Why a 360/PS3 and HTPC?

[whipdancer]

I was reading a review for a Pioneer A/V receiver when someone said only having 3 HDMI inputs was a concern. I'm puzzled by this.

I no longer need 3 or 4 component inputs because I picked up an Xbox 360. In fact, it has replaced my DVD player, my cable box, and my previous console.

I was planning on building an HTPC, but the 360 pretty much convinced me not to...

Is there something I'm missing?

[DrasticPlastic]

I have a PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and a HTPC, it just all depends on what you want to do, and what you use the gear for.

[rmcdermid]

It depends on what your definition of an HTPC is. Currently neither the Xbox or PS3 have DVR capabilities. (Although MS has said they may incorporate it into the 360) Many people get a capture card on their HTPC and use it as a DVR. Also some people digitize their media onto a PC to prevent from having to insert a disc into their players when they want to watch a movie.

For me my "HTPC" is really nothing more than an Ubuntu file server running PS3 Media Server. I house all of my MP3s and some movies on that PC. This compliments my Xbox and PS3 by allowing me to stream movies, music, and my favorite streaming radio stations to my consoles without having to worry about hard drive space on them or modding them with a bigger HD to store more data.

[Branden]

in the interest of being prepared for devices you may own in the future it's a good idea to go for more inputs than you need now.

if a 360 is the only thing you have right now that requires an HDMI input, then 3 inputs on a receiver is plenty to keep you future-proofed.

for me, i now only have 2 HDMI devices (PS3, HTPC) but i plan on having more in the future (standalone BD player, maybe an HDMI HD cable box, maybe nintendo's next console), so if i were in the market for a new receiver right now i'd be looking at 5 or more HDMI inputs.

[TKNice]

The PS3 and 360 are can do many things a HTPC can and maybe everything you need, but I don't think either will play MKVs and other popular formats which means you need to set up something else to do the decoding. TVersity is a popular program for this. You install the server on a powerful PC in your house which connects to your movie library. The PS3 "streams" these movies from your server who is doing the decoding.

The PS3 and 360 will:
Play some movie formats.
Do a decent job of showcasing your picture library.
Play your mp3 and other audio formats

A HTPC will:
Do all the above and more while giving you much more flexibility in how you do it.
Also realize that you can install and run anything that a computer can which is an obvious limitation of your PS3 or 360. There's plenty of internet content (some of which require applications) that would be nice to have on your system.

[rmcdermid]

IF HDMI inputs is a concern you can always hit up monoprice for a switch. I have one that works great and it was inexpensive. Just had to put some electrical tape over the damned blinking lights.

[fettastic]

My HTPC does a few different things. It lets me surf, stream, P2P, convert and edit video/audio and do work like Photoshop. I can do things like facebook and ebay and bank balances, DVR etc. on it.

My PS3 can do some of those things, sort of. If you switch over to Linux you can do more, but still not all.

As far as building a HTPC, be aware that getting lossless sound out of one is very expensive. For this reason my HTPC is a backup BD player only. My PS3 also upconverts a lot better.

~Justin

[THE_FORCE]

I don't think the most important subject has been touched upon here yet...Neither a 360 or an HTPC will allow you to play Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Singstar, LBP or any of the other wonderful gaming experiences the PS3 has to offer already or are in the pipeline !

[prerich]

Originally Posted by THE_FORCE

I don't think the most important subject has been touched upon here yet...Neither a 360 or an HTPC will allow you to play Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, Singstar, LBP or any of the other wonderful gaming experiences the PS3 has to offer already or are in the pipeline !

What's good for the Goose is also good for the Gander, there are other gaming experiences that computers offer that PS3 doesn't offer (nor the 360) and the PC is capable of higher frame rates - better game play, and higher resolutions. To make a simple point - gaming is only important if you like the game. Of course I would want a PS3 if I'm interested in those games, but if I want to play WarCraft with a million people I'm only looking at a PC. My HTPC does everything I can imagine - and it does them very well.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by TKNice

The PS3 and 360 are can do many things a HTPC can and maybe everything you need, but I don't think either will play MKVs and other popular formats which means you need to set up something else to do the decoding. TVersity is a popular program for this. You install the server on a powerful PC in your house which connects to your movie library. The PS3 "streams" these movies from your server who is doing the decoding.

The PS3 and 360 will:
Play some movie formats.
Do a decent job of showcasing your picture library.
Play your mp3 and other audio formats

A HTPC will:
Do all the above and more while giving you much more flexibility in how you do it.
Also realize that you can install and run anything that a computer can which is an obvious limitation of your PS3 or 360. There's plenty of internet content (some of which require applications) that would be nice to have on your system.

+1 and Checkmate. (There are advantages to all 3 systems - but the biggest advantage of an HTPC to me is.....I can fix it myself, upgrade it myself, and make it be what I want it to be ).

[prerich]

Originally Posted by fettastic

My HTPC does a few different things. It lets me surf, stream, P2P, convert and edit video/audio and do work like Photoshop. I can do things like facebook and ebay and bank balances, DVR etc. on it.

My PS3 can do some of those things, sort of. If you switch over to Linux you can do more, but still not all.

As far as building a HTPC, be aware that getting lossless sound out of one is very expensive. For this reason my HTPC is a backup BD player only. My PS3 also upconverts a lot better.

~Justin

Which video card are you using? My HTPC upscales better than anything I've seen (PS3, upconverting dvd players, and standalones). Also the VIA 889a chipset has PAP and is allowing unmolested full lossless sound from its analog audio outs just like a standalone (That was posted on the Arcsoft site - they are also working with others - I hope realtek is one of them - to get this going on other chipsets). I have a thread in the PC section on this.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

AH!! Whenever I heard of someone using their Xbox 360 for a DVD player, I die a little inside.

I'm not knocking the system or trying to turn this into a 360 bashing thread (I have a 360, myself, and enjoy many things about it), but honestly, given the failure rate of the system with the RROD issue (which has improved with newer models, but hasn't been eliminated), I just couldn't see using it for something like watching DVDs, which I have many other players/devices that could accomplish the same. (Same for playing music, looking at photos, etc). I just wouldn't want to put the extra wear and tear on such a fragile system.

Okay, sorry for going a little off-topic. Back to your regularly scheduled thread discussion.

[whipdancer]

Cool.

Very good info.

Just to be clear, I'm moving my extensive DVD library to my WHS (windows home server) and I stream through my 360 to watch them. It took me a while to work out which codec to use to keep the quality as close to DVD as possible while keeping the multi-channel sound.

I'm just now getting into Bluray, so I'm still learning about that.

So I guess my WHS or my desktop that I use for conversions could be used at an HTPC (the desktop has a tuner card as I'm experimenting with PC based DVR).

Thanks for the input.

Trent (aka Whipdancer)