I have a dedicated media server (really just a decently built PC with a lot of storage). I wanted a little bit of power so that it have transcode the video/audio for multiple streams when family members are connected outside of our home network. It auto-reboots on a regular scheduled, but is running 24/7.
I looked into running a dedicated HTPC as well but i'd have to cobble parts together, find a place to physically put it, have to update yet another computer (i do 6 on a regular basis as it is), and it would need to run 24/7 anyway, so i just use my own office comp for storing music.
