20 replies to this topic

[road-runner]

They probably will for most people, not for me though... I thought the smart bluray player was pretty cool at first I could watch movies off my PC in the bedroom until I ran into the cinavia pop up on ripped blurays...

[Tjj226_Angel]

I don't think so. HTPCs are still far more customizable then smart tvs are. I do however, think that it is a matter of time. In five years, I do not see HTPCs going away. In 50 years however, then we might be having a different discussion. I assume by that point we will all have biological based computers in our brains and we wouldn't even need tvs at all. But who really knows.

[Dr_Frankenstein]

I did away with my HTPC and bought a WDTV streamer, I don't need recording abilities my set top box does that,

[ClayMeow]

I voted possibly because although I don't think there will be much of a change, the HTPC market is already small as it is. Out of the hundred people I know in real life, just one of them has an HTPC. They're not that popular and I don't see them ever becoming that popular beyond a very niche market. Smart TVs, on the other hand, will increase in market share simply because soon that's all that will be offered, so anyone buying a new TV will have one, regardless of whether they truly desired one or not.

[ComputerEd]

Until you can hang a lot of mass storage off of them...I don' think so.

See now this is were I think a lot of the HTPC craze fails. We are more and more reaching the point that storage is less of an issue. If you have cable or staellite TV then you already have a recording device to hold a show you missed. You do not need the long term storage because most of those shows today end up on streaming services not to long afeter release. The problem with the smart TV however is while they encroach on some of the HTPC territory by hitting some of the streaming services, they do not offer enough versitility to really reaplce them.

While these new TVs might offer access to Hulu and Netflix and even Pandora they kind of stop there, they miss things Like Amazon's streaming service and game streaming services like Onlve.

Unless they are going to put a full PC within the TV then the HTPC will offer and ability to adapt to new offerings from the wbe, something the TV will be slow to do if it can at all.

[ciddono]

There is a more common, simpler way to enjoy much the web has to offer : XBOX. I expect as new iterations of console systems evolve, HTPCs will fade. Or consoles will evolve into HTPCs as well. Add in network storage and streaming, and there's little reason to have an additional device in your entertainment center.

[Speedway]

I did away with my HTPC and bought a WDTV streamer, I don't need recording abilities my set top box does that,

That is what I did, I got my WD TV Live about 2 years ago and I love it! Runs on my network and I can browse all the files on my PCs as long as they are shared!

[potatochobit]

what it really is going to come down to is pricing and availabilty

I love my roku, but half the channels require 7$ a month payment to watch
that adds up with numerous channels

so once there is more free content available at the click of the remote, the faster HTPCs will be replaced

[dragonsdontfly]

In a way. For the inexperienced crowd, yes. For advanced users, never.

My primary desktop is hooked up as an htpc for when I want it. Smart TVs don't have several hard drives, or the ability to control volume and playback from my phone or remote (whichever is closest to me) or a mouse and keyboard for precise skipping..

The option to capture or save videos is nearly limitless on a PC, and so simple. Much more diverse than smart TVs..

And the list goes on. The biggest thing to me though, is that any random computer can pretty much double as a htpc.. you don't have to build an extra one just for it, and even old ones you don't want anymore can often be dedicated htpcs.

Smart TVs are for dumb consumers. As is "smart anything". Because it always implies that it's advertised towards people who can't use any degree of complexity. Smart phones, amazing as they are.. are aimed at people who have no technical experience. "Smart" in advertising means it does something so you don't have to... But for advanced users, that also usually means it doesn't have the customizability of doing it the advanced way.