Let me preface this by saying...I am very new to Linux as in "I installed openelec with XBMC today for the first time". I managed to fumble through XBMC and finally got it working well enough display my movie collection (not all correctly mind you). I use Plex on 2 mobile devices and 3 PCs and also one ROKU and a pi. I really like the simplicity of the program. Media Server runs on my PC quite well with very little problems. Reading through this forum has gotten me very confused, as I know nothing about Linux, programming, compiling etc.
Is there a recommended build I can install similar to the Openelec version of XBMC? I want to keep using plex as it is dead simple and managing my 1800 movies is so easy to do on my pc. I dont want to go back down the road of media managers and editing .nfo files.
Or is there any step by step guides available for any particular version of Linux? I am browsing the forums here but still not sure what I am looking at all the time.
I did try looking for the Plexbmc addon but it does not show up in the repositories on my box and I have no clue how to add it manually.
I will save you some time... I have been for 2-3 years heavy Linux users ( Archlinux so I know what I talk) and it doesn't worth the learning curve. Compiling and so on is worthless, and Linux is in a constant beta state that made my step back to windows a cakewalk... It just works (OSX is better IMHO, but i don't own any apple hardware). What to expect from Linux depends on your hardware... but or me it has been, a lot of noise from fans, because there is no proper CPU scaling and power management. Linux is for heavy development of web services/ servers/ supercomputers. For the average joe needs it doesn't worth the learning curve.
However in an old box it could be room for Linux as headless server. But if you got the RAM go straight to windows. In Linux there is no proper h.264 decoding, and other things that are not going to be implemented because all of FOSS things. It is my opinion. It was a constant tinkering. It was good as toy.
Compared to construction WIndows vs Linux is like Concrete vs Lego (for desktop).
OK. But it has among others good things... Repository updates (vs Windows Update is doing surprinsingly good) , and extremely good remote management (ssh) (vs Shit RDP or puTTY).
Thanks for the reply. I didn't want to make it Linux vs Windows. I am only using Linux as I have a small SSD drive installed in an old pc and it is free. I don't want to spend any money on this system at all. Going to Windows defeats the purpose of this build. I am looking for a turnkey solution to use Plex Home Theater on an old PC without using Windows.
Then I advise you Openelec, as it works OOTB. But expects rough edges with 24p, HD Audio and other things that are not implemented (or are in beta-state and they won't get stable ). Try it and see if it works for you.
Is there an Openelec build that includes Plex Home Theater? Or step by step instructions on how to install it on Linux. That is what I am looking for. I would like to stay away from XBMC if I can.
Openelec is a time saver. In the plexhomtheater forum there is a build of openelec with plexhometheater. Look for it it looks promising. But expect very rough wife unfriendly edges.
yes i fiddle with the computer to solve annoyances ...
i think thats the nice thing with linux ... i dont want everything in a shiny box .. just working.. i want to hack and solve problems ... brain needs exercise too .. ;)
what you need to know is that you will learn how to google for errors and solve them by yourself... and dont be afraid of the command line .. you will have to use it ..
if you are new .. there is a couple of ways to go
OpenELEC .. is out of the box media server /player
Linux Mint - out of the box with codecs and that kind of stuff.. big userbase and is based on ubuntu with loads of people healping out if you have a problem .. and most of them is already solved
Ubuntu .. more hassle but as above loads of people that can help .. and with that the learning curve isnt going to be that steep ..
gentoo
compile everything yourself .. extreamly rapd and everything is just the way you like it ... but it will take hours to get to that state .. EXTREME learning curve ... but after a couple of hours you will know your computer and your hardware by heart .. more than any windows user ever knew...
i say good luck and have fun hacking your computer.. ;)
