Home theater PC - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

A Home Theater PC or Media Center appliance is a convergence

Technological convergence

Technological convergence is the tendency for different technological systems to evolve towards performing similar tasks. Convergence can refer to previously separate technologies such as voice , data , and video that now share resources and interact with each other synergistically.The rise of...

device that combines some or all the capabilities of a personal computer

Personal computer

A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

with a software application that supports video, photo, music playback, and sometimes video recording

Digital video recorder

A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...

functionality. Although computers with some of these capabilities were available from the late 1980s, the "Home Theater PC" term first appeared in mainstream press in 1996. In recent years, other types of consumer electronics, including gaming systems and dedicated media devices have crossed over to manage video and music content. The term "media center" also refers to specialized application software

Application software

Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...

designed to run on standard personal computer

Personal computer

s.

An HTPC and other convergence devices integrate components of a home theater

Home cinema

Home cinema, also commonly called home theater, are home entertainment set-ups that seek to reproduce a movie theater experience and mood with the help of video and audio equipment in a private home....

into a unit co-located with a home entertainment system. An HTPC system typically has a remote control and the software interface normally has a 10-foot user interface

10-foot user interface

In computing a 10-foot user interface is a software GUI designed for display on a large television with interaction using a regular television-style remote control."10 foot" refers to the fact that the GUI's...

design so that it can be comfortably viewed at typical television viewing distances. An HTPC can be purchased pre-configured with the required hardware and software needed to add video programming or music to the PC. Enthusiasts can also piece together a system out of discrete components as part of a software-based HTPC.

Since 2007 digital media receiver

Digital media receiver

A digital media receiver , also commonly referred to as a media extender, media streamer, digital media hub, or digital media adapter , is a home entertainment device that can connect to a home network to retrieve digital media files from a personal computer or other networked media server and...

software has been incorporated into consumer electronics through software or hardware changes including gaming systems, blu-ray players, televisions

Smart TV

Smart TV, which is also sometimes referred to as "Connected TV" or "Hybrid TV", , is the phrase used to describe the current trend of integration of the internet and Web 2.0 features into modern television sets and set-top boxes, as well as the technological convergence between computers and these...

, and set top boxes. The increased availability of specialized devices, coupled with paid and free digital content, now offer alternatives to multipurpose (and more costly) personal computers.

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 late 1980s with tuner cards that could be added to Commodore Amiga PCs via the Video Toaster

Video Toaster

The NewTek Video Toaster is a combination of hardware and software for the editing and production of standard-definition and high-definition video in NTSC, PAL, and resolution independent formats on Commodore Amiga computers and subsequently on computers running the Windows operating system...

. 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

Macintosh TV

The Macintosh TV was Apple's first attempt at computer-television integration. It shared the external appearance of the Macintosh LC 500 series, but in black. The Macintosh TV was essentially a Performa 520 that could switch its built-in 14" Sony Trinitron CRT from being a computer display to a...

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

Gateway, Inc.

Gateway Computer Corporation, is a computer hardware company headquartered in Irvine, California, USA which develops, manufactures, supports, and markets a wide range of personal computers, computer monitors, servers, and computer accessories...

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. The Destination was called a "PC-TV Combo" but by December the term "Home-theater PC" appeared in mainstream media: "The home theater PC will be a combination entertainment and information appliance".

By 2000, DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

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 scan

Progressive scan

Progressive scanning is a way of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence...

ning DVD players (480p

480p

480p is the shorthand name for a video display resolution. The p stands for progressive scan, i.e. non-interlaced. The 480 denotes a vertical resolution of 480 pixel high vertically scanning lines, usually with a horizontal resolution of 640 pixels and 4:3 aspect ratio or a horizontal resolution of...

instead of 480i

480i

480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC...

) with 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

DeCSS

DeCSS is a computer program capable of decrypting content on a commercially produced DVD video disc. Before the release of DeCSS, there was no way for computers running a Linux-based operating system to play video DVDs....

algorithm let DVD owners consolidate their DVD video libraries on hard-drives. Innovations like Tivo

TiVo

TiVo is a digital video recorder developed and marketed by TiVo, Inc. and introduced in 1999. TiVo provides an on-screen guide of scheduled broadcast programming television programs, whose features include "Season Pass" schedules which record every new episode of a series, and "WishList"...

and ReplayTV

ReplayTV

ReplayTV is a brand of digital video recorder , a term synonymous with personal video recorder . It is a consumer video device which allows users to capture television programming to internal hard disk storage for later viewing...

allowed viewers to store and timeshift broadcast content using specialty designed computers. ReplayTV for instance ran on a VxWorks

