Jon’s HTPC: Wrap-up Negatives & Positives

This is Part of Jon’s HTPC setup. For more, see: Introduction and Table of Contents

The only negative I can think of:
Once setup, the system is very FF (Fiancé friendly); one simple remote controls everything and it’s very intuitive. However, setting it all up is a totally different story. That’s a lot of different software I mentioned above, and it can be pretty frustrating getting it all to play together in a friendly manner. Personally I (and probably a lot of people reading Scott’s webpage) really enjoy the process of making it all play nice. You end up with a really nice result with endless flexibility. However if you’re looking for something that is “plug and play” this couldn’t be any further from what you are looking for. With a TIVO you just plug it in and it works (essentially), but on the flip side your TIVO can’t control your coffee maker. ☺ Do whatever works for you.

Some positives:
Crazy good picture quality
Crazy good sound quality
Everything accessible from one location with one remote
Everything cataloged and searchable with cover/box-art
Tons of old school games with real controllers
AC3 (5.1) Music Library
Home automation integrated into Home Theater
Easy to expand and upgrade

Wow, I can’t believe how much I typed. If you made it this far I’m sorry it was so boring. Hopefully it was informative, and hopefully I just made it easier for anyone else that is interested in something similar. I know for me it’s been a huge learning process with lots and lots of failed attempts. And I’m sure I’ll learn a lot more too as it continues to expand. A “USBUIRT”, RF Distributor, and IR Repeater are on the horizon for me.

USBUIRT…
http://www.usbuirt.com/

Video Distributor…
http://www.smarthome.com/7717.HTML

IR Repeater…
http://www.smarthome.com/8220F.HTML

Thanks for reading!