Linux newbie: HTPC with Ubuntu?

[GoStumpy]

Hello!

I *FINALLY* (after 6+ months) got my little computer to work with Ubuntu, it has been a struggle.

The one on the left:

Problems were had with the GeForce2MX onboard video, I had to find myself an AGP card to make it work.. Well the AGP cards I put in never worked because they wouldn't seat properly.

Well last night I took everything out of the case and tried it, and it works!! Installed ubuntu 10.04 last night, and it is booting up properly now.. Hurray!

I'll get the wireless network card to work later, that shouldn't be a problem, but I really am at a loss for Media Center type programs...

I'll have a wireless mouse, wireless keyboard eventually...

Are there any all-in-one type programs to store/play all my videos? I don't even know what there is for Windows, honestly....

If you have any ideas, I'll be researching

Brainstorm! Thanks!!!

 

[Jodell88]

Boxee and XBMC are good choices.

 

[GoStumpy]

Thanks for the suggestions

Unfortunately, after a couple hours of farting around, I realize that my LCD Projection TV has horrible resolution, best I could get from the computer was 640x480, and even at that there was a little bit of desktop cut off on top & bottom... and 640x480 is unacceptable.

Looks like I may need to get a new TV before I can have my HTPC like I wanted

Until then, I'll have it beside the couch with a monitor just for surfing the web in the Living Room, heh.

Good use for this ol Athlon 1900+ 1.1ghz, 512mb ram machine Ubuntu flies!

 

[notposting]

I don't run Linux right now for it, but even with Windows, trying to fiddle with ancient hardware makes an HTPC even more of a headache than it can be. Find something modern (and cheap) and move on would be my recommendation.

edit: specifically with HTPC's as trying to get TV-out, good audio, remote usage, standby issues, etc..

 

[trollolo]

you can build a very capable llano HTPC for just over 400$. don't stick with terrible hardware please

 

[IGemini]

I managed to get my HTPC set up as described in my sig with XBMC (which works with Windows as well). PulseAudio is a royal pain with HDMI audio, but it's able to play 1080p video on fairly minimalist hardware.

 

[GoStumpy]

Just finished building my gaming/desktop computer for ~$600, so I won't be building another one anytime soon.... This'll have to do!

Maybe if I find some more Ram, or take the Athlon XP 2800+ from my other computer.... That would help

 

[Shadowknight]

If you're going to use HDMI sound, I recommend wiping the hard drive and installing Ubuntu 11.04. I had to screw with the kernel in 10.04 to get sound working, and as a side-effect of the changes in LIRC, my remote control stopped working. Outside of some minor configuration issues, this is all resolved in 11.04. Just make sure to switch from Unity to the old GNOME desktop on the login screen, or install unity 2d. AFTER switching to Unity 2d or the old Gnome desktop, you'll need to edit a file to disable composite to stop screen tearing. Note: if you use the default Unity desktop and disable composite, the desktop will be completely broken, so make SURE to switch to a different desktop first.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I used an old HP core2Duo system as my HTPC for now and it works great. Has Ubuntu and XBMC on it. I set it up so that XBMC comes up at startup. I forget exactly what I did but it was simple, something to do with the X config. XBMC pretty much works out of the box, I did not have to fiddle too much to get it to work.

Only thing I had to fiddle with was getting my Windows based remote to work, but even that was not too hard. I googled the remote model and Linux and found instructions. It was basically just a package I had to install. Wish I could supply actual details but I honestly don't recall the steps, I just know it was straight forward and took a few hours at most.

The nice thing with Ubuntu is the very fast startup/shutdown time. You can really treat this like any other appliance like a DVD player or cable box and turn it on only when needed. When I build a new one I want to ensure I get a motherboard that supports startup on key press, as being able to turn it on with the remote would be pretty awesome.

 

[bobdole369]

Mythbuntu worth looking at. It's a "TV DVR" but doesn't require that to work. It'll play most anything you put on it, retrieve metadata, make it look pretty, etc.

 

[silverpig]

Boxee is probably the way to go with this.