What third party software to utilize with HTPC?

[alm99]

What software utilities are essential or are loaded on your media center PCs? Things like MP3 encoders, DVD Rippers, etc?

Just setting mine up to be strictly used as a media center housing all TV recorded shows, MP3s, Movies, etc. Since I am in the process of placing these files on the hard drive and I was thinking that instead of doing it on a seperate computer I might put the media center to work and have it do it.

Any thoughts?

[tallcajun]

I'll add my 2 cents.

I have a really great program called pycron installed. It is a Python based cron job scheduler that auto launches tasks at certian times. Currently I have it performing two tasks, a nightly defrag (6am Actually), and a Weekly reboot of the PC.

Pycron is available at the Author's web site. It is freeware.


Autodefrag is accomplished in a few ways, check this web site out for a solution that you are comfortable with. Personally, I use the Autodegrag.exe file.

Rebooting windows, called up with pycron, using a batch file:
SHUTDOWN -r -t 01

[satkinson]

'Essential' depends, of course, on what you're trying to do.

That said, I seem to have accumulated a lot of software on my BTV box.

My first proposition: don't buy Nero or (god forbid) Roxio's Easy Media Creator.

Nero is far and away the better of the two, but you can get further faster with some lesser known programs.

To edit files, you want a frame accurate mpeg cutter. I use two: Video ReDo and TMPG's MPEG editor.

TMPG is a funny operation: the help files are oddly written, and the software requires you periodically 'renew' it on the web - a major downside.

In fact, the only thing good about it is - it's lightning fast, dead accurate and I could use it without ever trying to struggle through the help files.

Video ReDo is almost as good, and sems to be run be excellent, thoughtful people who pay attention to their customers. In addition, it has some neat features like an automatic ad remover that works well.

For compression/conversion: TMPG's Xpress 3.0 or VideoCleaner.

For burning to dvd: TMPG's authoring program (they have a couple of different ones - I'm using 1.6) or the excellent DVD Lab.

For backing up 'protected' dvds: Slysoft's AnyDvd, used in conjunction with CloneDVD, will quickly produce a decent backup of your legally purchased dvd so that your teenage daughter doesn't, say, destroy your Goddard collection while having a fight with her boyfriend.

I also have the most recent Divx encoder, but don't use it much.

Replay Radio - for recording radio streams and podcasts.

The usual iTunes and WMP (I use 10, but 11 looks promising) an MP3 tag editor, Flash Video MX for converting video to flash video files (at $50, a steal), Direct Show Dump for stripping the proprietary 'wrappers' off Tivo and Windows Media Center Edition files, SONY's Sound Forge Studio for editing audio (a genuinely good SONY product, and cheap).

For checking burned dvds, a Philips 642 dvd player - dirt cheap (>$60) and it plays most everything.

(btw - I first got onto TMPG products when BTV 3.5X, bundled with a tuner card, had them on the same cd.)

Best,

Scott A.

[Rich A]

If you are talking about an actual dedicated home theater then I would add the following comments.

My Home Theater is an "Entertainment" Center. Not a work center. All DVD authoring, ripping, editing and such is done on a dedicated NLE computer where it can be done the quickest and easiest in another room.

The HTPC and the NLE (which is in a separate room) are connected with a gigabit LAN. I can edit shows stored on the HTPC across the LAN without having to go into the home theater and start up the projector etc.

Some people want to do everything with the PC that is acting as their HTPC. That's fine .. different strokes for different folks. But I believe those of us who have a dedicated room with theater seating and large screen displays really only want to enjoy the viewing experience when in there. Don't want to mess with keyboards, mice or do editing etc. Just want to sit back and watch our recorded shows.

One advantage to that is that the HT PC system is easier to maintain, being dedicated to just HTPC things. My HTPC is really a set top box, so to speak. And it's been running 24/7 for three years.

I say if you are going to rip, edit, author do it on a machine optimised for that purpose and leave the HTPC to do it's job playing recorded HD, DVDs, Music, Radio and all the stuff you'd expect to enjoy in a home theater.

Of course this is really more the thing to keep in mind if you are thinking of a dedicated room for your video and audio enjoyment.

[satkinson]

Rich -

I think you have it righter than me, but my humble btv box is a working dog, so to speak. It records newscasts - I'm the news director of a small tv station - from which I edit stories for posting on our station's web site.

Aside from that, I'm a distinctly lo-fi sort of person, so most of my watching is on CRTs of various age, all of them 20 inches or less.

Best,

Scott A.

[Rich A]

Originally Posted by satkinson

Rich -

I think you have it righter than me, but my humble btv box is a working dog, so to speak. It records newscasts - I'm the news director of a small tv station - from which I edit stories for posting on our station's web site.

Aside from that, I'm a distinctly lo-fi sort of person, so most of my watching is on CRTs of various age, all of them 20 inches or less.

Best,

Scott A.

No problem Scott,

I was thinking more along the lines of 2 options being either a dedicated or general purpose thing. Each has it's use.