Quote:
Originally Posted by Kerplunk
You know what also acts as a media center in a house these days? The TV. Don't have one that capable? It's 2013; you should.
|
Yeah, but by and large the implementations suck for anyone except the lowest common denominator. They don't get quite the attention paid to them by the manufacturers that they should to really make them worthwhile. Can't use SMB sharing for many formats/containers, unless you run a server app to enable on-the-fly streaming, which can lead to a loss in quality and often won't bring along the HD audio track if your media has one. There's a reason I still use an HTPC.
For other content, it isn't much better. My Toshiba, for example, comes with a built-in YouTube app that I've seen used by a number of manufacturers... and it's not very good, especially since it immediately treats playing a single video like a playlist (so it just keeps playing different videos without you wanting it to). Also, the wireless keyboard Toshiba included with it inexplicably
doesn't work in the YouTube app, which is really the only place I'd care to use it since the Web Browser leaves something to be desired.
Yeah, they act as 'media centers', but that's where the similarities end. Actual capabilities are vastly different.