Advantages of the PC - MP3 concept:

Compare it to pure hardware solutions:

• Availability of music titles:
  MP3 and Internet belong together: The Internet is just the source of music:
  Choice and immediate access are unrivaled.

• Usability and comfort:
  You enjoy a huge music collection? It's even better if you find within what you look for. The PC brings the best conditions for it. No more time-consuming seeking for the CD you want to play!

• The whole music collection fits on the harddisk: e. g. with 80GB about 1200 hours in good quality (160 kBit/s). Perfectionists are with a superb quality (256 kBit /s) and 740 hours served well too.
  Though some hardware MP3 players are able to use harddisks as storage media - the comfort of use, e. g. for the maintenance of the collection, must be abstained.
  

• High sound quality: It's easy to test for yourself: MP3 has a level of sound, that if all conditions are fulfilled is even with a CD - high audio equipment taken into account! Even soundcards of medium price offer such quality - with digital output free of transmission loss - if your stereo equipment has the digital input pendant.
  

• The costs: An available PC assumed, it is the best valued solution by far.

All missing was: A comfortable control by remote. - And how it is possible though? - you discovered it now :-)

Are there any disadvantages?

One hindrance is hopefully eliminated with here gathered information and aids: Installation and configuration was formerly not exactly plug&play...

The trickiest hurdle on the way to true music pleasure is a technical problem: Many PCs contain kind of raging fans. To take the wind out see here.

A little drawback compared with hardware players is the time to wait while the PC boots. If the rig stays in standby mode it doesn't matter anyway: Few power is used and it is ready to run e. g. also as a fax machine. Controlling for music works fine - even without switched on monitor - a grip to the remote control and we go!