My HTPC takes a hammering from the whole family. We watch Netflix via the Window's 10 app, youtube, TVNZ and TV3 on demand, music via Spotify app, and gaming.
It's all wireless keyboard and mouse control, we never even touch a remote. The key wireless keyboard has volume controls on it, and I've also mapped some extra mouse buttons to control volume, so you actually only need the mouse for Netflix and TV on demand.