noofs htpc thread

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Originally Posted by The Noof

I HAVE an xpl 3900:it's not a bad unit but the coding has far to go.The Dreamlink T2 Prime is far better, but still not perfect.The guide is hit & miss.I still prefer HTPC over all of them, but you can't compare the price point.lol

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For HTPC box, what software would you use ? Plex, Kodi, etc.. ? And would you run Windows, or a Linux custom distribution (OpenElec, LibreElec, etc..) ?
I just find that HTPC solutions are usually clunky and need too much regular maintenance. It's OK if you don't mind using mouse/keyboard, but for simplicity of sitting back, pick up the remote and just start channel surfing, it is just not there. Now for a Movie playback center only (no live TV), it is perfectly fine.
Other than ProgDVB what other semi decent IPTV software is there for a PC (and please don't tell me to launch an droid emulator and launch STB Emu from that) :)

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Originally Posted by Emporium

For HTPC box, what software would you use ? Plex, Kodi, etc.. ? And would you run Windows, or a Linux custom distribution (OpenElec, LibreElec, etc..) ?
I just find that HTPC solutions are usually clunky and need too much regular maintenance. It's OK if you don't mind using mouse/keyboard, but for simplicity of sitting back, pick up the remote and just start channel surfing, it is just not there. Now for a Movie playback center only (no live TV), it is perfectly fine.
Other than ProgDVB what other semi decent IPTV software is there for a PC (and please don't tell me to launch an droid emulator and launch STB Emu from that) :)

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A typical htpc I build:amd fx 4300cpu/8gb 1866 ddr3/240gb ssd drive for o.s./2 tb hdd for movie storage/Nvidia gforce 2gb gddr5 video card/Soundblaster audigy 7.1 sound card/Hauppauge twin tuner hd card/blurray mult-drive.
Software consists of windows7pro 64/powerdvd/optional Kodi for those that like it/Media center/Wintv/VLC media player/321 media player/blustacks/stbemu/codec packs/Nordvpn/Popcorn Time/malwarebytes/Kaspersky/Other software as required or requested.

I'm currently testing a web app iptv service called "premier" that is QUITE satisfying.Iptvgirl is a vendor.I think I will recommend it to the other htpc users I have built for.It is FAR better than stbemu.
This combo of hardware/software blows the Chinese droid boxes away:guide works almost perfect/pvr function almost perfect.OTA,cable.iptv,blurays & music all well managed.Audio & video exponentially better
Depending on the case you prefer, a build like this can cost 1500.00 with legit software,so it's NOT for everyone, especially the free-tv'ers.

To each their own.. Thnx anyhow for the insight (it was what I thought)

Hardware is not the issue, I have quite a bit of hardware lying around (old xps with 4th gen i7, and even a few dual quad core XEON servers), and over 60TB of drive space on my NAS servers for media. With the exception of of the Hauppauge hardware for OTA, I have all the rest. Physical optical players I don't really care for, since most of my media is in digital soft format nowadays anyhow.
However Windows box is just not as seemless as I'd like my media to work. And for a household with multiple family members, this becomes very time consuming to maintain.

Having to run a droid emulator to run many of my apps, is also just a pain.

In my opinion, a shield or even my Mii box does a nice job overall. STB Emu Pro is installed for IPTV use. Kodi is installed for certain plugins (like exodus 8.x), MX Player with a few shares attached to stream movies and TV shows from. TuneIn Radio is installed for live radio streaming. BeeTV or whatever "TTV knockoff" is valid and functional for the streaming.
For OTA, it is plugged directly into my TV, since it already has and ATSC tuner anyhow.

I don't use PVR functions honestly. I don't watch much sports, and most TV episodes can easily be found on BeeTV or Exodus, and streamed commercial free, very shortly after the show airs anyhow.

I used an HTPC back in the days of DVB cards for sat reception, and I used to curse every time someone would mangle something, and I'd be stuck trying to fix it. Then when I was out of town, and got a call from wife or kids that the TV wasn't working, all because someone accidentally deleted icons on the desktop, or hit an OK some some strange prompt/popup and it mangled something.

HTPC is fine if you are alone at home, and you are the only one using and customizing your box as you want. Once you add wife and kids to the equation, it changes quite a bit.

For downloading tv episode seasons, I use transmission on my NAS to download them. Then once they are downloaded, I sort them into the appropriate directories, and they show up in the Kodi and/or MX Player playlists of all the players connected to each of the 4 TVs in the home. And I can even do this remotely when I am out of town.

You raise valid points:htpc isn't for everyone.I can't imagine having 3 kids under the age of 6 on 2 computers trying to find the Disney channel using bluestacks/stbemu...lol.Keeping the units running would be a career rather than a chore.
I'm a near retired old guy that knows what's going on.I take my entertainment seriously.I like things to be the best they possibly can, with as much stability as possible:that's why I gave up IKS a year ago almost.At first I found little comfort with iptv, but it is evolving quite nicely now.Choices & stablity are easy to find.I have 3 htpc's in our home.2 of them haven't been on in a month or so, because at the end of the day I don't watch that much tv:it's just a hobby for me to build.I DO love my man-cave home theater, & that's my go to.Nobody to screw it up by me.lolNo Droid boxes down there...
As you pointed out:to each their own.