Home Media Center - Need advice

[Phatso]

Hello grrrbians

So I will be moving into my new crib come 1 June and I now have the opportunity to setup the home theatre / media center / entertainment system I have always wanted.
Looking to get some good discussion going on here as I want to make the right decision.

What I currently have
Samsung Series 5 46” LED – for the main TV room (has SMART capability, wireless, Ethernet, multiple HDMI ports, USBs etc)
Sinotec 32” LCD – for the main bedroom (has 1 HDMI and 1 normal “aerial”.. stock standard not fancy)
HD PVR
Xbox 360 (will double as a DVD player)
My PC

So I have heard about HTPC’s, NAS drives, XBMC, PS3MC and know that I can simply plug in USB sticks (I have experience in this ). But I want something a bit more and know very little about those topics.

I want to be able to access and play movies and music from the main TV room. But it needs to run through the amplifier which I may or may not get immediately. I don’t necessarily want to keep my PC on 24/7 to access the media (electricity bill etc), but need to weigh up options. I will want the PVR hooked up too.
I want to watch Youtube on my main tv room and possibly stream Twitch (this is already possible with the TV) – how much issue will the wireless cause with this, would love to not have to run a network cable across rooms.
If possible, I want to stream to the main bedroom LCD although doubt this is possible. The bedroom LCD will at the very least have to get DSTV but doesn’t have to have dual view (I am not buying a separate decoder).
It obviously has to be very slick and sexy, neat and tidy. Possibly shiney too. Must make media fanatics drool and be easy to use by even non-technically gifted folk.

I have no idea what my options really are and how exactly to go about this all but I am sure amongst the collective genius here, someone has similar or the combination of the above. What do you guys recommend?

TDLR: I want the entire house to be linked yo. Help. Kthx.

PS: needed price connections if possible and in the next 3 or so weeks!

[Stu]

I've listed my setup below:

Media Center PC
Win 7
2GB RAM
Core 2 Duo
80GB HDD
5.1 aOpen Surround sound

This runs XBMC and is connected via WiFi to the rest of the PC's and devices in the house.

I've notices that Streaming Mp3's from my Main PC to Media is A ok!
Heavier media i.e. HD porn or any HD goodies not so much.

I have also connected my XBoX up to the network and stream from their downside is the file formats the XBOX media center can access is limited to certain versions.

My ideal setup would be a blended solution, NAS for all media connected via physical cable then other connection need's via WiFi.

Only problem with my Media center is that it cannot handle UBER HD 1080pi pi pi files. 720p's are all good!

If you have an Iphone (*cough* GAY) then you can connect it and run the XMBC though the phone acts as a pretty awesome remote control! I love it with my Android Tablet.

[TygerBS]

Its an age old Question and a problem that can be solved, but not in only one way.

Firstly cost is always gonna be an issue. If you have enough bucks then is easier.

Firstly streaming HD content over wireless and distance is always gonna be a problem.
Its just not a great thing to do.
Yes there are some solutions that work better than others, and yes it can be done. But its a mission and not as reliable.
Wire up your place with a proper network cable.
Its not that hard or bad to do.

Ok your smart tv you can use it as standard and use the uSB stick.
You can also use the media share option on your pc to share media straight to the tv.
The interface is clunky though, and not as you put it sexy.
Also this approach will not give you streaming options on the bedroom tv.

To get streaming on your bedroom tv you gonna need some sort of media device that can out put over an hdmi cable.
The options are many.
A full HTPC that you build and configure yourself with a media center app.
A pre configured HTPC.
A small media box, with built in software.
xbox as a media device.
PS3 wit its media options.

All these things have different costs.
You can build your own if you have an old PC lying around. Buy a new case, and some silent cooling fans. and a remote kit.
Otherwise building a whole new one will be expensive.
Same for a pre-configured box.
A small media device is cheaper, and probably a good option. But you can be limited by updates and codecs and formats with some of them.

You could get a small device like rasbery pi and set that up. Its cheap and gives you a few options.


Problem is the cheap solutions mean you don't get a consistent media experience from one TV to the next.

What you real want is a media device that is connected your your out put devices in each area.
Those devices then pull content from a central NAS device, and from the internet.
That how ever means having 2 of everything which is expensive.

You could take your xbox and set it up as a media device and install XMBC that then saves you. You will need to get the remote kit to get the most out of it.
But there are codec and content restrictions with that options. Such as cant play blu ray HD content.

