how people are accessing media and how people using Kodi makes sense.
For me, I have a lot of external hard drives for bluray & hd-audio content and am currently looking at a new system to perhaps be 4k ready once that content becomes more available.
At this time though, I think my next upgrade will still be an HTPC, but am always looking in the hardware section for new ideas.
Plus upgradeability(sp?) is a bonus with these systems, if you need a new hdd or new drive or video card etc.
Just my 2 cents

[stammie]

For getting on for two decades I have always built my own PC's, however two of my last three purchases/upgrades have been buying pre-built boxes (well almost, one was barebones that I had to add RAM, SSD's and OS to and the other a better SSD and more RAM). The only PC I've actually bought all the components for and built myself amongst the three is my gaming PC.
The former two I simply couldn't get better sourcing the components myself.

I may be old school and am definitely out of touch with the alternatives now but I still think you can't get better than X86/64 hardware for Kodi use, especially if you have a large library or want to do more than mere streaming or basic HTPC use.

With regard to your DVB-S use I am currently running a HDHomerun Connect which is a separate little twin tuner box that connects to my router via Ethernet and shares my TV signal around my home network, my one is antenna based for OTA broadcasts but without doing any research I'm sure they must do a satellite equivalent, it integrates very well with Kodi and is something to consider when choosing whether to build or buy a PC

[TheShoe]

I'm currently using a Raspberry Pi 3 with LibreElec as a Kodi box. However I've been wanting to upgrade due to the Raspberry Pi not coping well with Hi10p, recent lack of Amazon Prime support, slow speeds with large Plex libraries, occasional stutters and in general just a lack of performance.

I now wanted to build myself a custom HTPC because I thought that would allow me the greatest freedom and the best performance available to do pretty much anything I please.

My goal was to integrate a DVB-S card in it as well as a Blu-ray drive so that I could go ahead and just use it as a general media center appliance (also for playing music in the living room etc.).

Now those requirements pushed me pretty much into the direction of wanting to build an Intel/AMD based normal desktop in a nice HTPC enclosure like the Node 605 and equip it with both a drive and a PCI-E card for Sat receiving.

I also have the requirement that it should be an easy to use thing (Preferably with a remote control). That isn't too hard to use for other people in the family, i.e. as easy to use as a normal Sat Receiver or similar things.

I wanted to Linux base this thing as well so everything can be nicely automated/ I can customize the system even further.

Now after reading through the current topic here I get the feeling that this is a route almost no one takes these days. Most of the topics are about set top boxes that do only Kodi and usually don't contain any sort of optical drives let alone Sat receivers.

So I was wondering: Is it actually worth it?

There must be a reason why there aren't many people here that custom build their HTPCs. Is it a false thought that this would lead to the highest performance/customizability/interoperability etc.? Is it too much of a DIY job for most people? Whats a good resource for those that want to go that route?

i always custom build. about to do so again. expensive but then i get what i want

i outline my reqs, do google research on hardware and software and the use pcpartpicker to find the parts cheap

[MetalChris]

I've built my own PC's since the days of the 30 pin SIMM. Had a PC connected to my TV as long as I can remember (ATI All-In-Wonder anyone?). I few years ago I bought a PI, and used it as my main media center for a year and a half, but just felt limited. Built another HTPC and see no reason to turn back. Kodi on top of Lubuntu gives me everything I want. The specs on mine are pretty minimal and underwhelming, but it plays everything I've thrown at it.

[nickr]

People find it better to have their grunt computer in the cupboard or basement and have quiet machines in their lounges and bedrooms. Hence the lack of htpc builds. The file and PVR server doesn't need fancy (or any) graphics. It simply needs disk space and a low/medium cpu.

Small machines like rpi, c2, s905, Celeron Chromebox etc provide excellent graphics decoding with next to no power consumption, low noise and take next to no space. You don't need a hulking great Nvidia card to decide video these days.

[gurabli]

I have a low power small home server, with 2x3TB storage, Gigabit LAN, DVB-S2 PCIe and DVB-T2 card. Works really great.
And then I connect clients, like Rpi2/3, and recently my personal fav the Odroid C2. the C2 does the job perfectly. And clients like phones, tablets, notebooks, all can connect to the server, even outside local network. I can watch Live TV from home on my phone on 4G, listen to music, etc. Works perfectly fine.

