Windows based HTPC help

[ToiletDuck]

Ok so I've purchased my first home and right now I'm typing this while sitting infront of my 60" TV on my HTPC using a wireless keyboard. I had a nice laptop with a few upgrades then it was ruined by baggage handlers of an airline. THe screen was busted but the machine still works.

Specs:

Intel i5 2.53ghz M460 CPU
8gb system memory
Nvidia m330 gpu with 1GB memory
256GB SSD HD


Overall I'd say it's a great machine. Right now it's running windows 7. My new laptop is a Windows 8 machine and after much use I think I'd rather fold it up and slam it against the wall until I simply couldn't anymore. Anyway I'm stuck with it.

Right now my older laptop is plugged into my Yamaha receiver via HDMI which then runs to my TV. I have a wireless keyboard that seems to be working just fine however I want to create a good media experience with the htpc and right now it's just my old main machine plugged into a 60" monitor.

What should I do to make this machine truely great as a HTPC? It just doesn't have that "IT" factor right now and feels more like someone trying to make something it isn't. Everything feels cumbersome. Should I reinstall windows 7 from scratch? Is there a different version of windows I should use besides 7 for this?


My goal is to put all my music on this machine, maybe plug in my external 1TB HD and put video's on it too, and be able to control it from my ipad. I just bought the plex Ipad program but don't think it's setup correctly since I can't use it as a remote.

So if you were starting from scratch with a perfectly capable PC what would you do? I don't want to select it on the receiver and people know it's a PC I'd rather it just be the front end and I can use my ipad to control it.

Also while trying to transfer over my music from my Windows 8 PC to my Windows 7 PC I'm only getting 1MB/s while on the same network. I'm pulling it from a shared folder too not using homegroups. Any idea why transfer speeds are so darn slow?

Thanks!
Duck

 

[txus.palacios]

It does not meet the "Windows-based" criteria, nor would this be the proper subforum for it, but check openELEC.

XBMC works with Windows, but I've always used it with Linux / openELEC.

 

[c627627]

Also while trying to transfer over my music from my Windows 8 PC to my Windows 7 PC I'm only getting 1MB/s while on the same network. I'm pulling it from a shared folder too not using homegroups. Any idea why transfer speeds are so darn slow?

Thanks!
Duck

Using an ethernet cable, you can go from 1 to maybe 11 MB/s




But using wireless, you can go from 1 MB/s to maybe 5 MB/s?



Here's how I did it:
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7417321

 

[||Console||]

I my self Use a old laptop as my HTPC , I use XMBC as my front end and it works great grabs all the dvd and tv covers and updates my libray as I add more media to my nas.
I picked up a old MCE remote and use that to control xmbc , there is also a APP that will let you control it on your Ipod/android devices .

On file transfers the type and size of the files can have a big effect on transfer speeds

 

[ilovecats]

So if you were starting from scratch with a perfectly capable PC what would you do? I don't want to select it on the receiver and people know it's a PC I'd rather it just be the front end and I can use my ipad to control it.

Also while trying to transfer over my music from my Windows 8 PC to my Windows 7 PC I'm only getting 1MB/s while on the same network. I'm pulling it from a shared folder too not using homegroups. Any idea why transfer speeds are so darn slow?

To start new, one of the most convenient and cost-efficient solutions would be an AMD APU such as the new A6-6400K that handles HD video and audio streaming via HDMI perfectly.

To transfer big files wirelessly, you would need 5Ghz in my experience because the current 2.4ghz bands are just too saturated.

 

[ToiletDuck]

Thanks for the replies. My transfer problem hasn't been fixed but you'd think I'd at least be able to transfer from one PC to another, both in the same room, using my Uverse wireless router to get more than my actual real world download speeds.

As far as the HTPC part goes I've played with and like the XBMC front end. Would be nice if WMC stepped it up a little. I just use the ipad as a remote and it works well.

 

[funsoul]

All the pc's in the house use win7 homepremium and access all the movies, cable tv, ota tv, music, photos, etc through the media center front-end. Each pc has mymovies installed and I made a custom mc menu to clean up the look (with...arghg.. can't recall the name atm, lemme know if you want me to check when I'm home).

It needs some work to get it set up and working and looking how you want it but I like it (and wmc integrates nicely with whs).

 

[Boulard83]

There is some data i can share with you from my personnal experience.

I have 4 PCs at home including my server ( windows home server 2011 ).

Router is an Asus RT-N66U
Server is Wired to my router, Cat6
My main rig is wired to my router, Cat6.
HTPC is alone on the 5ghz band ( tp-link tl-wdn4800 )
Wife laptop is on the 2.4ghz ( Our phones also are ).

The main rig can copy/paste to 100+ mb/s from server
The HTPC can copy/paste to ~12-13 mb/s on 5 ghz and ~5-6 mb/s on 2.4ghz from server.

When i instralled the server, i "stress tested" it by starting a backup from the main rig to the server ( 100gb of misc files ), then i played the same movie ( huge/quality 1080p ) on all 3 computers while the backup was running. Everything went right, nothing was stuttering.