It all depends on price and what your priorities are.
Is the sexiness of the whole system more important than price?
Can you take time to set this up, or do you want something quick?
Looks also cost. A nice media center pc case alone is like 2k+.

[Skouperd]

Ok, my setup is as follows.

Network connectivity:

1. I have networked my whole house with network cables.
2. Each room in my house has at least dual gigabit connectivity, except for the bathroom and the main bedroom, but that’s why there is wireless
3. Despite having in excess of 600 Metres of network cable running through my house, you can not see a single wire in any of the rooms.
4. Running wires is easy, please refer to my article that I wrote on the topic here on how to set it up. A number of people have gave the article to their builders etc. and if the place is still under construction it is really easy to do this. (http://blog.skoups.com/?p=8)

Servers:

1. I have a file server. This file server is located in what I call my “server room”. The original file server I had was an old AMD single core cpu with a couple of hard drives attached to it. It has since evolved into a fully fledge XEON server hosting in excess of 20TB of storage in various RAID formats.
2. The file server is effectively in my server-room, which is for all practical purposes a little room underneath a stair case and is not used for anything else (barring a store room for some wood). The reason for moving it out of site is because all those hard drives and fans makes a noise. You do not want a noise when you watch TV.
3. The file server is switched on 24/7 and has a 4Gb network connectivity, effectively allowing me to hit the server from multiple sources without ever needed to worry about bandwidth saturation.
4. I like my file server, it works.
5. However, you do not need to go the route that I’ve gone, but you could consider the following tips:
   
   1. Take one of your old computers, or buy a new low powered computer, and install a couple of hard drives on it. Alternatively, buy a NAS and install it in a cupboard somewhere. (We’ve done this at Jarrod’s place. Refer to the network article)
   2. The cost of having this server running 24/7 is minimum, especially if it uses low powered hard drives.
   3. The heat generated in a cupboard is not so bad that you need to worry about it
   4. The noise the fans generate is low enough not be disturbing anybody.

Network Streaming:

1. I stream my HD PVR using a HAVA device as you can see here. (http://www.myhava.com/)
2. It works ok, and if you have a network point in each room, allows you to watch DSTV on any laptop or pc connected in said room.
3. I do NOT stream media from my server. I use my server as a file server. (and various other things, but not streaming).

Playback:

1. I also have the same TV as you Phatso (I think), but it is not powerful enough to stream proper HD content and the wireless sucks. So I would not waste time with that
2. What I have done in my main tv room is to install a small PC, (think it is a quad core, 4GB ram, small harddrive, dedicated sound card, having a NVidia GSO9600 card) and this is able to play any kind of HD content I can think of using just plain old VLC media player in Windows 7. I don't worry about Codecs, I don't worry about updates or formats or anything. If I want to, I can even play games on the pc.
3. A wireless keyboard and mouse, combined with a custom made coffee table (which I’ve designed) allows me a place where I can hide the keyboard / mouse if not in use.
4. This setup allows me to run my sound into my Amp or connect it to my TV.
5. When BadAss stayed with us for a couple of years, he would watch DSTV in his room on his TV using his Laptop streaming via the HAVA and when he was watching porn, he would just stream it off his "hidden" folder on the server.

Phatso, I appreciate the above setup may sound complex and expensive, but it is actually not. Install a real pc in your living room underneath your TV (you get some really good media player cases and the ITX form factor allows you some very small cases too), install a file server, or NAS somewhere out of site, and stop worrying about how to stream and all that crap.

When you are moving into the new house, the easiest is to ensure you install CAT5 cables everywhere you can find an electrical outlet. That way, you can be pretty sure you will always be able to have access to the network, internet, TV, media, file server, you name it from anywhere you want to.

Despite me propagating actual wires, I also have a couple of wireless routers in my house (3 for the 2.4Ghz range) which allows me to use wireless on my cell phone and laptops wherever I am on the property, but I would not want to stream HD content over that.

Any event, that is my 5 cents on the subject. Please let us know if you need any other advise or comments, please keep us informed.

[DryMan]

No wall of text from me.

We use a combination of a Qnap NAS device and a Mede8er.

The Qnap has 4 x 2tb hard drives in RAID 5. It somer does the Torrenting for us as well. So all the media we download get put directly on to the NAS. We then directly stream(ethernet cable) the media to the mede8er which is hooked up to the tv through and HD amplifier. The mede8er is able read any codec, i havent had a file it couldn't read. At the same time we have 3-4 other PCs on the network that use the Qnap for media streaming and back ups as well.

