- May 24, 2011
- 46
- 0
- 18,530
I want to purchase a Home Theater PC and am interested in advice on specific models.
I have a Panasonic VIERA GT plasma TV which is a smart TV with a browser - but it is getting dated, so I supplemented it with a Roku box.
I've been using a Dell Studio XPS, which now has a dead HD. It was overkill for my purpose.
I would like to add a mini-pc / htpc to replace the Studio XPS so that I can stream anything available on the web.
Browsing the Internet to stream media not available on my smart TV or Roku is my primary use.
I will be using it for streaming 1080P. I will NOT be using it for gaming.
I do plan to add a NAS, so the box should be capable of streaming something from the NAS to the TV. (My TV has DLNA, the NAS may also have DLNA, but there are video file formats that are incompatible with DLNA and require a PC to stream them.)
I like having the Roku, the smart TV interface, and a PC connected because I can switch between programs simply by switching to a different input on the TV.
So, I think all I need is a basic HTPC which I can connect to my TV via HDMI and to the Internet via either ethernet or wi-fi.
Even though I could build one from scratch, I think I want to buy a complete unit.
I already have a wireless keyboard & mouse with USB dongle I will continue to use.
Here are my questions:
1. For overall compatibility, how important is the OS? My default would be Windows, unless I'm convinced that a different OS is NOT going to cause any compatibility hassles with streaming providers.)
2. How much box do I actually need? I see really cheap stuff like this:
http://smile.amazon.com/Quantum-Fanless-Desktop-Windows-storage/dp/B00SCBWF52/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1457620759&sr=1-1&keywords=htpc
3. If you think I'm operating on incorrect or outdated assumptions, don't hesitate to educate me!
4. I''M ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN SUGGESTIONS OF SPECIFIC HTPC MODELS
I have a Panasonic VIERA GT plasma TV which is a smart TV with a browser - but it is getting dated, so I supplemented it with a Roku box.
I've been using a Dell Studio XPS, which now has a dead HD. It was overkill for my purpose.
I would like to add a mini-pc / htpc to replace the Studio XPS so that I can stream anything available on the web.
Browsing the Internet to stream media not available on my smart TV or Roku is my primary use.
I will be using it for streaming 1080P. I will NOT be using it for gaming.
I do plan to add a NAS, so the box should be capable of streaming something from the NAS to the TV. (My TV has DLNA, the NAS may also have DLNA, but there are video file formats that are incompatible with DLNA and require a PC to stream them.)
I like having the Roku, the smart TV interface, and a PC connected because I can switch between programs simply by switching to a different input on the TV.
So, I think all I need is a basic HTPC which I can connect to my TV via HDMI and to the Internet via either ethernet or wi-fi.
Even though I could build one from scratch, I think I want to buy a complete unit.
I already have a wireless keyboard & mouse with USB dongle I will continue to use.
Here are my questions:
1. For overall compatibility, how important is the OS? My default would be Windows, unless I'm convinced that a different OS is NOT going to cause any compatibility hassles with streaming providers.)
2. How much box do I actually need? I see really cheap stuff like this:
http://smile.amazon.com/Quantum-Fanless-Desktop-Windows-storage/dp/B00SCBWF52/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1457620759&sr=1-1&keywords=htpc
3. If you think I'm operating on incorrect or outdated assumptions, don't hesitate to educate me!
4. I''M ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN SUGGESTIONS OF SPECIFIC HTPC MODELS
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