[Timo]

Hi and sorry in advance if this has been covered several times already. I searched a bit and did not find a post/thread that would cover this issue particularly.

So I am going to build an XBMC box to act as my media center and it will only act as that (not normal pc or anything else). I am asking for advice to help me choose the right options from the start.

This is what I have ordered for hardware: Zbox id-40 and of course I will be getting enough ram and a suitable hard disk for it.
At the moment I have a Windows 2003 server that is running an uTorrent server and SMB shares from where I play my videos using a WD TV media box.
Now I am considering my options for XBMC. Should I choose the Windows or Linux (or even Live) version when I would like to do the following:
- Watch tv-shows and movies (720p)
- Play emulator games (NES/SNES/Genesis)
- Use my Logitech Harmony One as the main remote
- Use Spotify if possible (I have a premium account)

Things that don't matter to me:
- Hulu/Netflix/subscription services for films. I don't live in the US and cannot use these anyways
- Net surfing, playing "PC" games, other desktop computing applications

I want the media center experience be as close to an appliance as possible so even the wife will be comfortable using it (so no 30sec boot up-sequences etc) and I want as much as possible for everything to be automatized, library updates and such. I am not afraid of a little work to get it set up just as I want, but would like to choose the version that is most suitable for my needs.
If possible I would like to eliminate the Windows Server 2003 machine I currently have since it only servers as the file share and uTorrent server for my media box, so if the uTorrent (or similar) function could be served directly on the XBMC it would be even better.

So, what configuration should I choose? Thanks in advance for the answers!

[snaaps50]

Hi,

windows is slow and will hang more than linux.
xbmc runs perfect on a minimal linux installtion, it also run good on a desktop installation.

1 think you must know:
If you want use pvr option with a dvb(s2) card then you must know that you buy a card thats support on it in linux, see also
http://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/DVB-S2_PCI_Cards

download the xbmc live cd and install it on your pc or take a tour with the live option.
You can also download this one: http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=96302
(i wass suprised on this one, the first complete install where everythink in one time really works (I had lot problems with yavdr, mythuntu etc etc)

I dont suggest you windows if you a know a bit of linux.

windows: good hardware support, a lot of good games to play, easy to config
poor pvr suport, runs verry slow, hangs more than linux

Linux: runs a lot faster than windows, does not hangs like windows, good pvr support, a lot of (out date) tutorials, must xbmc compatible software are linux based, poor dvb s2 support, a lot diffecult to config than windows.

[Timo]

1 think you must know:
If you want use pvr option with a dvb(s2) card then you must know that you buy a card thats support on it in linux, see also
http://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/DVB-S2_PCI_Cards

Thanks for your answer!
I do not need pvr option as I do not watch terrestrial TV broadcasting (you need to pay for a permit in my country to watch TV) and the small computer case I ordered doesn't have room for such expansion cards.

windows: good hardware support, a lot of good games to play, easy to config
poor pvr suport, runs verry slow, hangs more than linux

Linux: runs a lot faster than windows, does not hangs like windows, good pvr support, a lot of (out date) tutorials, must xbmc compatible software are linux based, poor dvb s2 support, a lot diffecult to config than windows.

Is the XBMC Windows version still in alpha/beta or why does it hang more than the Linux version? Is there some way to make it more stable?
Hardware support is somewhat important to me since I will have to at least get an IR receiver for the remote. PVR support like I said is not important to me, easy configuration is of course a plus. Is the Windows version missing hardware acceleration or something similar, or why is it very slow compared to the Linux one?

[jhsrennie]

You will struggle to notice any difference between the performance of XBMC on Windows and on Linux. The choice of OS will be dictated by other considerations e.g. how familiar you are with the operating system and what other apps you want to use.

Using remote controls need some care on both operating systems. If you use XBMCLive then support for eHome/RC6 remotes is built in. Other remotes will probably work. On Windows virtually all IR remotes work. RF remotes will probably need a helper app like Eventghost.

JR

[Timo]

You will struggle to notice any difference between the performance of XBMC on Windows and on Linux. The choice of OS will be dictated by other considerations e.g. how familiar you are with the operating system and what other apps you want to use.

Using remote controls need some care on both operating systems. If you use XBMCLive then support for eHome/RC6 remotes is built in. Other remotes will probably work. On Windows virtually all IR remotes work. RF remotes will probably need a helper app like Eventghost.

JR

Thanks, I was wondering why one of the versions would be so much worse than the other one
Both Windows and Linux installations would be OK by me, I can manage either one.

So my original question still stands: where would the plugins/apps (emulators, my Harmony IR remote) as well as my torrent server be easiest to implement?
From the looks of it I guess my choice should be Windows? I'm still thinking about the boot-up time and how easy it will be to make work like an appliance...

[jhsrennie]

I can't comment on running emulators or the torrent server as I don't run them.

For the appliance feel the best option is XBMCLive. However XBMCLive is the worst option for running extra servers because the setup will be more complicated. If you don't already know Linux then learning how to set everything up can be fun, but only if you enjoy that sort of thing. Personally I would use Windows because it's what I know, but YMMV.

