2007-10-19, 22:54
I am a 3 year user of XBMC and I can honestly say that there is no Media Center that can top the features and ease of use that XBMC provides. With that said I have started to move toward 720p+ content and the XBOX can’t handle the decoding so I have to move to a HTPC.
I know there are a few options out there:
XBMC Linux – UI/Functionality is Superior but implementation/installation is very difficult for average user and Linux’s current state of Linux gfx drives for video codec decoding is very bad.
Windows MCE 2005 XP – Codec’s are a huge problem other than that works great
Windows MCE Vista – Codec’s are a huge problem other than that works great
Media Portal – User interface is hokey and navigation and control is not consistent, playback is great
MythTV – Never used but seems to be very popular, concerned about setup and the ability to access SMB drives on windows PC’s
Currently i have installed Ubuntu 7.10 fresh install i followed the directions on the site to enable the Acceleration for the ATI drivers...which in it self is a task for a new user to Linux. i used subversion to download the XBMC source and compiled it and got it up and running. The problem I am seeing is that whenever I try to watch a video the computer freezes and I have to turn off the power. I am looking for a guide from start to finish on how to install Ubuntu+ drivers + Codec’s + XBMC + Remote. I see a lot of people have a working XBMX Linux box running but I just cant get one up and running. i am pretty tech savvy but i am just not able to get anything working.
HTPC specs:
P4 3.0 GHz
2gigs PC3200 dual Channel
ATI 9600XT (i am going down today to get a Geforce 6200 as this seems to be a much better card for Linux and XBMC)
I know there are a few options out there:
XBMC Linux – UI/Functionality is Superior but implementation/installation is very difficult for average user and Linux’s current state of Linux gfx drives for video codec decoding is very bad.
Windows MCE 2005 XP – Codec’s are a huge problem other than that works great
Windows MCE Vista – Codec’s are a huge problem other than that works great
Media Portal – User interface is hokey and navigation and control is not consistent, playback is great
MythTV – Never used but seems to be very popular, concerned about setup and the ability to access SMB drives on windows PC’s
Currently i have installed Ubuntu 7.10 fresh install i followed the directions on the site to enable the Acceleration for the ATI drivers...which in it self is a task for a new user to Linux. i used subversion to download the XBMC source and compiled it and got it up and running. The problem I am seeing is that whenever I try to watch a video the computer freezes and I have to turn off the power. I am looking for a guide from start to finish on how to install Ubuntu+ drivers + Codec’s + XBMC + Remote. I see a lot of people have a working XBMX Linux box running but I just cant get one up and running. i am pretty tech savvy but i am just not able to get anything working.
HTPC specs:
P4 3.0 GHz
2gigs PC3200 dual Channel
ATI 9600XT (i am going down today to get a Geforce 6200 as this seems to be a much better card for Linux and XBMC)