Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Build Your Own Linux Home Theater PC

Posted by Zonk on from the we-have-the-technology dept.

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."

4 of 250 comments (clear)

  1. Sure, but... by Heliologue · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Whoa...
    • Store music, home movies, recorded TV shows, digital photos
    • Play back all these media seamlessly
    • Support a wide variety of audio and video codecs
    • Play back DVD movies, and look as good as or better than a DVD player
    • Support the playback of DRM-encoded purchased/rented movies and music
    • Serve this media up to other client machines on the home network
    • Have a simple GUI that any family member can use
    • Be rock-solid stable 24/7
    • Go in and out of sleep states with no difficulty
    • Run quietly enough so that its fan noise doesn't interfere with the enjoyment of the content it's serving up
    • Be able to handle HD music and movie formats, both present and future, with minimal upgrades (okay, maybe we're reaching a bit on this one)
    Am I the only one who thinks that this is a stretch for any OS? Getting past DRM and proprietary formats is even a pain in the ass on Windows.
  2. No HDTV? by Fulg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This is all well and good, but until someone manages to get an HDTV-ready HTPC, it's not worth it. Get a HD-ready PVR from your local cable/satellite company, combine with Xbox Media Center, and you're all set :)

    Wasn't there an article about HTPCs a few weeks back (though it didn't specifically focus on Linux)?

    --
    gcc: no input sig
  3. No HDTV ? by mybecq · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I find it interesting that very few of these articles attempt to cover HDTV or digital TV. There is more than one DTV card supported in Linux and an article containing this would prove much more valuable that just the "here's how to setup a box with a PVR-250/350" story that I seem to see everywhere.

    Where's the cutting edge stuff!?! :)

  4. xbox by blackmonday · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just get a modded xbox. It's very easy to use and no headaches. I had it modded and the dude pre-loaded xbox media player. Plays pretty much anything. With the newer xbox 360 coming out, expect older xboxes to take a price dive around the holidays.