I run XBMC from the Start Menu Startup folder, and I have it configured to shut down Windows when I select "Shutdown" from the XBMC Shutdown menu. This doesn't really give an "appliance" feel, but it's useful for me to be able to run other Windows apps on the PC.

JR

[poofyhairguy]

My thoughts:

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid...ight=intel

[snaaps50]

So my original question still stands: where would the plugins/apps (emulators, my Harmony IR remote) as well as my torrent server be easiest to implement?
From the looks of it I guess my choice should be Windows? I'm still thinking about the boot-up time and how easy it will be to make work like an appliance...

Plugins can be installed in xbmc, it dos,t mather if you use windows or linux.
The installed plugins are connected to your software, so best idea is to wath plugin are avilible, for arcade games there are different plugins, and the most work under linux and windows, but you will find more tutorials. for linux how to install them here.
The software like emulator will mostly install in directory /usr/share, /etc or else it depends on the software it self and how you installed it, just like windows you can give a specific path to where the software must installed.

boot time:
If you have a nice clean windows, get rit off all unnecessary software on boot (msconfig) it will almost as fast as linux live edtion.
But, i notice that windows after month getting slower, and slower, and slower, (gaaapppp)

my boot time is about 10 seconds after you pusched to power button
My tweaked windows 7 version is also +/- 10 seconds
(in linux you must edit grub to boot directly to linux/xbmc, standard it will wait 5 or 10 seconds)


Well, if you new with linux its not so verry simple and easy as windows..
But, if you like computers you find enouch howto,s on the internet.
Start with the basic livecd or clionacle version and try out!

personaly:I used windows for about 2 years, after that installed linux and wow, I feel stuppid about those 2 years of windows ussage..

[Mindzai]

You will struggle to notice any difference between the performance of XBMC on Windows and on Linux.

I respectfully disagree. I've tried XBMC under Win Vista, Win 7 and Live (linux), and Live is far snappier in general. As well as this there are loads more headaches with Windows due to the crapness of the OS itself. Plus linux is free.

[Timo]

So it looks like I would be best off with an XBMCLive setup, at least if I understood poofyhairguy's link properly. It would be quick to boot up and I can still install additional software such as a torrent server.

How about spotify?

Is this emulator issue still a problem or is there a "standard" way of doing it?
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=65847

And with the HP IR receiver I would get my Harmony One remote to work nicely with the live setup?

I am familiar with Windows and Linux in general and have installed, configured and maintained dozens if not hundreds of both systems for over 15 years, so the standard configuration stuff won't be a problem. What I'm talking about here is XBMC specific stuff which I am not familiar with at all yet.

EDIT: oh yeah, just to clarify the tech specs, the audio and video would go from the XBMC machine by HDMI to an AV receiver where the sound would be handled and the picture sent on to an HD plasma.

[donruss]

i am also asking myself the same questions as you. not to jack the thread or anything, but i am leaning towards an xbmc live set up.

only thing thats important to me is that all my HD (mkv movies) content plays flawlessly, without audio sync issues, slowdown issues, choppyness, or pixilization.

Dont really care for any pluggins except for maybe an auto update my library plugin.

only thing that concerns me is choosing the right hardware that will just work with a ground up build and xbmc live. would hate to buy all this hardware and have it not work with linix.

[donruss]

i also just read and maybe i read it wrong, but xbmc live / linix does not support DTS audio, without some sort of converter or addon? it is listed as a disadvantage in the link that poofyhairguy posted. Does this apply to xbmc live?

[IAmNotAUser]

as well as my torrent server be easiest to implement?

If you're comfortable with SSH, screen and rtorrent make a powerful and relatively lightweight torrenting combination, there are standard Ubuntu install guides around the net for rtorrent, but I would recommend compiling from source as I think the package in the repos is a bit behind now. There are also a rtorrent plugin you can use to control rtorrent from inside XBMC.

[Timo]

If you're comfortable with SSH, screen and rtorrent make a powerful and relatively lightweight torrenting combination, there are standard Ubuntu install guides around the net for rtorrent, but I would recommend compiling from source as I think the package in the repos is a bit behind now. There are also a rtorrent plugin you can use to control rtorrent from inside XBMC.

That sounds pretty good. SSH is not a problem for me. I like to use uTorrent currently so that I have the web front end enabled and I pick out the torrents I like on my desktop machine and use the web ui from a browser.
I see that rtorrent has rutorrent web ui that acts similar to utorrent so that would be good.

Any idea if there are ready made scripts or plugins to unrar files automatically after they have been downloaded by rtorrent? This would be enough for me to ditch utorrent and go with rtorrent.

Still missing confirmation about the emulators and spotify on the live...

[IAmNotAUser]

I've never installed rtorrent on an XBMCLive machine, but if you wish to use rutorrent, you'll need to install Apache and PHP from the repos as the web server XBMCLive comes with doesn't support PHP as far as I'm aware, and I'm fairly certain seeing somewhere that said outright it isn't supported.

Plugins for rtorrent generally come in the form of frontend plugins, and yep, there's a plugin for rutorrent that auto-extracts rar and zip files to a specified folder.

I can't help with the other 2 unfortunately, last I head Spotify wasn't really going to work until the devs finish the addon support to include closed-source binary files, but I could be wrong.