Thread: 101 HTPC Media Center Tips for Beginners

Here's a wonderful list from a great site for HTPC enthusiasts. Having just bought a Dell Zino HD myself I'm currently in the process of applying many of these tips to my new machine. Thought some of you guys might find it useful as well!

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This 101 Best HTPC Media Center Tips list is being combined for all beginners wishing to get started with a Media Center PC. The list has been compiled based on the articles that can be found from the My Media Experience Media Center PC Guide. Enjoy these tips and remember to share them with your friends who wish to bring the internet to their TV, too.

Spoiler

101. Use the NoSquint plugin to transform the Firefox as the best HTPC browser.

100. Read our top 10 list of media center software to find the best HTPC software to your needs.

99. If you own an external hard drive, create a folder shortcut to the external hard drive and replace the original e.g. Music folder with a shortcut. This way you save your internal hard drive space without breaking the links e.g. in the iTunes.

98. Attach an USB hub under your TV and insert mouse’s USB receiver to the hub to increase the wireless range.

97. Put a random photo slide show as a screenshow to enjoy your recent photos when ever your Media Center PC is idle.

96. Use a multiple displays to browse internet on one TV while your spouse is watching TV shows on another.

95. If you are looking for a new HTPC or accessories, you will find our HTPC buying guide useful.

94. Arrange your media applications to your desktop as a launchpad.

93. Use your old laptop as Media Center PC by connecting the PC either using VGA or DVI connection.

92. All in one remote control such as Logitech Harmony Remote is a great way to control your Media Center PC

91. Google Reader Play is a nice 10-foot user interface for your HDTV.

90. Use cable management solution such as CableBox or Belkin Concealed Surge Protector to hide cables nicely.

89. If the font is too small for your HTPC, try to adjust the default operating system font size larger to make it more readable from the distance.

88. Set up a wireless home network to connect other devices such as Media Center PC, laptop and mobile devices together.

87. Extend your existing wireless network with Apple Airport Express router.

86. Play movies on TV using an A/V component video cable with iPod or iPhone.

85. Use iPod Touch or iPhone as a remote control by getting a remote app such as a Rowmote from the Apple App Store.

84. Purchase a Toslink to Optical Mini Plug to enjoy digital audio from your Media Center PC with an A/V receiver.

83. Play HD video on a slow PC with the KMPlayer media player and CoreAVC codec. The KMPlayer is probably the best HTPC software for slower hardware.

82. Get a gigabit router such as Apple Airport Extreme to enjoy fastest possible transfer speeds with an external network hard drive.

81. Consider RAID 1 network hard drive mirroring with two hard drives for added security.

80. Take scheduled daily backups from your valuable media files.

79. Use online backup services such as Mozy.com for an added security.

78. Bring a webcam to the living room to make Skype video calls to your friends and family.

77. Sennheiser HD25-II are excellent headphones if you would like to enjoy your media files without hearing anything from the background.

76. Share HD videos to your friends and family using a Vimeo video sharing service.

75. Use the DVI-to-HDMI cable to connect your Media Center PC to TV.

74. Categorize video files in iTunes by changing the media kind of a video file from the get info menu.

73. Listen to internet radio in iTunes and Front Row Media Center software by building a separate playlist for radio channels.

72. Get an external Blu-ray optical drive for Mac, rip Blu-ray to the Mac and watch them with e.g. with VLC player.

71. Use ethernet cable with your Media Center PC instead of wireless card to maximize the network speed.

70. Use an Air Mouse such as Logitech MX Air to enjoy controlling computer from the sofa.

69. Use bluetooth keyboard to ensure good responsiveness and wireless range.

68. Subscribe RSS video feeds to Boxee to enjoy your favorite video feeds.

67. Use Plex Media Center’s App Store to customize your media center experience. Overall Plex is a media center with the best ui when it comes to integrating your existing iTunes library to the 10-foot user interface.

