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Mythbuntu?
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30 reviews of this app found across Reddit:
I'm one of the main developers for Mythbuntu I've done support via forums/IRC, fixed bugs, written programs, etc. Most recently I've been creating a MythTV scope for Unity and will work with the Ubuntu TV team doing some MythTV integration stuff.
Given you say you want to use this primarily for television streaming, you'd be well served to go with something like Mythbuntu. Your specs meet minimums, though if you can add some memory to it, it would be helpful.
Whatever you choose, you may have trouble with that video card if you're planning on using it for input of the television signal. I had a similar system at one point. With the proprietary driver from ATI, you can get everything running pretty smoothly, but it does not work for the video capture functions of that card. At the time I had it, GATOS was in its infancy. A lot of work in this area has been done since, but I note that the 9600 AIW is still not listed as supported.
I did get video capture to work, but I couldn't for the life of me remember right now everything I went through to do it. I just remember it being a pain in the ass and that it was never stable. Perhaps things are easier now, which, to bring us back to your original question, is why I suggest a distro developed specifically for that purpose. If it's doable without huge problems, Mythbuntu probably has it working already.
Edit: spelling
I've used MythTV for the past 8 years give or take. I currently use an HDHomeRun Prime with cable card.
Super easy setup, works flawlessly. Auto-Skip commercials.
I use MythBuntu and it practically sets up itself (if you are familiar with Linux).
You can run MythTV on Ubuntu. I will automatically transcode to whatever format that you like.
There is an easy to install distribution setup for it called Mythbuntu.
See mythbuntu.org
Install Mythbuntu. Never look back. Even if you don't use the DVR functionality it has an awesome video library. Has functionality that uses the name of the video file to go out to IMDB and get the plot, actors, etc. Also you can use an Iphone or Android phone as a remote.
Its really easy to setup as well.
If it's on a custom-built PC and you want something free, then try Mythbuntu. If that doesn't suit your needs, then just find a copy of Windows for cheap somewhere. With either OS, you'll want to download Chrome to use your phone as a remote control.
There are lots of options for PVRs with OTA support. For example there's the 50 dollar OTA TiVo, but their products seem to require paying for a service.
If you don't mind doing a bit of work yourself, you just need to buy a TV tuner card for a spare computer and set up PVR software like MythTV. Rather than setting it up yourself, you can install an operating system like Mythbuntu with everything working out-of-the-box.
This should be a bit more "plug and play" if you're worried about compiling from source
Basically it's an ubuntu distro built around mythtv. You build a computer (or use an old computer rig) and install it like any other operating system.
If you are geeky...check out mythtv... It costs a bit in hardware to build, but you can do a lot with it.... including DVR.
It's a fun project and you get a DVR, music player, video player, and you can add stuff like hulu.
mythtv.org http://www.mythbuntu.org/
It's mostly easy. I originally got the HDHR because I was trying to set up MythTV in a FreeNAS Jail, and I was only hit-and-miss because of some asinine MySQL security issues.
So when they were tossing out this computer at work, in a nice compact form factor, I jumped on it. I installed Mythbuntu because I was getting frustrated with rolling my own setup. MythTV can be kind of finicky in some situations, so if you don't know what you're doing you should just use a pre-made distro.
Before that, way before that, I was using NextPVR, which was OK, but the UI was a bit limited to what I had been used to (way back in the day) with MythTV's web interface. I also wasn't too happy with the idea that I had to tailor some of my computer use around TV recordings (e.g. can't reboot while something's on), but if you roll a Windows system it's not a bad solution. However it does lack MythTV's auto-commercial skipping.
The really fun thing is that most ATSC TV tuners can record two shows at once, as long as they're on the same broadcast frequency. The HDHR Connect has two tuners, so it can potentially record up to four shows at once. They just released a four tuner version too.
I haven't done much research into OS's specifically for streaming, but I have used Lubuntu in the past and it seems to work very well in general. It's a build of Ubuntu (linux) specifically designed to have low overhead, intended for lower spec systems.
I know there's also Mythbuntu, which is another Ubuntu build specifically aimed at MythTV (used as a home DVR system) - I have no idea what sorts of overall capabilities it has and haven't ever used it personally, but I have a friend that swears by it.
I'd start by looking at an Ubuntu-centered Myth distribution.
It can be a real pain in the butt to set up, but it is doable. I made one for my ex-wife so she could binge on Judge Judy.
