Plug and play HTPC for 2-3 zones? Does vidabox live up to its promises? (1 Viewer)

[miturian]

I realize I am not the first guy asking this question, but looking at other threads, e.g. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/t/317288/2012-multi-room-htpc I get the impression that most answers are bit too DIY for me. My wife and I just bought a small house and I want to hook up two tv's and assorted speakers to a central hard drive - 5 zones maximum, and at most 3 going simultaneously. The degree of plug-and-play and wife-approval-factor follow each other closely. So, ease of use and installation is more important than price. The way I envisage the final setup is: - central server connected to the wifi, which is used as media library. - a blue-ray player somewhere in the house that can equally be used as a data-source. - 2 screens both able to access the content on the server & the blue-ray player, and at least one of them also able to watch regular TV. We have the two screens, but the speakers will have to be bought later. I really like a version in which individual units can be upgraded without having to invest in an entire new system. So, just filling the house with apple-products and letting the devices sort it out themselves is not an option. I have been trying to find complete packaged systems, but the only thing I can find is vidabox, who seem to be promising much of what I'm looking for. However, I have been unable to find any recent reviews describing whether they live up to their promises. I think their feature of using an iPad as a controller is quite neat, and also means that the TV gets to just be a TV, and not the central controller of the entire system. A further complicating factor is that I'm situated in Denmark, where the market for these kinds of systems is, apparently, non-existent. So it's important that the manufacturer either has a world-class record of online support, or delivers stable systems that don't need fixing. Any comments, either on the doability of the project, experiences with vidabox or an alternative, will be much appreciated Of course, if there's an older thread answering this exact question, I'd be content with simply a link to that