Does the HTPC still make sense vs streaming devices and smart TVs?
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- Опубликовано: 30 янв 2019
- In a world of smart TVs and cheap streaming devices - does the HTPC still make sense? See if a Home Theater PC makes sense for you and your media requirements.
Corresponding Techthoughts write-up:
www.techthoughts.info/does-th...
Links to all equipment (affiliate):
amzn.to/2SkdU02 - CPU - Intel Core i7-8700 6 Cores up to 4.6 GHz LGA 1151
amzn.to/2Sies6v - CPU Cooler - Noctua NH-L12 Low-profile Quiet CPU Cooler
amzn.to/2Si4Zw2 - Motherboard - ASUS TUF B360M-Plus Gaming
amzn.to/2LykM7t - RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200)
amzn.to/2BEZ6lt - Video - EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 SC GAMING 6GB GDDR5
amzn.to/2BP6haX - Storage - Samsung 250GB 970 EVO NVMe M2
amzn.to/2Cxs5cF - Power - CORSAIR RMX Series, RM550x
amzn.to/2Lw6YdA - Case
amzn.to/2Sho5SZ - Logitech Gamepad F710
amzn.to/2CuZsg1 - Logitech K400 Plus
Tobu & Syndec - Dusk [NCS Release] • Video 
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HTPC is a real all in one ( games , streaming , even server )
i7 8700 is overkill for a htpc as long as mainly video decoding lays on a GPU. This is just a regular gaming pc that sits near a TV
So what apps do you use?? Did you just use the standard win 10 UI, or did you tweak it for more of a 10 foot UI? A lot talk about HTPC hardware but no one really dives into setting/tweaking the OS for a more polished home theater experience... LOL
Tbh, at full 4K resolution while gaming, you are definitely gpu performance restricted, so that 8700 wasn’t necessary at all.
i'm sure he knows he can't play system draining games at 4k maxed out on a 1060...i doubt that it was ever his intention to do so
It does if your media is sitting in a media server. ;)
I use steam sharing if I want to play a game on my htpc from my main gaming pc.
I was planning to turn my old gaming pc as our htpc. The problem is that the UI of Windows on a TV is not as good as these cheap options. The UI is important. I am looking for nice htpc software but haven't found it. Tried kodi but doesn't seem as easy and well developed as Android tv. Haven't researched it really well to be honest. Would a 2500k with a modern gpu be fast enough to run 4k in the best quality?
in future align your cpu cooler fins to the direction of air through the case. doing so would also have kept the heat pips away from the ram
It's got a fan underneath it my dude. Even so, check @7:40. What you're suggesting would be entirely impossible as the size is asymmetric - the heat pipe bends are on the shortest side and it can't be mounted any other way.
I bought a used dual core PC w/ SSD for $40, you dont need to build one if you are just streaming movies/TV.
The main issue hampering htpcs that hasn’t been addressed is a remote control friendly method of controlling streaming services. The best way of accessing said content is through a browser, but those are optimized for a mouse. It just simply doesn’t pass the average wife/kids test. The closest I came to making it somewhat user friendly was by using a wiimote with a dolphinbar and the third party touchmote software. Even that was somewhat buggy and unreliable though.
Honestly, the best solution I’ve found today is by combining my setup with an htpc for gaming, a roku for streaming and a harmony hub and amazon echo to make accessing/controlling everything seamless.
I agree 100% Windows really dropped the ball by not developing a "TV Mode" like Tablet Mode that makes use of a remote and simple inputs like streaming device remotes
@@htpchtpc4140 Wouldn't that be amazing? I can't imagine why they wouldn't do it... Sure, the HTPC market is pretty niche, but it is viable market to sell to with very little overhead. They'd only need to overhaul tablet mode a little.
@@poshko41 if apple and google can do it, so can microsoft!!!
HTPC HTPC Amen brother!! They should release a streaming box and make its frontend software installable on windows.
Lmfao the average wife/kids test 🤣
So accurate
I thought about building a HTPC. It would have lived in the same location as my PS4, so I built a NAS instead and stream my media to my PS4 with Plex. I just felt the NAS would give me more functionality than the HTPC. So far its worked well for me, but that was my specific use case.
Use a htpc as a nas
yes as somebody who uses a nvidia shield as a streaming device. Yes a htpc is still worth it because it so much more powerful. But i also use my htpc for local media. Shield for netlfix and whatnot.
I got a 70 dollar or so pc on eBay and have just been using it as a all in one media center/school device/productivity pc and it seems to work great for all it does
Thinking of building a $350 HTPC. Any thoughts on my planned setup?
Asus Prime B450M-A
Athlon 3000G + Alpine Passive
8GB G.Skill Value 2666MHz
WD Green Rev.2 M.2
Be Quiet System Power B9 300w
SilverStone Milo ML03
2x Noctua NF-A8 PWM 80mm
I'm not to sure how that Athlon 3000g will hold up, even for basic web browsing over the next 24 months. Dual core is quickly getting phased out and software is quickly beginning to expect quad core or better. Otherwise it looks great. Maybe throw in another 4-8GB ram as that's a bit low for something used for streaming with Windows. To be clear, it will work with only 8gb, but your experience may have hiccups in the beginning which will only get worse as time goes on.