You'll need to find a nice Linux happy video capture card, and without a cable card (again, a fee to Comcast to get one) you're not going to be able to watch or record any encrypted channels, so mostly over-the-air basic cable stuff is all you'll be able to get.
Edit: If you've installed Linux before, you're well on your way. The hard part is going to be getting the TV capture card drivers running happily.
Here's a link to the Video4Linux wiki: http://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/DVB-C_PCI_Cards
If MythTV is your primary goal, I'd STRONGLY recommend using mythbuntu.
They are part of the ubuntu family, specifically tailored to MythTV, and making the fuster cluck that is installing/configuring MythTV easier.
It is not necessarily an ideal desktop, XFCE is the desktop environment installed by default & it is a very light weight/minimal DE as the goal of mythbuntu is PVR.
I've been using Linux since new years 1998, and mythbuntu is what my HTPC runs. Its fairly trivial to add XBMC for none PVR entertainment center use, and in fact I even use XBMC as a frontend to Myth.
If you want an easy time getting MythTV going without having to get too much into the details, you might want to consider an all in one distribution. Here is a reasonably popular one:
See my post above. To explain a bit further: given the nature of SteamOS, specifically its use case (gaming on a TV), the presence of any desktop at all is probably a fall back for convenience and debugging sake. I wouldn't be surprised if the final version ships without any desktop environment at all, particularly once lower specced Steam Box systems start making their inevitable appearances in retail. Of course, SteamOS is Linux, so its flexible as all hell. You can respin it any way you like, but the simple fact is: desktop is not Valves priority. In fact, Valve have studiously avoided discussing the desktop at all, which to me is a clear indication that they won't be perusing it, at least for the foreseeable future.
Lets try an analogy: would you try edit video on a Mythbuntu box?
Check out MythTv....if you are geeky, it is a fun project.
For me , Broadcast HD + Mythtv DVR (and Free Hulu hacked in) + Netflix = all the TV I could ever need for $8 a month.
MythTV does a ton more than DVR too....it's full blown media center.
You have other options, ESPECIALLY for OTA content (no need for cable labs approval).
Though it's a bit of a pain to set up, MythTV works well as a DVR once configured, for all other MCE duties use XBMC/Kodi (I've got my backend running on a cheap/hacked Chrome box). You'll have to pay $20 a year for your guide info though, but that's not much. The MythBuntu distribution makes set up somewhat easier then other options.
Or, if your willing to part with some up front cash, Silicon dust are working on DVR software for their line of tuners (again, with XBMC/Kodi support).
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1275320038/hdhomerun-dvr-the-dvr-re-imagined
(check the silicondust forums for more info on the ongoing development/limitations... it's in alpha right now)
Really, if you've not already, check out Kodi... doesn't handle your DVR requirements but once you find a DVR software, it makes a pretty solid front end.
> ability to launch Steam.
Given the limited number of games available on Linux, you're looking at Windows 8.1 if you want Steam.
Assuming you only want Linux games, you might want to look at Mythbuntu, a special version of Ubuntu with MythTV preinstalled.
In general, Windows has better multimedia support and less bugs but is somewhat more heavyweight. Performance is not an issue unless your HTPC hardware is really old and slow.
Really, you should probably just go with Windows.
The way I explained it isn't meant to be accessible to the general population. These things can be explained in simpler terms. If you're interested, check out some of the how-to guides. As an example of the type of resources I'm talking about, Mythbuntu is a Linux-based operating system (like Mac or Windows are operating systems) with lots of preloaded applications for managing your media.
Also, I have to admit that my being on Reddit since 2008 has colored my view of this site. This site is mainstream and represents a broader demographic than it used to.
For my personal HTPC setup (which I use as a PLEX Media Server, PLEX Home Theater, and YouTube), I just repurposed an old lightweight computer that I had laying around:
- Intel Pentium Dual-core 2GHz processor
- 2Gb RAM
- 1TB drive (a later addition)
- Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit
Even for my limited usage, a RAM upgrade is kinda needed. For your usage, I'd say that you'd be cutting it kinda close with 8Gb of RAM, but it could be done (16Gb would make me more confident that it could handle it all).
In order to be able to do everything you're looking simultaneously (i.e. record TV in the background while watching a BluRay as someone else streams PLEX content) and have it able to handle it without issue, you're gonna wanna look for a good deal on a mid to high-range i7. If you're only going to access the Plex content from that machine, you could probably get away with a mid to high-range i5.
