The hard disk just went bad in my Rio Central for, I think, the third time. I've actually got two centrals, one of which was an alpha prototype, and I've been doing parts-swapping and replacing hard disks as needed, but I think it's reached its last legs, and now, I want a replacement solution for a streaming household media server. And since the Rio Receivers only could ever connect to the Central, if that's going out, I'm going to have to throw those babies out with the bathwater too. It's a sad day, I know. But I figure this would be a great time to get a thread started about how I could go about replacing this system that served me well for many years. I think there has to be something that exists that can do more capabilities these days.

Here's some ideas about what I *think* I'd like to do in this area, all are open for discussion. Does anyone make a solution that does all these things or a subset of these things?

1. I'm thinking that, whatever I do, I want to do a server/client solution, where I'm buying both ends of the equation.

2. I want it to stream not just MP3s, but many types of audio/video media to the clients.

3. The head-end does not have to rip CDs nor output video or audio. The head end could just be a dedicated file server, with some caveats as listed below.

4. I tried going the "Dedicate an old PC to the task" route, and did not like that. The PC turned out to be a problem, was noisy so I had to hide it away somewhere, and never really ended up doing what I needed it to do.

5. My ideal device would be something like a NAS box, where it's just a glorified hard disk with an ethernet plug in back. But in the box should be...
- Lots of storage for video/audio files. Perhaps expandable storage.
- Web UI for managing those files.
- Windows/Samba file share access for adding/removing/editing files.
- Acts as a Windows Media Server so that my Xbox and Playstation can stream from it.

6. Then I would want player client boxes, much like the Rio Receivers. I would want the clients to:
- Stream audio from that server, using their own built-in UI screen (i.e., without needing a television UI).
- (Not necessarily in the same client box) Stream Video and audio with HD television output and television UI interface.
- Infrared remote control that I can use my Harmony One with.

Does such a system exist? What do you guys recommend?