VxWorks

VxWorks is a real-time operating system developed as proprietary software by Wind River Systems of Alameda, California, USA. First released in 1987, VxWorks is designed for use in embedded systems.- History :...

platform. Incorporating these capabilities into PCs was well within the ability of a computer hobbyist 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

MythTV

MythTV is a free and open source home entertainment application with a simplified "10-foot user interface" design for the living-room TV, and turns a computer with the necessary hardware into a network streaming digital video recorder, a digital multimedia home entertainment system, or home theater...

provided a free

Free software

Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...

and open source solution using Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

. 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

Free and open source software

Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...

project started with re-purposing the Xbox

Xbox

The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...

as a home theater PC but has since been ported to Windows and Macintosh operating systems in various forms including Boxee

BOXEE

Boxee is a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV...

and Plex. Mainstream commercial software packages included Microsoft's XP Media Center Edition (2002) that was bundled with Windows XP

Windows XP

Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...

and Apple's Front Row (2005) software bundled with Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

. By early 2006, commercial examples of this integration included the Mac mini

Mac Mini

The Mac Mini is a small form factor desktop computer manufactured by Apple Inc. Like earlier mini-ITX PC designs, it is uncommonly small for a desktop computer: 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches tall. It weighs 2.7 pounds...

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 a QAM tuner. However, most U.S. cable

Cable television

Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...

and satellite

Satellite television

Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...

set-top box

Set-top box

A set-top box or set-top unit is an information appliance device that generally contains a tuner and connects to a television set and an external source of signal, turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen or other display device.-History:Before the...

es provide only encrypted HD streams for "non-basic" content, which can be decoded only by OpenCable

OpenCable

OpenCable is a set of hardware and software specifications under development in the United States by CableLabs to "define the next-generation digital consumer device" for the cable television industry...

-approved hardware or software. In September 2009, OEM restrictions were officially lifted for cableCARD

CableCARD

CableCARD is a special-use PCMCIA card that allows consumers in the United States to view and record digital cable television channels on digital video recorders, personal computers and television sets without the use of other equipment such as a set top box provided by a cable television company...

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

Video projector

A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. All video projectors use a very bright light to project the image, and most modern ones can correct any curves, blurriness, and other...

, plasma

Plasma display

A plasma display panel is a type of flat panel display common to large TV displays or larger. They are called "plasma" displays because the technology utilizes small cells containing electrically charged ionized gases, or what are in essence chambers more commonly known as fluorescent...

and LCD

Liquid crystal display

A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....

displays often came pre-configured to accept computer video outputs including VGA, DVI

Digital Visual Interface

The Digital Visual Interface is a video interface standard covering the transmission of video between a source device and a display device. The DVI standard has achieved widespread acceptance in the PC industry, both in desktop PCs and monitors...

and Component Video

Component video

Component video is a video signal that has been split into two or more component channels. In popular use, it refers to a type of component analog video information that is transmitted or stored as three separate signals...

. Furthermore, both the computers and the displays could include video scaler

Video scaler

A video scaler is a device for converting video signals from one size or resolution to another: usually "upscaling" or "upconverting" a video signal from a low resolution to one of higher resolution A video scaler is a device for converting video signals from one size or resolution to another:...

s to better conform the image to the screen format and resolutions. Likewise, computers also included HDMI

HDMI

HDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...

ports that carry both audio and video signals to home video displays or AV Receivers.

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

Hulu

Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...

, YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

, and broadcasters like NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

, CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

and PBS

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

HTPC characteristics

The media itself may be stored

Computer storage

Computer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components and recording media that retain digital data. Data storage is one of the core functions and fundamental components of computers....

, received by terrestrial

Terrestrial television

Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...

, satellite

Satellite television

or cable

Cable television

broadcasting or streamed

Streaming media

Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...

from the internet. Stored media is kept either on a local hard drive or on a (wireless

Wireless LAN

A wireless local area network links two or more devices using some wireless distribution method , and usually providing a connection through an access point to the wider internet. This gives users the mobility to move around within a local coverage area and still be connected to the network...

) network attached storage. Some software is capable of doing other tasks, such as finding news (RSS

RSS (file format)

RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format...

) from the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

.

