If always on an always available are important to you then I recommend investing in a dedicated NAS to server your media. It's always on, lower power and will serve multiple devices simultaneously and potentially setup an automated downloader for your media.
Once set up correctly you have XBMC/Plex serving your entire house's media needs whether it's pictures, music, or movies. You might also want to look at XBMC's native wifi remote option, if it's on the same network your ipad/iphone/android phone now becomes your remote.
I think it's a receiver issue and not an XBMC specific thing for your sound output issue? Hm... a Roku huh? Have you considered an Ouya? @ $99 you can install XBMC/Plex on it and you have access to a library of games as well for the same price as the Roku. As for PS3/Xbox, I found them too limited in what it supported for media formats and display options without massive firmware hacking to get around the need to transcode. Even with transcoding there were performance issues playing 1080p MKVs. XBMC on my HTPCs spoiled me. :P
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