Cutting the Cord- Linux or Windows 7 Build??:
#1
I'm going to 'try' to cut the cable cord. I know its going to be tough,but its going to be a great learning experience.
I need advice:
Would like to try out a linux system but unsure how to configure for live OTA Tv
Can somone please direct me or provide me with system setup and best linux distro? Or should I stay with Windows OS?

Thanks
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#2
I don't think Live TV is possible in Linux.
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#3
No live tv? That stinks....I guess its back to Windows and forking out money for the OS.
I wanted to try linux bec its Free and OpenElec or Mythbuntu seem to be what I was looking for, but I'm not experienced on Linux. I currently have an HD Prime but don't know if I can use it with OTA tv.
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#4
Don't take my word for it but as far as I know it's not possible. I could be wrong though. Wait for other people to confirm before you make a decision.
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#5
Err... Live TV is available in every variation of XBMC as far as I'm aware. Certainly I use it on Linux, Windows and Android - I don't have an iOS device to test, but there's a pattern emerging there. It's a product of the backend tuner system at the end of the day, so have a look at the PVR section of the forum and look at WMC, Argus, MediaPortal, MythTV, tvheadend and anything else that takes your fancy. It depends on what you're comfortable with and what systems you have (e.g. does it have to be an all-on-one or do you have a separate NAS/server that could host the TV tuners).

OpenElec is a very popular dedicated Linux platform that includes XBMC and tvheadend (for live TV and recording) in one fast-booting image. Windows backends tend to be more resource-heavy, as does the OS, so whether that's viable depends on your hardware.

EDIT

A useful thread for your HD HomeRun tuner:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=182556
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#6
Live TV is definitely possible in Linux as I've had it working in the past. Unfortunately I seem to recall I had to jump through a number of hoops to get PVR/Live TV support because the default download either didn't come with, or didn't configure by default, the PVR stuff. I spent hours on it, where in fairness I may have just been being dense, but I don't know if this issue is now resolved or whether it's still a little convoluted to get it working.
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#7
To clarify, you need three pieces of software: XBMC, a suitable add-on for the PVR function, and PVR backend software.

The Windows release of XBMC includes all PVR addons, as does Android IIRC. Linux doesn't bundle them, but it's trivial to install them on a Debian-based distro like Ubuntu.

No XBMC comes with the backend software, that's your choice. However, some independent bundles bring different bits together, e.g. Mythbuntu as an Ubuntu-plus-MythTV distro, or OpenElec as an XBMC-plus-tvheadend distro.

Look at OE. It gives you XBMC, the PVR addons and tvheadend (I don't *think* it comes with any other PVR software). Add a supported tuner and you're done.
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#8
I'm not really concerned about recording since all mostly all shows are available on xbmc through one add-on or another.
I would like live local news and local channels that I can pick up with an HD Antenna.
*Yes, I would like it to be an all in one unless there's a better benefit of setting up differently.

Thx

Sorry forgot to mention I have an AMD A-4 apu . 4 gb memory, and 500 gb harddrive
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#9
There are some addons that stream live TV as well, depending on what country you're in. As an example, TVCatchup in the UK streams all Freeview (terrestrial DVB-T/T2) channels live, so you can watch those without a tuner and, indeed, without any PVR software whatsoever: just XBMC and a single addon.

Otherwise, what you describe can easily be achieved. Just think about what you need from a tuner, as not everything is supported on all OSes and HD tuners tend to be less common than SD ones. Likewise, HD content needs more CPU/GPU grunt to decode - I don't know the AMD platforms, so just do your homework there.
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#10
Thanks for the info all. Good info Prof Yaffle, Ill give it a shot. Anyone know if my HD Prime will work with OTA tv without the cablecard? If not I will need a tuner
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#11
No, the prime does not do OTA.

I found the Windows PVR backend easier to configure than my old Linux backend. Things may have changed, but I tried and tried and could never get it going. I was up in about an hour with a Windows backend (running Team MediaPortal).

Live TV is surely possible on all XBMC implementations, I've got Live TV running on a Windows HTPC, iPads, Android tablets and even my new FireTVI expect it to be up shortly. I was using OpenELEC on a client at one point in the early Frodo/late Eden days and had LiveTV on that as well.

I suggest a separate media server for a HTPC implementations, one beefier server for media and TV and smaller/cooler clients to stream to. Not everyone does it, but I've found it works. I found that I needed a little more horsepower than I had running it all on one PC. Maybe it was the strain on the CPU to encode and decode for display. Everyone said it shouldn't have been a problem, but it was. Now that everything is separate, no problems. Running MariaDB, Mediaportal, SAB as well as a few other services on my server all streaming usually to at least two clients with no hiccups.
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#12
Thanks Kirky99.
Not sure of the route I want to take yet.
I would really like to get Linux based system setup because of no additional cost and the lightweight OS. I'm just not quite sure how to set it up and if it would be difficult to maintain.
Heres what I would like to do:
-Live OTA tv (Recording is not important)
-Add my collection of media/music
-Ability to share media from my htpc to other pc's on my home network

I'll keep reading up, If anyone else has additional advice please feel free to add. Maybe windows 7 is the best route to take. Would like to hear more input from some Linux users

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to read and post! Smile
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#13
Just install openelec on a PC.

I added a USB DVB-S2 device to my NUC and it worked without any config.

I was up and running with live tv in about 10mins Smile
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#14
I'm gonna try out openelec. 'Let the games begin'
Thanks everyone
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#15
TVheadend works really well with OpenELEC. Just install the add-on and it should work!
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Cutting the Cord- Linux or Windows 7 Build??:0