Architecture advice

[rykr]

I'm buying into Sage and have a question about architecture. I have a couple of HD200 and am wanting to use Vail for backup. My tv source is free QAM channels but will likely be turning basic cable back on for basketball season so I may invest in an HD-PVR.

I also have a very nice 140" home theater with 1080p projector and 7.1 sound where we watch all our movies. I use Playon for Hulu and netflix and have noticed that it sometimes uses >40% cpu.

So my question is this:

Vail + 3 extenders (master bedroom, living room, and theater) -or-
Vail + Windows 7 HTPC running Sage for theater + 2 extenders

I don't like the idea of having 2 computers on all the time but I like having playon and magicjack on vail. I could also see myself using a webbrower in the theater (espn3.com anyone??). However I like the simplicity of just having an hd300 in the theater. The "it just works" idea you know?

Advice?

[babgvant]

My setup is more like option 2 (but I have an HD300 so it can WOL the server), but it is much more complex then option 1.

What about a 3rd option: Vail (server) + 7 (client) + 2 extenders?

For me the HTPC v. extender question would come down to how important the browser or other PC activities are in the main room. PCs are a lot more work to setup, but they also deliver more value.

[rykr]

That is a different config I hadn't thought about. That would allow the theater pc to be sleeping the whole time it is not used. The problem with that is it forces playon back on vail and I've had too many times when playback starts to stutter only to find out that playon is using 50% cpu and tons of ram. Trying to explain to the wife that Glee isn't working right because of playon using too much cpu just gets you the eye roll.

[babgvant]

You could put the Playon server on the PC Client (unless it has to be on the server), or beef up the server (what I would do) so that the server has enough CPU and RAM to handle everything.

[JetreL]

I would keep Sage and Playon on the same server and use extenders for all TVs and projectors. The low power usage of the Extenders makes them well worth their price. Not to mention they are 100% silent and with the extension IR cable they can be hidden away.

I have used a PC to the TV and while it works when you start shooting for HD playback it becomes a well I can but this or this and this to make it work and that was with a beefy system. The extenders just work plain and simple. Especially for the WAF and FAF!