do I need XBMC?

hello All,

I am planning to build a media center on a Linux box.

What I would like to do is:

• play local video files
• stream video from the net or local servers
• watch TV
• record from TV
  

As far as I know it should be possible to do this with a simple Ubuntu box with Xine and some very well known players.

So, should I bother about XBMC, MythTV, and such?
What would I miss if I did not?

thanks for your comments,
-G

ubuntu + xbmc in front end for mythtv backend (for tv)
should be good

or tvheadend for backend

Gnome Wrote:do I need XBMC?

Yes. Yes, you do.


IMO, it's by far the most versatile, customizable, user friendly, complete and compatible media solution out there. And it's free.

I'm "only" using it on an old Xbox, so I can't really answer all your points (I leave that one for PC users), but I know that I will never part with my XBMC-box until one of us dies..

XBMC is easy, looks awesome (with the right skin and setup), handles extremely well and it can still impress the hell out of people that come over Granted, in my case, these are mainly people that only use their computers for sending e-mails and downloading cake recipes, but still it's nice to showboat with such a great and smooth app. For me, it's really an all-in-one powerhouse, even on that ancient black piece of gaming history!

HTH

You don't NEED it. There are lots of apps to do the things you want individually.

However for me a large part of the experience is the Library interface. Flicking through my movies via posters with fanart backdrops. It's more immersive and more intuitive from the couch with a remote.

Plus my wife can do it.....

Well XBMC itself is not able to play or record from TV. But a full blown media center like Mythtv can be integrated as a backend to XBMC (this might need some work).

I' recommend to use XBMC as a player/frontend for TV-mediacenter software like Mythtv because the library browsing looks so very sexy and it is full of online-viewing features (via plugins).

Alternatively mythtv would work by itself for your purpose, if you don't want to install more than one program for the same function.

If you are using windows you could also look at mediaportal which has integrated tv viewing/recording support.

If you're just looking to simply get the job done and play media, there are a lot of other ways to do it.

If you want the best way to browse your media, you've come to the right place.

I was going to ask a similar question, so putting it here is more appropriate.

I intend to use my current computer, which is used for gaming and typical computer stuff as a htpc, so is XBMC even a good fit considering I'll be using a m+kb in Windows 7 for most activities? Other than some powerful features for a dedicated media machine is there a reason for me to use it on a non-media dedicated machine? Does it have better media playing compatibility with HDTVs out of the box vs mpc? I honestly don't mind navigating windows to launch movies if it has no advantage over mpc.

Thanks.

...but once they see it, they usually WANT it.

I can really only give you some idea of my setup - it's a dedicated MythTV backend (for recording live tv), plus my mixed use HTPC hooked up to my bigscreen. Probably used for ~75% HTPC duty, and 25% "other" (email, games, web surfing).

I start and stop XBMC as needed - what it gives me is a beautiful interface that is operable from the remote when I just want to sit back and relax and watch some movies / tv. Every one of my friends who has seen it so far wants one, because it looks so great. Beyond that, it has the ability to easily organize your movies, and quickly tack on extras like movie info and synopsis. All of my DVDs are ripped and put into the library, which I can access from my couch whenever I want.

In my case, my desire for a MythTV backend was what really meant I needed a frontend. MythTV handles the TV scheduling and recording, and XBMC lets me access it. Without MythTV (or something similar), you really just have a hi-tech VCR.

Plus, one of my favorite things about XBMC was that the setup was relatively straightforward. It's certainly not easy, but compared to some other media centers (and I had tried many), it was almost immediately possible to get basic functionality running, and then pretty quick to get things customized as I wanted.

But best of all, you don't have anything to lose by trying it out, because the great folks here are fine with giving it away. If you really don't care about the eye candy and organization, you may be just fine with a file manager and your mouse. If not, give it a spin and see if you like it. I've tried most of the media centers (for both linux and windows), and XBMC is where I've stopped.

+1 to pablofred for putting it eloquently, although I would quibble that a full MythTV setup is "only" a VCR: the MythTV front-end is more capable than just VCR functionality.

Where I completely agree is that XBMC just rocks majorly as a complete media front-end, putting MythTV front-end to shame. And that's both at a desktop and at the "10-foot" experience.