Beyond functioning as a standard PC, normally HTPCs have some additional characteristics:

Television connectivity

Standard PC units are usually connected to a CRT

Cathode ray tube

The cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube containing an electron gun and a fluorescent screen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms , pictures , radar targets and...

or LCD

Liquid crystal display

A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....

display, while HTPCs are designed to be connected to a television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

. All HTPCs should feature a TV-out option, using either a HDMI

HDMI

, DVI

Digital Visual Interface

, DisplayPort

DisplayPort

DisplayPort is a digital display interface standard produced by the Video Electronics Standards Association . The specification defines a royalty-free digital interconnect for audio and video. The interface is primarily used to connect a video source to a display device such as a computer monitor...

, Component video

Component video

, VGA

Video Graphics Array

Video Graphics Array refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987, but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution...

(for some LCD televisions), S-Video

S-Video

Separate Video, more commonly known as S-Video and Y/C, is often referred to by JVC as both an S-VHS connector and as Super Video. It is an analog video transmission scheme, in which video information is encoded on two channels: luma and chroma...

, or Composite video

Composite video

Composite video is the format of an analog television signal before it is combined with a sound signal and modulated onto an RF carrier. In contrast to component video it contains all required video information, including colors in a single line-level signal...

output.

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

BOXEE

Boxee is a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV...

, GB-PVR

GB-PVR

GB-PVR is a PVR application, running on Microsoft Windows, whose main function is scheduling TV recordings and playing back live TV. This PVR also acts as a home media center with a digital video recorder, a radio station online tuner, a music and movie player, a library of images and other...

, SageTV

SageTV

SageTV Media Center was a proprietary, commercial DVR and HTPC software for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. It requires that the host computer have a hardware based TV tuner card. The SageTV software has an integrated Electronic Programming Guide that is updated via the Internet...

, MediaPortal

MediaPortal

MediaPortal is an open-source media center software project, often considered an alternative to Windows Media Center. It provides a 10-foot user interface for performing typical PVR/TiVo functionality, including playing, pausing, and recording live TV; playing DVDs, videos, and music; viewing...

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

Wii Remote

The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...

, 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).

Some HTPCs, such as the Plex / Mac Mini combination, support programmable remote controls designed for a wide range of typical home theater devices. More recent innovations include remote control application for Android and Apple IOS smartphones and tablets.

External and networked storage devices

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

Multimedia

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

. 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 utilize a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device, or another type of network connected file server

File server

In computing, a file server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the computer network...

TV tuner cards

A TV tuner card

TV tuner card

A TV tuner card is a kind of television tuner 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 much like the Tivo digital video recorder does.-Variants: The interfaces for...

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.

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 noise-minimizing devices are used in place of conventional cooling systems.

Software

HTPC options exist for each of the major operating systems: Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

and Linux

Linux

. The software is sometimes called "Media Center Software".

GNU/Linux

For GNU/Linux, there exist a few options. Mythbuntu

Mythbuntu

Mythbuntu is a media center operating system . It is based on Ubuntu and integrates the MythTV Media center software as its main function, and does not install with all of the programs included with Ubuntu....

is a special derivative of Ubuntu Desktop Edition

Ubuntu (operating system)

Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...

which uses MythTV

MythTV

, just as XBMC Live is a special derivative of Ubuntu Mobile Edition which uses XBMC Media Center, while LinuxMCE

LinuxMCE

LinuxMCE is a free and open source software platform with a 10-foot user interface designed to allow a computer to act as a home theater PC for the living-room TV, personal video recorder, and home automation system. It allows control of everything in the home, from lighting and climate to...

combines MythTV

MythTV

and the Kubuntu

Kubuntu

Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system using the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the Unity graphical environment. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. It is possible to install both the KDE Plasma Desktop as well as the Unity desktop on...

distribution. KnoppMyth

KnoppMyth

KnoppMyth is a Linux distribution designed for use on Home Theater PCs . As of version R6, it is now called LinHES . The most recent release is based on Arch Linux, though previous versions were based on Debian Linux with configuration scripts from the Knoppix Linux distribution...

combines the Knoppix

Knoppix

Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD or a USB key , one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium...

Linux distribution with MythTV

MythTV

, a Linux based software PVR. SageTV

SageTV

provides commercially supported Linux HTPC software that is compatible with most major Linux distributions. Another option is Mythdora

MythDora

MythDora is a specialized operating system based on Fedora and MythTV. Since 2009, the version number comes from the version of Fedora used followed by the version of MythTV used. For example, the current version 12.23 uses Fedora 12 and MythTV 0.23. Like KnoppMyth, MythDora is designed to simplify...

which combines MythTV

MythTV

with Fedora

Fedora (operating system)

Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

.
Boxee

BOXEE

Boxee is a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV...

provides free media center software on their website which is based on XBMC. Boxee adds social features which allow users to rank content and to broadcast information about their viewing habits to other users. The Boxee software is also used to power the Boxee Box

Boxee Box

Boxee Box by D-Link is a Linux-based set-top device and media extender that first began shipping in 33 countries worldwide on the 10th of November 2010...

