Linux Media/HTPC Operating Systems

Conrad11

Conrad11

Conrad11

Soldato
Joined
12 Jun 2005
Posts
5,361
Hi there,

I am keen on the whole HTPC type things and have been building them for quite some while trying different combinations of software/hardware.

I am now trying to create an as low powered system as possible which is as quiet as possible.

Since it has to be low powered, mini itx was the first thing that came to mind, and since i don't want to spend a fortune and there is the hardware restriction of mini itx, i thought it would be best to go with a linux system.

I am going to be trying a few HTPC OSs/Programs over the next couple of days and wondered if anyone knew any others which might be good.

So far on my list is:

GeeXbox - Looks very promising only needing a P2 400Mhz and 64MB of RAM to run.
MythTV - Tried this before, I wonder if it has changed since the last time i used it though.
Freevo - One I haven't tried but is apparently quite active and full featured and looks quite good, its teaming up with GeeXbox I think.

Can anyone name any others?

Thanks.
 
I know KnoppMyth is very popular. It's (somewhat obviously) a cut-down version of Knoppix that runs MythTV.

Since you haven't bought anything yet you're in a prefect position to choose a package then be sure all of your hardware is supported out-of-the-box.
 
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Yeah knoppmyth is the only one i have used before.

My only reservation is that it does not appear to have gone anywhere since the last time i tired. It is still on version 0.2. Last time i used it, it wasn't particularly good either, I didn't like the look and feel of it.

It is also the needs the highest spec system to run.

Edit:

Another thing that could cause a problem is that I would want to run it on my TV which has a "funny" resolution. Something like 1366*768
 
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I've just tried GeeXbox, it's a 11mb download, make sure you download the extra codecs (you'll find this in the ISO generator package). It streams media over the network very well, I can finally watch Lost on my widescreen tele without having a 15m HDMI cable!

My GeeXbox Spec:
8GB HDD
1GHz Pentium III
128MB RAM
^ basically a pile of poop that surprisingly still works - yet it runs perfectly.
Takes a minute to boot up as soon as you power it up.

Only problem I've found is that some rmvb files plays very choppy. You can copy files from network to the box's local HDD, but the copying function is a very unclear (no progress/status of copying). But overall, its a fantastic piece of software.
 
There's also an Ubuntu-flavoured version of MythTV available. I've not tried it myself (yet) but considering the amount of backing Ubuntu distros are getting, I'd think it's more likely to get more frequently updated than a Knoppix-based distro.

www.mythbuntu.org

I also remember seeing a lengthy video of LinuxMCE which looked very impressive... I remember things like the guy having a video follow him (well, really his remote control) around the house switching to different TVs as he entered different rooms, etc... That looked very impressive, but also tricky to implement properly.
 
GarethDW said:
There's also an Ubuntu-flavoured version of MythTV available. I've not tried it myself (yet) but considering the amount of backing Ubuntu distros are getting, I'd think it's more likely to get more frequently updated than a Knoppix-based distro.

www.mythbuntu.org
Click to expand...
I use Mythbuntu on all of my Myth machines now. It is very slick. It boots into a live environment that can be used to run a (hard) diskless frontend. You get an XFCE desktop with an install icon, just like Xubuntu or similar. You click that and it takes you to a setup similar to the usual Ubuntu GUI installer. It has extra steps in which you can tell it to execute a script to install proprietary graphics drivers, set up capture cards, and set up remotes. When it's done and you reboot you're automatically logged-in, taken back to an XFCE desktop, then mythfrontend runs. You can either configure this further or exit it. You control it through the mythbuntu control centre which is quite slick.

With it, you specify the machine's role; frontend only, primary backend, secondary backend, primary backend and frontend, or secondary backend with frontend. It helps you install restricted media codecs, connect to the database, install different desktop packages, install MythTV plugins, install and use system services like VNC, ssh, Samba, and NFS, and further configure your hardware.

It's really nice and a full combined frontend/backend will take about 3 GiB. This is a bit heavy for a dedicated Myth machine, but for an average user it's just fine.

If you already have a working *buntu installation you can
sudo apt-get install mythbuntu-control-centre
and get the same configuration.
 
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I honestly think that MythTV offers a better stand-alone package than LinuxMCE. The Myth distros give a great start on what is, admittedly, an install of higher-intermediate difficulty.

You can choose one based on your parent-distro preference; KnoppMyth/Mythbuntu for Debian (apt), MythDora for Red Hat (yum/rpm).
 
I have just installed Ubuntu 7.10 and then MythTV and it was suprisingly easy with the help of the control center.

I am using a keyboard & mouse at the moment. Can anyone recommend an IR receiver and remote that works well with MythTV? Or maybe a a combo with VFD/LCD screen?

Thanks.
 
I use a StreamZap remote with my machine. It was cheap and setting it up was as easy as selecting StreamZap from the Mythbuntu dropdown list. It's not a great remote though.

Others have had good results with the Windows MCE remote and the ATi Remote Wonder. Check out the MythTV wiki for info on a BUNCH of supported hardware. Just about everything's in there.
 
BillytheImpaler said:
I use a StreamZap remote with my machine. It was cheap and setting it up was as easy as selecting StreamZap from the Mythbuntu dropdown list. It's not a great remote though.

Others have had good results with the Windows MCE remote and the ATi Remote Wonder. Check out the MythTV wiki for info on a BUNCH of supported hardware. Just about everything's in there.
Click to expand...

Thankyou, that's really useful.
 
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