Ryden Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 Hey all I need a new way of playing MKVs on my living room TV, currently using a 'Network Media Tank' also know as popcorn hour but i need to be replaced. As i regularlary build my own gaming rig i was thinking about trying my hand at building a new HTPC. Here are the components i was going to use: ATOM Processor/Motherboard Case 1TB HDD 4GB DDR2 What i was wondering is, Is there any software i can install that is as intuitive and easy to use as my NMT or 'popcorn hour'. Does anyone know if there is a decent remote control fro HTPC's cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Topham Hatt Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 Posts here for reference mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankSpin Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 XBMC will play just about anything you throw at it and supports hardware acceleration. It's probably got the most clean and simple UI of the bunch but the add on support/execution is kind of lacking. Boxee, XBMC fork, will do wonders too with file support but it's not as smooth as XBMC with the UI but does a much better job with add-ons as the developers build the add ons themselves so they fit better into the UI. MediaPortal is another option but I've never tried. WMC will work too but requires way more work up front with codecs just to get support for MKV and I don't think it does hardware acceleration yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metalguy90 Posted December 7, 2010 Share Posted December 7, 2010 Windows 7 Home premium or Ultimate packaged with K-Lilte codecs (free) will play mkv files. MCE remote, MCE keyboard, or Logitech Harmony remotes work nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Topham Hatt Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 VLC Player will also play MKV's without needing the K-Lite codecs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboTuna Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 +1 for XBMC. loads of remotes for it if you have a smart phone too :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epple Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 You want MPC-HC if you just want the Windows desktop and a simple player, it supports DXVA out of the box (it's just an .exe) and is the player to use for HD media. And be warned: don't install any codec "packs" if you're going with this, it will only **** things up and leave unnecessary things on your computer. Though you might need ffdshow for passthrough if you're going to do that. You want XBMC if you want the whole Media Center experience, it's got a great UI (depending on the skin you choose) and supports DXVA. Not sure about passthrough here. However, get the Zotac motherboard with the nVidia GPU. While the Intel GPU "supports" DXVA, it's known to have troubles with it and I'd steer away from it if possible. The Atom will not be able to handle [decent] HD on its own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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