User:Mattnad/htpc draft

A Home Theater PC (HTPC) or Media PC is a convergence device that combines a personal computer with media center software application that supports video and music playback, and sometimes digital video recorder functionality. It normally has a 10-foot user interface and is connected to a television or other large-screen computer display, and is often used as a digital photo, music, video player, TV receiver and digital video recorder, and a remote control.

The general goal of an HTPC is usually to integrate many or all components of a home theater into a single unit co-located with home entertainment system. An HTPC system typically has a remote control and the software interface normally has a 10-foot user interface design so that it can be comfortably viewed at typical television viewing distances. An HTPC can either be purchased pre-configured with the required hardware and software needed to add television programming to the PC, or can be cobbled together out of discrete components as is commonly done with Windows Media Center, MediaPortal, MythTV, SageTV, LinuxMCE, or XBMC Media Center based HTPC media center setups.

History
The HTPC is the product of several technology innovations including high-powered home computers, digital media, and the shift from standard resolution CRT to high definition monitors and projectors.

Integrating televisions and personal computers dates back to the early 1990s with tuner cards that could be added to PCs. This adaptation would allow a small video window to appear on the screen with broadcast or cable content. Apple Computer also developed the Macintosh TV in late 1993 that included a tuner card built into an Macintosh LC 520 chassis but quickly withdrew from the market with only 10,000 units shipped.

In 1996 Gateway Computer unveiled the Destination computer that included a tuner card, video card. The unit cost $4,000 and mostly integrated television viewing and computer functions on one color monitor.

By 2000, DVD players had become relatively ubiquitous and consumers were seeking ways to improve the picture. The value of using a computer instead of stand alone DVD player drove more usage of the PC as a home media device. In particular, the desire for progressive scanning DVD players (480p instead of 480i) for better video fidelity led some consumers to consider their computers instead of very expensive DVD players.

As DVD players dropped in price, so did PCs and their related video processing and storage capabilities. In 2000, DVD decryption software using the DeCSS allowed consolidated video libraries on hard-drives. Innovations like Tivo and ReplayTV allowed viewers to store and timeshift broadcast content using specialty designed computers. ReplayTV for instance ran on a VxWorks platform. Incorporating these capabilities into PCs was well within the ability of the who was willing to build and program these systems. Key benefits of these DIY projects included lower cost and more features. Advancements in hardware identified another weak link: the absence of media management software to make it easy to display and control the video from a distance.

By 2002, major software developments also facilitated media management, hardware integration, and content presentation. MythTV provided an open source solution designed to combine several media into one user interface. The concept was to combine a digital tuner with digital video recording, program guides, and computer capabilities with a 10-foot user interface. XBMC was another free and open software project started with re-purposing the Xbox as a home theater PC but has since been ported Windows and Macintosh operating systems in various forms including Boxee and  Plex. Mainstream commercial software packages included Microsoft's XP Media Center Edition (2002) that was bundled with Windows XP and Apple's Front Row (2005) software bundled with Mac OSX. By early 2006, commercial examples of this integration included the Mac mini which had the Apple Remote, 5.1 digital audio, and an updated Front Row interface that would play shared media. Because of these features and the Mini's small form factor, consumers began using the Mini as a Mac-based home theater PC.

As digital cable and satellite became the norm, HTPC software became more dependent on external decoder boxes, and the subscription costs that came with them. For instance, MythTV is capable of capturing unencrypted HDTV streams, such as those broadcast over the air or on cable using QAM. However, most U.S. cable and satellite set-top boxes provide only encrypted HD streams for "non-basic" content, which can be decoded only by OpenCable-approved hardware or software. In September 2009, OEM restrictions were officially lifted for cableCARD devices, opening up the possibility for HTPC integration.

The advent of the fully digital HDTV displays helped to complete the value and ease of use of a HTPC system. Digital projectors,  plasma and  LCD displays often came pre-configured to accept computer video outputs including VGA, DVI and Component Video. Furthermore, both the computers and the displays could include video scalers to better conform the image to the screen format and resolutions.

The simplified integration of computer and home theater displays has allowed for fully digital content distribution over the internet. For instance, by 2007 Netflix "watch instantly" subscribers could view streaming content using their HTPCs with a browser or with plug-ins with applications like Boxee, Plex, and XBMC. Similar plug-in are also available for Hulu, YouTube, and broadcasters like NBC, CBS and PBS.