[grimlok]

This could get long winded as I talk about HTPC hardware.
But I think I've got a fair bit of experience in cheap hardware that works.

I've just gone from pieced together matx boxes shoved in closets (to keep em quiet) over to AMLogic boxes and I have to say I wasn't really impressed, But, my power bill has lessened and my closets aren't as hot. :-)

Before deciding on the TV boxes I read all the threads on them. Picked up generic S905x 2g ram devices after reading "The S905/x with 2 gigs of ram and Libreelec currently offer the best kodi experience."

Call me picky but, I actually expected more "Snap" than I got.

This is coming from cheap 2nd hand 3gig dual cores, with 8gigs of ram, 16gb msata SSDs via pci-e, Nivida GT610s, and original xbox DVD dongles and Libreelec.

That set up, altho not flash or very efficient, Was snappy in the menus, played everything I threw at it, and never missed a beat.

I've been rocking kodi since it was original xbox only, (more than 10 years now) And I'm pretty will versed with everything about it. Including setting up trouble free hardware.

I think the smaller tv boxes are better suited to things like bedrooms, But in my living room and my man cave, I've retained the full htpc set ups.

Tinkering with Kodi is very much my hobby, Kodi/xbmc has been in my life longer than her and the kids. (Wow, I actually just realised that) But because it's always been my tinkering hobby I've never really spent any money on "Good" hardware. Hard drive space yes. But never hardware.

My main living room HTPC is a 2nd hand older matx mobo with a 3gig dual core, 16gigs of ddr3, a 16gb NVMe drive to PCI-Ex4 card, and onboard intel Video with HDMI out, a pico PSU, a small matx case and an air mouse. And it's rock solid and fast running libreelec.And pretty quiet with just a low profile CPU fan.

My other reason for liking HTPCs is they are upgradeable. If the intel video drops off the bottom of the min spec sheet, I can chuck a relatively cheap new video card in and carry on, When a dual core CPU isn't enough, quad cores for this LGA aren't expensive now, etc.

Personally, I think an htpc is well worth it. Especially when you ebay shop for cheap older hardware and put it in a nice case that matches the rest of the home theatre. It doesn't seem like much, but when I go from not watching anything in the living room for a couple of days to say a rainy weekend on the sofa binge watching a show, I get a kick outta the htpc being snappier than the small boxes. And my friends with Kodi do comment on how much faster my kodi set up is compared to their devices.

[wrxtasy]

Before deciding on the TV boxes I read all the threads on them. Picked up generic S905x 2g ram devices after reading "The S905/x with 2 gigs of ram and Libreelec currently offer the best kodi experience."

Call me picky but, I actually expected more "Snap" than I got.

What we have been actually been saying is LibreELEC Kodi on those S905's is better than any Android Kodi getting about. LibreELEC just works.
What also needs to be done is users need to buy a Wireless remote to get a nice responsive Kodi GUI. This makes a big difference to any Kodi device vs IR only control.

This is coming from cheap 2nd hand 3gig dual cores, with 8gigs of ram, 16gb msata SSDs via pci-e, Nivida GT610s, and original xbox DVD dongles and Libreelec.

You cannot compare fast Spec CPU equipped Intel boxes with very fast SSD's to a relatively cheap AML S905.
SSD equipped HTPC's are always going to be quicker than say running LibreELEC from a SD card on a S905. Thats a definite given.

Personally, I think an HTPC is well worth it.

Until you need stuff like 1080p/4K 10bit Hardware HEVC decoding, HDMI 2.0, Working comprehensive HDMI-CEC control. Actual True HDR output. HDCP 2.2 for 4K Netflix. On sometimes multiple media player devices.
And realise you need the latest Apollo Lake or Kaby Lake Hardware to do it. Even then some features are still not present or working.

In the end it depends on what features are most important and how much users want to spend. Some people just want to the clean, silent and small - minimalist approach too. If you want a device to do more than Kodi then I can see the place for a HTPC.

Personally I like the modular, redundancy approach. Get the backbone media server sorted out first.
A Hidden NAS or HTPC running TvHeadend or similar with a USB Tuner or a HDHomeRun. Hardwire that to a home Network and pick whatever GigaE media player(s) you want to use throughout the house, which can be then be upgraded relatively cheaply.