.

OpenELEC is an extremely small and very fast booting Linux based distribution providing a complete media center software suite that comes with a pre-configured version of XBMC and third-party addons with retro video game console emulators and PVR plugins.

Element OS

Element OS

Element OS was a Linux operating system that was intended for Home theater PC computers. It was discontinued in 2011.-Features:Element OS was based on Xubuntu and maintained compatibility with the Ubuntu repositories. It used the Advanced Packaging Tool with Element's own custom repositories and...

is a Xubuntu

Xubuntu

Xubuntu is a Canonical Ltd. recognized, community maintained derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, using the Xfce desktop environment.The name Xubuntu is a portmanteau of Xfce and Ubuntu...

based distribution built for HTPCs. It uses a specially modified version of Xfce

Xfce

Xfce is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris, and BSD – though recent compatibility issues have arisen with regard to BSD Unix platforms...

designed to be used at the high resolutions HTPCs often use. It comes with XBMC pre-installed, but boxee, hulu, or moovida can easily be installed. There is currently very limited PVR functionality in Element OS, this functionality was expected to be enhanced in later versions however Element OS has been discontinued and is no longer available.

There is also VDR

Video Disk Recorder

VDR is an open source application for Linux designed to allow any computer to function as a digital video recorder, in order to record and replay TV programming using the computer's hard drive. The computer needs to be equipped with a digital TV tuner card. VDR can also operate as an mp3 player...

- quite popular software PVR with many available plugins, good performance and HDTV support.

Mac OS X

For Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

, some HTPC functionality is built into the operating system itself. Specifically, the programs Front Row

Front Row

Front Row is a media center software for Apple's Macintosh computers and Apple TV for navigating and viewing video, photos, podcasts, and music from a computer, optical disc, or the Internet through a 10-foot user interface . The software relies on iTunes and iPhoto and is controlled by an Apple...

and Cover Flow, utilized in conjunction with the Apple Remote

Apple Remote

The Apple Remote is a remote control made for use with Apple products with infrared capabilities released after October 2005. The device was announced by Steve Jobs on October 12, 2005. The remote is largely based on the interface of the first generation iPod Shuffle and has only six buttons...

, let users easily browse through and view any multimedia content stored on their Macs.

Several third-party applications provide HTPC support including Plex, Boxee

BOXEE

Boxee is a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV...

and XBMC.

Beyond the operating system itself, add-on hardware-plus-software combinations (for adding more full-featured HTPC abilities to any Mac) include Elgato

Elgato

ElgatoSystems is a hardware and software manufacturer that makes television viewing and recording products specifically for the Macintosh family of personal computers, including EyeTV software...

's EyeTV series PVR

PVR

PVR may refer to:*Peak Vehicle Requirement, the number of public transport vehicles required to operate the highest frequency service on a route*Penn Virginia Resources, a mining company* Personal video recorder, also known as a digital video recorder...

s, AMD's "ATI

Ati

As a word, Ati may refer to:* Ati, a town in Chad* Ati, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines* Ati-Atihan Festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines* Ati, a queen of the fabled Land of Punt in Africa...

Wonder" external USB 2.0 TV-tuners, and various individual devices from third-party manufacturers.

Microsoft Windows

For Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

, a common approach is to install a version that contains the Windows Media Center

Windows Media Center

Windows Media Center is a digital video recorder and media player developed by Microsoft. It is an application that allows users to view and record live television, as well as organize and play music and videos...

(Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate for Windows 7, Home Premium or Ultimate for Windows Vista

Windows Vista

Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...

, 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. Windows 7, Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate already include an MPEG2 decoder. Only Windows XP MCE does not provide an MPEG2 codec, that can be purchased from Intel, or is alternatively included in Intervideo's WinDVD

WinDVD

WinDVD is a commercial video player and music player software for Microsoft Windows. It enables the viewing of DVD-Video movies on the user's PC. DVD-Video backups stored on hard disk can also be played...

shareware, or with DVD Decoder packages such as Nvidia's PureVideo and Sonic's CinePlayer.

Alternative HTPC software may be built with the addition of a third party software PVR

PVR

to a Windows PC. SageTV and GB-PVR have integrated placeshifting comparable to the Slingbox

Slingbox

The Slingbox is a TV streaming media device made by Sling Media that encodes video into the VC-1 format for transmission over the Internet and provides an infrared blaster. The video encoding and IR blaster can both be operated remotely over the Internet...

