HD300 or HTPC client?

[rhinoman]

Whats going to give the best PQ?

I new to Sage coming from WMC and just installed Sage V7 on my WHS. I've come to Sage to get rid of some/all of the 4 media centre's we have and replace with HD300's for a number of reasons including easier/cheaper remote control by having the device in the room behind the tv as opposed to Pronto Pro via wifi to a central cupboard.

My question is really only relevant to my main room which has a Sony VW60 running via an Onkyo PR-SC5508 with a HTPC with ATI5450 for bitstreaming. Is the HD300 going to run this close or would I be better off sticking with the HTPC?

Thanks

John

[gplasky]

My opinion. You're better off with the HD300. Picture quality as good if not better and no hassle with loading codecs and tweaking. No fan noise and very low (6 watts) power requirement.

Gerry

[KeithAbbott]

+1 for the HD300. Although you'll want to pay attention to certain settings, such as "Native Output Resolution Switching", to get the best picture quality with your specific equipment.

Also, you could do your own side-by-side comparison, using the 21-day free trial set up as a client.

[paulbeers]

This is a pretty common question by new Sage users. Here's my list of Pro's and con's for the HD300:

Pros:
1. Silent
2. Low Power (uses about 8w of power)
3. No decoders to deal with.
4. No drivers to deal with.

Cons:
1. Not as fast as PC client (unless comparing an Atom)
2. No internet browser
3. Because of 2, no Native Netflix/Pandora/Hulu/etc. (see Playon plugin for a work around)

it's early so I am sure I am missing some pros and cons, but the biggest thing is that it just works. I used to run full clients and it always seemed like I spent more time just trying to get it to playback properly than actually watching t.v. (exaggeration). There is also something to be said about using a device that uses video chips that were designed to do nothing but output video onto t.v.s instead of using hardware that really wasn't specifically designed for that fact.

My .02 worth.

[EnterNoEscape]

My favorites are the low power consumption and not fiddling with codecs. It just works. Sure navigation speed is not as fast as an HTPC, but it's far from intolerable. Of course the down side is you can't do anything you would be able to do if you had an HTPC outside of the SageTV environment. For me this rarely becomes a problem. If they built in Netflix I'd be set, but for now I just switch to my Bluray player for that content.

[rhinoman]

Noise is not an issue as all of my equipment is in an upstairs cupboard at the moment.

For all of the other tv locations I think the HD300 is a no brainer far better than the WMC machines currently absorbing energy. For my main room PQ and SQ and speed of menus navigating a large amount of recorded tv and a huge movie collection are my main concerns.

[GKusnick]

The "no tweaking" point could be seen as either a plus or a minus. The HD300 picture quality is very good, but it is what it is, so if you're obsessed with doing everything in your power to get it absolutely right, then you may prefer Client with all its codecs, filters, and tweaks.

My advice would be to get an HD300 and try it. If you find it satisfactory for your main viewing room, leave it there and get more for the other rooms. If not, move it to another room and put a PC client in its place.

[madpoet]

I like my 300, but ultimately the lack of full BD menus, native Netflix, and Hulu are beginning to annoy me. Playon is ok but a lot lower quality honestly. So a lot depends on what you are aiming to do.

[Fuzzy]

I probably would have an HD300 for my bedroom, if they were available when that room was upgraded - but I don't think I could be happy with an HD300 in my living room. Not because it is all that bad, but because my family is so used to the responsiveness, and ultra smooth animations of the PC based client. Add in the full BluRay support using Arcsoft TMT3 (including 3D BluRay), the ability for full quality netflix and hulu, and the ability to bring up web pages, pandora music, etc, and it's a no brainer for me. The next change I make to my system may still be to purchase an HD300 for the bedroom, and move the i3 client i have there to the living room, to turn my server into a headless system.. but I have no pressing need to at this point.

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I probably would have an HD300 for my bedroom, if they were available when that room was upgraded - but I don't think I could be happy with an HD300 in my living room. Not because it is all that bad, but because my family is so used to the responsiveness, and ultra smooth animations of the PC based client.

I never put my HD200 in the living room for exactly this reason. But the HD300 is enough better in UI performance and rendering that I went ahead and replaced my living room client with it, and haven't regretted that decision.

[rhinoman]

Nice to see everyone in agreement

I'm looking forward to my first HD300 turning up and trying it for myself.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

I never put my HD200 in the living room for exactly this reason. But the HD300 is enough better in UI performance and rendering that I went ahead and replaced my living room client with it, and haven't regretted that decision.

If i was 'starting out' now, I would definitely go with the 300 - however, with the combination of already having a working PC based system, plus being accustomed to not only the performance, but the added quality in Netflix and Hulu keeps us there. I also have hopes that someday more of the 3D features might be utilized, which, again, is limited to the PC clients.

[MrMark]

Originally Posted by rhinoman

Whats going to give the best PQ?

I new to Sage coming from WMC and just installed Sage V7 on my WHS. I've come to Sage to get rid of some/all of the 4 media centre's we have and replace with HD300's for a number of reasons including easier/cheaper remote control by having the device in the room behind the tv as opposed to Pronto Pro via wifi to a central cupboard.

My question is really only relevant to my main room which has a Sony VW60 running via an Onkyo PR-SC5508 with a HTPC with ATI5450 for bitstreaming. Is the HD300 going to run this close or would I be better off sticking with the HTPC?

Thanks

John

John,

In my particular case, I tried both and I think the HD300 actually looks better than my HTPC. It's hard to quantify the differences, but it just seems a little sharper to me and the video settings seem to be just right whereas I never was completely satisfied with the HTPC output. I would have expected the opposite, but there it is. And I don't find the interface to be sluggish...it seems similar to what I see with the Windows clients...except that the HD300 just works while the Windows clients require some dedication on the part of the user.

I have a PS3 at each TV location for discs and for Netflix, Hulu, and Vudu streaming, so I have not missed those features from the HD300...although I have to admit that I would have happily avoided the second PS3 if Sage made it easier to play Blu-ray discs and stream Netflix.


-Mark

[osx-addict]

I've got two HD300's -- one in the master bedroom and one in the living room.. I see no speed issues unless you've got some sort of network problems/delays. Mine is all Gigabit connected and works like a charm.. I play both of ours to Pioneer plasma's -- one a recent model Kuro 50" (awesome picture from the HD300) and a much older Pioneer plasma 50" which look almost as good when driven by the HD300. Keep in mind that we're used to using DirecTivo's (HR10-250's) with their ARM processors and they're somewhat doggy in terms of UI responsiveness -- sometimes super slow. The HD300's are way faster IMHO!!