Driving a Home Theater

Our family is upgrading to an HDTV for Christmas, so you might be surprised to learn that we don’t have cable or satellite.  In fact, we hardly ever watch television shows.  Our TV is mostly used for playing Wii games, watching DVDs, and streaming movies from Netflix — a really great service that I highly recommend.

Here’s the reason for this post:  we need some way for our TV to:  a) stream Netflix in HD, b) play ripped DVDs from a drive on our network, and c) play Blu-ray discs.  There are many solutions for getting things like this done, but I’m going to compare the products and ideas that we considered the most seriously.  Your needs are probably different, but I still hope you can use this information to make a better decision for yourself.

A discussion about Apple TV, Google TV, HTPCs, and Blu-ray players.

Apple TV — A tiny black box that puts iTunes on your TV.
Essentially, Apple TV is a $99 cube that has no storage, no buttons, and no disc drive.  It does two things:  bring content from another computer onto your TV, and stream Netflix.  When I say, “another computer,” that includes the iTunes Store.  You can purchase or rent movies and TV shows right from Apple TV, as long as it has an internet connection.  It’s got built-in Wi-Fi b/g/n, as well as an Ethernet connection, so it can handle fast media streaming.  It has an HDMI port, as well as optical audio.  You can control it using the included Apple Remote (a very simple device, it’s an iPod-style click wheel with two buttons), or using Apple’s Remote app for iOS devices.  The Apple Remote works like traditional remotes, using line-of-sight IR signals, while the Remote app works over the network — so you don’t need to point your iPhone at the TV.  I called Apple to confirm that it can export 1080p video.  That’s full HD, so you won’t be lacking video quality for a few years to come.
This is an inexpensive way to bring a lot of content to your TV.  If Blu-ray isn’t a major concern, it might be the best way to go.

Google TV — A service that brings (almost) the entire internet to your TV.
Where Apple is, there shall Google be also.  Google TV is a service that connects your television to the internet.  Simple, right?  That means it has an internet browser, just like your computer, so you can view any website you want — with Adobe Flash content included.  Starting in 2011, Google TV will also be able to install and run certain Android apps that were designed specifically to run on TVs.  Currently, two products (set-top boxes) exist that can bring Google TV to your current TV set, and there is also a TV that comes with Google TV preinstalled (see the link above).  Both boxes cost $300, but one of them (the Sony) has a built in Blu-ray player.  The other one (the Logitech) has the ability to play networked media files — and a better remote.
These products won’t work for me, but they might fill your needs perfectly.

Home Theater PCs — Exactly what it sounds like.
Ever thought about hooking up an honest-to-gosh computer to your TV?  Nowadays, it’s easier than you might think.  Several manufacturers make small, media-centric computers specifically for this purpose, and you can also build your own from parts, if you know what you’re doing.  Shuttle’s X350 is a good choice, as are the Aspire Revo and Dell Zino.  (If you’re a Mac and you want an HTPC, you can get the lovely Mac Mini, unfortunately without a Blu-ray drive.)  Having a living room computer really lets you do pretty much everything.  Rather than just streaming iTunes, you can essentially install iTunes on your TV.  Blu-ray, Netflix — it’s all possible with an HTPC.  Building from scratch allows you to decide exactly what your machine will be capable of, so you usually get the best value when you have a custom-built computer.  Depending on what you want, you can spend anywhere from $150 to $700+.  Heck, you could even go all-out and get a beastly tower computer, but those aren’t exactly theater (or power) friendly.
You get the most control with an HTPC.  You control the price, the speed, and the features — but you need to be patient and do your research.

Net-connected Blu-ray players — Disc readers that want to be web browsers.
Many Blu-ray players offer the ability to stream music and video from sites like Netflix, Pandora, and YouTube.  These products have different ways of connecting to the internet, though, and this might cause a problem if you can’t get the right connection to your player.  Some require Ethernet, some have built-in Wi-Fi, and others are “Wi-Fi ready,” which means that they require special adapters to connect wirelessly.  These devices do offer features not found elsewhere, such as DVD upconversion and faster disc speeds.  They’re also available for less than the other solutions, typically costing between $50 and $200.
If you don’t need to play music or movies over your network, but you still want a few internet features, some Blu-ray players have you covered.