Bringing the PC into the living room

[maczero]

I've always wanted to integrate a PC into my home entertainment system. I've had my eyes on the HP Pavilion media center PC for awhile. Recently, someone told me buying a pc as a a/v component is a bad idea. Some of the cons he mentioned were:

PC's put out way too much heat to be stacked along side a receiver, dvd player etc.
PC's become obsolete fairly quickly so why spend that much money on a machine devoted to entertainment
Looking at a 50+ inch screen from across the room isn't the best viewing experience while computing

Anyone think these claims are valid?

[howyadoin]

PC's put out way too much heat to be stacked along side a receiver, dvd player etc.My iMac hardly puts out any heat at all. But if it's that big an issue, put the computer a few inches farther away.

[Ontir]

My mini is hooked to my 26" HDTV, and it works fine. My best friend has his computer system (he's a high level software engineer, with a home network) hooked to his TV, and he does e-mail from almost 20' away some times, with no problem.

My mini IS my DVD player, and that works fine too.

Connecting your computer to your entertainment centre just puts you ahead of the convergence curve. A few years down the road, this same friend of yours, whether he knows it or not, will be doing what you're talking about doing now, probably with a device that he thinks is something other than a computer system; but that's exactly what it will be.

[Maniacle Mike]

Ya know, I think it all depends on whta all you are trying to do.

A PC dedicated to entertainment? It's pretty much what Sony and Microsoft are attempting to do with their latest gen of gaming consoles.

[Drew Van T.]

A PC dedicated to entertainment? It's pretty much what Sony and Microsoft are attempting to do with their latest gen of gaming consoles.

The problem with that is that both companies are known for pulling all sorts of consumer-unfriendly tricks, limiting what you can actually do with the hardware, software and content they provide (like Sony's highly intrusive DRM for instance). Incompatibility issues soon crop up.

The luckiest folks are still those with the know-how to buy a cheap PC (or a Mac mini) in addition to their "primary" PC, and with that are able to build a wireless entertainment system from the ground up. They have complete control over every aspect.

[Typo Lad]

PC's put out way too much heat to be stacked along side a receiver, dvd player etc.

Most MediaCenter PCs and laptops have decent cooling solutions. As others have mentiones, the MacMini - which isn't even designed to be one out of the box - does a good job with no special fans.

Be careful what you buy and you should be fine.


PC's become obsolete fairly quickly so why spend that much money on a machine devoted to entertainment

You can say that argument for any tech. Why buy a new computer? It'll just be obsolete in two years?

If the tech works now and is fairly powerful, it can last you a while. I'm using an almost seven year old Power Mac and while I won't be runnign DOOM 3 on it anytime soon, that's just fine.


Looking at a 50+ inch screen from across the room isn't the best viewing experience while computing

That one can be valid. I have a friend who uses a 20" from the couch and likes it, but it would drive me nuts. it may be better with a 50" (I drool in envy, btw).

Most MediaCenter solutions work best using a second system solely for gaming/TV. That way you have the advantage of the close-up experiance for e-mail and the linke, but still have Media center.

I want an elGato eyeTV, myself.

[Night]

Mike's and typo's answers is so far the best. When I went tapeless in 2003, an MMPC was the answer at the time. I didn't have to carry VHS's anymore, I just recdered to Hard Disk or DVD. Actually I just built up a box I had since 1999 and I still have that box (Though it's power supply and DVD drive are needing replacement). I move alot so reducing the bulk was a good thing.

If I wanted to do high end proceessing.. I wouldn't use my MMPC for it... I'd use a different box. I also have my MMPC with a dual-head video card... that means I can have a regular monitor to type on and the bigger screen to watch stuff on.

There are people I know that have a server that records the entire family's shows and throughout the house smaller MMPC's that they can watch shows off the network. But that's a big buck setup.

On the MMPC you have to watch for not only heat but noise... you don't want your watching PC to have that HUM in the background. The problem is that to minimize both heat and sound... you have to settle for less processing power (i.e. you can't do a lot of overclocking)

[BlairH]

PC's put out way too much heat to be stacked along side a receiver, dvd player etc.
If you build your own HTPC (Home Theater PC) use a decent passive heatsink and your system will run relatively cool & silent.


PC's become obsolete fairly quickly so why spend that much money on a machine devoted to entertainment
As long as the HTPC can playback high-def content and store lots of TV proggies it will be relatively future proof.


Looking at a 50+ inch screen from across the room isn't the best viewing experience while computing
If you have a 1080p screen it should be fine


Anyone think these claims are valid?
Your friend sounds like a n00b. Check out this article
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Article_HTPC.html

[maczero]

Your friend sounds like a n00b. Check out this article
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Article_HTPC.htmlThanks for the info. I'm not sure if I'm ready to build it myself but it looks feasible. I guess the real question is whether there are significant savings in building it myself over buying something that suits my needs right out of the box.

[Agent Helix]

Building a PC on your own, not actually as difficult as it would seem. So long as you get some good advice, and can follow basic instructions, you can do it.

[BlairH]

Thanks for the info. I'm not sure if I'm ready to build it myself but it looks feasible. I guess the real question is whether there are significant savings in building it myself over buying something that suits my needs right out of the box.

The question is -for me anyway- "can an out of the box system meet my needs?" and the answer is almost always a no. My needs are fairly hefty though, so YMMV.