So I’ve dreamt of an HTPC of my very own for many years, but never made the plunge. I even bought an extra copy of Windows 7 with every intention to use it for my HTPC, but that never happened.
Yesterday I bought my first TV since an old plasma died two years back. Since WMC is clearly on its way out and because, last I heard, Blu-Ray on any PC was hit-or-miss, I was going to just get a Blu-Ray player with some crappy apps (Netflix, etc) on it.
However, I had just installed Windows 8 on my wife’s laptop and since I don’t have a Blu-Ray player or digital cable, it was the only thing I had to hook up to the new TV. I was blown away by Windows 8 on the big screen! I follow HTPC news enough that I had already gotten her free copy of WMC installed, but I only used it to play a DVD. Because I don’t have or plan to get cable/satellite TV nor require DVR functionality, I saw far more potential in the Windows 8 UI and apps like Netflix and Hulu and Pandora and Slacker!
Which brings me to my question – are there any Windows 8 HTPC users out there, or can anyone point me to a good Windows 8 HTPC website? I’m actually excited to possibly build a little Blu-Ray enabled HTPC again, now that I’ve seen the potential!
Based on that answer, I’ve already got more questions brewing: What is the state of Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray audio on PCs this day? What will be the best way to rip my DVD collection for Windows 8? Can a PC upscale DVDs? DVD rips? Have people started using Kinect to control Windows 8? Oh, the possibilities!
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