yet another recomendation... best for htpc?

DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
15,366
740
126
well, its not actually a full blown htpc but here's what's gonna be run on it

Amazon Prime Videos through Firefox
Netflix videos through Firefox
Youtube through Firefox
Plex (watch videos, not server) through Firefox
Lots of Flash and Divx based videos and live streams through browser. There are people in my household who like to watch Indian tv and movie through questionable sites. So if something like asblock plus and Malwarebytes pre installed or easy to install will be very helpful

Is there a distro that has all these drivers preinstalled in the os/firefox? I tried Ubuntu and Fedora and both did not have the necessary plugins, I tried reading about them and installing them but failed, I has no idea what I was doing, all my life I have only used Windows and i have no clue about how to do all that in Linux...
 
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Nov 20, 2009
10,043
2,573
136
I'd just try the Linux Mint and test drive it through a USB flash drive (thumb). The one thing I liked about it was that I didn't have to go installing stuff to watch videos. I use FF as a norm in LM and run Plex, too.

Mind you this is all from an experimental endeavor and I've got no need to an HTPC.
 

bbhaag

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2011
6,606
1,991
146
well, its not actually a full blown htpc but here's what's gonna be run on it

Amazon Prime Videos through Firefox
Netflix videos through Firefox
Youtube through Firefox
Plex (watch videos, not server) through Firefox
Lots of Flash and Divx based videos and live streams through browser. There are people in my household who like to watch Indian tv and movie through questionable sites. So if something like asblock plus and Malwarebytes pre installed or easy to install will be very helpful

Is there a distro that has all these drivers preinstalled in the os/firefox? I tried Ubuntu and Fedora and both did not have the necessary plugins, I tried reading about them and installing them but failed, I has no idea what I was doing, all my life I have only used Windows and i have no clue about how to do all that in Linux...

1-To watch Amazon Prime in FF you will need to install an unofficial PPA containing the HAL package. The official Hal package has been deprecated from the libraries due to DRM.

2-Not possible due to DRM. You will have to install Wine and set it up to run Netflix. A lot easier than it sounds. A quick google search will turn up the terminal commands to run.

3-Youtube works fine. Just make sure you have the latest version of flash. For Linux I think it's 11.2.

4-Not sure. Never used Plex before.

5-Should work fine. I watch a lot of sports through illegal streams and have no problems. I didn't have to install any special plugins. I do use Adblock because ads can be a little obnoxious on those sites.

No distro I'm aware of has these ready to go right from the start. I've used Ubuntu distros exclusively since I started using Linux a couple years ago. I know what you want to do is possible using Pepermint OS 3 and Linux Mint 17 because I have been doing it on my computer.
 
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DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
15,366
740
126
I did download and did the USB bootable thing for Mint. I did some research and it seemed like Mint was the most popular one with a lot of addons. From the get go it was a much better experience compared to Ubuntu. I did not try in on the "HTPC" yet, but tried it on a desktop. Used USB3.0 Flash drive and man it was fast!!

  • Youtube through Firefox worked out of the box
  • The option to send audio via HDMI was right there on the taskbar.
  • Plex (watch videos, not server) through Firefox worked out of the box
  • MKVs and AVIs that I had on my hdd, played out of the box
  • Online Videos and Streams worked out of the box
  • Amazon Prime Videos through Firefox, I had to install HAL, some people said that had issues but worked fine for me.
  • Netflix videos through Firefox, didn't try that yet. I did some research and what bbhaag said above sounds about right. I do not have Netflix subscription currently so no big deal, will do more research later.
  • Found the AdBlock Plus add-on pretty easily and installing that was the easiest of all.
Things I still need to work on and would like some recommendation -
  • Silverlight, I really don't need it, more like a nice to have, biggest motivation is Amazon videos, I hear they are better with silverlight. Seems like for Linux its called Moonlight. I went to several websites looking for instruction, tried a few but nothing really worked. It was asking me to choose my distro but Mint was not listed, so I used Ubuntu but it did not work. Should I be choosing Ubuntu or something else? Any know a good site that has a guide on how to install it, in Mint if possible, my version is 17.
  • Antivirus, I found AVG, Avast and Bitfender were available for free, is it true? If so which one is better? is there something else out there that's better/more popular?
  • Ubuntu's USB stick always showed an option to try or install on startup, I did not see anything like that on MINT. Is still possible to "transfer" the current OS from the USB Stick to the SSD on the PC with all the changes and upgrades I made?
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,389
1,777
126
Do these install OK on a desktop PC? Do they have a full blown Browsers?

