HTPC Suggestions welcomed

[earlyre]

Looking for, built, or in parts, an Inexpensive, file format/codec proof, HTPC "for Dummies"

Friend's Mother resigned from her medical practice, and is moving to Alaska for the Next 3-4 yrs, in a remote village hospital, inaccessible overland except for the winter.
not sure of the TV She'll have to attach it to, so, it would need to output to the old Composite (Y video, R&W R&L audio), as well as component(RGB), and possibly HDMI/VGA output.

I have in the neighbor hood of 2 TB of TV shows and Movies on my PC, as well as 2 1TB drives I could add to the HTPC Setup, and copy my files over to. ( in the Neighborhood of 2300 Hrs of Material)

It would need to be dead simple to operate. so simple your grandma could do it.

I like the layout @ Flow of Win Media center, but would prefer something opensource, that used something like a skinned VLC as the player, so it would just work, and play anything no matter the format. something truly "Plug and Play."

to sum it up:
small/Lightweight for transport to alaska, but large enough to add 2 Sata HDD, plus a boot drive.
need the hardware, and software to be bulletproof for video playback, and connectablity
and the software needs to be "so simple a caveman could use it"
and as inaxpensive as possible.
so your basic Holy grail of HTPCs. not asking much am I?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Good luck with that.

I was going to suggest a minitower or microtower PC and install XBMC on it, alas, the video outputs will depend on what video card you put in it, but typically only DVI/HDMI. While it'll play just about anything, I'm not sure I'd call it "so simple a caveman could use it." Extra drives could be connected via USB if there isn't enough space inside.

Curious to see what kind of feedback you'll get on this.

 

[earlyre]

i Know, that's why i'm asking the crowd..the old 2 heads are better than 1 thing.

I have a MOBO w/ a 2.6GHz Quad Core Athlon II 64 bit, and 8GB of Ram, but it's a full ATX, and the case i have it in is far too large for what i am shooting for. (Shipping to Alaska aint cheap, Dimensions matter as much as weight, if not more.)
and even if i could get it in small enough case, i still would need a PCIE video Card.

 

[skyactiv]

Silverstone makes HTPC boxes from very small to hard drive gulping large.
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product_case.php?tno=0&case=c_slim&area=en


A lot will change in 3-4 years from now.

I would check into the codecs that could be added in WMC running Windows 8.
You can set up a WMC HTPC to boot directly into WMC menu without logging in.
I never had luck setting up a Linux based HTPC, or at least one that would record live TV and play over HDMI. WMC lets you and legally.

But if all your doing is watching prerecorded media, maybe there is a Linux derivative for you.

 

[yesthatsteve]

With size as a huge consideration, why not get a Mini-ITX board with CPU and integrated graphics? The Gigabyte GA-C1007UN-D is powerful enough to run high-def video, and a Cooler Master Elite 120 ITX case should hold all your drives.

It gives you a small form factor that covers nearly all your bases, and doesn't cost much. The only drawback is the mobo has only VGA and HDMI video outputs.

 

[earlyre]

that honestly may be fine... i need to ask if they supply a tv in her apt, or if she has to take her own. if she is taking her own, I can see what she's taking, and verify the connections,
the apt does have Wifi, according to the docs i saw.

skyactiv,
i'm very comfortable with win media center, my prev PC was all set up with 3 tuners (2) OTA, (1) SD Cable, and had my xbox out in the living room set to bypass the dash, right to media center extender mode.

I'm not even considering a tuner, b/c i don't know that there would BE any OTA reception... and I'd rather not pay for another windows license if i can do it just as well with something free & opensource.

maybe a better name for what i'm looking for would be a "video Jukebox" rather than a HTPC...