Lately, you hear many people talk about HTPCs, streamers and media centers. People claim that this is the future or perhaps the future is already here.
But what is all about? What is this stuff? Why do I need it? How do I get one? Is it something that you just buy in a store or maybe it is just a piece of software which you can download from somewhere over the Internet? how much it cost?
I divided this article into 4 parts.
In first part (the one you’re reading right now), I’ll try to clarify the fog behind the media center concepts. I hope that after reading this you will have a better understanding on this subject and maybe I’ll even succeed in convincing you that you need one in your living room.
In the second part, I’ll talk about hardware, the third part will be about software and the fourth will holds tricks and tips from my (and others) personal experience.
Every solution solves a problem, so let me first introduce the problem for you.
You like music. First you had vinyls records and cassettes, then, after the digital revolution, you bought CDs. And now, you have a huge collection of MP3s in your computer, and an MP3 player which you take with you to everywhere.
But you miss the old days when you could hear music using your home amplifier. Of course you can still do that but since your CDs occupied too much space in your living room, you dropped them in some dark corner of your basement. Some of them may be scratched on and anyway, for most of your MP3s you don’t even have CDs.
The same with video. Maybe it’s your DVD collection and it may be family videos that you shoot with your camcorder or it may even be videos on “YouTube” that you want to watch on your new LCD/Plasma screen. Can you do that today?
Let’s not forget your digital album with all your family pictures. Instead of watching them on the computer, you’d like to see them on the full screen in the living room.
The solution should be some digital storage which will hold your digital media (music, movies, photos) and some way to watch them without getting up from your couch (using a simple remote control).
If it is a music, you would like to feel like you’re sitting in a concert hall.
If it is a video, you would like to feel like you’re in a theater.
If it is your digital pictures, you want fast access and a way to watch them on your TV.
If I’ve convinced you that media center is something that may come in handy, you’re welcome to continue to the next chapter, in which I’ll discuss some different kind of (hardware) solutions that can give you the experience that you’re looking for.
Tags: htpc
I can’t wait to read the next chapters. I need the four of them before installing a media center in my home. You now have the responsibility on my living room
[...] so you have been convinced that a Media Center is something you want, now it’s time to choose your hardware. First, let’s start with some questions that [...]