Xubuntu is like Mint. It just has a slightly different UI. It can install anything Mint can for browser, codec support. I just prefer XFCE.

Openelec is more of an HTPC appliance. If you want something that can access stored media, it's much easier to use and can be setup to work with PC remotes.

http://wiki.openelec.tv/index.php/Supported_Remote_Controls
 

bbhaag

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2011
6,606
1,991
146
I did download and did the USB bootable thing for Mint. I did some research and it seemed like Mint was the most popular one with a lot of addons. From the get go it was a much better experience compared to Ubuntu. I did not try in on the "HTPC" yet, but tried it on a desktop. Used USB3.0 Flash drive and man it was fast!!

  • Youtube through Firefox worked out of the box
  • The option to send audio via HDMI was right there on the taskbar.
  • Plex (watch videos, not server) through Firefox worked out of the box
  • MKVs and AVIs that I had on my hdd, played out of the box
  • Online Videos and Streams worked out of the box
  • Amazon Prime Videos through Firefox, I had to install HAL, some people said that had issues but worked fine for me.
  • Netflix videos through Firefox, didn't try that yet. I did some research and what bbhaag said above sounds about right. I do not have Netflix subscription currently so no big deal, will do more research later.
  • Found the AdBlock Plus add-on pretty easily and installing that was the easiest of all.
Things I still need to work on and would like some recommendation -
  • Silverlight, I really don't need it, more like a nice to have, biggest motivation is Amazon videos, I hear they are better with silverlight. Seems like for Linux its called Moonlight. I went to several websites looking for instruction, tried a few but nothing really worked. It was asking me to choose my distro but Mint was not listed, so I used Ubuntu but it did not work. Should I be choosing Ubuntu or something else? Any know a good site that has a guide on how to install it, in Mint if possible, my version is 17.
  • Antivirus, I found AVG, Avast and Bitfender were available for free, is it true? If so which one is better? is there something else out there that's better/more popular?
  • Ubuntu's USB stick always showed an option to try or install on startup, I did not see anything like that on MINT. Is still possible to "transfer" the current OS from the USB Stick to the SSD on the PC with all the changes and upgrades I made?
1-I'm not 100% sure but I think Amazon Video exclusively uses a DRM'ed version of Flash. That's why you had to install the HAL package I told you about. Not sure about Moonlight never heard of it.

2-In the two years I've been running Linux I've never once used an antivirus program and not once have I felt the need to. What worries me more is copy and pasting a command into the terminal without fully understanding what it does and unintentionally borking my setup.

3-Not sure about Ubuntu but with Mint 17 there should be an icon on the desktop that allows you install the OS to your HDD or SSD. I don't believe any changes you've made in the Live session will roll over to the new install.
 

DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
15,366
740
126
3-Not sure about Ubuntu but with Mint 17 there should be an icon on the desktop that allows you install the OS to your HDD or SSD. I don't believe any changes you've made in the Live session will roll over to the new install.

So HAL and all that good stuff that I installed has to be installed again?
 

bbhaag

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2011
6,606
1,991
146
So HAL and all that good stuff that I installed has to be installed again?
Correct. To the best of my knowledge that is the way a Live session works. If there is a way to roll over your Live session into the full install I'm not aware of it. That question would be better suited to the OS forum though.
 
Nov 20, 2009
10,043
2,573
136
Correct. When running the Live file system it is like running it from a non-writable optical disk. It is meant for you to test drive. If you want to install, I would do so to a disk for itself and do not let any other disk be attached (seen) initially.

BTW, I ran LM during my test drive in the same manner (thumb via USB3) and it was a fast and pleasant experience, too. But I now have it installed on its own disk, just like I have W7 and OS X 10.9.
 

DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
15,366
740
126
Did you install on SSD or HDD? Flash drive and SSDs are similar in principle so performance should not degrade. I will probably do it on Sunday, let you guys know how it goes.
 

