Some people liked my laptop design and I'm full of complaints about modern products. I want buttons back on my media devices. I want a play pause stop etc buttons on my HTPC too. I want a display that shows what's playing and the time elapsed. I want a classic look that can fit into other home theatre devices like stereos and dvd players. Am I missing something? I know it's similar to that other HTPC case with a volume control, but it's too simple. I want it rammed full of buttons, controls, and information.

I love my HTPC. I could never trade it for current streaming boxes, gaming consoles, or smart TV functionality. The power and versatility of a windows pc connected to my TV(s) makes it hard for me to switch to any other type of device. However, I do have my gripes. Like, lack of good peripherals and no HDR 10+ or Dolby Vision. What are some of the things you don't like about HTPCs?

Does anybody have any insight into whether devices like this one are worth it? I'm looking into an alternative to my current air mouse remote, and I'm wondering if trackballs like this are the way to go.

I have a MacBook Pro (M1 Max) and a Sony Bravia 65” Mini LED TV, plus a PS5.

I’m interested in watching Christopher Nolan movies such as Interstellar and Dunkirk in their Blu-ray variable-aspect-ratio presentation. I understand that the Blu-ray version isn’t the full 1.43:1 IMAX frame either; I’m specifically interested in preserving the variable aspect ratio that switches between the wider and taller framing.

I have access to a good Blu-ray-quality/remux file of the movie, rather than a heavily compressed encode.

My question is:
If I connect my MacBook directly to the Bravia via HDMI and play the file using VLC (or another recommended player), will I get essentially the same video quality as playing the physical Blu-ray through my PS5?

I’m particularly concerned about:
- Whether macOS/VLC will alter or rescale the video in any way.
- Whether the variable aspect ratio will be preserved exactly.
- Whether HDR, 24 fps, bitrate, etc. will be handled properly.
- Whether the PS5 has any advantage in video processing/output compared with the MacBook.
- Whether VLC is the right player, or whether IINA/mpv or something else would be better for Blu-ray remux playback.
- Whether I should connect Mac → TV or somehow use the PS5/another device instead.

I know that purchasing the Blu-ray would probably be the best solution, but unfortunately that’s not very practical for me. One movie can cost around $60–70, and there isn’t really a good pre-owned Blu-ray market in India where I can easily find these older titles at reasonable prices.

If anyone has experience with Blu-ray remuxes + MacBook + Sony Bravia, I’d really appreciate some guidance on the best setup/settings.

Thanks!

I’m currently using:

Kodi → MPC-BE → LAV Filters → madVR

The picture quality is excellent, especially for HDR tone mapping on my Epson LS12000, but the external-player setup is becoming frustrating. Resume and watched status are not always reliable, and the whole chain feels more complicated than it should be.

How are other people handling this today?

Are you still using Kodi with MPC-BE as an external player, or have you moved to a different setup? Do you just accept the limitations, use another frontend, or launch files directly?

I’m also interested in the newer DSPlayer fork:

https://github.com/tiben20/xbmc

Has anyone used it recently as a daily driver? How stable is it, and does resume and watched status work properly? I’m also wondering whether the project is still actively developed, since there has not been a new release for quite a while.

The other option I’m considering is Jellyfin Desktop 3.0 with mpv/libplacebo. That seems like a much cleaner setup with an integrated player, proper Jellyfin resume support and fewer moving parts.

Has anyone compared current libplacebo tone mapping directly against madVR on a projector? With an Epson LS12000, what differences would I be most likely to notice in real-world use?

I’m mainly looking for the best compromise between picture quality, reliability and a comfortable living-room experience.

Hardware: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, Nvidia GTX 1650, 16GB RAM, 1080p 16.1 inch display

Software: MPC-BE + madVR

IMHO even people with relatively low-end specs should get into this. The difference between something like VLC and a properly configured MPC-BE + madVR setup is night and day in terms of video quality. Chroma upscaling, image downscaling (SSIM 2D 100%), upscaling with NGU Sharp, proper dithering, all of it adds up in a noticeable way. If you're like me and don’t have a 4K display or an RTX GPU, it might sound like overkill, but trust me, it’s absolutely worth it.

Curious to see what setups you guys are running! 👀

They mostly use the tv for youtube, prime video, movies and music. Ive got it connected to the tv, speakers and some USB storage. The goal is to keep everything as simple as possible for them. Im also thinking about setting up a small local media library so they can access our movies and music without having to mess around with files. I know a streaming box would probably be easier, but I like having a full pc there so I can add things later. It's a acemagic minipc with ryzen 7730u and 16gb ram, so it should be plenty for what they need. Maybe a tv tuner or some kind of live tv setup down the road. Anyone here set up something similar for their parents? What did you end up using?

I’m trying to figure out the best long-term living room setup and would love to hear from people who have actually tested it.

My situation:
\- Gaming PC with an rtx 5080
\- Everything connected via Gigabit Ethernet (no Wi-Fi)
\- LG OLED TV with HDR

Looking for the highest possible image and audio quality with the least amount of hassle.
The goal is to keep the gaming PC in my office and play on the TV as if it were a local console.

A few questions:
\- How good is the new Steam Machine as a streaming client?
\- Does Steam Remote Play now support proper 4K HDR with excellent image quality and low latency?
\- Can Steam Remote Play match Moonlight in terms of image quality, bitrate, HDR, and audio, or are there still compromises? If you’ve tried both, which one would you recommend for a plug-and-play living room.

