I'm looking for a setup for my parents that's as easy to operate as possible, which allows the following:

1) Watching HD TV
2) Recording HD TV
3) Listening to Radio
4) Playing CD, DVD & Blu-Ray
5) Playing MP3 (either stored on the device itself, or on something else somewhere in the network)
6) Playing .mkv with subtitles (either stored on the device itself, or on something else somewhere in the network)
7) As few remotes as possible, preferably everything but the TV itself operated by smartphone

They have a decent (Samsung) flat screen TV with a module where their card slots in for watching HD TV right now (so no external decoder). They have a very old and crappy hifi set that will get replaced. The speakers won't be reused (relatively big and poor quality). They want a new setup that'll be as close to an all-in-one solution as possible, meaning they don't care about how many devices will be bought and connected to eachother, they just want it to be easy to operate while having all abilities listed above, and be as future-proof as their budget allows. The option to record is the least important one, and not important at all if you can't watch channel A while recording channel B.

Now I know there are several possibilities to achieve all this, but quite frankly, there're so many options out there it's starting to get a bit overwhelming.



Which of the following devices/setups would you recommend for them to achieve this?

A) Receiver & speakers + Media PC with Blu-ray player
B) Receiver & speakers + Blu-ray player + Mediaplayer (+ NAS)

C) Soundbar/plate + Blu-ray player + Mediaplayer (+ NAS)
D) Soundbar/plate + Media PC with Blu-ray player and several HD's

E) Home Cinema set with Blu-ray player + Mediaplayer (+ NAS)
F) Home Cinema set with Blu-ray player + Media PC with Blu-ray player and several HD's

Right now, I'm leaning towards option A because it seems to be the most flexible/future proof solution. The budget is around € 1000, but it is a little flexible. Of course, as cheap as possible without losing key functions or quality is preferred. However, ease of use is way more important than best possible quality (within the budget).


About media PC's:

It will only have to play audio & video files (up to 4k res), stream online content such as YouTube/Netflix/internet radio (won't be used much) and serve as storage and Blu-ray player. Its size isn't really important (lots of space to put one) but compact would be nice. It also has to be quiet while in use, especially if the volume is low late at night (not sound like a jet taking off or otherwise distract). It'll need a minimum of 1 TB storage capacity, but preferably more (4-6 is nice).

1) Can they be operated using an app on a smartphone, or do you need a (wireless) keyboard/mouse to do so?
2) If building a custom one, what build would you recommend?
3) What OS would you recommend?
4) Is a small SSD for the OS only worth it?

The reason I'm leaning towards media PC's right now is that (parts of) it can be repurposed for something else if it becomes obsolete for whatever reason, or upgraded if it needs to be, so it'd be nice if the total picture would include one.