, allowing client PCs and the Hauppauge MediaMVP

Hauppauge MediaMVP

The Hauppauge MediaMVP is a network media player. It consists of a hardware unit with remote control, along with software for a Windows PC. Out of the box, it is capable of playing video and audio, displaying pictures, and "tuning in" to Internet radio stations. Alternative software is also...

to be connected to the server over the network. Snapstream provides heuristic commercial detection and program recompression. When using a faster CPU, SageTV

SageTV

and Beyond TV can record content from TV capture cards which do not include hardware MPEG2 compression. For a free alternative, GB-PVR

GB-PVR

and MediaPortal

MediaPortal

provide full home theater support and good multi-card DVR capabilities. GB-PVR

GB-PVR

also has a free client, free mediaMVP client, and free network media playback. MediaPortal

MediaPortal

provides a full Client/Server set-up with Live TV / DVR (Recorded or Timeshifted) streaming. MediaPortal

MediaPortal

is open source and offers a variety of skins and plugins for Music Videos, Netflix, Pandora and others.

Digital media receivers and consumer electronics integration

Although digital media receiver

Digital media receiver

s are often built using similar components to personal computers, they are often smaller, quieter and less costly than the full-featured computers adapted to multi-media entertainment.

In recent years, convergence devices for home entertainment including gaming systems, DVRs, Blu-Ray Players and dedicated devices like the Roku

Roku

Roku , is an American, privately held, consumer electronics company that sells home digital media products. The Company is based in Saratoga, California.- Company profile and products :...

have also started managing local video, music, and/or streaming internet content. Likewise, some managed video services like Verizon's FiOS

Fíos

Fíos is one of 17 parishes in Parres, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain....

allow users to incorporate their photographs, video, and music from their personal computers to their FiOS set-top-box including DVRs. Gaming systems like the Nintendo Wii

Wii

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

, Sony PlayStation 3

PlayStation 3

The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

and the Microsoft Xbox 360

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

support media management beyond their original gaming orientation.

As computing power increases and costs fall, traditional media devices like televisions have been given network capabilities. So-called Smart TV

Smart TV

s from Sony, Samsung, and Vizio (to name a few) have models that allow owners to include some free or subscription media content available on the Internet. The rapid growth in the availability of online content, including music and video and games has also made it easier for consumers use these networked devices. Youtube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

, for instance, is a common plug-in available on most networked devices. Netflix

Netflix

Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...

has also struck deals with many consumer electronics makers to have their interface available for their streaming subscribers. This symbiotic relationship between Netflix and consumer electronics makers has helped propel Netflix to become the largest subscription video service in the U.S., using up to 20% of U.S. bandwidth at peak times.

Other digital media retailers like Apple, Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

and Blockbuster have purchase and rental options for video and music on demand. Apple in particular has developed a tightly integrated device and content management ecosystem with their iTunes store

ITunes Store

The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...

, personal computers, iOS devices, and the AppleTV digital media receiver

Digital media receiver

. The most recent version of the AppleTV, at $99, has lost the hard-drive that was included in its predecessor and fully depends on either streaming internet content, or another computer on the home network for media.

Impact on traditional television services

The convergence of content, technology, and broadband access allows consumers to stream television shows and movies to their high-definition television in competition with traditional service providers (Cable TV and Satellite Television

Satellite television

). The research company SNL Kagan expects 12 million households, roughly 10%, to go without cable, satellite or telco video service by 2015 using Over The Top

Over-the-top content

In the fields of broadcasting and content delivery, over-the-top content means on-line delivery of video and audio without the Internet service provider being involved in the control or distribution of the content itself...

services. This represents a new trend in the broadcast television industry, as the list of options for watching movies and TV over the Internet grows every day. Research also shows that even as traditional television service providers are trimming their customer base, they are adding Broadband

Broadband

The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...

Internet customers. Nearly 76.6 million U.S. households get broadband from leading cable and telephone companies, although only a portion have sufficient speeds to support quality video steaming. Convergence devices for home entertainment will likely play a much larger role in the future of broadcast television, effectively shifting traditional revenue streams while providing consumers with more options.

External links

Time to Get a Home Theater PC
Guide to Building a Home Theater PC - Updated Monthly
Differences between HTPC and PC

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

HTPC characteristics

Television connectivity

Remote control

External and networked storage devices

TV tuner cards

Quiet / minimal noise

Software

GNU/Linux

Mac OS X

Microsoft Windows

Digital media receivers and consumer electronics integration

Impact on traditional television services

See also

External links