Linux Mint, OpenElec or Something Else?

squonk

You might have seen from another thread that I'm putting together a NUC at the moment. I'm just waiting for the last of the parts to arrive in the ppost.

I had planned to use OpenElect for XBMC. The machine will likely spend 90% of it's time as an appliance and if it spent 100% of it's time as that, I probably wouldn't be too put out.

I started looking into Mint however and am interested by the fact that it's a full distro yet you can configure it to boot directly into XBMC anyway. I also get a useable machine for the 10% of the time it won't be dedicated to HTPC duties. Another attraction is that I'd like to use Netflix either through XBMC or a browser so Mint sounds like it'll allow me more flexibility to get that sorted using PipeLight. Another consideration is VPN access for region sifting so that, if I do get Netflix up and running, I can have more control about what I can watch.

I don't want to use Windows. I, frankly, couldn't be bothered paying for it and I don't think it would add much more to the machine I want to set up anyway.

I'd like to hear about your own experiences whether you're using Mint or OpenElec regarding NetFlix and VPN and general hardware support. I know that OpenElec is brilliant for a very small-scale cheap minimal HTPC installation however my NUC will run an i3 and 8Gb RAM so I'm not at the lower end of the market and it'll run Mint fine. As I see it, OpenElec may be a better match for an HTPC as it's got plenty of built-in drivers already whereas Mint may require more customisation.

Finally, is there any other OS/XBMC combo I should consider?

Knasher

I'd probably go for ubuntu over mint. The LTS of ubuntu is out this month, , while you'd have to wait till July for the mint one, and afaik they plan on stopping support for most other versions as soon as their lts comes out. If you plan on spending time customizing it, then having to reinstall in a month or two might be a pain. You can also set any distro to boot directly into xbmc.

As for drivers, well the extra drivers that openelec has are the proprietary drivers from the likes of nvidia, however as the only driver for your graphics card is open source and in kernel, it isn't really relevant to your situation. It is more appliancy than other alternatives, which is nice, but if you plan on messing around with pipelight then I think you will have an easier time in mint or ubuntu.

stooge

Hi Sqounk,

Interested to know what NUC version you are going for and which components? PLanning on building somethign similar myself.

nevermind, just noticed your other thread here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057182414

best of luck with the build. Leaning towards Mint currently mysefl. But may go with Win8 if I can pick up a cheap version.
Will have XBMC and plex running, and also hope to use for emulation too. will keep you updated.

squonk

Thanks Stooge! I will update also. I like the look of Mint myself but may end up going with Ubuntu as it's latest version is out sooner. I want a place and forget box which is why the 5 years of support from Ubuntu seems good - though it's a nice to have rather than an essential.

The last piece of the puzzle arrived today - my WIFI card. I might start looking at putting the machine together later this evening. The Ubuntu LTS arrives tomorrow week so I might hold off the install til then.

From the things I need to do to get Netflix and VPN up and running it definitely seems to be the correct choice to move away from OpenElec. It'll be interesting to see how things go though!

howamidifferent

squonk wrote: »

From the things I need to do to get Netflix and VPN up and running it definitely seems to be the correct choice to move away from OpenElec. It'll be interesting to see how things go though!

I dont know about Netflix with OpenElec but VPNs are not only supported but very easily setup within OpenElec having a setup screen specifically to support it.

stooge

will you have many clients ? Whats kinds?

Primarily I want a small deveice close to the main TV in the living room to view photos, videos and movies, with some emulation thrown in. In addition I want this to share content to the 2nd TV(ouya plex/xbmc), bedroom TV (plex) and 2 iphones (plex/xbmc).

squonk

Well Stooge this is kind of a hobby/bit of craic project for me. I have already got my own Plex system running on a Mac Mini that serves Movies and TV Shows to my TV. It's directly connected. It also serves stuff to my iPad if I'm elsewhere in the house and can be accessed remotely as well.

I want to set this new server up under my parents TV ao it's convenient for storing local files. I'll hang a USB3 1/2TB drive off it but, for now, I'll throw a good amount of stuff onto the internal SSD to get going. It's there primarilly as a nice way to store and view content and won't get heavy use. The main advantage is that it'll be able to handle any kind of file I throw at it which isn't the case right now with just plugging a USB drive into the telly. I will probably stream shows to my iPad if the TV is occupied by another family member. It won't have half the work to do compared to my Mac Mini however, I may use it as my HTPC later when it's time for the Mini to retire although for now the Mini is doing fine.

stooge

thats an expensive hobby!! :-)

Just sent you a pm with a few questions as I dont want to bring this thread off topic.