Old PC in to Media Center

[overburnz]

Hi, i think the title says everything i have an old laptop HP DM1 series, with 4GB and SSD 120GB that is a little beaten (a crack here and there, some dents, a fews screws lost...) that i want to use for a media center, instead of using my on laptop and constantly disconecting the HDMI from my PS4, and i have a question:
i've tried to install remix os (with no sucess yet) and currently i'm using windows 10, i'm going to install kodi on it to view some movies, tv shows etc the question is: what to you guys use for/with your media center? remix os, linux or windows? besides kodi do you install anything else? is windows 10 the best option for a media center? ou windows 7 is better?
thanks

 

[trevm999]

I use a raspberry pi, super easy to setup with NOOBS. The description said 'just enough OS for kodi'

 

[overburnz]

yeah but i didn't want to spend money having this around :\

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I have run it on Ubuntu with no issues, but currently running it on a Pi as well. Linux should run with less resources and be more secure natively that an extra Windows box running on the network.

 

[glennd]

My htpc is windows 7 and vlc. All that super fancy 'media center' software is just a waste of time.

 

[Colin]

raspberry pi 3 here

Did the Linux Distro of Kodi (XBMC back then) it was good just have to make sure your graphics card is compatible with Linux to output HDMI. But since its been a while maybe thats not a big issue any more?

never had any luck running remix os on legacy machines, always stalled or crashed the system.

 

[Moltuae]

I have a couple of HTPCs; an older system running under Windows 7 and a newer system running under Windows 10.

The older Windows 7 system (which is a few years old now and overdue to be replaced) is a custom-build that I put together using a Gigabyte Q77M-D2H mobo, an Intel Core i5-3470 CPU, an SSD (for the system drive) and 2 x 3TB HDDs (in RAID 1, for media storage). The spec' was a bit overkill for HTPC use but I wanted to use it as a VM host too. And the main reason I chose that particular processor/mobo combination was to allow server-like out-of-band management via Intel's AMT. The PC is part of a home cinema projection system (I wanted to be able to install/re-install the OS remotely and troubleshoot without removing the PC or turning the projector on).

For my Windows 10 HTPC, which is just for basic TV use, I went for a budget system; an Onda M2 Mini PC (with 4GB RAM and a 120GB SSD). Being at the other end of the spectrum spec'-wise, this system is a little slower than my Windows 7 system but still works well.

Both systems have Kodi installed and NextPVR (integrated with Kodi for TV viewing/recording). The Windows 7 system uses a couple of TV tuner cards (TBS 6280), whereas the mini PC uses a HDHomeRun TV tuner unit to stream live TV over the network. The latter works surprisingly well.

 

[Diggs]

Our HTPC is an Intel i3 NUC, MPC and Kodi. We have three cordless mice scattered about so anyone can point, look and click. Sound is pulled off the NUC (not the HDMI) and piped into a Harmon Kardon surround system.

 

[Eagle21]

For recording TV I use MythTV (running on Fedora Server on an old desktop computer) with a Sony PlayTV, dual TV tuner.

 

[NJW]

is windows 10 the best option for a media center?

I feel obliged to suggest that Linux would be a better OS if you're going to use kodi. If nothing else, why saddle yourself with all the aggravation that Windows Update is, right now?

HDMI output is unlikely to be a problem in any current Linux distro and hardware support is likely much better that Remix OS, especially for older machines. I agree with @glennd that vlc will probably do everything that you need, at least to get started (but ignore his OS advice ... )

 

[Diggs]

My htpc is windows 7 and vlc. All that super fancy 'media center' software is just a waste of time.

Have you tried Kodi? It's free and it's awesome for any media center!

 

[overburnz]

I feel obliged to suggest that Linux would be a better OS if you're going to use kodi. If nothing else, why saddle yourself with all the aggravation that Windows Update is, right now?

HDMI output is unlikely to be a problem in any current Linux distro and hardware support is likely much better that Remix OS, especially for older machines. I agree with @glennd that vlc will probably do everything that you need, at least to get started (but ignore his OS advice ... )

The problem i've found with ubuntu in that machine was the sound (it used the laptop speakers for the sound output instead of the tv's, a panasonic 42") and the screen resolution didn't fill the screen leaving a big gap all around...

i do like linux, not the biggest expert..., and kodi i already use it.

Wich version of ubuntu do you use? 16.04 or another flavor? (kubuntu, lubuntu... etc)

 

[Eagle21]

Have you tried Kodi? It's free and it's awesome for any media center!

Kodi is awesome for any media center where you do not wish to schedule TV recordings.
I tested Kodi for recording TV and did not find it very powerful. I find MythTV much better.

 

[NJW]

The problem i've found with ubuntu in that machine was the sound (it used the laptop speakers for the sound output instead of the tv's, a panasonic 42") and the screen resolution didn't fill the screen leaving a big gap all around...

Sound: you need to set the sound output to HDMI. This is usually a simple change in PulseAudio, or run alsamixer and then save the settings (sudo alsactl save).
Picture size: I can't remember the details, but this is due to the overscan (rather, lack of overscan in your case). Google for something like 'hdmi xrandr overscan'. The problem is usually the other way around – the TV picture cuts off the edges of the Desktop. There may also be an overscan setting on the TV.

Wich version of ubuntu do you use? 16.04 or another flavor? (kubuntu, lubuntu... etc)

For my own HTPC, I use Debian + xfce because I am quite familiar with it and I can start with a minimal install. For other people, I use Linux Mint xfce and may take out some unnecessary things. This has the advantage of easy updates for the end user.

 

[cypress]

Getting my Amazon Fire Stick early next week and plan on adding Kodi to it. Brother in law did it and it is great stuff.

 

[Diggs]

Kodi is awesome for any media center where you do not wish to schedule TV recordings.
I tested Kodi for recording TV and did not find it very powerful. I find MythTV much better.

That's not really comparing apples to apples. Kodi would be a front end for MythTV if anything.

 

[Philippe]

I use an "old" XP machine, a nice Sound Blaster card & WinDVD / PowerDVD. Does everything except coffee ;-)