DailyTech - What Defines an HTPC

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Tony Ou (Blog) - September 3, 2007 4:06 AM

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12 comment(s) - last by rbuszka.. on Sep 4 at 6:36 PM

Silverstone GD02 HTPC case packing an ATI Radeon HD 2900XT (Source: DailyTech, Anh T. Huynh)

Does SilverStone have the answer?

(Editors note: Tony Ou is a product manager for Silverstone Technology Co.)

An editor at a tech website recently asked me this question which I think is quite popular:

At the moment there is no real defined HTPC ‘standard’ and many desktop PCs have all the prerequisite components to function as a HTPC apart from the shape of the case and perhaps other touches. What to you REALLY defines a HTPC?

I have read quite a number of articles and publications with references on the definition of HTPC,there is even a Wikipedia page about it. So there were a lot of materials available that I could use to come up with a list of things we feel constitutes a HTPC.

Unfortunately, we just did not feel right to give a clear cut feature list that would define a HTPC because we have a large variety of HTPC cases ourselves. Not all of them have the same feature sets. Strangely, despite the difficulty in pinning down an exact specification for HTPC on paper,all of us know instinctively if a case is suitable for HTPC use by just looking at it (at least from our point of view). It's almost like the difference between running and walking, we know the difference between the two without having to look twice.

So what was my eventual answer to this question?

...if you have a computer that you can use in the living room’s home theater setup without it looking out of place, then you can say it is a HTPC. So with this in mind, we almost always define our HTPC chassis with horizontal layout and a size that can fit in people’s home theater cabinets...

So there you have it, the user defines his or her own HTPC. And as a manufacturer, we can only try coming up with more designs that will satisfy as many people as possible while they decide what fits and what doesn't. After a couple of years, we will have a clearer definition as HTPC continues to evolve.

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define htpc

By 16nm on 9/3/2007 10:45:27 AM , Rating: 3

quote:
What to you REALLY defines a HTPC?

This is really easy for me to define. At the very minimum, a home theater PC must be able to do everything that your DVD player and TV can FROM THE REMOTE CONTROL. This means that you must be able to turn it on, turn it off, play and navigate DVD, change channel, change volume, mute, etc. all from the remote control. In my opinion, this is all that matters. Looks are important but subjective so not everyone can agree on this. A long range keyboard is nice, but not a must. A video card that matches the capabilities of your display is also nice.

HTPC is in its infancy now and, therefore, a real pain in the butt to setup especially for HD use.

RE: define htpc

By Bluestealth on 9/3/2007 9:46:44 PM , Rating: 2

I think that they must also strive to be quieter then most generic computers as well...
with H.264 hardware acceleration getting better all the time this probably won't be an issue for long.

I don't personally have a HTPC but my 1900XT wouldn't work for me in one ;), it sounds like a small twister in my room when I play games.
It really puts my Antec P180b case to shame... all that I can hear most of the time is my hard drive seeking.

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RE: define htpc

By cbo on 9/4/2007 8:05:56 AM , Rating: 2

or turn on your xbox and that will drown out any sound.

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RE: define htpc

By rbuszka on 9/4/2007 10:45:43 AM , Rating: 2

Noise is an important performance parameter for HTPCs, but I don't feel it should be a defining characteristic of a home theater PC. Partly, this is because of difficulties in accurately measuring very low noise levels (below 25dB) without expensive testing equipment. There's also some variation on what different types of consumers consider to be 'quiet' or 'silent'. The definition of 'silent' that I work with while writing for Techgage.com is this: a 'silent' machine is quiet enough that its noise output is inaudible over background noise in a quiet room (typically <25dB). But again, this varies, and some consumers may find that their room is still quieter than a PC that is 'silent' in other rooms. The 'noise' criteria is a poor choice as a defining characteristic of HTPCs, because there is no engineering standard that defines truly 'silent' operation.

