ITWire

The theme for this month is “I didn’t know you could do that in Linux,” and continuing the theme let’s explore the simplicity of making your own Linux-based media centre for the lounge room.

“So what,” some may say. After all, there are other operating systems out there known for their media centre platforms. However, Linux offers compelling advantages.

Firstly, Linux is free, and the software listed here is also free. By contrast, you need to purchase a specific version of that other OS to obtain its media centre. It doesn’t come with the base version; if you bought your computer at a department store most likely you were sold the lowest valued edition and must purchase an upgrade.

Secondly, Linux offers a rich variety of choices. If you don’t like a particular software package you’ll find others which may be more to your liking. You can easily switch between any of a range of capable TV viewing and recording systems which are all supported and being updated.

Thirdly, Linux has lower hardware requirements. You can definitely run Linux on your current bleeding-edge computer system and it will run fantastically but you can also give new life to your old outdated hardware and find it still performs admirably with the latest Linux release. That other OS will most certainly not be as friendly to yesteryear’s computers. Here is something you can do with the Pentium III computer you’ve left sitting in your garage with just a few hardware improvements!

One item of hardware you ought not to scrimp on, however, is the video card particularly if you want to plug into a high-definition large screen television. The more memory your video card has the better the image you can output. This has nothing to do with the operating system or software; you simply cannot obtain the highest quality of picture out of a 10 year old video card that was designed for displays of that era.

You also require a TV tuner device. Both analog and digital tuners are available. I recommend digital for best quality although this will depend on the services available in your region and if you also wish to capture analog-only radio stations. You can find devices which plug inside an expansion socket in your computer, or USB devices. There is a large range of options. For best results check out the Linux TV Wiki which offers advice and recommendations as well as a large database of actual devices known to be supported under Linux. You are best off choosing one from this list as you know with certainty it will work.

Now to make it all work!

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