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Looking for advice for a set up

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 2:57 pm
by PhillyFanInMI
So let me go over what I have right now...

I built a decent PC box that I use for a HTPC:
  • Intel i5 3.4GHz Quad Core
  • 8GB DDR3 RAM
  • 100GB SSD (OS)
  • 4 x 3TB Media Drives (1 - Movies, 2 - TV Episodes, 3 - Recorded TV, 4 - Temp File storage)
  • Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCIe Tuner
Here are the TVs in question that I'd like to work with:
  • 46" Toshiba LED TV in the family room
  • 50" Samsung Plasma in the Basement (aka - the Man Cave)
  • 37" LCD in the Master Bedroom
Here's what I would like to do, and need advice on... I'd like to take the HTPC and turn it into a Media Server. I was thinking about building three Raspberry Pis for the TVs as Media Extenders to each TV wirelessly instead of paying $12 leases on 3 cable boxes in the house. I'd like to be able to stream live TV to the TVs and share all media stored on the 3TB media drives for all users.

What issues do you see coming up? Things I need to watch out for? Need more information on?

Re: Looking for advice for a set up

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 3:06 pm
by mdavej
By the time you get a Pi, remote and enclosure, you could have bought an Echo, which is by far the easiest solution. MPEG2 Video over wifi doesn't work for most people. So you should also consider a wired solution of some kind (powerline, MoCA, DECA). Your PC specs look fine to me.

I've tried the Pi route. It was a fun little project, but still not a practical or good quality solution.

Re: Looking for advice for a set up

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:07 pm
by LuckyDay
mdavej wrote:By the time you get a Pi, remote and enclosure, you could have bought an Echo, which is by far the easiest solution. MPEG2 Video over wifi doesn't work for most people. So you should also consider a wired solution of some kind (powerline, MoCA, DECA). Your PC specs look fine to me.

I've tried the Pi route. It was a fun little project, but still not a practical or good quality solution.
I disagree with the Echo being the best solution. A used Xbox 360 can be had for $60-100 and also adds support for virtually every streaming service available.

Re: Looking for advice for a set up

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:17 pm
by Bryan
I've only used the 360, but I'd agree it's a good option. Also, you definitely want some kind of wired. I recently got another Xbox for extender duty, and it worked wirelessly with Netflix fine, but live or recorded TV was poor. I couldn't get Cat5 to the area, but powerline appears to have resolved it. Wireless is for convenience, not reliability.

Re: Looking for advice for a set up

Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2015 5:24 pm
by mdavej
LuckyDay wrote:
mdavej wrote:By the time you get a Pi, remote and enclosure, you could have bought an Echo, which is by far the easiest solution. MPEG2 Video over wifi doesn't work for most people. So you should also consider a wired solution of some kind (powerline, MoCA, DECA). Your PC specs look fine to me.

I've tried the Pi route. It was a fun little project, but still not a practical or good quality solution.
I disagree with the Echo being the best solution. A used Xbox 360 can be had for $60-100 and also adds support for virtually every streaming service available.
I forgot all about Xbox. But to be fair, the OP didn't mention any streaming services. I also assumed he wanted something about the same size as a Pi. It's kind of hard to velcro an Xbox to the back of your TV.

While Xbox does do a lot of streaming services, they're all sub-par. Netflix, for example, is only 720p on Xbox, same as it is on WMC. I was all excited when they dropped the Gold requirement for all that stuff, but the picture quality isn't very good compared to what you can get on a Roku or other streaming device. In any case, my Xboxes are just gathering dust these days.