HTPC n00b

Speedster

Speedster

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Okay, so I'm a total HTPC n00b. I've read up a bit on Plex, XBMC & Mede8er but, for some reason, I'm just not "getting" the intricacies of each one. Could somebody try give a concise rundown of the various platforms & options?
 
XBMC seems by far to be the best HTPC software (it runs on top of an OS eg Windows/Linux) - as opposed to Mede8er which (I may be wrong) is a standalone media player.

I'm all for open-source/standards/customization/etc so that naturally leads me towards XBMC :)
 
Plex is the obvious choice for me. Tried XBMC and did like it. Takes too much work to get it to do what Plex does out the box.
 
Think mede8er is a standalone media player, not software you can put on a htpc.
Love xbmc and the xbmc android remote rocks!
 
I use both XBMC and Plex.

XBMC on my main server and Plex for room PC's and mobile devices.

So far so good. Went the multi room XBMC setup with MySQL but the performance wasnt as good as Plex so back to standalone XBMC and networked Plex.

I wont give up the XBMC main station though.
 
XBMC will be the best piece of software you can use for the HTPC.

Its easy to setup if you dont want to configure anything really (works out the box with minimum settings)
There is allot of plug ins if you need it.

It tags what you already watched, so if you have allot of media you dont have to search for what you already watched.
 
How many of the guys using XBMC is also using the pulse eight usb cec adaptor?

I'v been using it for about 2 months now and can seriously recommend it to anyone with cec enabled components.
 
Jakes147 said:
How many of the guys using XBMC is also using the pulse eight usb cec adaptor?

I'v been using it for about 2 months now and can seriously recommend it to anyone with cec enabled components.
Click to expand...

Where did you get this from? My Bluray player and TV use this functionality and I have come to love it. I get annoyed having to do things manually with my HTPC and WD TV Live :)
 
Mike Smit said:
Where did you get this from? My Bluray player and TV use this functionality and I have come to love it. I get annoyed having to do things manually with my HTPC and WD TV Live :)
Click to expand...

Order from their website,

I'm currently just using the remote that came with my Samsung htc5500. When I turn on the TV it in turn turns on the HT and then activates all the inputs for XBMC. You can set XBMC as the default active source so it doesn't matter what you were doing when the TV was turned off the system will default to XBMC. I'm getting a lot less TV related calls from the SO when I'm not at home.

iceman23 said:
pulse eight

http://www.pulse-eight.com/store/products/104-usb-hdmi-cec-adapter.aspx
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Dean said:
XBMC seems by far to be the best HTPC software (it runs on top of an OS eg Windows/Linux) - as opposed to Mede8er which (I may be wrong) is a standalone media player.

I'm all for open-source/standards/customization/etc so that naturally leads me towards XBMC :)
Click to expand...

By far the best? Really why? Plex is a fork of XBMC, and IMO slightly more polished, and just works better.
Also I can stream to any plex client I want to. I often stream my music collection to my ipad that's plugged into a speaker cradle in another room.
 
Jakes147 said:
How many of the guys using XBMC is also using the pulse eight usb cec adaptor?

I'v been using it for about 2 months now and can seriously recommend it to anyone with cec enabled components.
Click to expand...

Looks interesting, but perhaps I am missing something, I can do everything they list of the pulse eight website, with a well programmed Harmony remote.
 
phazer_ said:
By far the best? Really why? Plex is a fork of XBMC, and IMO slightly more polished, and just works better.
Also I can stream to any plex client I want to. I often stream my music collection to my ipad that's plugged into a speaker cradle in another room.
Click to expand...

No frontend for Linux. For me its no good.
 
XBMC Live works for me. Haven't bothered with anything else and it's not because I think XBMC is great or whatever, it's because I'm too lazy to bother with anything else :/
 
phazer_ said:
Looks interesting, but perhaps I am missing something, I can do everything they list of the pulse eight website, with a well programmed Harmony remote.
Click to expand...

My harmony is collecting dust in the tv stand,

CEC components create an "intelligent" system meaning all the components are aware of the current state of all the other components in the system. This means because my HTPC is set as the default source that when I turn on any component in the system every other component will turn on and switch to the correct INPUT and I dont have to worry about keeping the remote in place for 5-10 seconds while it runs through a macro.

Scenarios:
Watching Free to Air TV and turn off TV...... next morning:

Turn on AVR at source.= AVR INPUT~ HDMI1; TV on, INPUT~ HDMI1; HTPC on= watching XBMC

or Turn TV on= HT on, INPUT~ HDMI1; TV on, INPUT~ HDMI1; HTPC on= watching XBMC

or Turn XBMC on= HT on, INPUT~ HDMI1; TV on, INPUT~ HDMI1; HTPC on= watching XBMC

The Harmony can do exactly the same with macros but the implementation of CEC just does it at another level.
 
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