HTPC characteristics
Beyond functioning as a standard PC, normally HTPC's have some additional characteristics:

Television connectivity
Standard PC units are usually connected to a CRT or LCD display, while HTPCs are designed to be connected to a television. All HTPCs should feature a TV-out option, using either a HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort, Component video, VGA (for some LCD televisions), S-Video, or Composite video output.

Quiet / minimal noise
A common user complaint with using standard PCs as HTPC units is background noise, especially in quieter film scenes. Most personal computers are designed for maximum performance, while the functions of a HTPC system may not be processor-intensive. Thus, passive cooling systems, low-speed fans, vibration-absorbing elastic mounts for fans and hard drives, and other minimal noise devices are used in place of conventional cooling systems.

Putting the operating system on flash memory and keeping the media on a separate file server elsewhere in the home keeps the noise and heat generated by a hard drive in another location.

Higher storage capacities
Because of the nature of the HTPC, higher than average capacities are required for HTPC units to allow storage of pictures, music, television shows, videos, and other multimedia. Designed almost as a 'permanent storage' device, space can quickly run out on these devices. Because of restrictions on internal space for hard disc drives and a desire for low noise levels, many HTPC units utilise a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device, or a other type of networked connected file server. Some HTPC units also feature a DVD writer to help users copy and move their media.

TV tuner cards
A TV tuner card is a computer component that allows television signals to be received by a computer. Most TV tuners also function as video capture cards, allowing them to record television programs onto a hard disk. Several manufacturers build combined TV tuner plus capture cards for PCs. Many such cards offer hardware MPEG encoding to reduce the computing requirements. Some cards are designed for analog TV signals such as standard definition cable or off the air television while others are designed for high definition digital TV.

Remote control
Integrating a HTPC into a typical living room requires a way of controlling it from a distance. Many TV tuner/capture cards include remote controls for use with the applications included with the card. Software such as Boxee, GB-PVR, SageTV, MediaPortal and Beyond TV support the use of Windows MCE and other remote controls. Another option is an in-air mouse pointer like the Wii Remote, GlideTV Navigator, or Loop Pointer which gives cursor control from a distance. It is also possible to utilize common wireless keyboards and other peripherals to achieve the same effect (though the range may not be as long as a typical remote control).

Case Design
Cases specifically designed for HTPCs are available, and are meant to look similar to other home theater equipment such as AV receivers and amplifiers. Some HTPC cases are smaller and require the use of micro ATX motherboards. Also, some HTPC cases have a small LCD screen on the front where a user can view music/movie information.

Advantages

 * Cost - Since computer motherboards using chipsets with high-definition capable integrated graphics processors and built-in surround sound sound card have entered the market, the cost of the system can be a fraction of a high-end commercial solution such as TiVo.
 * Quality - Video output from a HTPC can rival high-end dedicated playback devices.
 * Features - such as pause live TV, usually a feature of high-end dedicated devices.
 * Digital media recorder
 * Media server - The HTPC can serve media files to other computers / devices on a network.
 * Gaming - Plays any PC game and application within the game or application's system requirements.
 * Other media - HTPCs can store photo albums and play other media files.
 * Other functions - other functions may include weather forecast, online radio streams, TV schedule, webcam, etc.
 * Other software - other software, such as downloading or file serving, can be run, perhaps in the background.
 * All-In-One - The features found in a HTPC would usually require more than one dedicated component.

Disadvantages

 * Cost - HTPCs can be expensive when compared to the prospect of renting a DVR box from a cable company.
 * Maintenance, Setup - The software in use may require configuration, updates.
 * Complexity - HTPCs are more complex than their dedicated counterparts.
 * Noise - HTPCs can have fans, which can be noisy.
 * Power consumption - HTPCs often use more power than consumer audio/video components.
 * Features - May lack proprietary features due to licensing and copyright issues.

Software
HTPC options exist for each of the major operating systems: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

Microsoft Windows
For Microsoft Windows, a common approach is to install a version that contains the Windows Media Center (Home Premium or Professional or Ultimate for 7, Home Premium or Ultimate for Vista, or the older Windows XP Media Center Edition). Windows Media Center includes additional software that covers the PVR functions of the proposed HTPC, including free program guide information and automatic program recording. However, Windows MCE does not provide an MPEG2 codec, although one can be purchased from Intel, or is alternatively included when purchasing Intervideo's WinDVD. Other MCE compatible MPEG2 decoders are Nvidia's PureVideo and Sonic's CinePlayer DVD Decoder packages. Windows 7, Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate already include an MPEG2 decoder.

