The best thing about having an media center is that you're in control and can watch whatever you want. Unfortunately, you also get the pleasure of troubleshooting when plug-ins break, files won't play, and nothing works right. Here's how to take an HTPC that's driving you crazy and whip it back into shape so you can enjoy the show.
I love my home theater PC (HTPC), but it's not exactly perfect. For a long time, XBMC wouldn't download art, plot data, or cast information. The interface is difficult for my friends, who are used to cable TV. Using a keyboard and mouse on the couch sucks sometimes. We're willing to bet you've noticed this with your HTPCs and just deal with it, or you've held off building one because of similar annoyances. You don't have to settle for a second-rate experience. In this post we'll show you how to make your HTPC work the way you want it to.
My HTPC Won't Play Some of My Files
Nothing's worse than sitting down to watch a new episode of your favorite show only to find out that the file is in a format your chosen media center can't play. You have two options on how to fix this:
- Get a media center application that transcodes video on the fly. A few apps, most notably Plex, Subsonic, and PS3 Media Server all do this seamlessly. Transcoding makes sure you can watch any type of media on any device you happen to be using, including smartphones and tablets. You can either transcode on the source machine (if the files are stored on a home server or other computer) or your HTPC itself. Pick whichever computer has a faster processor to do the decoding.
Convert all of your media to a single file format that's compatible with everything. This method requires a bit more work up front, but has a potential for less problems when you're actually trying to watch your videos. Basically, you just need to go through your entire library and convert all of your media to a common format. You can then set up a system that converts it as soon as you download or rip it, so you don't have to do the extra legwork yourself. If you use uTorrent, we've shown you how to roll video conversion into your download process easily. Alternatively, you can use previously mentioned DropFolders with Handbrake, which will watch a download folder and convert whatever comes through it automatically, without you lifting a finger.
Whichever route you choose, the end result should be the same?all of your media should play seamlessly with whatever tool you prefer to watch it. The transcoding method tends to lock you into a specific app, but if you're okay with that, or you know that app is available for all of your devices and set-top boxes, then it's a bit more futureproof. Converting your music and movies on your own takes a lot more work up front, but leaves one fewer link in the chain that could cause problems when you're trying to watch your movies.
My HTPC Won't Add My Music/Movies/TV Shows To Its Library
This is the issue that actually inspired this post. For months, my movies and TV shows were playable in XBMC, but it wouldn't download posters, DVD cover art, or background information for any of my files. The fix turned out to be somewhat simple: my filenames and directory structure made sense to me, but they made no sense at all to XBMC. We've talked about how to organize your media for XBMC before, and while normally the process is automatic, it didn't work for me. In my case, adding a whole drive with a bunch of unorganized folders and mixed media just caused XBMC to give up. All it required was a bit of organization.
The main change I had to make was to use a supported naming convention for my TV shows and movies so XBMC (or Plex, or anything else) could recognize what they were. Organizing movies and TV shows into separate folders helped a lot too. If you have a lot of files to rename (like I did,) grab an app like The Renamer (Windows) or NameChanger (OS X) to help speed up the process.
Home Theater PCs Are Too Expensive
Building an HTPC doesn't have to be an expensive proposition. We've shown you how to build one for less than $500, and another for around $200, but you can go even lower than that if you wish.
Your cheapest option is probably to grab a $99 Apple TV (less if you get a refurb!). It's a great set-top box to begin with, but you can take it up a notch by jailbreaking it and installing XBMC or Plex (although the current gen isn't jailbreakable, the 1G and 2G models are.) XBMC will let you play any video type, stream from other computers, and more that the Apple TV won't do on its own. Need more choices? Check out our guide to finding the best set-top box for you for even more affordable, feature-packed options.
Where Do I Store My Movies?
You've probably heard us talk about streaming from a home server, from another computer, and even from smartphones, but where should you actually store your media? The best place to store your movies depends on how you plan to watch them. Here are a few scenarios:
- Store and watch movies on your HTPC. This is obviously the easiest method: if you have a big enough hard drive in your HTPC, you can just put the movies there. However, if you need more than one hard drive, need to transcode videos, or want your HTPC to download stuff in the background, you'll need a pretty powerful HTPC, or you'll lose some performance while all that is going on. It's probably cheapest, but it's also a single point of failure, and it too needs to be on all the time. Also, if you have something like a jailbroken Apple TV, this isn't an option because it doesn't have internal storage.
- Store and transcode movies on your main PC, watch them on your HTPC. If you need a place to store, transcode, and download media, you can always do this from your main computer. Your powerful computer can handle things like converting files and automatically downloading movies and TV shows as soon as they air, then you can stream them to your HTPC for watching. It's a power-hungry setup, and your desktop PC will have to be turned on pretty much all the time, but it's an option that doesn't require another computer.
- Store movies on a NAS, watch them on your HTPC. This is our suggestion, mostly because your NAS, whether you buy one or roll your own, is designed for low power consumption. This is good, since you'll need to keep it on all day, which you probably don't want to do with your desktop computer. A NAS gives you multiple hard drives for massive storage, RAID for redundancy, and enough power to do all that renaming, transcoding, and even downloading for you?without such a harsh strain on your energy bill. Photo by Craig Morey.
It Feels Like I'm Using a Computer, Not a Set-Top Box
We've tackled this topic before, so it's not terribly difficult to get your HTPC in order so anyone can flop down on your couch and use it. Your first step is to get and set up a remote for your HTPC to put people at ease?after all, you may be comfortable with just a keyboard and mouse, but many people aren't, so keep it stashed away unless you need it. Even better, grab your tablet or an old smartphone and use these iOS or Android apps to control your HTPC from anywhere in the house.
That takes care of the remote problem, but your HTPC's interface could probably use some work too, right? You can tweak a few settings in XBMC to make it more friendly to non-geeks right out of the box, though a new skin can also be helpful. If XBMC is too much trouble, give the more friendly Plex a shot, or try XBMC plugins like PseudoTV, which aim to make the interface more like a traditional channel guide?full of virtual "channels" loaded with TV shows and movies that you've downloaded.
I Can't Find Anything I Want to Watch
Cutting the cord does mean giving up some programming. Whether you've had that cliffhanger spoiled before you got a chance to watch the episode or you just miss your live sports, there's a tradeoff. That doesn't mean you're out of options. There's always Hulu and Netflix, or you could drop a TV Tuner into your DVR and attach an HD over-the-air antenna to it to watch and record live television. Add the Blucop XBMC repository to unlock the Free Cable plug-in, which offers streaming video from just about any channel that puts its TV shows on the web, including ABC, CBS, Food Network, SyFy, and more. If your favorite network puts an episode on its site the day after it airs, you'll be able to see it right away.
Check out all of the official and unofficial repositories to see what's available, and our picks for the best XBMC add-ons too?you'll be surprised what you can stream directly to your HTPC without limiting yourself to the things you've downloaded or ripped. With all of the streaming options, you'll never run out of new material to watch. Then, once you've identified what you can't stream, you can turn to the internet for everything else.
Most HTPCs and set-top boxes go out of their way to be easy to use?after all, using them is supposed to be fun and get you right to your music, TV shows, and movies?they're supposed to enhance the experience, not detract from it. That said, if you're running into issues with your home theater setup, hopefully these suggestions will make it a little easier to manage. Once you have your library in good order and a system for where your files land and how they're accessed set up, and once you have the interface tweaked just the way you like, you'll never be comfortable going back to some proprietary cable provider's interface.
Title image by Tina Mailhot-Roberge.
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