Some basic questions

abelard

Hi all - have browsed some of the threads and there's clearly a lot of expertise here so I'm hoping someone could help with a few very basic questions about my understanding of what a HTPC can do for me.

So, my current 'setup' (if it can be called that) is that I have a lot of media files on my desktop PC, and a Chromecast connected to my TV in another room. I have Plex on the PC and the associated app on my phone so i use that to stream media to the TV. Also use the phone to stream BBC iPlayer, Netflix etc to the TV though Chromecast.

Whilst this works pretty well there are a few issues. First is the need to have my desktop powered on all the time while streaming. Not a big issue but a small annoyance. Second, and more important, is patchy streaming - lags, freezes etc.

So what I want is to move to a solution wherein I have a device connected to the TV, and I can transfer media files over the network to local storage on this device to play.

So, the basic questions;
- Is the HTPC basically made for this use case? Or are they more akin to streaming devices, like a more feature rich Chromecast?
- If so, with something like OpenELEC or OSMC, is playback hassle free? Are there issues with how files are encoded etc?
- How have people fared with using Raspberry Pi for it? Is it quick, smooth etc?

Johnboy1951

So what I want is to move to a solution wherein I have a device connected to the TV, and I can transfer media files over the network to local storage on this device to play.

Why have two lots of storage?

Set up one network-connected storage device and store and stream from that.

.... or maybe I am misinterpreting ....