Manage your HTPC from anywhere | Hacker News Reader

Manage your HTPC from anywhere

htpc.io

44 pointsstyxit29 comments

I've tried this software and find it doesn't quite stack up to the original HTPC frontend project, Maraschino (http://www.maraschinoproject.com) which offers more or less the same functionality. I prefer Maraschino mainly because of the integrated remote control which allows me to control XBMC with the keyboard from the web GUI. I'd recommend you try both and see what works for you.

I agree, Maraschino seems much nicer. Although at the end of the day, I don't really think I need a HTPC manager when each HTPC app I use has a nice web interface that all play well together. For a phone, there's a nice frontend but on PC/webapp, I find the tools offered by each work perfectly. Sickbeard to add shows, SANZBd to check downloads and nothing for XBMC/Plex as I just use it as a front-end.

My HTPC setup at home is to have my content on my laptop, running Plex server and I connect my android phone to my TV with the Plex Android app.

Really, really good - in fact, I have seen people do the same with the 20$ android media sticks that you can buy off dealextreme or someplace.

A great alternative to chromecast.

Plex also has an interesting business model:

Free server software, in a dead simple installation package, with config and streaming through a pleasant html5 UI. Smart TV app also free. Small but not insignificant charge for iOS and Android clients. Small SaaS charge to provide dynamicdns /remote streaming.

It's so much of what Boxee aimed for and failed. I like hacking on things, but Plex works perfect out-of-the-box. Really impressed ever since I started using the software a year ago.

From what I understand, it used to be a fork of XMBC. I think the ability to do the client/server model is possible with XBMC, but very hard to do out of the box.

But I agree - plex was worth the purchase of the mobile app.

Plex is great. It runs on Samsung Smart TVs, which runs all our home media that allows kids to watch old home footage.

Have you run this on Debian? I see they offer an ubuntu package, and a few RPM packages.

It should work on both. Ubuntu is built on top of a debian core.

Plus Im running 12.04 - which is a old, stable release - so should be more in sync with upstream debian.

What does 'HTPC' stand for? I've only ever heard 'Media Center PC' to describe that sort of appliance.

'Home theater pc' so your media-center description is quite accurate.

This looks very cool and I'll try it this week. I've got a new Raspberry Pi and I plan to replace a Popcorn Hour with it, if I can figure it all out (I'm brand new to Raspberry Pi & HTPCs).

One small suggestion, assuming this is your site? There are a couple typographical errors on the front page text, plus I might word the top line differently. The site looks great even if you ignore these suggestions though, and well done creating this project.

- Manage your Htpc from everywhere -> Manage your HTPC from anywhere

- Using multiple applications to control you htpc? No More! -> Using multiple applications to control your HTPC?

- ...to controll them all -> ...to control them all

Thank you for the text corrections!

This project runs great on a raspberryPi (that is how i use it myself). I would recommend doing a git clone the get Htpc Manager running on the Pi. This makes auto-updating the htpc manager software a lot easier.

Home Theatre PC.

So it's a tool that makes it easier to pirate TV shows?

I'd prefer a tool that would pull all the episodes from my legitimate DVDs, or automatically dropped the DRM from my iTunes season pass episodes and imported them into my HTPC.

After Requiem stopped being maintained, I don't think there's a way to drop DRM from any iTunes video content.

Can't you just use an older version of iTunes with it?

Yes, but Apple prevents you from getting HD content with an older version.

I didn't start buying music online until it became easy to buy it DRM-free. I'm waiting for the same thing to happen to TV shows and movies.

No, this makes it easier to manage the disparate tools you already have in one pane.

Question on the subject: Does anyone know an HTPC/Media Center software that, when I pop in a CD or DVD, it automatically gets ripped and stored? Is there a plugin as such for one of the common ones (XBMC, Plex, etc.?)

Bonus points for integrating everything. But meh, another solution for controlling newsgroups. As a more casual downloader who thinks newsgroups are too much hassle, this doesn't really work for me.

It supports torrents too, though I'm not sure how reliable it is with public trackers.

On slightly related topic, has anyone found some good Linux based tools to clean up your MP3 Library metadata?

Have you looked into Beets (http://beets.radbox.org/) or the classic Picard (http://musicbrainz.org/doc/MusicBrainz_Picard)?

I think I used MusicBrainz before. It worked pretty well but I had a bunch of one off MP3's that were a single band/song that it just botched. So now when I go through I find artists that I have no clue who they are, and I listen to the song and realize it's wrong.

I just use XMBC's web interface and android application. Both work fine for me.

Ofcourse, with only xbmc the default web interface and app are good enough, i agree. But when you have 5 programs running, on your htpc and for every one you have to use a different interface, HtpcManager can provide a solution by combining all programs into one interface.

Raspberry pi compatible? :)

Yes! Just follow the linux install guide.

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