Best Linux HTPC OS

tlarkin

VIP Member
haha..like it will work ? forget it dudes. Now this is where linux falls, in multimedia, it lacks software to do what that guy asked for.

and Jordan the next time don't ever say ubuntu is the BEST distro ever.
No. Ubuntu is the EASIEST distro ever, but not the best

Umm, mythtv is more powerful than any other media center OS out there. Look at all its features and what it can do. I mean it will automatically edit out commericals for you when recording, how freaking pimp is that?
 

patrickv

Active Member
some few supported crossover software (which i installed) :

adobe photoshop 7, office 03, office 2k, media player classic, VLC,winrar,winzip,quicktime, Quicktime alternative, outlook express (run twice but crashed) ...and some few dozens..lol
 

tlarkin

VIP Member
VLC runs natively on Linux and should replace all your media players.

win rar and win zip can be repalced by gzip which supports those formats

There is also FOSS (free open source software) for the adobe products, but I know designers argue that they aren't the same.

Office can be replaced by open office since it supports all the MS office formats, and is pretty much the same thing.

I am not sure if there is an open source version of a Quick Time application out there, but I am sure the VLC plays QT format files.

For the most part you won't need WINE or windows applications, because there is an open source alternative. that is not always the case.
 

g4m3rof1337

Active Member
Wait, is mythtv an OS?
Or a program that runs on an OS?


Does 2wire offer any hardware that can help me out?
Cause I dont want to pick the wrong tv tuner.


Thanks
 

patrickv

Active Member
Umm, mythtv is more powerful than any other media center OS out there. Look at all its features and what it can do. I mean it will automatically edit out commericals for you when recording, how freaking pimp is that?

hey tlarkin i wasn't talking at mythtv, i was talking about tivo.
but anyway i know, i've used mythTV.
 

tlarkin

VIP Member
Myth TV is an add on product, you can install it on a variety of Linux distros.

Here is the hardware compatibility and minimal spec sheet

http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-3.html

I suggest you read through their website or post on their forums because I am only vaguely familar with this package. I have installed it once for a friend but I don't use it on a regular basis.
 

tlarkin

VIP Member
hey tlarkin i wasn't talking at mythtv, i was talking about tivo.
but anyway i know, i've used mythTV.

sorry it is hard to figure out what one is commenting on the forums sometimes.

Tivo is nice is you pay for their subscription service which gives you a bunch of features that Myth TV already gives. I think they charge 15/month for their subscription service, which allows you access to more robust recording and play back tools.
 

Irishwhistle

New Member
haha..like it will work ? forget it dudes. Now this is where linux falls, in multimedia, it lacks software to do what that guy asked for.

and Jordan the next time don't ever say ubuntu is the BEST distro ever.
No. Ubuntu is the EASIEST distro ever, but not the best

I have used SuSE, Knoppix, and FreeSpire and have had no problem using them but none of them are any match for Ubuntu. I'll say it again, Ubuntu is the best
EVER Linux distro.:D The Wine thing probably would not work, but, believe it or not, I got MS Word and IE6 installed on there.

~Jordan
 

patrickv

Active Member
I have used SuSE, Knoppix, and FreeSpire and have had no problem using them but none of them are any match for Ubuntu. I'll say it again, Ubuntu is the best
EVER Linux distro.:D The Wine thing probably would not work, but, believe it or not, I got MS Word and IE6 installed on there.

~Jordan

haha..lol..jordanII you're one funny guy.
its a debian unstable distro dude. yes ubuntu is good but not the best. there's no such thing as best!!. put that in the little head of yours. ubuntu was made easy for NOOBS like you. for starters. then upon learning you move to the hard rock ones like knoppix, DEBIAN,suse and RedHat 9.

wine works on ubuntu, works great i've been there and done that.
by the way, i'm a fan of ubuntu, but i don't like it. it's too simple.
so cure your thoughts go here.
http://www.linuxforums.org/misc/why_ubuntu_got_it_all_wrong.html

you might be pissed about that article...lol
 

patrickv

Active Member
hey Jordan, have you heard of LINUXMINT. it was born out of ubuntu. its a bit the same you might wanna give it a try. i like MINT much more than ubuntu...
 

Irishwhistle

New Member
haha..lol..jordanII you're one funny guy.
its a debian unstable distro dude. yes ubuntu is good but not the best. there's no such thing as best!!. put that in the little head of yours. ubuntu was made easy for NOOBS like you. for starters. then upon learning you move to the hard rock ones like knoppix, DEBIAN,suse and RedHat 9.

wine works on ubuntu, works great i've been there and done that.
by the way, i'm a fan of ubuntu, but i don't like it. it's too simple.
so cure your thoughts go here.
http://www.linuxforums.org/misc/why_ubuntu_got_it_all_wrong.html

you might be pissed about that article...lol

Noobs, what do you mean? I said that I have had no problems with FreeSpire, Knoppix, and SuSE. I can install KDE or Enlightenment on Ubuntu. By the way, I have installed TONS of software on Linux. Software that is compatible with Linux works on Ubuntu, in other words I keep upgrading Ubuntu to make it better. Could you please explain what you mean by "noob". I know exactly what the word means, but what does that have to do with me? Please explain.

