Home Theater Personal Computers (or HTPCs for short) are computers intended for displaying media on a TV, or for consolidating media for streaming to a new device. While they’re generally more expensive and difficult to set up than Chromecast or Apple TV, HTPCs provide a level of customization unmatched by simple media players. Every HTPC can be configured differently depending on personal needs. Due to the staggering amount of ways to go about creating and maintaining an HTPC, I’ll be focusing on my personal needs and uses for all guides I write on the subject.
The information detailed in this section explains my current home theater setup, as of Jan 2018. Its combination of services allows me to search for, download, and update all of my Movies and TV shows regardless of where I am in the world, and without needing any user interaction. Controlling the back-end processes, if needed, can be done through any web browser. When media downloads complete, alerts are sent to both my fiancée’s and my phone, as well as are displayed on our HTPC connected TV itself.
Shout out to the r/HTPC community for posting the latest news, utilities, and hardware options.