Alternatively, a HTPC may be built with the addition of a third party software PVR such as GB-PVR, SageTV or Snapstream's BeyondTV to a Windows PC. SageTV and GB-PVR have integrated placeshifting comparable to the Slingbox, allowing client PCs and the Hauppauge MediaMVP to be connected to the server over the network. Snapstream provides heuristic commercial detection and program recompression. When using a faster CPU, SageTV and Beyond TV can record content from TV capture cards which do not include hardware MPEG2 compression. For a free alternative, GB-PVR and MediaPortal provide full home theatre support and good multi-card DVR capabilities. GB-PVR also has a free client, free mediaMVP client, and free network media playback.

GNU/Linux
For GNU/Linux, Mythbuntu is a special derivative of Ubuntu Desktop Edition which uses MythTV, just as XBMC Live is a special derivative of Ubuntu Mobile Edition which uses XBMC Media Center, while LinuxMCE combines MythTV and the Kubuntu distribution. KnoppMyth combines the Knoppix Linux distribution with MythTV, a Linux based software PVR,. Freevo is a popular alternative to MythTV on Linux and similarly has a number of live distributions available notably MegaBox a PPC based linux system for the PlayStation3 that integrates Freevo. SageTV provides commercially supported Linux HTPC software that is compatible with most major Linux distributions. There is also VDR - quite popular software PVR with many available plugins, good performance and HDTV support.

Mac OS X
For Mac OS X, some HTPC functionality is built into the operating system itself. Specifically, the programs Front Row and Cover Flow, utilized in conjunction with the Apple Remote, let users easily browse through and enjoy any multimedia content stored on their Macs.

Beyond the operating system itself, add-on hardware-plus-software combinations (for adding more full-featured HTPC abilities to any Mac) include Elgato's EyeTV series PVRs, AMD's "ATI Wonder" external USB 2.0 TV-tuners, and various individual devices from third-party manufacturers Miglia, Hauppage, EskapeLabs, Slingbox, and others.

Portable media player
A Portable media player (PMP) can be used for portable access to recorded programs, such as for working out at the gym, or for passenger entertainment during long drives. Some devices in this category can be automatically synchronized with a PC.

When using automatic synchronization, or batch converting a directory full of recorded programs to be placed on the PMP, it is useful if the device includes a commercial skip feature. While there have been attempts at automatically detecting commercial breaks, the reliability of those detection algorithms isn't accurate enough to rely upon when converting video content. When moving video to a device which does not include a skip feature, video editing software can be used to remove commercial breaks in the programs on an individual basis.

Stand-alone media management & digital video recording software

 * Boxee (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Apple TV)
 * EyeTV (Mac OS X)
 * Freevo (Linux, Python, free)
 * Front Row (software) (Mac OS X, Apple TV)
 * GB-PVR (Windows, free)
 * J. River Media Center (Windows)
 * MediaPortal (Windows, free)
 * MythTV (Linux, free)
 * Orb (Web/Ajax)
 * Plex, a fork of the XBMC code for Mac OS X users.
 * SageTV (Windows, Mac, and Linux)
 * ShowShifter (Media Center)
 * Beyond TV (Windows)
 * XBMC (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Xbox game-console, free)

Operating systems

 * MegaBox (Linux, PPC, PS3)
 * Piren
 * eAR OS (Linux)
 * GeeXboX (Linux)
 * KnoppMyth (Linux)
 * LinuxMCE (Linux)
 * Mythbuntu (Linux)
 * Mythdora (Linux)
 * Windows XP Media Center Edition (Microsoft)
 * Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate (Microsoft)
 * Windows 7 (Microsoft)
 * XBMC Live (Linux)
 * ElementOS (Linux + Boxee)

Hardware

 * ATI Theater Cards
 * Grippity - Handheld Control Solutions
 * Hauppauge Computer Works WinTV PVR Cards
 * HDHomeRun, made by SiliconDust
 * iMON IR Remotes
 * MCE IR Remotes
 * nVidia TV-Tuner Cards (discontinued)
 * TechnoTrend TV cards
 * Vista View Saber Cards (Analog and Combo)