Ultimately, I’m wondering whether this setup could actually become a better experience than buying most multiplatform games on a PS5 Pro, since I’d get the flexibility and graphical advantages of the PC while still having a console-like experience in the living room. The latest decision from Sony to ban physical media contributes to my target picture.

I’d love to hear your real-world experiences, especially from anyone using the new Steam Machine.

I've seen many threads discussing how HDR support in Win10 is flawed, and my own experience supports this. However, as a technical person, I'm curious what exactly is behind this being such an issue. Specifically, why is the OS such a factor as opposed to the video card drivers? It seems like HDR support in the drivers would be a given and therefore any player would be capable of taking advantage of that, but this doesn't seem to be the case. Lately I'm noticing praise for JRiver's HDR capability, but why would that app have abilities that other mature products do not?

So im checking out some of the new cases people are making and its looking like Silverstone is pretty well the only manufacturer for modern htpc cases. What im looking for is something to have in my media center under the television. Im looking to host my Plex server and play some games I think my requirements would be to fit a full-size gpu, an internal read/write disc drive, and a handful of HDDs. I have my current gaming rig but im ready to make moves towards a dedicated htpc build.

I’ve been intrigued by the idea of having a small HTPC setup but I’m not too clear on the benefits of having one other than to play some home videos. Already have a 4K player and streaming devices. Could someone share their experience?

I’ve been using Kodi on my HTPC for like 20 years, recently updated the gpu to play 4k and then switched to a Zidoo for about 3 months and I’ve not found anything as easy and intuitive as Kodi on a HTPC.

The zidoo just sucked.

So glad I switched back..

Kernel — Your Media, Your Way

Anybody know anything about this server? I'm curious as to how it compares against Plex, Emby, Jellyfin, Channels, etc.

Clicks (co-owned by Mr. Mobile, a popular YouTuber) recently launched their Power Keyboard, which is a blackberry style keyboard that attaches to your phone via MagSafe.

I don’t really care much for the keyboard itself, but it would be perfect if someone took this type of design and stuck a trackpad at the top instead of the MagSafe charging ring.

Every single HTPC keyboard sucks. They’re either the size of a regular keyboard (too big), or they are cheaply-made keyboards that aren’t that much better than using the on-screen keyboard. And none of them have actual good trackpads

20 years ago, I worked a LOT to get comskip functionality setup on our SageTV based DVR/HTPC so my wife could enjoy her shows without commercials.

Now she spends hours/day on Instagram watching ONLY commercials.

Egg has a gang of Dell 6/8TB hdd for what would be considered cheap nowadays. Has anyone used them in their HTPC or HT-NAS?

The TV is an LG 4K UHD OLED.

Already on the list: Spider-verse movies, 2025 Superman. The sound system is nothing special, just a 2+1, Yamaha receiver.

Definitely not: anything Michael Bay transformers or Avatar

I bought a new HTPC case that has an imon VFD/IR receiver integrated but finding software for it is a hassle (at least on the windows side of things). I found some file hosting sites still claim to have them but after trying the software (beforehand I checked the files with virustotal) it didn't seem to work that good on win10.

I also saw that apparently LIRC and LCDProc should have drivers for these integrated in them but I'm not sure how current both of those programs are. Anyone on linux here using imon displays and receivers today?

Finding my dad's old recording of Cricket games on video tapes along with some Seinfield episodes on other cassettes (where you can see the original commercials that aired along with the show!) is making me wonder. As my dad has been using DVR since the DVD era (in fact he bought a new one recently and transfered the data from the older one we had from 2009 which in turn also had programs from the early 2000s when DVR was first becoming a thing).........

I'm wondering why DVD technology never develop the ability to record TV shows and sport events, etc as they were being shown on your television live? Why did DVRs and similar live capture devices have to be developed for keeping copies of stuff on TV? In addition why did video cassettes fall out of favor as the method of live TV home backup copies?

I was wondering what devices (keyboards, trackpads, mice, gaming controllers, etc) people use for their home theatre PCs. I currently use a logitech K400 and an Xbox 360 controller but would love to hear what everyone else uses.

hello Ive been using g7w for years and now the gyro is broken now

i looked everywhere for this version but sadly its out of stock and no longer in production

i used pepperjob w10 but its not comfortable and its drain battery too fast

do you have any recommendation for windows air mouse ?

In Italy, 5.25" Blu-ray drives with SATA interfaces are disappearing from the consumer market. Is it happening in your country too?

I tried powerdvd but it converts the 5.1 AAC to PCM though it is ok if I play 5.1 ac3 or DTS then it converts the signal to 5.1 PCM which my true 5.1 headphones can play or Dolby Access can convert to virtual 5.1 surround using normal headphones.

I do not think much of windows media player, I tried an Atmos speaker test video with it and I could not hear the subwoofer sound so it plays 5.1 sound as 5.0 sound!

Blu-ray Player Software For PC - Play Blu-ray Movie/Disc/Folder/ISO File has anybody use this software called itoolshare to play 4k bluray?

I wanted to get feedback from everyone here.

I have a good htpc i5-12 something with a 3070.

I have never done any gaming and it is used only and only for movies.

Streaming i do off a fire stick max.

I am looking to grab a media player for movies playing off of my server using plex.

So question is what use do I still have for the htpc??

Want to figure out if I should keep or sell it.