PDA

View Full Version : Small Media Center PC



HappyBob
March 7th, 2011, 07:05 PM
I would like to know what would be the best options to built a small form factor pc to use with a TV. I would like better options than Apple TV or Mac Mini, Boxee, Dell Zino, etc... Take it as start from scratch project: Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse, HDMI, you get the point...

Is Ubuntu a good choice?

What about hardware?

Any inputs would be appreciated!
Thanks!

Spice Weasel
March 7th, 2011, 07:09 PM
Any Linux-based OS will do. I personally like XBMC (http://xbmc.org/).

matt_symes
March 7th, 2011, 07:10 PM
Hi

+1 XBMC. It's great.

Kind regards

wyliecoyoteuk
March 7th, 2011, 07:59 PM
XBMC is nice, but if you need PVR functionality (i.e. with a TV tuner card) try Mythbuntu.
As for hardware, there are quite a few MiniITX motherboards with Nvidia ION graphics that support Linux.
Try miniitx.com.

Paqman
March 7th, 2011, 09:17 PM
What about hardware?


You've got lots of choice, but much of it is going to depend on what you want to achieve. Do you want the box to include lots of storage, or will you be pulling in media from your network? That will influence whether you use a hard drive, SSD or some other flash storage like a CF card. Do you want to include a tuner? What are you doing for sound?

+1 for minitix.com, there's a lot of good info on that site to make sure you get parts that will work together, as things aren't quite as generic as building an ATX size machine.

I built a mini-itx box a while back, dual core AMD chip and a Jetway mobo with onboard Nvidia graphics. I used a minimal install of Ubuntu running XBMC, it's really snappy.

drawkcab
March 8th, 2011, 04:45 AM
I bought a dualcore atom-equipped Acer Revo a while back and just recently added a 2TB external hdd. It came with Linupus, a wireless mouse and keyboard for $300 + shipping. I basically installed Ubuntu and xbmc and, after some fidgiting around, got it up and running so that it handles even high def x264 .mkvs.

I'm not sure if the Revo appeals to those shopping for apple TV or Boxee Box but it should appeal to someone considering a mac mini which starts at a whopping $700.

Here's a pic of the newest Revo:

http://gadgetmu.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Acer-Revo-3700-nettop.jpg

pi3.1415926535...
March 8th, 2011, 05:08 AM
If "media center" does not include heavy gaming, a nettop with Linux should work fine.

wojox
March 8th, 2011, 05:20 AM
wizd media server (http://wizd.sourceforge.net/) is nice and lightweight.

aeiah
March 8th, 2011, 10:55 AM
wizd media server (http://wizd.sourceforge.net/) is nice and lightweight.

this seems to be a server for syabas players :confused:


anyway, i suggest if you dont want a TV card in there, you head over to xbmc.org and see what hardware people on their forums are using. for software, i think most people use xbmc live (which is built on ubuntu minimal), or they install ubuntu minimal themselves and add to it, or they use openelec.tv (http://openelec.tv/)

the revo is a good choice, but there are many others. as stated if you want tv then you'll have to build your own box but who actually records off tv nowadays? :P

Grenage
March 8th, 2011, 11:01 AM
I currently have an XBMC media centre, and it's the mutt's nuts. While the machine isn't that big, we plan to build a small front end next year, and move the storage into another room. You can spend as little as £100, or as much as £2000 (or more!) on a media centre.