System manufacturers

 * Alienware
 * BodhiBoxes
 * Dell
 * DPandA
 * Gateway
 * Hewlett-Packard
 * Kinetic UK
 * Interact-TV
 * NinX Media PCs
 * Niveus Media
 * Shuttle Inc.
 * Sony (VAIO series)
 * Splitted-Desktop Systems
 * Theatron Media
 * Toshiba
 * Velocity Micro

Functionality and advantages
Typically, complete media centers offer the following functions to the user:


 * Integration of all forms of media, entertainment and communication functions including TV-reception (analogue TV, DigitalTV via terrestrial-, cable-, satellite-, IPTV-, webTV-networks), broadband Internet access, radio, IP-telephony, video-telephony, e-mail etc. into one common user friendly GUI (graphical user interface) controlled with a remote control or wireless keyboard by the family members typically in the living room
 * Ability to receive digital media files (via direct video signal, computer network or USB)
 * Ability to store digital media (usually on a standard computer hard disk drive)
 * Ability to play back digital media through standard television or hi-fi equipment
 * Simplicity (compared to a computer equipped to accomplish transfer, storage and TV/hi-fi playback)
 * Cost savings (compared to a computer equipped to accomplish transfer, storage and TV/hi-fi playback)
 * Portability (compared to a computer equipped to accomplish transfer, storage and TV/hi-fi playback)

Though media centers are often built using similar components to personal computers, they are often smaller; media centers sometimes have hardware that is not usually seen in personal computers, such as receivers for remote controls, or television tuner cards. Media centers have not seen widespread popularity but are starting to take hold in the UK and the United States.

Common applications
There are several common applications for which media centers are beginning to gain popularity. Simply put, any application requiring the playback of digital media based files, but not requiring the full features and flexibility of a personal computer stands to benefit from the reduced size, reduced complexity and reduced cost of media centers when compared to similarly equipped PCs.

Common applications include :


 * Digital Sign Systems
 * Automotive Entertainment Systems (i.e. limousines, tour buses, car stereos)
 * In flight/room entertainment and Video On Demand Systems
 * Mobile sales professionals
 * Portable collections for travelers and audio/video enthusiasts

Devices

 * AppleTV
 * Dreambox
 * Hauppauge MediaMVP
 * Moxi
 * Niveus Media
 * Networked Media Tank
 * Telly Home Entertainment Server
 * WD TV
 * Xbox (with XBMC Media Center)

Stand-alone software

 * Acer Arcade, (Windows)
 * Beyond TV, (Windows)
 * Boxee (Mac OS X, Apple TV, Linux, and Windows)
 * CenterStage (Mac OS X)
 * Dell MediaDirect (Windows)
 * Entertainer (Linux)
 * Freevo (Linux/Mac OS X/Windows)
 * Front Row (Mac OS X)
 * GB-PVR (Windows)
 * iTheater (Mac OS X)
 * J. River Media Center (Windows)
 * MediaCentre (Mac OS X, Windows, Linux)
 * MediaPortal (Windows, GPL License)
 * Meedio (Windows) (development stopped around 2006)
 * MeediOS (Windows) (rewrite of Meedio)
 * Moovida (formerly Elisa) (Linux/Windows)
 * MythTV (Linux)
 * My Media System (Linux)
 * MyCast Orb (Windows)
 * Pinnacle PCTV MediaCenter (Windows)
 * Pinnacle TVCenter PRO (Windows)
 * Plex (Mac OS X Leopard)
 * SageTV (Windows, Linux and Mac)
 * SesamTV (Windows)
 * Sofa (Linux and Mac OS X) (development stopped around 2005)
 * Nero MediaHome (Windows)
 * TVedia
 * Voddler (Mac and Windows)
 * Windows Media Center (Windows)
 * Wellton Way MultiMedia Center (MMC) (Windows)
 * XBMC Media Center (Linux, Mac OS X, Apple TV, Windows, Xbox game-console, free)

Media center operating systems

 * GeeXboX (Linux)
 * LinuxMCE (Linux)
 * KnoppMyth (Linux)
 * Mac OS X (via Front Row)
 * Mythbuntu (Linux)
 * Mythdora (Linux)
 * Linpus (Linux)
 * Windows XP Media Center Edition
 * Windows Vista (Home Premium and Ultimate editions only)
 * Windows 7
 * XBMC Live (Linux)