The HTPC continues to reside in the Ahanix case with 7" touch screen, although the hardware (computer and TV) has gone through a number of changes since 2009. And, more importantly, I've rid myself of Wincrash when we "cut the cord" in 2016.
Roughly late 2013 I switched to using a Ceton 6-tuner CableCard receiver, which forced me back into Mircoaggression operating system. (I had switched to LinuxMCE in 2010, while still using the analog Hauppauge tuners.) I vacillated between NextPVR and Mediaportal, and finally settled on MP. Other than the o/s-induced crashes, MP was a good front end.
At some point, I swapped out the motherboard for an ASRock FM2A85X Extreme6 with and A10 processor + 16GB RAM, and I am using the motherboards HDMI output. It also has four analog Hauppauge tuners (for OTA HD).
When we got tired of the ever-increasing cable bill from TWC, I cut the cord in early fall of 2016, sold the Ceton tuner+Echo extenders, and--best of all--purged the machine of Billyboy's "operating system."
The machine is currently running Ubuntu 16.04 and TVheadend is used for OTA scheduling and allowing the other "extenders" throughout the house to view live local-TV. Kodi is the front-end on my HTPC, the boys' Ubuntu-box (an older min-ATX/Atom board), and two Odroid C2s.
Although I haven't found the time to build an entertainment system, my system still uses part of the original entertainment system's shelves that I built back in 1989! I did have to slap together a base, built with melamine, upon which to place the 72" DLP (Mitsubishi WD-73C12) which I purchased in 2013.
When in doubt, I whip it
out. I got me a rock'n'roll band. It's a free-for-all.