Moderators Youthman Posted March 6, 2015 Moderators Share Posted March 6, 2015 After my visit with wakejunkie, I really like how he used a HTPC with a wireless keyboard w/trackpad to play music through Spotify. That's really all I need the HTPC to do. I don't have any desire to stream HD videos, rip DVD's onto the hard drive etc. Just need it to play music. For those with HTPC's.... 1) What wireless keyboard do you recommend. I'm considering something like the iPazzPort KP-810-18R. Wake has a large keyboard and I'm thinking I would rather have something a bit smaller and type similar to texting. Two features the 18R have that wake's didn't is it's backlit and it has a scroll on the touchpad. Both of these features I would prefer to have. 2) Any recommended audio card? 3) Any Do's or Don'ts that you can think of? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 (edited) I use a i3NUC for my HTPC, and I have a 2nd PC that is my NAS (backup, and all my movies, music, etc). If you just want to play music the i3NUCs are about the size of 4 cd jewel cases stacked up, and they are dead silent. I use a wireless keyboard that is also about the same size. For music you don't need a i3NUC, and could easily use the Celeron NUC (I also use one of them for streaming my movies). No sound card or video card is needed. HTPC http://www.amazon.com/Intel-DN2820FYKH-Celeron-N2820-support/dp/B00HVKLSVC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425611139&sr=8-1&keywords=Celeron+NUC RAM http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-204-Pin-Notebook-CT51264BF160B/dp/B005LDLV6S/ref=pd_bxgy_pc_text_y CD player http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-Ultra-Slim-SE-218GN-RSBD/dp/B00MLXA1KI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1425611600&sr=8-4&keywords=external+cd+player Wireless keyboard http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FQ6CJ0M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Then you can use a 2.5 HDD internally or use a USB external drive with a SSD internal hdd. If you are only going to play CDs... You could just get a 60GB SSD drive and install Windows on it or you can just get a USB stick and install OpenElec/XBMC on it which is free. I use it for my movies, and music and it is very nice for that purpose. You can download OpenElec here... http://openelec.tv/ Edited March 6, 2015 by ellisr63 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldred Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 ellisr63 is correct these micro PC's are all you need. Great advice 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdit Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I had an i3 NUC too, but I recently bought a Raspberry PI 2. With 4x900Mhz cores and 1gb ram, It is extremely fast and generates no heat at all. My NUC runs a bit warm. I put openelec on the Pi and can play everything the NUC could. If I had not bought a nuc, I would prefer the PI. I paid $35 plus shipping here: http://www.mcmelectronics.com/content/en-US/raspberry-pi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I have never tried the Raspberry, but I have heard only good things about it, plus it is dirt cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I use a Logitech K400r which does all I need it to do on my repurposed HP M8100n desktop with a dual core CPU, 8gb RAM, two 2TB HD's in RAID 1, etc, etc. I run JRiver for main room with iPhone/iPad control and then Plex to 3 other Apple TV's and a Roku 3 in the house. 1100+ CD's ripped as FLAC files plus maybe 100 DVD's are in with plenty more space and expandable as needed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldred Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 (edited) bobdit , I really am interested in this Raspberry. How is it for video and audio. Can it handle 1080p / 7.1 audio Edited March 6, 2015 by oldred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdit Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 oldred, I only use openelec and it plays 1080p bluray rips flawlessly. I rip my bluray discs to a usb 3TB hard drive so I can watch any movie any time without having to switch disc. The only thing it can't do is bitstream DTS-HD Master audio, it will fallback to DTS core, it has enough power to software decode Dolby TrueHD however. A lot of power for dirt cheap I think. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Youthman Posted March 19, 2015 Author Moderators Share Posted March 19, 2015 Wake mentioned I can connect to the HTPC using my iPad via Remote Desktop. I'll have to check into that. May not need a remote. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstrickland1 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I am truly in love with my mac mini setup w/ Bluetooth keyboard and mouse. I feed USB out to the asynchronous input of the C2500 and it really is remarkable, even with Spotify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Wake mentioned I can connect to the HTPC using my iPad via Remote Desktop. I'll have to check into that. May not need a remote. What are you using fr software on the HTPC? There are a lot of apps that can be used to control equipment, and media servers on the iPad, and Android devices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdit Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 If you run openelec (or Kodi formerly Xbmc), you can use your iphone or ipad as remote and the iphone/ipad keyboard, works wonderfully. I don't know how to post images, else I would post screenshots of my setup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NBPK402 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 If you run openelec (or Kodi formerly Xbmc), you can use your iphone or ipad as remote and the iphone/ipad keyboard, works wonderfully. I don't know how to post images, else I would post screenshots of my setup. Yup... That is what we use too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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