So, what are the ideal storage solutions and what are the advantages and disadvantages of each of them.
Your first solution is to have a local hard disk with large storage capacity, not less than 1 TB installed in your HTPC to serve as a dedicated storage solution for your HTPC. This solution could be good in many cases.
For example, if you are on a tight budget, this could be the ideal solution for you. Just throw couple of hundreds and you will instantly have a huge storage space that you will need couple of years before you can think about expanding it. Another great advantage is that you can install it easily and without much ado. A data cable and a power cord can do the trick.
The last advantage is that you will be able to save power because you will turn your computer only when you need to use it, otherwise it will be kept shut off. The disadvantage of such solution is that you will have a background noise because most HDD on the market, especially those with large storage capacities depend on mechanical heads so, say farewell to the quite scenes of the horror movies.
You could also get a network attached storage which is an external hard drive that can be connected to your computer over the home network. The advantages lie particularly in the capability of backing up your media files and serving them to all connected devices in your home network.
The disadvantage is that you will need to stream the files to your HTPC which can be rather slow over the wireless network unless you use a gigabit ethernet cable connection. In addition there is some additional technical skills needed to be able to configure all devices to work properly with the NAS.
Another solution would be to depend on the main storage unit that you have on your PC and connect it to your HTPC through LAN or WLAN network. This solution also has its own advantages, you won’t be paying any capital cost because the HD is already installed in your PC and all you will need to pay for is the LAN cable or the WLAN receiver.
Another great advantage is that you won’t have to listen for the HDD noise while listening to music or watching a romantic movie.
On the other hand, there are some disadvantages. Majorly, your storage space will run out quickly because you are using it for both your PC as well as HTPC. Another disadvantage is that you will have to lay down long wires or depend on wireless and have some issues with streaming files over the wireless network.
Finally, you should have your PC turned on all the time because it holds all the files that you need while you are using the PC itself or the HTPC.
What else you should consider when choosing your home theater PC peripherals? Here is the list of the popular accessories to get the most out of your media center.