I have been making a list of parts to get and i finally hit the OS line... Now I am going to be doing a HTPC/Media Center PC along with a Server. Media Center will be for the living room and be hooked up to speakers for surround and the TV for video, via S-Video/Component. The Server will be to host everyones files along with my blog. So the question arrises; Which OS' to use? Personally I am thinking for the Mediacenter PC, either some variation of MythTV(Ubuntu+MythTV-Mythbuntu, Knoppix, etc) or Vista Ultimate/Win7 (Beta i know... ) and for the server pc I am thinking FreeNAS, Xubuntu/Ubuntu or Windows Server 2008... I have tried out everything i have listed but i want your guys' opinions on these OS'. Personally I am thinking of going Linux on the server and doing Windows on the HTPC... what are your thoughts?
I've used Vista's media center on my HTPC for a couple of years and have been reasonably happy with it (I do like vista though) Only real issue I've had is for my postcode the tv auto tune doesn't link the channels up to the EPG, I have to and fiddle around manually if I re-tune (Which is a right pain)
Has Media Center been good with using remote sources for Media? I will have the HTPC as a front end for the files which will be sitting in a server on the other end of the house... server will probably be running linux...
The main thing to think about running a setup like that would be how you're going to connect them together, wireless is ok, but you'd need a good very reliable signal, else you'll get stalls etc. On the media centre serving over a network, I used that setup for over a year with no problems at all. It all worked very well (xp mce/vista mc with a vista pc that had the data on it).
all wired as far as Media center and server goes... every Pc will be wired in the house, including the laptops, but i am thinking of including wireless for the laptops...
How about XBMC Media Center for your Media Center OS. It is not standalone, but it will run with either Linux or Windows. It has some of the best looking designs around, and the functionality beats Windows MCE by miles.
certianly looks promising... Im assuming it is coded similar to MythTV, where it functions as a frontend and requires a database (mySql/PHP) and a file server? If so, does the server have to be done a certian way to ensure it works? I did a bit more research today and I am really liking the look of FreeNAS to do a file server, print server, FTP server and SSH. that should work with the XBMC? (im not a *nix know-it-all )
File and FTP server are both going to work with XBMC. What I really like about it is how easy it is to customize the skins. There are already many options available in XBMC, but once you got used to it it's quite easy to edit the code, even for a non-programmer as me. You'll need a widesceen display to use the high quality skins though, but judging by the components you are going to buy that shouldn't be an issue...
I use XBMC on my xbox and I love it, considering to use it on a media PC with windows as still need a TV tuner, unless XBMC can do it and I just haven't found out
you need a tuner to get OTA and digital signals (cable, NTSC/QAM, etc)... i went and compared some servers and tested a few... and personally im leaning toawards Ubuntu Server... and possibly freenas. Anyone know if Transmission can be remotely enabled/controled in ubuntu Server? (<< Legal purposes )
Not that I'm aware of, but deluge includes a web UI that supposedly works. It is in the Ubuntu repos, but you may need to grab the latest release from getdeb.com or similar, to crush any bugs you run into.
yeah i stumbled across it in transmission. I think its called Clutch or something like that. its standard on ubuntu releases (which is what i have...) So far i have tried WHS, Win Server 2008 and Ubuntu. Windows Servers suck! I mean make it easy for the NTFS challenged ffs! Ubuntu was great, except for the fact my Samba shares went offline everyonce in a while... know a fix for that? Im gonna test Mint in VMware and possibly install it on my server... mainly i need File sharing/server, Print server, HTPC Capabilities (Boxee or XBMC will work) and automated Backup for Windows Vista computers... I was about to set up Vista to use a samba share for backup and the network wouldnt show in the little Select/Browse box, but in the Network windows (Windows Explorer) it showed all my networked computers (XP, Vista, Win7 Beta & Ubuntu). So know a fix?
