Recently a customer of mine told me he was looking into getting a Sonos Digital Music System for his home.
I asked him if he'd considered getting an HTPC instead and discussed the various pros and cons of getting a PC based solution.
The Sonos starter kit sells for $1500 at FutureShop. He'd still need to buy a NAS and a wireless bridge or have my wiring vendor add an ethernet drop to his living room.
I told told him that I could probably put together a decent HTPC for less.
The primary use of this HTPC will be for music but it could conceivably be for playing HD-DVD/BlueRay media in the future. It's not going to be used for DVR or watching TV.
I'm thinking of basing it on the Shuttle SN25P: link
It has a VIA sound system. Normally, I don't like VIA, but the reviews I've seen for this part are very good.
My questions, for you HTPC dudes, are:
-What, if any, advantage would Windows Media Center Edition 2005 provide?
-Is the M$ remote a good one? (link)
-What about their keyboard? (link)
-Video card recommendation? His TV has a spare Component Video input and an unused HDMI input. Which one is better for HTPC use? I'd guess Component Video because the HTPC wouldn't be using anything with content protection.
-Is there a better platform than Shuttle for this?
I asked him if he'd considered getting an HTPC instead and discussed the various pros and cons of getting a PC based solution.
The Sonos starter kit sells for $1500 at FutureShop. He'd still need to buy a NAS and a wireless bridge or have my wiring vendor add an ethernet drop to his living room.
I told told him that I could probably put together a decent HTPC for less.
The primary use of this HTPC will be for music but it could conceivably be for playing HD-DVD/BlueRay media in the future. It's not going to be used for DVR or watching TV.
I'm thinking of basing it on the Shuttle SN25P: link
It has a VIA sound system. Normally, I don't like VIA, but the reviews I've seen for this part are very good.
My questions, for you HTPC dudes, are:
-What, if any, advantage would Windows Media Center Edition 2005 provide?
-Is the M$ remote a good one? (link)
-What about their keyboard? (link)
-Video card recommendation? His TV has a spare Component Video input and an unused HDMI input. Which one is better for HTPC use? I'd guess Component Video because the HTPC wouldn't be using anything with content protection.
-Is there a better platform than Shuttle for this?
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