Media player vs HTPC

[JIMMYtheSKULL]

Hey guys well christmass is coming and i usually get my self somthing nice but need some advice i have ample pc's around that i can play with, so what can a media player eg: mede8er do that a htpc cant? besides look sexy and have a nice flashy remote.

 

[Mier]

HTPC > Media Player

The only drawback is the cost. Starting from scratch you need about R10K for a htpc. Oh, and a htpc can also have a nice flashy remote and look just as sexy. http://mybroadband.co.za/photos/showphoto.php/photo/12919/title/ht2/cat/all

 

[Freaksta]

The only real benifits are Size, price, portability.

 

[JIMMYtheSKULL]

What software do you guys recomend for HTPS?

 

[jay-co]

What software do you guys recomend for HTPS?

xbmc FTW!!!

 

[ingeon]

Wouldn`t mind a media8ter for free but wouldn`t buy one.
I need to run XBMC at least and the Boxee Box would have been ideal but haven`t seen any around here to play/test.

The other option is a PS3 since it`s actually ideal with 250GB HDD, Blu-ray player for under 4k.
If I`m correct one cannot run XBMC on the PS3 any more which really really sucks!!! Unless I`m mistaking.
I would love to be wrong (I mean running it without hacking the PS3 to do it).

But I wouldn`t mind a decent HTPC. I quite liked htpc-setup-for-gaming

This setup looks alot like Mier`s case optimal-htpc-in-2010

 

[Mier]

The case in that link is the Antec Fusion case, my case is a Thermaltake DH101 case. Mine's a little bigger and can be used for a full ATX mobo and full height expansion cards. The Antec case is only for mATX mobo's and LP cards. Both have the same display units (Soundgraph Imon). I can also put up to five HDD in it, so there's plenty space for upgrade.

 

[velidmakane]

HTPC

I am currently building my HTPC
Dell gx280 optiplex
I will post pics when its finished.

 

[silentbee]

...I need to run XBMC at least and the Boxee Box would have been ideal but haven`t seen any around here to play/test.

How do you plan to get access to the services on Boxee? Will you be able to stream on demand video?

I have ordered a Blu-ray player that will stream my media from my NAS wirelessly. It can also access Netflix, BBC's iPlayer and a handful of other services, but I'm pretty sure that they will see my South African IP address and lock me out. Is there a way to tell my router to send that traffoc through an IP spoof, or something. I don't know terribly much about what would be necessary. I'm just excited to be able to stream stuff from my NAS

 

[TYR]

Hey guys well christmass is coming and i usually get my self somthing nice but need some advice i have ample pc's around that i can play with, so what can a media player eg: mede8er do that a htpc cant? besides look sexy and have a nice flashy remote.

With an HTPC you're gonna spend hours tweaking it, making it nicer etc. ... and yeah you'll end up with a very nice machine that you can use to watch movies.

With a media player you're gonna spend hours watching movies on it.