Anyone here using a linux driven HTPC?


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Thread: Anyone here using a linux driven HTPC?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    1

    Anyone here using a linux driven HTPC?

    If so, how is it working out for you?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Austin, Texas
    Posts
    683
    I never got around to setting one up but a friend of mine had a MythTV box years ago when they were still pretty difficult to setup. It was incredibly neat, but wouldn't work with HD feeds at the time. According to mythtv.org that has changed.

    You can set it up as an all-in-one system or as a backend/frondend configuration. As they say, this allows you to run a beefy/noisy machine as your backend in a closet somewhere, but a quick/sleek/small machine next to your TV.

    These days you can download distros that have MythTV binaries already installed and ready to go. For example, see www.mythbuntu.org. I believe you can even download the live CD and try it out on your hardware without fully installing it.

    The mythbuntu page is also a great resource for looking at supported hardware. Several of the developers post their own configuration on the page, so you can duplicate much of it and be sure that your system will work. The most important thing is usually the TV tuner that you select and Hauppauge cards seem to be the ones that have been around/supported for the longest.

    I would set one up but since we got U-verse I am actually pretty happy with how everything works. If we still had Time Warner I would probably give this a shot.

    If you set up something like this please post back. It's always neat to see what people do.



    P.S. WELCOME!
    Last edited by gamblor01; 06-26-2010 at 12:40 PM.
    "The author of that poem is either Homer or, if not Homer, somebody else of the same name."

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Rochester, MN
    Posts
    3,604
    I've been running one for about 5 years now, and I wouldn't be without it. The biggest thing for me is that I can install the frontend on my laptop and watch TV anywhere. However, it is a lot of work at times - my ill-fated "upgrade" to MythTV .22 being a perfect example. Fortunately, .23 has since come out and fixed most of the problems I had with .22.

    It really all comes down to how willing you are to do some troubleshooting when something goes wrong. A Myth box gives you a super flexible HTPC setup, but in my experience it does require a bit of TLC a couple times a year.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    41
    Been using XBMC on Ubuntu for just over a year now. Very happy with it. It's pretty much been a set and forget installation.

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