Building a Media PC and want to use Linux

Founder_film · 9 May 2008 at 21:40

I have been thinking of building a pc to plug directly into my TV and to play media content (mainly video). I want to use Linux as its free and I don't like windows.

I like the look of Xubuntu or LinuxMint. Which one would you guys suggest considering I am a noob?

I want the pc to be able to play HD content (.mkv files) and also video files I ripped from my DVDs to play on my iPod. Can these distros do this? Or is it a case of getting the right media application?

That leads me onto is there any Media player/library applications that are similar to iTunes? I like the way you can store all your movies in iTunes and I would like to do that same in Linux.

I really want to try Linux properly and the fact I can make a media pc for around £200 and not pay £400 for a Mac Mini is really appealing

Founder_film · 9 May 2008 at 22:21

Yeah I had looked at MythTV etc but not been impressed. Though I like the look of Mythbuntu. However would it let me still use regular applications like Bit Torrents etc?

Founder_film · 9 May 2008 at 22:38

I think it was the "look" of it, being a person that has used Macs for years now I am into things looking pretty (shallow I know). However the latest Mythbuntu looks very nice.

Just looks at the minimum requirements for it though and it has a TV tuner card in the list. Do you have to have a tuner card to run mythTV? I only want it for my own movie files.

Also will it play the .mkv and .mp4 I already have?

Founder_film · 9 May 2008 at 23:34

Thanks for the info. Seems like this is the best solution for what I want. Now I just have to decide on which components to get. Is nvidia still the way to go for graphics card for linux?

Founder_film · 10 May 2008 at 18:49

XvMC? Not sure what that is.

I am looking to get the following spec:

Core 2 Duo E2180 2.0GHz
2 Gig RAM
Nvidia 8400GS 256Mb GPU
250Gb hard drive (more storage to be added later)

You think that would do for what I am planning?