not really a support question. just me sayin...
#1
i got ahead of myself and did a complete installation of XBMC on my PC in the living room.
I did the installation from a stick and wiped out my old OS. Didn't care really.

XBMC Loving it. My wife was like "what did you do!" She was used to Windows and having her windows media center.
It will be a slow process getting the live tv working again because im trying to educate myself on how to get it up and running.

However, now im reading that XBMC can run on top of an operating system (Windows, Ubuntu, etc).
Did i jump the gun by not having XBMC run on top of an OS? Will it be a headaches getting hardware running?

looking for opinions. not really a support question.

Again, I like it! Blush
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#2
What did you install, Openlec? Mine runs on a Win 7 OS and the only reason it stays that way is the simplicity of video drivers with my AMD APU. Tried Ubuntu, wanted something leaner, but was a headache for me since I am a complete Linux newb. I haven't played with Openlec, but it seems from the recent announcements on the homepage that it supports PVR addons. So you might be good with what you have. Here is why I like an OS to fall back on.

1. Addons can sometimes have problems, so Pandora and Amazon content can always be reached via a browser. (Hulu and Netflix as well as other add ons can have issues as well, but these are the only ones I really use)

2. I am familiar with Windows, so driver issues are less of a hassle for me.

3. Ability to load applications like unified remote, so it is easy to use my android tablet as a KB and Mouse.
with that said, the xbmc remote applications work great on android based phones and tablets. Assume these would work for openlec as well.

90% of the time if not more my HTPC is running XBMC while it is on. The OS gets very little use, but it is nice to have when you want it. It all boils down to what you want out of your HTPC. So, you might not have jumped the gun, but a download and install of XBMCbuntu is just a free download away + some time configuring.
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#3
Yes you did jump the gun. But remember most PC have a factory restore command to get your PC back to fresh windows from factory. Unless you did a full complete drive format of all partitions ( most people do not do this).

You can run both 7MC (aka win 7 WNC) and XBMC together and they will behave well. It's what I do every day.

XBMC solo with PVR requires you use the nightly build experiments. That sometimes have issues. Plus from reading you can not record a TV series with the PVR build, without serious EPG gymnastics. Who wants that. Soon XBMC will have all this correct. Also consider that most need to remote control a cable card or cable box, which requires IR mapping some times. Not easy on XBMC.
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#4
Well, you actually are running XBMC on top of an OS... it's just hidden from the casual user. If you're using XBMCbuntu, you're running Linux (a version of Ubuntu) under the covers. Bundled offerings such as XBMCbuntu and OpenELEC are intended to give an appliance-like look-and-feel for HTPC installations, where your computer boots directly into XBMC without having to interact with the OS. You can still access the OS, if necessary, to tweak the system.

If your computer isn't meant to be dedicated for XBMC, then you can simply install XBMC as an application on top of your system's existing OS (Windows, Linux, Mac, etc.).

Since you already have XBMC running standalone on your living room computer, you may want to just run with it for a while and see if it suits your media center needs.
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#5
(2012-10-25, 21:49)Diggs Wrote: What did you install, Openlec?

yes, openelc 2.0.

man ive been up til 2am every night and waking up at 6am for work.
I hate to remove everything i've done and reinstall an OS and reinstall xbmc.
I'll try to get my tv tuner and netflix to run. i'll give it a week. if i can't make it then i'll
reinstall etc.

i gotta tell all my buddies about this.

btw, im new to Linux. I found out about this through a linux class im taking.
(2012-10-25, 21:53)artrafael Wrote: Since you already have XBMC running standalone on your living room computer, you may want to just run with it for a while and see if it suits your media center needs.
yes, thats why i had no prblem wiping it clean.
no data was on the PC and we only used it for netflix and stream my movie library (from a file server i have). i got that working.
i dont really need this PC with an OS becasue it'll never get used for that.
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#6
@RevMex

If it's working well just roll with it.

My motto is always less time frakking with stuff = more time for beer. Along with the other niceties of life like family time, etc of course. Big Grin

If I helped out pls give me a +

A bunch of XBMC instances, big-ass screen in the basement + a 20TB FreeBSD, ZFS server.
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#7
(2012-10-25, 21:58)RevMex Wrote: I'll try to get my tv tuner and netflix to run. i'll give it a week. if i can't make it then i'll
reinstall etc.

Netflix don't do Linux. OpenELEC runs Linux. You'll need to run Windows on that system if you plan on using it to watch Netflix. Also, you'll need to watch it via a web browser. You can use Advanced Launcher in XBMC to open a web browser to the Netflix homepage.

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#8
(2012-10-25, 23:11)artrafael Wrote:
(2012-10-25, 21:58)RevMex Wrote: I'll try to get my tv tuner and netflix to run. i'll give it a week. if i can't make it then i'll
reinstall etc.

Netflix don't do Linux. OpenELEC runs Linux. You'll need to run Windows on that system if you plan on using it to watch Netflix. Also, you'll need to watch it via a web browser. You can use Advanced Launcher in XBMC to open a web browser to the Netflix homepage.

thank you, i found this out last night reading an article. Luckily I have a bluRay player with Netflix access on it that I can use.
Now its just a matter of reading the "must gets" of add-ons in XBMC.
Overall I like it.
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not really a support question. just me sayin...0