As for somewhere to save money, I'd recommend checking out Mythbutu, if you haven't already.
It will make it into the Ubuntu repos, but it's recommended you run from the Mythbuntu repos anyway since you'll get more up to date packages from the MythTV fixes branches.
The biggest complaint I have about MythTV is that if you update the backend software to a newer version, then you must update all the frontends as well. It absolutely, positively will not work if you run a different version backend and frontend. The simplest backend to set up is Mythbuntu (though I see no reason you can't run a backend on Windows if you don't want to deal with Linux).
This is not generally a problem if you run the backend and frontend software on the same machine, but in some cases it's advantageous to put the backend near where the antenna wire enters the house, and put one or more frontends elsewhere.
Thing is, I wanted to use the PVR capabilities of XBMC, which pretty much requires either the MythTV of TVHeadEnd backend somewhere on the network in order to function (on Linux). And while I won't say that Mythbuntu/MythTV was a snap to set up, at least I could figure it out, whereas TVHeadEnd had me totally mystified. And MythTV really is a great piece of software, if only its creators would understand the concept of upward compatibility. It's not always possible to have frontend and backend versions the same; you have to go with what's in the repository for the OS you are using. So, for example, I can't run the MythTV frontend on my OS X box because the version offered for that platform is one or two versions ahead of the backend version in Mythbuntu (and to make matters worse, XBMC just released a new version that's also very broken under OS X).
What really needs to happen is for the XBMC people to develop their own PVR backend. If they were to do that, the MythTV user base would probably drop considerably.
Why do you have to plug anything in? You could easily have Bluetooth accessories and a remote way to turn it on.
You press the on button on the controller and it wakes the system. That brings you to a custom interface that they design. This interface allows for you to easily select their app store, your emulators or a web browser. No one would even know that it was linux, except for the fact that you could disconnect it if you wanted to have a laptop.
Think about something like Ubuntu for Android, except it is Ubuntu for (Game Console Custom Linux Interface).
"Media Center is probably the best DVR you can get - way better than any crap your cable company provides."
MythTV and VDR laugh at this.
Install it among your Windows partition, and try yourself. Its pretty easy to setup.
http://www.mythbuntu.org/wiki/introduction
With some little help, you could even get a MAME/SNES/whatever emulator you want, launched directly from MythTV.
You're welcome. A quick note, I spoke two soon, we don't actually have 0.25 for the 10.10 release, we do have it for 10.04, 11.04, 11.10, and 12.04. When 0.26 comes out, out of those listed 12.04 will be the only one getting it. It's fully explained on our site.
MythTV is great, but it's pretty heavyweight and requires some setup. Probably the easiest way to start is with Mythbuntu. There's a LiveCD, in case you want to try it out.
Once you have your MythTV backend and frontend working, you can experiment with playing back your recordings through XBMC. I haven't done this personally, so I don't know if all the playback features (commercial skipping, timestretching, aspect ratio control, etc.) are available via XBMC.
If you don't have an extra machine, it is possible to install MythTV on top of an existing Linux system, but if you are a Linux novice this could be pretty annoying.
I use Mythbuntu on a small media-center PC. I use a DVI to HDMI cable for full-screen HD video. Audio comes from a 3.5mm jack only because my old stereo does not have an optical audio port.
Mythbuntu is rock-solid, but if you don't want to bother with it you can always use VLC.
For a keyboard I recommend this. I've used it since 2007 and it runs like a tank. Works out of the box in Linux and I change the batteries maybe once a year.
EDIT: I would not even consider converting from mkv. mkv is excellent. Instead get some real hardware/software.
I've heard good things about the 2200 series - sorta regret choosing the AverMedia over one (3D was too irresistible) and AFAIK linux support for them is pretty solid - Hauppauge has been well supported on Linux for a long time...
download an iso from Mythbuntu, burn it to a CD and run it (boot from it as a LiveCD) - see how well your card works out of the box - so long as you don't need to dive too deep into config files etc, it should be easy enough to setup with very little Linux under your belt
it's the tweaking of the many, many, many settings that takes a long time...
Its also worth noting that in the latest version there is a link on the setup page saying that AAC is required and to activate Medibuntu.
If you aren't running the latest version you can normally find it on the Mythbuntu Testing PPA: http://www.mythbuntu.org/repos
I only backport versions so far though, so it depends on what version of Mythbuntu/Ubuntu you are running.