Build Your Own Linux Home Theater PC

Vic writes "If you have ever dreamed of building a home theatre PC, Extremetech has details on building a Linux-based system, and covers all the details of this epic journey. They did get the unit to run lots of features such as CDs, video, TV, weather, media libraries, guide viewing and show recording." From the article: "To paraphrase one forum quote seen during the research phase of this piece: 'Buy the beer first, this ain't gonna be easy.' But there is some good news here too. Getting a Linux-based HTPC has probably never been easier, though that is admittedly damning with faint praise. So here then is the tale of our ongoing adventure toward building a Linux-based HTPC."

Comments

A much bigger thing to express

[erroneus]

The first paragraph of the article states:

Linux is one of the most remarkable phenomena in the recent history of personal computing. In some ways, it's similar to the original homebrew PC movement of the late 1970s and early 80s. Equal parts cool kids club and grass roots revolution, Linux in its many different forms has proven itself a force to be reckoned with. A highly configurable OS that can both scale up to big enterprise iron and down to handheld devices, Linux can do almost anything. It even powers the most well-known PVR on the planet, TiVo.

I think there is something bigger here that merely Linux which is, after all, just a kernel of the OS. The kernel as well as the rest of the significant components are driven to development by the will of the community that finds interest in their own ends. They don't do this to win a popularity contest. They don't do it in order to bring anyone down. Mostly, they are doing it "because they want to." (And the only way to stop that is to take away their freedoms)

I think the project is cool and I will, one of these days, take it upon myself when I have the beer and other money to throw at it. But there is opportunity here for the entrepreneur!

The fact is, only a tiny portion of the public will do this for themselves... the rest of us will want to BUY it...

My Mythtv Impressons.

[Anonymous Coward]

I am a happy Mythtv user.

I watch TV much anymore, but I wanted to muck around with it, so I bought a WinPVR-250 card.

I stuck it in my file server, and watch it on my desktop. Both are running Debian, of course.

For debian/ubuntu users check out this line:
#Mythtv
deb http://dijkstra.csh.rit.edu/~mdz/debian unstable mythtv

I am sure you know what it is for.. (minus the /. add-on bracketry)

The only tricky part was that the guide was off by one hour (found a quick-n-easy SQL one-liner on the internet to fix that) and setting up MySQL so that it would accept remote connections (this is disabled in Debian by default).

I found out that it will happily run in a window and is fairly desktop friendly, which I didn't know they had it setup to do. My desktop resolution is 2 monitors at 1280x1024 and I run mythtv at 800x600. Nice picture and a pleasent distraction while mucking around with work or whatnot.

Also nice for when you want to watch TV with your laptop.

If I had a second chance at a card (bought it a while ago) I'd get one of those plexor's that use the go7007 drivers.

Plexor GPL'd the drivers themselves and they look nice. Much more capable then the WinPVR stuff.. Can encode in mpeg4 (divx-style) as well as mpeg2 and others, were the WinPVR can only do mpeg2.

I may actually buy one still.

One tip: when you find a show you want to watch, hit the 'r' button to start recording it. I find that when I let it pause for a couple hours and I come back to finish watching the show to many times I accidently change the channel and loose my buffer.

Re:Get an xbox and mod it

[TheScottishGuy]

don't see how that's flamebait, bit brief but not flamebait surely

Horrible article, here's a summary

[rAiNsT0rm]

This really was poor, a couple Linux N00b's try to get a HTPC together based on an almost automatic install of KnoppMyth and still can't do it due to lack of knowledge of Linux and fear of illegality to play DVD's.

Basically it is as simple as selecting the supported hardware, pop in the CD and go... these guys get tripped up tring to get a SUPPORTED remote to work and don't even know how to add two commands to the window manager so they don't have to go to the CLI to run Gedit!!! Morons.

This article did nothing, it didn't educate, it didn't enlighten, and it actually just spread more FUD about Windows MCE being better and easier. Thanks /. for helping promote Linux by posting "news" articles written by total n00b's with no idea of what they are doing as this is even their admitted numerous attempt to do this.

Re:Horrible article, here's a summary

[poot_rootbeer]

it actually just spread more FUD about Windows MCE being better and easier.

Is it really FUD if it's the truth?

For "n00bs" at least, XP Media Center Edition really IS better and easier than trying to roll your own Linux PVR.

And remember, MOST CONSUMERS are "n00bs". They can't all be L33T SUPAR USARS LIEK YUO!!!

Re:Horrible article, here's a summary

[Anonymous Coward]

Basically it is as simple as selecting the supported hardware, pop in the CD and go... these guys get tripped up tring to get a SUPPORTED remote to work and don't even know how to add two commands to the window manager so they don't have to go to the CLI to run Gedit!!! Morons.

Okay, but for linux to get any marketability to the end-user, those "morons" would have to buy these products, and use them successfully.

You try explaining CLI/Gedit/Window Manager to regular people, let alone someone who barely understands how a start button works.

I agree with this post

[cavemanf16]

As several other /.'ers have already mentioned, the main issue with building a Linux-based PVR/DVR/HTPC/whatever you want to call it - is: "the wife factor." In other words, the system MUST operate like most other consumer electronics - you turn it on and it *just works*. Maybe it's not 100% flawless, but it better be pretty damn close.

For this reason, I had settled on a Windows XP install with a Hauppauge PVR-250 a while back on my old computer. The main problems I have had to date with it:

1. The EPG guide from Zap2It is all messed up. It doesn't update each week at 3am like it's supposed to do, and the channels are flung all over the place and not in any apparent order.
2. The hardware is too slow for GB-PVR. This software is pretty cool and works well enough, except on outdated hardware like mine. The menus are extraordinarily sluggish, sometimes with pauses of a couple minutes while the system "gets back up to speed" after sitting dormant for a while. (And this is a software issue, definitely not the hardware coming out of "sleep" mode or anything like that.)

Admittedly, I need some new hardware. When I do get around to installing a faster motherboard, proc, and memory I am going to install Linux anyways. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that the Linux solutions out there are still too much in their infancy to pass "the wife factor" right now. My wife can't use the current system because it's too sluggish and doesn't *just work* 100% of the time. (It doesn't work at all if I don't manually update the channel listings once a week which can take 20-30 minutes!)

My main point is: if you plan on building a Linux-based HTPC make sure that you have some pretty decent spare parts laying around, because if you don't it's probably just a lot more worth your time and money to go buy a top-of-the-line Tivo right now.

Re:xbox

[Anonymous Coward]

Just get a modded xbox. It's very easy to use and no headaches.

First you buy a XBox. ($)

1. Then mod it. (+$)
   
2. Replace the hard drive because 8GB is too small. (+$)
   
3. Replace the CD drive because most don't play burned CDs. (+$)
   
4. There's no way to add a tuner to watch or record live TV.
   
5. There's no expandability.
   

Aside from that, it's not a bad idea.

Use Cases

[Doc Ruby]

The hard parts of this project are mainly the packaging of all the software components, the identification of compatible (and tolerably performing) hardware, and configuration of each with the other. The more people who publish their successful paths/configs, and others who edit that research result into HW lists and .deb/RPM packages, the less beer we'll have to drink while struggling through it ourselves. And the more beer we'll have to drink while kicking back to watch the movies when it works. So try to drink only as much beer as lets you report your results.