Part Two: Software

Then :
While affordable multimedia and control system hardware finally came to the masses, the development of software lagged far behind. For many years, HTPC enthusiasts had to deal with a patchwork of programs. Each piece of hardware came with its own program (usually not written very well), and for each system function you had to install a separate piece of software. HTPC owners were on their own to make them work together seamlessly. One very useful, and immensely creative program came onto the scene in 1998 that solved many integration problems.

Girder, by Ron Bessems, is a control program for Windows. The beauty of this program is its ability to control just about every function on the system. Additionally, it allows you access to this control through just about any means. I'll explain. Let's say you have separate programs on your computer for playing AVI's, DVD's, and MP3's. It would certainly be annoying to have to walk over to the computer, close one program and open another when you wish to switch from MP3's to playing a DVD. Girder changed all this by allowing you to use an
IR remote, network message, or any other event, to trigger
scripted commands. Suddenly your patchwork of programs is controlled by one application which in turn, you control from your couch via remote, or from the other side of the world through the network. "Suddenly" is a bit of an overstatement though. Girder is one of the more complicated programs to configure that I've encountered. With patience and plenty of references, it made a world of difference to the usability of my HTPC.

The pursuit of perfect integration and ease-of-use occupied enormous amounts of time for HTPC enthusiasts. The sharing of information and a community spirit grew over time, with people boasting their tips and secrets of success, usually in an Internet forum. A great example, and for many years now the best source of this type of information, is the AVS Forum.

AV Science is a Victor New York company dedicated to home theater and audio / video equipment. Around 1995 they started a forum for the exchange of information relating to their business and began sharing their expertise with the general public. Since then it has grown into THE reference for audio, video, home theater, and home theater computer information. The forum can be a bit daunting at first. The format and the volume of information can be intimidating for the novice (or newbie), but with a little time and well worded searches you can probably find your answer. Chances are good your question has already been asked and answered
in the forums. A couple of etiquette points to keep in mind before you start posting. Make sure you do a thorough search of existing posts before you post a question, as I said; your question has probably already been asked and answered. Second, make sure you post in the correct forum. There are many forums, most of which have very specific subjects.

Now :
The software situation has changed a bit, but only in the last couple years. Some of the more talented HTPC enthusiasts, who also happened to be programmers, took note of the growing need for integration of software functions in the burgeoning HTPC industry. Several programs began to appear on the internet that promised to replace the patchwork of programs with a single program designed to combine many functions under one easy to use interface. One of the early programs called myHTPC has since developed into a commercial product. In it's early days it was a free development program where the community contributed their feedback in return for an ever improving program. You can still download the original program in its pre-commercial form. The commercial program is called Meedio. I am currently using Meedio as the front end for my HTPC. I followed and aided the development of myHTPC, used it on my system, and made many contributions on the forums. Problems with development of Meedio, and specifically the TV portion of the program has led me to test out other programs, which I'll cover in the Future section.

If your considering building your own HPTC, a great list of front end programs to consider can be found on HTPCnews.com.

Many of these front end programs offer a multitude of functions with more available as plugin additions. Most include a basic package of DVD/video player, digital picture viewer, music file player, and weather reports. Other functions available depend on the software package and can vary from very useful (recipes) to totally useless (insult of the day).
Most of these are now retail products.

Even Microsoft has thrown their hat in the ring with a Media Center Edition of their XP operating system. Now in its third generation, it has been garnering great reviews. Some diehard HTPC enthusiasts feel it's lack of hardware flexibility and software configurability make it a bad choice, but the target market is technically unsophisticated users who are attracted to the concept of such a device, but can't build it themselves. It is only available with the purchase of a suitably outfitted computer, and is not sold as a stand-alone product.

If you look hard enough, you can find some pretty good free alternatives. Keep in mind that free software comes with no guarantees and is usually in constant development. If you don't have the patience to do constant upgrades and spend generous amounts of time trouble-shooting issues, you might be better off with one of the more developed retail products. With that said, "Free" is a pretty strong attractor, and one project that stands out is called Media Portal. This project has developed very rapidly, and the programmers claim it will be "Free For Ever!”. It has many features found in retail products and some very interesting tweaks. If your interested it's an easy download, and has a very professionally done installation utility that will walk you through the setup.

Whether you go with a Microsoft Media Center PC, or create an HTPC yourself using free or commercial software, you will be helping to develop the HTPC market. This is good for everyone involved, as the install base grows, new products come to market, innovation is encouraged, and prices drop.

On to HTPC Page Three: The Future
Back to HTPC Page One: Hardware