Media Center setup

[Brian Cluff]

I would heavily recommend that you don't use a regular computer to just 
stream video.  Instead I would get a low power ARM based single board 
computer.  The reason being that the full computer will quickly, within 
a couple of months, use so much power that you could have have purchased 
the SBC and powered it for years with the same amount of power/money. 
It will literally cost hundreds to run a computer 24/7 just to steam video.
Once you have that, there are a number of programs that will fill your 
needs, the most popular is XBMC, which has custom images for SBCs such 
as the Raspberry PI and I believe they also work on the BananaPI which 
is much more powerful, processor wise, and not that much more expensive.

Brian Cluff

On 12/28/2014 02:08 PM, Stephen M wrote:
> Stephen, the only thing I plan on doing with this computer is streaming
> videos over a local LAN and display them on a smartTV.  So would I need
> it if I wouldn't be using the computer itself?
>
> On Sun, Dec 28, 2014 at 2:02 PM, Stephen Partington
> <cryptworks at gmail.com <mailto:cryptworks at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     If you can getting a cheap graphics card can give you an extended
>     life on the Pentium dual core, just make sure it supports decoding
>     functions. something like the nvidia 720 or AMD R5 or R7 low end gpu's.
>
>     Read up on drivers based on the multimedia application or solution
>     you will be using.
>
>     On Sun, Dec 28, 2014 at 1:47 PM, Stephen M <smelheim85 at gmail.com
>     <mailto:smelheim85 at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>         Hey All,
>
>         I know this as been asked a few times, and I should keep all the
>         convos but there are so many.  I am trying to find a good
>         solution to start a media center.  So I need to know best
>         hardware and software.  Of course I am using a Nix system and
>         looking for anything inexpensive.
>
>         Although right now I have access to a Compact SR5000, max 2Gb
>         RAM. It has a pentium dual core system.  It has Vista so I need
>         to get some ideas.  The hard drive is around 500Gb but my father
>         might give me a 1.5Gb.
>
>         So this will take a long time for me to get done because of my
>         situation.
>
>         Thanks all
>
>         --
>         Stephen Melheim
>         602-400-7707 <tel:602-400-7707>
>         SMelheim85 at gmail.com <mailto:SMelheim85 at gmail.com>
>
>         ---------------------------------------------------
>         PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org
>         <mailto:PLUG-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org>
>         To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
>         http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
>
>
>
>
>     --
>     A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you
>     from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze
>     button.
>
>     Stephen
>
>
>     ---------------------------------------------------
>     PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org
>     <mailto:PLUG-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org>
>     To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
>     http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
>
>
>
>
> --
> Stephen Melheim
> 602-400-7707
> SMelheim85 at gmail.com <mailto:SMelheim85 at gmail.com>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------
> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss at lists.phxlinux.org
> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings:
> http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss
>