[bzowk]

Good Afternoon All -

Being in the IT field, I am big into gadgets, but media too. I am about to outfit my house with full media capabilities, but have been out of the scene for a while so wanted to get some suggestions as to what would be the best / most awesome solution.

I currently have 3 TVs in the house which are each connected to the same DISH receiver. On the main TV, I had a Boxee Box, but it died. I used it to play my +6tb of media - mostly MKV. After the BOxee Box died, I've been using my XBOX + PS3 media center to transcode and stream media to the TV, but am now looking for a solution which I can use on every TV in the house. If I could pause a show on one and resume it on another TV, then that would be great, but not neccesary.

I don't have a big budget, but if I could also find a solution to integrate TV with it (with a DVR, perhaps), where I could cancel satellite, then I'm sure I'd get a bit more $ to work with. I'm trying out an app now which automatically downloads my (free&legal) shows soon after they air. If all of this could be integrated, then great!

My Current Gear

Media Room
- 60" 1080p HDTV
- XBOX 360
- DISH VIP 622 (Secondary output for TV2 (coax) is run downstairs & spliced between the 2 TVs down there - All 3 TVs share same DVR)

Computer Room
- Media Server - On 24/7 - Runs Win7 and has all my +6tb of media in file shares. Use PS3 Media Center to host
- x2 Workstations which I would consider standard (Dual Core Proc, 4gb RAM, standard video, 250gb HDD, etc)
- I run ESX on one (yes, even with 4gb of RAM, but it does have 2 HDDs) to host my DC and SCCM 2012
- The other is my standard workstation running Windows 7. Really only use it to burn discs.
- x2 Older workstations - Tried installing the XBMC integrated Linux on one of these, but despite trying a few things never got the video working correctly as I don't think it ever got above 640x480 or 800x600 res.
- D-Link DIR-855 Media Router - Simulatious 2.4Ghz / 5Ghz - 4 10/100/1000 ports on back

Even though the computer room is across the hall from the Main TV Room, I couldn't get cat5 run to it without it being exposed (weird design) which my wife freaked over so I have been using a pair of powerline adapters for about 6 months. They advertised up to gb speeds. I can successfully stream a 720p movie over them (when I had the Boxee Box), but it flutters on 1080p.

Features I AM Looking For
- Each TV in house have access to all of my local network's media
- Optional - Ability to pause media on one TV and resume on different one
- Possibly integrated TV Tuner (for air based TV)
- Have DVR option for TV
- Each of the TVs to have a wireless remote (not talking about a w/l keyboard & mouse )
- Most Important - Easy enough for my non-tech wife to use without complaining after I set it up

Questions
1. Would XBMC be a good solution for this? Is there a different / additional MC you suggest?

2. Given the scenario, would the XBMC branded Linux be the best bet for dedicated workstations on each TV?

3. I'd like to use as much of my existing hardware as possible, but would need at least 1 of the TVs to have the smallest hardware possible. For whatever version I need to use, does anyone know the smallest workstation / thin client avalible which is 100% compatible (and on the cheap side)

4. As mentioned, I currently have my media all on one server, but spread out over 5 physical hard drives. I have Win 7 x64 on it simply because I do run a few other apps on it too and at the time seemed a better choice than 2008R2. The files are basic folder shares with NTFS permissions. Is there a preferred way to connect to these files with any media center? I have always used SMB, but know that other options are out there. I'd think FTP wouldn't allow as many features, but may be faster. What's preferred?

I think that's it. If you read this whole thing, then sorry for typing so much. I would really appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

[maruchan]

Features I AM Looking For
- Each TV in house have access to all of my local network's media
- Optional - Ability to pause media on one TV and resume on different one
- Possibly integrated TV Tuner (for air based TV)
- Have DVR option for TV
- Each of the TVs to have a wireless remote (not talking about a w/l keyboard & mouse )
- Most Important - Easy enough for my non-tech wife to use without complaining after I set it up

XBMC should be able to do all of the things you've listed as features you're looking for, though some of them are currently "experimental" (primarily DVR.)

1.) Designate a "primary" box that handles all of the heavy lifting. This would contain your OTA Tuner card, your DVR backend server (probably MediaPortal if you're on Windows), your media database, and any third party apps that download media (CouchPotato, Sickbeard, etc.) Your Media Server would probably be a good candidate.

2.) Install a MySQL Database on the primary box and configure all of your XBMC installs to use that database. This will allow you to sync all of your media, thumbnails, and fanart across all XBMC boxes in your house. It will also allow you to stop a movie in one room and resume it from that spot in another. It's very slick and adds a lot to the WAF

3.) Buy a few Microsoft WMC IR receiver/remote combos. XBMC supports these out of the box, even on non-Windows installs. If you're looking to make it easy for your spouse, you can also buy a few Harmony Universal remotes and set them up as WMC remotes.

Linux vs Windows is really a matter of preference; both can work well with the proper setup. If you want a true "appliance" like install, Linux would probably be the way to go. SMB shares work fine and are what a majority of people use, though NFS are generally regarded as superior if you're running on an OS that properly supports them (i.e., Linux.)

[Gr8rtek]

If you have HDMI connections on all of the TVs, you might look at the CEC-USB adapter from Pulse Eight. It will allow you to use your existing HDTV remote to control XBMC. I use a Harmony 550 and a Harmony Link to control XBMC in my house, and it works very well. You can also install an XBMC remote app on your Android or iDevice tablet/phone and these work very well, and since they use wireless they don't require line of sight to operate. I use constellation (iPad) and XBMC remote (Android) and am pleased with both of them.

There are a few options for your small form factor hardware. These forums are littered with people using the AppleTV 2nd Gen running XBMC, with varying levels of success (especially when it comes to 1080p movies). Another device called Raspberry Pi is now shipping (although availability is still very limited), and it promises to run XBMC and only cost $35! I ordered mine Feb. 29 and should have it sometime in August, so this might not be an option if you are in a hurry. Another option is rumored to be shipping "this summer" from Intel that promises a 4-inch square footprint with 1080p capability for "less than $200". Other than those small devices, XBMC should run on pretty much any other hardware and O/S. If you were having trouble with skipping in your earlier effort, make sure you have hardware decoding enabled under Settings > System > Video Output. It's also important that you have a supported video adapter (pretty much any recent Nvidia card and many Radeon cards should work).

Good luck in your quest!