The HTPC as a concept is the product of several technology innovations including high-powered home computers, digital media, and the shift from standard-resolution CRT to high-definition monitors, projectors, and large-screen televisions. Integrating televisions and personal computers dates back to the late 1980s with tuner cards that could be added to
Amiga computers via the
Video Toaster. This adaptation would allow a small video window to appear on the screen with broadcast or cable content. Apple Computer also developed the
Macintosh TV in late 1993 that included a tuner card built into a
Macintosh LC 520 chassis but quickly withdrew from the market with only 10,000 units shipped. In 1996
Gateway 2000 unveiled the Destination computer, which included a tuner card and video card. The unit cost $4,000 and mostly integrated television viewing and computer functions on one color monitor. By 2000,
DVD players had become relatively ubiquitous and consumers were seeking ways to improve the picture. The value of using a computer instead of standalone DVD player drove more usage of the PC as a home media device. In particular, the desire for
progressive scanning DVD players (
480p instead of
480i) with better video fidelity led some consumers to consider their computers instead of very expensive DVD players. As DVD players dropped in price, so did PCs and their related video-processing and storage capabilities. In 2000, DVD decryption software using the
DeCSS algorithm allowed DVD owners to consolidate their DVD video libraries on hard drives. Innovations such as
TiVo and
ReplayTV allowed viewers to store and timeshift broadcast content using specially designed computers. ReplayTV for instance ran on a
VxWorks platform. Incorporating these capabilities into PCs was well within the ability of a computer hobbyist who was willing to build and program these systems. Key benefits of these DIY projects included lower cost and more features. Advancements in hardware identified another weak link: the absence of media management software to make it easy to display and control the video from a distance. By the early 2000s, major software developments also facilitated media management, hardware integration, and content presentation; these software applications are called
media center applications.
MythTV, released in 2002, provided a
free and open source solution using
Linux. The concept was to combine a digital tuner with digital video recording, program guides, and computer capabilities with a 10-foot (3 m) user interface.
Kodi, formerly XBMC, was another
free and open software project released in the same year as MythTV. It started with re-purposing the
Xbox as a home theater PC but has since been ported to many other platforms such as Windows, Linux, and more. Various derivatives of Kodi were created, including
Boxee and
Plex, the latter of which expanded to other fields such as media servers, streaming media, and live TV. Mainstream commercial software packages included Microsoft's
Windows Media Center, included with
Windows XP MCE,
Windows Vista, and
Windows 7, and Apple's
Front Row (2005), bundled with
Mac OS X until 10.7 Lion in 2011. Many HTPCs during the 2000s were bundled with Windows XP MCE as a commercial HTPC package for consumers, and by early 2006, other commercial examples of this integration included the
Mac Mini which had the Apple Remote, 5.1 digital audio, and an updated Front Row interface that would play shared media. Because of these features and the Mini's small form factor, consumers began using the Mini as a Mac-based home theater PC. As digital cable and satellite became the norm, media center applications became more dependent on external decoder boxes, and the subscription costs that came with them. For instance, MythTV is capable of capturing unencrypted
HDTV streams, such as those broadcast over the air or on cable using a
QAM tuner. However, most U.S.
cable and
satellite set-top boxes provide only encrypted HD streams for
"non-basic" content, which can be decoded only by OpenCable-approved hardware or software. In September 2009, OEM restrictions were officially lifted for
cableCARD devices, opening up the possibility of HTPC integration. The advent of fully digital HDTV displays helped to complete the value and ease of use of a HTPC system. Digital
projectors,
plasma and
LCDs often came pre-configured to accept computer video outputs including
VGA,
DVI and
component video. Furthermore, both the computers and the displays could include
video scalers to better conform the image to the screen format and resolutions. Likewise, computers also included
HDMI ports that carry both audio and video signals to home video displays or AV receivers. The simplified integration of computer and home theater displays has allowed for fully digital content distribution over the internet. For instance, by the mid-2000s,
Netflix "watch instantly" subscribers could view streaming content using their HTPCs with a browser or with plug-ins with applications such as Plex and
Kodi. Similar plug-ins are also available for
Hulu,
YouTube, and broadcasters such as
NBC,
CBS and
PBS. == HTPC characteristics ==