[RussianElite.]

Like Dry's solution. Want to get myself a mede8er aswell coupled with the Nas solution.

[Skouperd]

Mede8er is limited as you will not be able to surf the internet, do your banking (for instance), chat on the GRRR forum, check your skype message, nor will you be able to play games of any sort on it. I am just thinking now when we have visitors for instance the TV is normally switched on as is the pc, on more than one occasions they want to show me something in excel / powerpoint, or I want to show them google earth, or show them some designs in google sketchup, or some high quality pictures in RAW format, then having a pc that is already switched and linked to a screen that everybody could sit back and look at is just that much simpler.

When you have a pc connected to the TV, then it is amazing how much of the above mentioned stuff you do on that rather than having to switch on your main gaming rig, move to a different room, different chair, whatever.

[J_Th4ng]

I'm also a fan of the Mede8er option. I also have the housed wired for networking (thanks Skoups), and have a small server running in the top of a cupboard, linked to a mede8er in the lounge. Mede8er is (IMO) the best standalone media player on the market. I've never had codec issues with it, it's firmware is software upgradeable, and it can be used to browse the internet (has a little remote with trackball and keyboard). You can also fit a HDD inside it, in the event that you don't have networking straight away.

Mede8er also has all of the connections that you could want, including optical and co-axial digital sound output for linking to a 5.1 amplifier, as well as HDMI, component video and composite video outputs.

Phats, happy to chat about your setup if you like. Find me on steam and we can grab a mumble channel.

[Phatso]

Wow guys, thank you all for the overwhelming response! Knew I could count on you guys for all of this.

Some more information:
1. I am renting, the house is built, so can't run cable through walls.
2. The bedroom PC is fine not receiving all the media, just DSTV is fine for now.
3. Not more than R2,000 budget here. TBC.
4. SPANNER IN THE WORKS - It would be REALLY cool to be able to Stream off Twitch. Its a new entertainment medium for me.

I have tried PS3 Media Center to stream HD content through my XBOX to a TV before and I have seen stutterings and its just not on. Additionally, with those 10GB MKV files (full blown 1080 / .264 what whats), you cannot pause or rewind/fast forward. Just play and stop. Not on either.

Now, although the Med8or / WD Media player / similar route is appealing because of its plug n play / lower cost, Skouperd is correct in saying that all it does then is play media. I would like to be able to do a little more.. but only a little... I don't need to play games and the TV has Youtube and Skype already.. plus there are MORE apps I can install that I need to investigate. SMART Hub is quite powerful as media player already. Hmmm... My thoughts below.

Choosing just the TV:
If the TV is that pimping (I have never used SMART TV before) then I may not need all of this.
+ Low cost
+ Easy to setup
+ Has Youtube and apps n shit...
- ... but maybe not Twitch streaming. I need to investigate.
- I will need a nice big flash disk to load movies/series on.
- I won't have my music collection in my entertainment room. Sad panda.

Choosing HTPC
It would be pretty cool to have a slick desktop running on that 1080 screen in my tv room.
+ It a PC
+ I can stream off Twitch.
- Cost of building a low profile, low heat, low power consuming, low heat generating, decent looking mini rig ....
- Space allocation. The TV unit we ordered has a design I can't remember.

Choosing NAS / Med8or
Recent technological advances have made standalone media players plentiful in choice.
+ Its mainstream bro.
+ Very cool way of having everything in one location, no hassle.
+ It may be good in combination with the actual SMART functionality that will handle all my "appy" needs.
- I have ZERO idea how to set it up, what to buy, what to watch out for, how to get the most out of it and and and.
- I don't even.


Hmmm... Let me sleep on it a bit and I am still option to all comments gents. Let the comments flow!

[Skouperd]

Skouperd is correct

and so say all of us...

Phatso, for starters, I think your budget is low... seriously low... I would consider it a personal challenge to build a case and computer (and I assume Fly will rise to the challenge as well) that will fit in well with any of your current decor or planned decor. I have seen ITX computers being build into a power supply unit, I recon we can easily built one into a case no more than 20cm by 10 cm in size. (and I don't even think that that is the smallest we can go).

For the NAS, seriously, there are so many options, the thing you want to ensure is the following:
1. that it has a Gb ethernet port.
2. it can run some form of RAID which has redundancy in it

Another alternative to a NAS is to just install a couple of hard drives in your gaming rig and you can use your gaming rig as your "file server". The only schlep is that you need to switch on your gaming pc and media pc if you then want to watch tv.