HTPC - Build or buy? Newegg or.... Apple TV + atvflash, Mac Mini, or Dell Zino

Banner ad or not, do not pay $45 for some ATV flashing scam. You can make a patchstick yourself for free and install XBMC / Boxee.

If you don't need 1080p playback (for now), then that's the cheap way to go. You don't get an optical drive, but half the point of moving to an HTPC is to ditch optical media.

If you do want more than the ATV, a Zino is the next logical step. The base $230 model will do 1080p h.264 playback and give you a DVD drive. The only upgrades that are worth considering are the 3250e or 6850e CPU (for HD streaming flash support), the blu-ray drive, and Windows 7. Even with all three you're only looking at $470.

As for the UI, that's your call. XBMC is excellent and free. You can try it out on your current PC to see if it is acceptable for your family. Other people swear by WMC, though I've always found it to be nothing but a pain in the ass.

from some one who has friends with the appletv, dont get one. you are tying yourself into itunes and their overpriced model. plus you can get tv tuners.

if you want an htpc get one, dont buy a crappy apple product and then have to hack it to get it to do what you want. get and htpc. you have way more flexibility and you'll be happier.

If I recall correctly something XBMC and Apple TV are missing the DVR function, kind of a biggie for many HTPC users. Some HTPC users are ditching their $100/mo TV bill by recording OTA and watching other content online.

If/when XBMC starts to have DVR functionality I'm going Linux... Right now WMC is the king for DVR functionality.

I thought MythTV was supposed to be a good DVR? and doesnt it intergrate with XBMC?

I am planning out my build now and want to go with ubuntu/XBMC/MythTV.

skip the atv. I have one. it is a cute toy, but it will only barely play back hd mpeg2. mpeg4 - forget it.

that is until broadcom releases the drivers for their accelerator chips.

I'd say get the dell.

This is exactly what I'm doing. I've ditched the digital cable, returned the cable dvr boxes and reduced my service down to basic cable (since I can't get OTA reception where I live unfortunately). HDHR with MC7 and QEM channels is a wonderful thing.

Myth will work if you are advanced Linux user and know all the terminal commands. Ubuntu is easy enough, it's just getting myth to work that's lost of fun...

I build. The ready-made boxes have some appeal, but I want to have certain components, and can get the machine I really want for less than the machine that is merely close...

I dropped cable entirely. About 32 OTA channels, and dual tuner DVR. I am happy.

Given your legacy gear, building your own is probably the best option. You will have more control over what outputs are available.

Good luck on the build.

I've got a couple Apple TV's as well as a few HTPC's. I don't have a Mac Mini, but I have a couple MacBook Pros that I installed Plex on... and I thought the Plex front end was pretty sweet. I did XBMC on them as well, and was happy. I honestly didn't mess with the MacBooks much though, as I knew I wouldn't really use them as HTPC's since I already had so many dedicated HTPC's.

I did the patchstick from http://www.appletvhacks.net/ on both Apple TV's, and I have tested both XBMC and Boxee on them. I'll be honest and say I haven't really had any good experiences with the Apple TV's. They are just a huge pain to get everything working right, and smoothly... If you even can at all. They constantly freeze and stutter, or have to be restarted completely. And they run really, really hot... all the time. I mean, it's fun to play with if you just like to dork around with stuff like I do. And as mentioned earlier they do have a cool form factor. But, for what it's designed to do an HTPC is a much better choice IMO.

If an optical drive for the Apple TV is a concern, you can always stream from one on a PC on your network.

With all that said, if it were me, I would go the build route on an HTPC for sure. That's just me though, as I said I really enjoy dorking around on electronics.

If you are just wanting to use the Apple TV to stream iTunes content through the home stereo, it is a good solution. It can stream iTunes audio and video with no problem usually.

I was under the impression that you wanted to use it to view DVD/Blu-Ray rips and such that were stored on your computer.... which is more difficult to get working properly.

Does Boxee work with Windows 7? I'm also interested in the Dell or building my own computer.

Having lurked on this subject for about two years and then recently pulling the trigger, I would urge you to build your own. You can decide what you want/need/can afford. There are so many options available and a lot of the software is free. That way, you have what YOU wat, and aren't tied into some proprietary system/software. You can always add and/or upgrade components as your budget and needs change, and new technologies become available.

I would steer clear of the AppleTV also. It's nice for people who have very limited skills and standards, but you can do a lot better with a homebuilt. Plus, I just hate Apple software! Especially iTunes, which is the most frustrating piece of software I've ever used!

I built my last computer, which is a massive thing able to store 6 hard drives, had the one of the fanciest GPUs at the time, etc. However, I'm trying to simplify things, and I think it'd be hard to beat the Dell Zino HD and its tiny form factor. Also, the last time I built my own computer, it took me days or weeks of research to determine what to buy. Now, I have a two year old and have my HT room back to the studs. How much research do I have to do to build my own? If a lot, then I'll look to buy a single product instead of build.

I recently sold my AppleTV because I got fed up with it's lack of storage capacity. Apple's solution to expand the ATV is to sync with a home computer through iTunes, kind of like syncing your iPod. However, once your digital library gets sizable, transferring files back and forth takes quite awhile, slows down your network, and is generally just a lame solution to a storage problem. Plus I was thoroughly disappointed when I hacked my ATV. The Hulu playback through Boxee is not worth it. What a lot of folks don't mention about hacking the ATV is that Hulu doesn't run directly through Boxee like the other content channels. Instead, through no fault of it's own, Boxee must run a web browser in order to stream from Hulu. The ATV doesn't have the horse power to run Boxee, a web browser, and stream content. The result is a thoroughly unwatchable choppy mess. Don't buy an ATV thinking you will stream Hulu. There is also a hack that allows the ATV to access an external drive connected via USB but when the ATV software is updated that hack, like Boxee and Xbmc, goes away and a new hack must be created. Unless you can program a new hack yourself, you'll be waiting until someone else does meanwhile the bulk of your library is sitting on an external hard drive you can't access.