Do you think your advice would change at all today, in 2022? It kind of feels to me like dedicated streaming devices from even a few years ago are on the verge of obsolescence, while the HTPC shown in the video would still be more than capable of doing anything that one might need to do from the living room.
If you still have your old htpc hardware, you can still use it for things like a file server/NAS or even an android os pc with androidx86. Just a thought.
Good video but what about cases where you have a powerful system in the house and streaming to a cheap HTPC. Like game streaming.
The shield works well (I use it) but with a keyboard and mouse ... or even all controllers ... I find that shield doesn’t have all the functionality of a full pc (ie gaming mouse with hot keys )
Plus consoles or stuff like shield ... while powerful ... chokes up when you got it as a plex server and it’s decrypting 4+ 4K streams and you try to stream a game same time. Bandwidth not the issue. It has to decrypt and encrypt. Can’t handle that much
the thing is streaming devices have a ui better suited to the TV using a remote on the youtube app is much more convenient then a keyboard and mouse on the youtube website
HTPCs are for media, If you want to game build a gaming PC. And yes it still makes sense, having all my movies and shows on an HTPC is better then grabbing the DVDS off the shelf (I have over 1000 of them). Also HTPCs don't cost much just get a used office PC and stick the cheapest GPU in it that has an HDMI port and pick your preferred front end to house all the media ( I use Launchbox) and your Golden. And yes Launchbox is a gaming front end but it also has the ability to play movies for it includes the VLC media player in it's file.
HTPC why? Coughs in adblock.
The HTPC in this video looks way overbuilt.
You can build a PC for like 300 bucks (without a GPU), you can get a Raspberry Pi 4 for about 80, both of which should be able to handle video streaming just fine.
If you want to play games on your HTPC you can add a GPU for another 200 bucks, or you can use Steam Link to stream the games from your gaming PC if you have one.
It does if you want to natively run games at higher quality and performance than consoles in addition to watching movies and TV shows.
Is a 550W power supply really enough for that setup?
Damian Antonelli It should be. I have a r1600 at 3.8 and rx 580 on an old 400w
it's more than enough. being able to run more power actually does not mean the system will run more efficiently. for a builld like his, you would get the best efficiency results with a quality 400w PSU. at the same time, this obviously limits upgrades that you may not know you will want in a few years. most people do not know they're using a PSU that is running less efficiently because of it being more powerful than the average load and even top load requires.
Htpc is close to a gaming pc.
I want to build a htpc but its pricey.
My Pc for gaming is just for gaming. Web browser here and there. That's it....but I'm thinking of
Just getting xbox one slim just for
Movies...netflix..hulu..Hd Dvd.and blue ray...that's it since I have a nice collections of physical format
Movies.
I think that's the smart way to save money.
I'd suggest to have a look at the Dell Optiplex 3010 with a Geforce GTX 1650 and a storage upgrade before looking to buy an xbox. It's okay for PC gaming and excellent for movies.
Yes it does, it's an universal solution, all you can do with a pc.
I have an android TV box, it's so limited, so slow.
agree. same here.
If you're willing to jump through hoops you can actually install external apps on devices like an Amazon Fire Stick.
@Brian Building a PC? Waste of time.
How much for power consumption per month or yr?
tubeslats people complain about stuff like that all the time, but realistically who cares? People complained for years that the power brick for phones were “sipping” power, and now we have more than ever... Who “really” cares? Unless your power bill skyrockets all the sudden, do people care?
Nice cabling, but LOTS of wasted space. Why not stuff all those guts inside of a SFF case?
any 2 core or low 4core cpu would be enough. time to research 4k
Makes sense if you use a projector yes
HTPC vs Streaming, you have to consider the quality of internet connection...
Hmmm!!! Whats the point of A HTPC if theirs no TV Tuner Cards,,,,,, DVR system with plex Live tv is cheaper that Tivo
No HTPC is gone to a place nothing comes back from, ask Blockbuster 😂
It seems to me if you don't game no need for htpc. I keep wanting to build one, but can't come up with a good use case. Roku does everything I need. I do web surfing on a 27 inch 1440p monitor, no gaming.
The other use case would include local media in the form of content back ups and greater flexibility. It is definitely not for everyone though.
pretty dumb setup in my opinion to close to a real gaming pc .... specwise
This isn't an htpc, this is a gaming pc if you are putting $1k into it.
Totally this. Hope a lot of people are not misled by this video. A good HTPC is lower power, minimal noise or silent even, and highly functional. You can use steam's Remote Play feature to stream from your gaming rig in another room across your LAN to the HTPC and the TV monitor.