66. Use the KyloTV browser to enlarge the font size suitable for the TV.

65. Consider Acer Aspire Revo if you are looking for really cheap and capable nettop computer.

64. Try Lenovo Multimedia Keyboard if you wish to combine both mouse and keyboard into one device.

63. Use iTunes as a media manager to make your life easier.

62. As a tip if you are looking for a small and cheap keyboard, Logitech Wii Keyboard works well on PC and Mac as well.

61. If you are building a custom Media Center PC, Intel Core i3-530 processor is a good tip as it is very fast and has a built in HD graphics card.

60. Get at least 4GB of memory and you will not regret this tip later with heavier applications.

59. Plex and MakeMKV ripping software are good combination if you wish to add Blu-ray drive to your Mac.

58. As a great Front Row Media Center tip, to get different folders visible, create Alias links from external sources to the user/movies folder.

57. If you want to connect the computer to TV without any cables, try the innovative Asus Eeekeyboard to bring the internet to your TV.

56. Linux based GeeXboX is an ultra light media center software for older and slower PCs.

55. Get social with your media files by sharing your recommendations to your friends with the Boxee Social Media Center.

54. Get an advanced media center software by installing an XBMC Media Center to your computer.

53. Try the Hulu Desktop software to watch your favorite TV shows without paying to the cable provider.

52. Windows Media Center is the mainstream user’s choice. Windows 7 takes this traditional media center to the next level.

51. Plex Media Center for Mac OSX is a visually stunning alternative to Boxee and XBMC.

50. Media Portal is another open source media center project for more advanced users.

49. Front Row for Mac OSX is visually very nice looking and simple media center to use.

48. MythTV is a popular Linux based Digital Video Recording software. Just get the TV receiver card and you are ready to record TV.

47. BeyondTV is an alternative digital video recorder for your TiVo.

46. Bring YouTube to Front Row media center using the Understudy plugin.

45. Splash next generation video player is a great solution for playing HD video files on a slower PC.

44. If you need mini keyboard, Logitech DiNovo Mini or IOGear Keyboards can be the best HTPC keyboard for your needs.

43. Subscribe to the RSS news feeds with Google Reader to get the latest news at home or on the go.

42. Get children’s apps to your iPod to keep them busy while you are playing with the Media Center PC.

41. Use Time Machine together with an external hard drive to keep your media files backed up.

40. Apple Magic mouse has a new innovative way to zoom in the internet browser text while browsing in the internet with the HDTV.

39. If you need without-line-of-sight remote control, Logitech Harmony 900 works with a RF technology and works through walls as well.

38. You can get an infrared extender if you wish to control devices hidden into the TV cabinet with your remote control.

37. Google Picasa is an excellent photo management software that allows you to share your photos easily online as well.

36. Use the DVI or HDMI connection from computer to TV to enjoy the optimal image quality. VGA connection is only analog and a lot fuzzier.

35. Mac Mini has very high wife acceptance factor which makes it very good choice to the living room.

34. If you do not need to browse in the internet, Apple TV might be sufficient media player for you.

33. Activate vertical sync setting on your video card driver to minimize horizontal tearing while playing back video files.

32. Adjust the font size DPI in the Windows operating system to make icons and text larger.

31. On Mac OSX, try the Billboard front-end for iTunes to get a 10-foot user interface with iTunes. Unfortunately, there is no Windows 7 version available yet.

30. Use the google reader Wii version to read the latest news on the Wii game console.

29. WiiMote is a perfect Media Center controlling device, so use Wii as an internet browser for your TV.

28. Hulu.com is an excellent online video service. You should definately try this free service if you haven’t already.

27. iTunes Store allows you to buy or rent very high quality videos. The added bonus is that you can easily enjoy the movies on your iPod or iPhone as well.

26. Boxee Social Media Center can be used as an interface for watching free online content from TV.

25. Finnish digital video recording service called TVKaista.fi is an excellent example of the future of the internet TV.

24. SageTV HD Theater is an alternative media extender to the conventional Media Center PC.



23. Thinkflood Redeye infrared remote turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into an infrared universal remote control.