The beauty of a cable/satellite box is you don't have to mess with it. That's how the ATV should be too. But until Apple decides to allow ATV to natively access an external drive without having to sync with iTunes on a home PC then the ATV will never gain a wide audience.

I now use a Mac Mini as my HTPC. I upgraded it to 4GB Ram and I have a 1 TB external 7200rpm hard drive connected by FireWire 800. Plus I have a 2 TB Time Capsule as a backup drive. Yes this is all more expensive then an ATV but it's far more flexible, easily expandable, and I now use the very sleek Hulu Desktop Application. Yes, there are some drawbacks to the Mac Mini, specifically the need for a keyboard and mouse as opposed to a simple remote for the ATV and there are also some issues with display resolutions and overscan when using a TV as a monitor that I'm still working out. But, overall, I'm very pleased with the Mac Mini. It's quick and easy to use. Is it perfect? No, but even if I buy the shows I can't watch through Hulu, the computer and the iTunes expenditures will be less than paying for 2-years of cable.

If the AppleTV were not limited in it's storage options then I definitely would have stuck with it because, other than the storage issue, it is a well designed machine. Before you go all digital just remember that the downside to digital media is the amount of storage space needed. That means external drives and backup drives.

I was thinking of getting a mac mini and using it as a HTPC, there are some nice free aps like plex that look cool, but now I am leaning towards the Zino, I just don't know. If the mac had a nice remote, ya know in place of a keyboard and mouse, I would be sold.

Snatch remote for iphone ipod touch with plex works great! No need for keyboard and mouse. My wife and kid love it.

I built two, and am glad I did. There are just too many limitations with the ones you buy pre-built...but they can be cheaper...if you don't need to upgrade them.

For example, you can get an inexpensive dualcore/motherboard combo for $120-$140. Another $30, if you want an optical drive, $70 for a hard drive, $70 for a dual tuner card, $60 if you want a discrete graphics solution but it really isn't necessary. That puts you about $300. If you have a college I.D. you can get Win7 upgrade for $30, or pay $120 for the family three pack (way I went since we had several computers to upgrade anyway.) That works out to $40/computer.

What can, and should, IMHO, be the biggest expense is the case and power supply. You can get a cheap case and integral PS for $60, but I've gone that route and invariably end up buyng a better power supply within a year or two and am left with a cheap case. Instead buy a decent Mediacenter case for $100, and spend another $50 on the PS.

Put it together you've got.
CPU+Motherboard. $120
Optical Drive, $30
Dual Tuner, $60
Memory, $90, 4Gb.
Win7, $40
Case and PS, $150
Wireless keyboard/mouse, $60

Total $550.

I'm running one system 33% overclocked and the other 50% overclocked (which is equivalent to getting a $80 processor discount.)

Meanwhile, my brother bought a Dell for $350, had to upgrade to a 2nd tuner only to find he was out of PCI-E slots...then the sound card didn't have digital out so he needed to find one that fit in his half height case......he is still sorting it out and already over the budget I spent.

Build advantages: Choose each component to meet your needs. Easier to upgrade. Develop understanding of hardware and software. Generally get more features for the price (firewire, esata, spdif....) Can overclock processor easier (with correct motherboard, basically getting a free upgrade.)

Build disadvantages: Need to figure out which components to buy. Need to deal with hardware and software installation and compatibility. No single warranty. Low end system will cost more.

If you check my other posts you will see where I recently posted questions on issues I was having with both builds. Both issues are resolved now and both computers are running stable, quiet and fast. If it works out like last time, they should run maintenance free for 3-4 years, at which point I'll have to decide whether a major or minor upgrade is necessary. P.S. One of these two is an upgrade and I was able to reclaim the case, power supply and magnetic and optical drives.

Find that Boxee, Hulu and recorded programs on Mediacenter fit our needs quite well...with only most basic cable subscription.

mike1p, I as others have suggested would recommend you building your own HTPC for the main room and maybe purchasing a Dell mini or something for the other rooms. One thing that I will recommend highly is that you incorporate a media server in the mix. By having the media server, all you have to do then is build a streamlined HTPC without having to worry about storage capacity, etc. In my setup, I have a media server that resides in my office and I love it. Whenever I need to do any ripping, downloading, etc. I do it directly on the media server. I do not even have BluRay drives in my HTPCs (I use a PS3 if I want to watch something immediately).

Also depending on your needs, you can also look into using a XBOX360 as an extender. Recently there has been some goo developments to getting homebrew on the 360 and I cannot wait until we get the old trusty XBMC on the XBOX360.

Also, depending on the use of the HTPC, etc. will determine what device will be best. For kids that only want to watch DVDs, an XBOX360/PS3 may be best. For a wife that is not technical, a well built HTPC running W7MC and that has good remote control may be best. For someone like you (a techie) whatever float your boat.

HTPCs are not for everyone and they are not always as simple to plug-in and go. Having a good plan will save you both time and money in the long haul. I can say that is you decide to build, do not skimp on power supply and case. Those are the two items out of any HTPC build that you may not have to replace (with the exception of one day needing more power).

I wanted a zino but couldn't get on by christmas so instead rolled my own slightly larger HTPC for my kids for christmas based on the Zotac GF9300 mini itx board. Am very pleased with it.

1080p playback is perfectly smooth even while the CPU is peg by Ripbot encoding another movie.