I'm looking to hook up an HTPC for streaming from the NAS and watching youtube/streams.

It must be able to decode 1080p and DTS/Dolby.

 

Ideally, it would run something like XBMC or another linux based system to speed up boot time.

Budget is $200.

 

Maybe an Acer Revo?  Apple TV 1?

you could get one of the bluray players that do all that.  I know my sony will.

Does it run smoothly?  And can you hook up a keyboard?  My parent's bluray player could do it too but they never used it because it was such a hassle to use with the remote.

Celeron NUC.

Why a HTPC?

Why not WDTvLive? http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=330

or Roku http://shop.roku.com/

 

I have a WDTvLive, plays from attatched usb storage. network shares. or DNLA server. Youtube + Netflix, can attatch usb keyboard, or use keyboard in remote App on tablet\smart phone. 

Roku = Netflix, HBOGo, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Hulu+, Local Content

WDTvLive = Netflix, HBOGo, Amazon Prime, YouTube, Hulu+, Local Content

 

You can buy both within your budget.

Rooted/jailbroken apple TV will combine both of those for cheaper. Hey, look, I'm recommending an Apple product.

How would a rooted/jailbroken apple TV be for a displayless music streamer?  Still looking at bedroom rig options, and if it could pull double duty until I get the HTPC together, so much the better.

I couldn't recommend the appletv 1 at this point.  It's 720p output, and generally less useful than the functionality you get out of the box on current generation bluray players.  They're also getting pretty old at this point.

 

Colin, if you're using it with itunes, it works great displayless, either controlled remotely via the apple remote app on ios or by redirecting audio to it via itunes.

it works great displayless, either controlled remotely via the apple remote app on ios or by redirecting audio to it via itunes.

 

I was thinking of using the ATV as a standalone (non-streaming, hardwired HD) iTunes music server. I have a Touch to use with the Remote app.

 

Do I need a real monitor-type display to get the Apple TV into some mode before using the Remote app, or can I use it from power up? Demo vids online seem to show it in a controller mode only to make menu selections on a TV.

 

Also, is the ATV (latest gen) optical-out limited to 16/48?

I think you need to be hooked to a tv long enough to add your home sharing information at a minimum.  I haven't checked to see if the current one can output higher than 48, or if it transcodes on the fly, but I believe I've played higher rez audio through it.  

 

I still have my original atv 160gb just to take on vacations for movies and music, but at this point, streaming to the newer ones is how we end up doing it anyway, because of the netflix advantage.

If you just need a music streamer receiver an Apple airport express works fine also. I just call up my main library with the music app on my ipad using home sharing and then redirect the output to either the airport express in the office or the Apple TV in the bedroom.

Edited April 9, 201313 yr by morphsci

Apple TV 2 can be jailbroken and have XBMC installed. http://osxdaily.com/2013/02/24/jailbreak-apple-tv-5-2-install-xbmc/

 

I haven't used one as a display-less media box, but I imagine the functionality would work well.

Edited April 9, 201313 yr by manaox2

Of you can buy a $25 Raspberry pi and do it http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/04/airplaying-music-and-video-from-ipad-to-raspberry-pi-its-as-easy-as/

^^ this...

 

My friend at work got one of the early Pi's -- he made a lego box for it, and has made 3-4 projects already - including a streamer. 

So in typical HC fashion, I went batshit crazy and built a trinity system for streaming.

Lian Li PC-Q16b

AMD A10-5800K

Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)

Sandisk Extreme Flash Drive 32GB

 

Yeah, I know, it's overkill.

Edited April 16, 201313 yr by falkon

Not sure what you're running on it, but if it's a dedicated HTPC I recommend openelec if you're looking to use XBMC. It's fire and forget, with almost none of the awful tweaking I used to associate with XBMC.

It will be openelec or XBMCbuntu if the opera plugin sucks.

Question regarding storage.  I will potentially have 2x1TB and 2x2TB HDD soon.  I'd like to get 3TB of usable space.  I think the best option is RAID 1+JBOD.  Is that doable with windows 7?  Is there better software?