Red Squirrel

No Lifer
May 24, 2003
67,201
12,029
126
www.anyf.ca
I originally had a regular PC with Ubuntu and XBMC, but it was acting up so ended up getting a Raspberry Pi with Raspbmc image and it's the best thing ever. For something that uses like 5watts vs 100-200 of a regular PC it gets the job done very well. It amazingly does have enough power to decode everything I've thrown at it so far.
 

jae

Golden Member
Jul 31, 2001
1,034
0
76
www.facebook.com
Things I still need to work on and would like some recommendation -
  • Silverlight, I really don't need it, more like a nice to have, biggest motivation is Amazon videos, I hear they are better with silverlight. Seems like for Linux its called Moonlight. I went to several websites looking for instruction, tried a few but nothing really worked. It was asking me to choose my distro but Mint was not listed, so I used Ubuntu but it did not work. Should I be choosing Ubuntu or something else? Any know a good site that has a guide on how to install it, in Mint if possible, my version is 17.
  • Antivirus, I found AVG, Avast and Bitfender were available for free, is it true? If so which one is better? is there something else out there that's better/more popular?
  • Ubuntu's USB stick always showed an option to try or install on startup, I did not see anything like that on MINT. Is still possible to "transfer" the current OS from the USB Stick to the SSD on the PC with all the changes and upgrades I made?

1. Are you sure its not in one of Ubuntu's repos/app store? I remember installing it from there years ago.

2. If youre not going to be sharing file with Windows users from this PC then I wouldn't worry about installing an A/V. The only time I've ever use an A/V on linux is when I would use it to scan customers Windows machines.

3. Mint does have an Installer, look on the desktop after you boot from the live usb/dvd.
 

bbhaag

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2011
6,606
1,991
146
Did you install on SSD or HDD? Flash drive and SSDs are similar in principle so performance should not degrade. I will probably do it on Sunday, let you guys know how it goes.
So how did it go? Was the full install as smooth as the Live session or did you run into any problems?
 

DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
15,366
740
126
So how did it go? Was the full install as smooth as the Live session or did you run into any problems?
Full install was smooth. I had to let the system boot from USB, then on the desktop there was an install icon, I clicked on it and it asked me to choose the target drive, I had only one, 64GB Sandisk SSD and it began installation. After that I did all the updates, upgraded HAL and all that good stuff to make everything work. As I had done it before, this time it did not take long. System is running fine now, it’s actually faster than it was from the USB drive.
I could not get the Silverlight installed, as I didn’t need it right now, I skipped it. I did not install any Antivirus either, I did some research on the internet and found that it was not really necessary for that I was doing.

Couple of issues;

1. Amazon videos are not smooth; they are jerky, as if I am watching on a underpowered machine or something. I reduced the resolution to 720p and it better now, but still it’s not good enough. The cartoons that my kids watch is OK, but if you try to watch a full blown movie in HD, specially the fast moving scenes, it’s horrible. I have to do more research, maybe a video driver update or a different flash package... idk...
YouTube and other flash based videos look fine, Plex is working fine too.

2. It forgets the wireless sometimes. I have open internet with non-broadcasting SSID, Mac-filtered, static routing network and sometimes when I boot up, it won’t connect to the router, have to go in and fiddle around a bit and then it connects. Once connected, it does not have any more issues.

Meh. While watching online videos, the screen locks up, kinda like a screen saver, I know it’s a small quick thing somewhere, but I have to find it, ignorable issue.
 
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bbhaag

Diamond Member
Jul 2, 2011
6,606
1,991
146
Good to hear the install went smooth. It's kind of strange that video is jerky for you when using Amazon. Did it work ok in the Live session? I wouldn't worry to much about finding a new Flash package. Adobe has cut support for Linux based systems so 11.2 is as good as it's going to get.

Are you using the proprietary video driver or an open source one? Using the proprietary driver has always been a better experience for me.

I see you're using an SSD. Keep in mind that automatic TRIM support was cut from 14.04 at the last minute due to bug issues. Only Samsung and Intel drives have auto trim support by default.
You will have to run the trim command on a weekly basis to keep your SSD humming along at a good speed. Run this command in the terminal. It can take several minutes to complete so be patient.
Code:
sudo fstrim -v /
If you want it to be automated you will have to write a script using a cron job.
 
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