22. You can play HD AVCHD video files smoothly with the KMPlayer while most other players are not capable of playing M2TS files directly from your camcorder.

21. If you own a HD video camera, you should definately consider buying an external hard drive as you will otherwise run out of space with our backups.

20. CoreAVC is the fastest software AVCHD codec available for Windows computers.

19. Get Apple iPad as the internet browsing device to your living room together with the traditional Media Center.

18. Use Clicker.tv to stream internet television channels with a remote control friendly user interface.

17. Media Browser makes your media file artworks and other information complete on Windows Media Center

16. YouTube XL is a 10-foot user interface to make watching Youtube videos from the TV easier.

15. Rename video files to something more simpler for easier detection when using media center software.

14. Rip DVDs easily to your computer using the Handbrake software.

13. Use iPod Touch or iPhone as mouse with an apps like Rowmote.

12. Buy a cheap nettop computer from Acer, Asus or Zotac for an entry level Media Center PC under $300.

11. Rent your movies from Netflix without a need to leave your house to the movie rental place. Works with Windows Media Center too.

10. Stream video and music files to the Wii or Xbox game console using the Orb software.

9. Windows Media Center is still the best digital video recording software. Just buy a TV tuner to the computer and you are ready to record TV shows.

8. Childproof your media center setup by hiding cables with cable organizers and attaching TV and speakers to the TV cabinet.

7. Adjust the brightness, contrast and color options on your TV to optimize the image quality for computer usage.

6. Use XBMC media center with its plugins such as Tetris game or YouTube video players to tune your ultimate media center.

5. Read AVSForum for expert advices and tips about Media Center PCs.

4. Start with two good quality speakers when building your home theater. You do not need cheap 7.1 speaker system, but invest a bit more on good quality 2.0 speaker system.

3. Start with iTunes media player and Picasa photo manager to get your family used to the computer in the living room. Later extend to more sophisticated media centers once they are used to the idea of having a computer in the living room.

2. Download video podcasts from iTunes to get started with collecting media content to your computer. iTunes video podcast offering has really improved in the past years.

1. Get help and learn more about HTPC tips by subscribing the HTPC Media Center RSS feed.

Not to bash on you, but I don't understand how this was helpful. It's a giant string of advertisements lol.

true plenty of these just talk about buying certain hardware/software but theres plenty of really good tips among it. Like grabbing the no squint pluggin for reading from your couch and to always get bluetooth as opposed to IR.

and honestly the buying suggestions though blatant and often obvious are all good options. Plus most the software is open source.

great tips, thanks!

there are some good tip like cpu and ram to get but seem like mostly the top 50 or so have something to do with APPLE lol

Wowser. A bit incongruous considering the long list of technical tips is meant to help the "beginner." I'm somewhat technically savvy but my eyes glazed over about a third of the way through. A beginner most likely doesn't have the advanced understanding of what most of these tips entail - speaking from experience after going through my own painful beginning HTPC Media Center process not that long ago. Maybe this would be better suited for the....advanced beginner!

81. Consider RAID 1 network hard drive mirroring with two hard drives for added security.

Yes, just what the beginner should know.

Most HTPC "beginners" are going to go with a Boxee Box etc, that really doesn't require too much technical knowledge anyhow.

This list is so stupid, if I were a mod I would have this thread deleted.

Whilst we're on the subject, I can't wait for the new ASRock MiniPC with AMD's Fusion E350M1.

---------- Post added at 02:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:48 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Phran

Wowser. A bit incongruous considering the long list of technical tips is meant to help the "beginner."

Ridiculous ah?

Next tip will be:

101: Don't wet your finger and put it into an electrical socket; you might shock yourself.... followed by

102: Make sure your HDD's are correctly aligned for 4K sectors.

yea I prolly could have edited this list down to 15 good htpc tips... But anyways, I have a dell zino HD that I got on sale and I'm digging it, I only wish plex worked better for windows. Since it doesn't i'm using XBMC which doesn't have a media manager like plex does.

Does serving content via DLNA to a western digital TV, xbox, PS3, or other player count as a HTPC?