[Slinkyd667]

Hi there after using XBMC on my main windows pc and loving it, i have decided to make a dedicated pc in the house just running XBMC.
I could either use Windows 7 or Linux on this new pc, are there any advantages to using linux? Is it quicker? There are a few things i do not like about using windows with xbmc such as bring it out of hibernation and having to select the login user, i want it to be nice and simple.
I would probably do any ripping or downloading on my main pc and just transfer the files across the network onto the XBMC pc, i mainly have MKV files.
I can see in the poll most people use the windows platform.
What do you guys think Windows or Linux?

[Tomkun]

I myself am a Windows user, but if I were to make a dedicated XBMC machine I would probably go for Linux.

My reasoning is thus:

1) Even with a minimal install, windows still has a lot of 'bloat', which would make it less efficient and slower to boot.

2) Using Linux, you could do away with antivirus software, which is a real resource hog.

3) Linux is free.

[mkortstiege]

Linux, but in the end it's up to you

[SpectreX]

Resource hog? Are you kidding me? Avast takes up 10MB of ram, a real resource hog, lol. That and the fact that if you`re not browsing the net from that HTPC the AV software is useless, my HTPC runs just fine without any AV software. Andf why would you boot up the sistem on any OS when you can put it to sleep and then turn it back on in 1 second? No operating sistem boots up in 1 second (it takes 3-4 seconds for the initial BIOS POST tests to run), sleep does. And works fine in both Linux and Windows.

Back to the topic, just use whatever you like and you feel it suits you`re needs. I use Windows 7 because of the better hardware support (ATI hardware acceleration, wireless drivers bla bla) and ability to playback Blu Ray disks using TMT5. If you run an Atom / ION sistem, XBMC Live would be a great candidate since the hardware is fully supported by it and works fine, including VDPAU hardware acceleration. For wireless configuration there is a nice plugin in the plugins section of the forum which work fine with XBMC Live.

[blm14]

I would say linux for several reasons:

1) More powerful O/S, in general
2) Can play HD content with MUCH less powerful hardware (read: cheaper)
3) Isn't saddled with all the M$ bloatware (it's possible to run XBMC standalone with about a 60MB O/S size)
4) Will teach you how to use unix, which is in and of itself a benefit!

[poofyhairguy]

http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=72670

[Geeba]

OpenElec - its a no brainer.

http://openelec.tv/

[magao]

If you're looking at an appliance, XBMC Live (including XBMCFreak or OpenELEC) is easily the easiest to deal with once the initial setup is done.

I've previously used both XBMC and MediaPortal running on top of Windows XP and 7. In all cases, there were regular hassles e.g. the media centre losing focus (and hence not responding to remote commands). I kept having to put more and more workarounds in (mainly using EventGhost) to ensure that I could just use it as an appliance (which is what I wanted).

In contrast, XBMC Live just works - most of the time. I had a problem today where it wasn't talking to my server - looked like it was the XBMC machine, but could have been something else. Thankfully, such situations are very rare now, and I would be quite happy setting up an XBMC Live system for friends or family. OTOH I wouldn't be comfortable setting up XBMC on top of Windows to be used 100% via remote control.

[Subliminal Aura]

What do you guys think Windows or Linux?

TBH Just go with the one that you're most comfortable with and consumes the least amount of time with configuration.

No one operating system is better than the other, they are all supplied with bloat free of charge, performance all depends on the operator and how he/she uses and tunes it

For the record, I've been using Linux for almost 20 years and love it dearly but I'm currently posting this reply using Windows 7.

EDIT: As mentioned above basic but lean appliances like OpenELEC may be perfect for you as long as you're not looking at complex functionality

[ROEDK]

There are a few things i do not like about using windows with xbmc such as bring it out of hibernation and having to select the login user, i want it to be nice and simple.

FYI: You can disable that by going through Control Panel -> Power Options -> Change advanced power settings -> [Name of power plan] -> Require a password on wakeup -> No

[HenryFord]

Resource hog? Are you kidding me? Avast takes up 10MB of ram, a real resource hog, lol. That and the fact that if you`re not browsing the net from that HTPC the AV software is useless, my HTPC runs just fine without any AV software. Andf why would you boot up the sistem on any OS when you can put it to sleep and then turn it back on in 1 second? No operating sistem boots up in 1 second (it takes 3-4 seconds for the initial BIOS POST tests to run), sleep does. And works fine in both Linux and Windows.

This part may be entirely off topic:

1.
Ressources != only RAM. You PC has far more components than those RAM-blocks you have. The problem with AV-Software is always and always will be the disk I/O which slows you PC down as hell. I am using a six-core system with 8GB of RAM but still you can see slowdowns with big downloads/file copying/etc. because the disk I/O is huge due to the AV-program checking everything... (Well...I have a RAID in place nowadays so the slowdowns are mostly gone, but still...).

I do not want to reject Windows as I use it on a daily basis, but then again I play games and thus it is convenient to go with a whole windows-solution. But I would say that Linux is sufficent for anything else - including XBMC and I would recommend using it unless you want to play games.

2.
While in sleep a PC consumes energy. For you it may be no problem but there are a lot of people out there who live another way and DO mind a pc sleeping for >12 hours because he still uses up energy. It may not be that much, but still...

I for one prefer my method: I shut down my machine completely when I go off to bed. It wakes itself up at 6 o'clock in the morning to make a system-backup and download new releases (since I'm in Germany new tv-shows which air in America are around 2-4 o'clock am for me) and shuts down afterwards. When I come home from work my android-phone sends a small WOL-package, as soon as I am connected to my Wifi, to my PC (via Tasker) and wakes it up. As soon as I am in front of my tv the pc already booted and XBMC already launched - this way I can shutdown my PC entirely without having to wait the 30-40sec. boot-time.

[panaman]

if you plan to run netflix.... i recommend windows..... if you have another device like an xbox or something that can do netflix then just go linux... install the live cd...

[HenryFord]

install the live cd...

Actually: I would not recommend to do that, depending on the hardware you are running. Every Live-Installation just shows a blank screen for me whenever I want to run any videos (ATI/AMD-Support is definetly not "good"). I do not have any problems under Ubuntu though.

On a side node: The Live-Solution is really hacked together, for testing-purposes it is fine, but I find it is higly unreliable (and unusable) as a day-to-day system.
Check OPENElec - this is what XBMC-Live should have been (careful: Not stable yet - still in RC-testing-phase; I have the exact same error as under XBMC-Live - just a black screen (due to missing drivers, as confirmed by the Elec-Team)).

[joethefox]

Who plan to watch live TV I think that at this moment should choose Linux+Nvidia, Vdpau deinterlacer algorithm Spatial/Temporal is the best I ever seen, superior to the others.

[h.udo]

Better said, if you plan to watch HD content, just choose Nvidia. Way better support with Linux/XBMC combo.

Heck, even of you plan to only have SD content, go with Nvidia. There are more users ready to help using Nvidia...

h.udo