Well, I don't have the 3808, but have always been intrigued by using its GUI interface instead of a PC-based application.
Since I have a PC co-located with the TV and receiver, I've just been focusing on PC-based software (I have the PC video output going to both a small LCD monitor and to the TV). I am pretty frugal and not a big fan of Microcult, so there are probably many obvious options that I dismissed because I wanted to find something to work in my existing, stable, paid-for environment.
I didn't want to buy either Vista or MCE. I'm perfectly content with 4 machines on XP at the moment. I don't remember why I didn't like WMP, but it could just be a philosophical aversion.
I just ran Cat5 everywhere. The only thing that's wireless is the Wii (and the laptop, when somebody needs to use it).
I haven't really embraced a need for controlling home automation or streaming media other than music, so you have to evaluate your content needs pretty thoroughly. For instance, I LIKE using the D*TV DVR, so I don't need PC-based DVR/TV functionality. Likewise, I got just tired of effing around with trying to play DVD's via a PC and decided that a dedicated Oppo was the best, simplest solution.
Erik Solheim has a good
HTPC software roundup.
iTunes doesn't do FLAC.
I thought that Slimserver/Softsqueeze was going to be "it", but it didn't handle playlists at all, and my dream of whole-house audio via PC's was quashed when synchronized playback systematically became non-synchronized. I haven't had time to try Squeezecentre yet, but that might be worth a shot.
I tried to use my D*TV HR20 to stream music, and I did get proof-of-concept. But it doesn't really do lists well, either, and the interface just wasn't efficient and elegant.
xLobby is pretty good, but it is designed to do a lot more than I really need. The GUI wasn't intuitive for me. Same thing with
Media Portal.
Winamp is my current favorite. The interface makes sense, and it is pretty powerful. Not quite as "pretty" though.
Ray3 is convinced that the PS3 is the answer to all streaming needs. He might be right. I don't have one yet.
I've been enjoying the tagging, conversion and organizing features in
MediaMonkey a lot lately.
One of the interesting things about this topic is that there seems to be pretty constant and vibrant development occurring. I just became aware of
Elisa which might cost me a few hours.
I also made good use of the
flac2mp3 utility. After ripping everything to FLAC, I still wanted to make compressed copies available to my family for iPods, and this worked pretty well (although it does not currently pass the cover art along).
