Hey guys,
I'm a long time AVS lurker who posts every now and again.
So, to get started, the current rig is powered by a an i5-2500k, 4GB ram, mushkin 120 GB chronos SSD, 400 W smart power (pulled from an old rig) and antec 300 case.
OS is Win 7 pro. Primary media storage is on a Qnap 212+ with 2x2TB Samsung 7200 RPM drives. I currently use Plex Media Server and the client. I was able to recently get a Dell PowerVault with 8TB of storage for dirt cheap. I plan to migrate PMS to this and via iScsi connect to my Qnap. However, that is besides the point.
In the bedroom, I have a BR player that is not DLNA compatible. I've been toting my laptop in to hookup and watch movies but quite frankly it's a pain. I'd love to get an APTV2, jail break it, and load it with the plex app or xbmc and go, but prices have skyrocketed on the TV2's and I'm currently SOL there (even if it is only 720p, it was a great option). I'd consider the APTV3, but with no jail break in site and lack of DLNA, it seems like a poor solution. I'm looking at Roku's but reviews are mixed for what I want to do. The Sony SMP-200 looks promising but reviews are mixed especially for MKV's (which is 99.9% if my media).
Given the expertise and experiences of many here, I am curious to other's solutions as I'm sure not everyone uses a full HTPC in every room when the central server can handle the data/transcoding.