Oh, as far as simple goes, it is very possible to put something like KDE on it but, I have no idea why I would want to do that. I dislike KDE not because it is to hard, but because it looks ugly and cannot be customized as much as I like.

That article is talking about what you get when you first install Ubuntu.That article is written by one person and that person happens to like KDE. It can be upgraded. I don't even use a lot of the "simple" features, believe it or not I actually use a terminal a lot! One last thing, that article means nothing to me. Sorry, but I don't quiet get your point.


~Jordan
 

tlarkin

VIP Member
the article points out the flaws of ubuntu. ubuntu got a lot of media and a lot of hype and I ran it for a while on my laptop about a year or maybe 1.5 years ago and I never really understood all the hype personally.

The author also says that gnome and kde are both dinosaurs, and need a complete revamp. I agree with a lot of that the author of that article is saying. gnome lacks a lot of features other OSes GUI offers that should become the standard. Like a system control panel for hardware/software add/removal, configuration, network properties, etc.

I prefer KDE over gnome because of many reasons, but again there are tons of projects out there that companies should support like the author mentioned. If it wasn't for compiz and beryl window managers, gnome and kde would still look like windows 98 in many ways.

Package managers are another issue with Debian distros, and the author was saying that even though APT is there, and it is a great feature it leaves a lot to be desired, meaning it needs improvements to become main stream.
 

Irishwhistle

New Member
the article points out the flaws of ubuntu. ubuntu got a lot of media and a lot of hype and I ran it for a while on my laptop about a year or maybe 1.5 years ago and I never really understood all the hype personally.

The author also says that gnome and kde are both dinosaurs, and need a complete revamp. I agree with a lot of that the author of that article is saying. gnome lacks a lot of features other OSes GUI offers that should become the standard. Like a system control panel for hardware/software add/removal, configuration, network properties, etc.

I prefer KDE over gnome because of many reasons, but again there are tons of projects out there that companies should support like the author mentioned. If it wasn't for compiz and beryl window managers, gnome and kde would still look like windows 98 in many ways.

Package managers are another issue with Debian distros, and the author was saying that even though APT is there, and it is a great feature it leaves a lot to be desired, meaning it needs improvements to become main stream.

Ubuntu has a graphical package manager and Gnome has all the stuff that you said it does not. Maybe this has just come out in the new versions. I am using Ubuntu 7.04. I don't use Compiz or Beryl and my PC looks like Windows Vista! :D

~Jordan
 

tlarkin

VIP Member
Ubuntu has a graphical package manager and Gnome has all the stuff that you said it does not. Maybe this has just come out in the new versions. I am using Ubuntu 7.04. I don't use Compiz or Beryl and my PC looks like Windows Vista! :D

~Jordan

gnome and KDE have all that stuff, yes I know, but they don't have the openGL rendering engine, say OS X has (aqua) unless you install beryl or compiz.

The GUIs out for Linux are a bit behind the times. I hate vista and i think aero is a complete rip off of aqua, but it does look pretty.

Also, the GUIs for Linux lack several things that other OSes have. No one is saying they are crap, we are saying there is a lot to be desired if Linux wants to be a competitor in the major desktop OS market.
 

Irishwhistle

New Member
Then what.

Lol

I would just go with Ubuntu. It does everything I need it to do and that would include audio and video and all that stuff. If you don't want Ubuntu just because of what those guys are saying, there is a multimedia edition of DreamLinux. I have not tried it but it ought to work. I still think you should use Ubuntu, just try it, you'll love it! The ISO you downloaded has a live CD on it, just boot the CD and select the first option (I think it was something like "Run or Install Ubuntu") It will NOT install Ubuntu on the HD, if you want to install all you have to do is double-click the icon on the desktop. Come on give it a try, it's awesome! :D

~Jordan
 

tlarkin

VIP Member
So... Should I just use MCE?

I am going to be completely honest with you. MCE will be the easier choice, but myth tv will be more powerful and more robust. So, you must decide what you want to do, and if you are willing to sacrifice time and perhaps your sanity at some points learning a new OS.

However, there is a proof of concept branch of ubuntu out, called like media edition or something....let me google it real quick.

http://en.ubuntumediacenter.org/

this is basically all the free packages available compiled into one distro, and yes it is based off ubuntu. I have no experience with it, you may want to try it.

Again, media center edition windows will be easier for you to set up and run.
 
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