I feel the following three criteria define a home theater PC:

a) It must be capable of transmitting a native-resolution EDTV/HDTV-resolution video signal (480p, 720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) to a video monitor.

b) It must be capable of multichannel (5.1, 7.1) sound output, or matrixed DSP surround effects from two or three main channels.

c) It must be capable of being controlled by a wireless means -- either a remote control, or a wireless keyboard and mouse -- from the viewing/listening position.

In my opinion, a HTPC is characterized more by its output capabilities than its input capabilities. A HTPC does not necessarily even need to have a DVD player - it may use locally-stored video files as its video source. A HTPC also does not necessarily need to have DVR capability, or a TV tuner card.

Really, what it all seems to come down to is this: A HTPC is a PC that is located in a home theater environment, and connected to the video display and the audio system of the home theater. Any additional criteria for defining what "is" and what "isn't" a home theater PC are superfluous.

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RE: define htpc

By IGoodwin on 9/4/2007 12:08:40 PM , Rating: 2

Not sure why size of case and noise are important. The PC can be located anywhere, at least in my house, as long as it can be controlled, viewed, and there is a convenient way to load DVD's where they're watched, what is the problem.

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RE: define htpc

By rbuszka on 9/4/2007 6:36:25 PM , Rating: 2

Let me further add that I feel a 'home theater PC' case could just as well be a vertical tower-style case as a horizontally-oriented component-style case. It's whatever works.

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RE: define htpc

By Etern205 on 9/3/2007 10:42:20 PM , Rating: 2

To me a HTPC is a device that will look nothing like a
computer, but more of a stand alone DVD player.
And when others see it they'll be fooled by the looks
that is until you tell them it's a computer.

An HTPC: Sleek, Beautiful, Quiet, and Powerful
Like the Shuttle XPC M2000

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HTPC = Home Theater PC

By TomZ on 9/3/2007 1:30:44 PM , Rating: 3

Sorry, but I don't see the controversy or reason for debate about the definition. An HTPC is just a home theatre PC, in other words, a PC that is equipped for that purpose. It is probably quiet, probably horizontal, but besides that, it's not much different than a normal PC, except that it has some tuner capability and a remote control.

RE: HTPC = Home Theater PC

By DeepBlue1975 on 9/4/2007 8:59:22 AM , Rating: 2

Agreed if we're talking about today's htpc situation.
A standard would be nice, comprising not only hardware features, layout and operating interface (which, as a poster above said, should be incarnated most of the time in a remote controller) but also standards for HTPC applications, minimal performance requirements for the basic functions, and a parametrization of measurable noise, power draw and maximum volume that the whole thing should occupy.
That could encourage HTPCs to become a whole new class of PCs, with ad hoc optimized CPUs, chassis, controllers and graphic cards which shouldn't bare the burden of having to be powerful enough to drive big databases or ultra high res gaming and so on.

I don't know if what I said makes that much sense, it's just that I like diversity quite a bit and get never tired of new from-the-ground-up solutions to serve specifically a certain purpose.

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RE: HTPC = Home Theater PC

By TomZ on 9/4/2007 1:06:30 PM , Rating: 2

By the same logic, did we need a standard to define what a "laptop" is? Seems to me that the laptop form factor evolved quite nicely on its own to meet a fairly unique set of requirements.

Supply and demand will slowly rise together for HTPC and optimize that platform without any standards being necessary.

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definition

By Verran on 9/4/2007 9:14:55 AM , Rating: 2

For me, the definition of HTPC focuses more on non-enthusiast usability. By that, I mean it has to have an interface (through a remote) that regular people can understand. If my mom can't use the interface, it's not an HTPC.

Any idiot can plug a big TV into the TV-Out on their video card. Making something that really "fits" into the HT experience is much harder.

A HTPC is a lean back PC

By autoboy on 9/4/2007 3:29:52 PM , Rating: 2

A HTPC is a pc designed for the lean back experience. A PC is designed to be a lean forward experience.

That's it. There are so many configurations that you really can't define it with hardware specs.

"Nowadays, security guys break the Mac every single day. Every single day, they come out with a total exploit, your machine can be taken over totally. I dare anybody to do that once a month on the Windows machine." -- Bill Gates