Table of Content
Carefully route short cables behind your television as well, add a soundbar, and the Dell Optiplex 3070 can form the core of one of the stealthiest home theater systems around. This contemporary fireplace entertainment center is the ultimate unit to have. This striking group boasts a sleek design guaranteed to become the focal point of any room.
If you already have Win XP, get rid of programs you don’t need and, in fact, consider doing a complete reinstall of the OS, wiping the old version.
Choosing a PC
Often dedicated to a large portion of a wall, these units are designed to store many items such as movie collections, albums, audio components, gaming systems, books, smart speakers, and more. The media itself may be stored, received by terrestrial, satellite or cable broadcasting or streamed from the internet. Stored media is kept either on a local hard drive or on network attached storage. Some software is capable of doing other tasks, such as finding news from the Internet. By 2000, DVD players had become relatively ubiquitous and consumers were seeking ways to improve the picture. The value of using a computer instead of standalone DVD player drove more usage of the PC as a home media device.
While the Chronos is a bit on the large side, gamers will be immediately comfortable with the size and form factor. The best thing about the ThinkStation P340 is the fact that it packs so much high-performance hardware into a remarkably small package. With optional mounting hardware, you have the option to mount the unit under your desk or even to the back of your monitor. Purchase extra power and HDMI cables, and you can easily pull this little powerhouse out of its cradle at the end of the workday and slot it in place to power your home theater at night.
FARMHOUSE WHITE 66" TV CONSOLE
Emby supports cloud sync for easy backup and also converts and optimizes your content for streaming them on any device (but that’s premium, unlike Plex). If you’re looking forward to turning your big-screen PC or TV into a low-cost home theater system or movie server, then I’ve got the best, free media center apps for your pet project. Home theater & media center software allow people to store, stream, manage and enjoy photos, music and videos with friends and family on the big screen. The best Plex setups benefit from a little time spent organizing media files on your HTPC and other computers on the network.
Our top pick for the category is the Intel NUC 817HNK. It's a compact and powerful HTPC with a fast processor and video card, allowing it to handle media streaming and gaming in one package. Jeremy Laukkonen is automotive and tech writer for numerous major trade publications. When not researching and testing computers, game consoles or smartphones, he stays up-to-date on the myriad complex systems that power battery electric vehicles .
Components
People who sit too close may notice pixelation and other flaws in the image, especially if they are viewing a plasma screen or high definition TV. See the related story in this issue (“Home Entertainment Hubs”) about digital-media receivers and hubs. The diskless hubs turn your PC into an audio broadcaster via wired Ethernet, wireless Ethernet, or proprietary wireless.
If you’re going to open the case to do upgrades, consider a memory card reader that lets you quickly off-load audio files to portable players that use CompactFlash, Secure Digital, Memory Stick, or SmartMedia. Internal or USB memory card readers cost about $50; if you with an external reader, be sure to get a USB 2.0 device. Probably the most inexpensive remote out there is the Streamzap PC Remote ($39.95 direct, ), followed by the Keyspan Digital Media Remote ($49, ), and the Onkyo CarryOn Music COM-270RP ($79, ).
Storage
Floating stands generally do not come with a place for your TV, as these types of shelves are intended for televisions that require wall mounts. Based on the criteria outlined above, the following list includes some of the best entertainment centers available. Your needs in an entertainment center are unique to you, choose a unit that will fit your space, aesthetic, and needs.
The ATI- and nVidia-based graphics/TV tuner cards have programmable wireless remotes usable for all PC multimedia functions. Both rates are too piggy for those who want to put music on a portable MP3 player with 64MB to 128MB of onboard memory. So you may want to rerip your favorite tunes a second time at a lower bit rate.
The enhancements we describe here give you the functional equivalent of an entertainment PC. Alibaba.com offers different builds of pc home entertainment center for you. This category is searched by many for wooden tv stands and other media cabinets. Some 65-inch tv stands can be placed on tv cabinets that are much smaller, but which are built to handle their weight. Other options, such as a tv stand with mount, Ikea tv stands, and some more conventional tv stands can be used in large households and hotels.
By 2002, major software developments also facilitated media management, hardware integration, and content presentation. The concept was to combine a digital tuner with digital video recording, program guides, and computer capabilities with a 10-foot user interface. XBMC was another free and open software project started with re-purposing the Xbox as a home theater PC but has since been ported to Windows and Macintosh operating systems in various forms including Boxee and Plex. Most entertainment center furniture includes shelves for DVD players, stereo systems and similar media components. Not only should buyers measure them to make sure their components will fit, but they should also include extra space to ensure that the machines are properly ventilated. Similarly, it pays to disperse each component evenly throughout the home entertainment center rather than stacking them into the same shelf where they might overheat.
With pre-cut holes in the cabinet to run cables, this entertainment center is both stylish and functional. Since the mid-2000s, other types of consumer electronics, including game consoles and dedicated media devices, have crossed over to manage video and music content. The term "media center" also refers to specialized application software designed to run on standard personal computers.
