Media PC

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ronw

1222 posts

Uber Geek

#190884 15-Jan-2016 10:32

I am setting up a small Intel PC for use as a media box mainly for watching streaming services like Netflix and Lightbox etc and also to act as a home for Kodi which I use to watch vidoes etc streamed from a server over wifi.
I want to use linux and are looking for suggestions as to what is the best version of Linux to use. I use Debian on my server and have used ubuntu and Mint in past.
Any suggestions please?

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sidefx

3712 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1471704 15-Jan-2016 10:39

OpenELEC perhaps?

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davidcole

6034 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1471767 15-Jan-2016 11:22

Before deciding that you want to use linux....have you checked if linux browsers will play Netflix and lightbox? They were based on microsofts silverlight for a time.

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ronw

1222 posts

Uber Geek

#1471775 15-Jan-2016 11:26

Good point will check it out on Debian box first. That would be most depressing if I had to use Windows

Nokia 7 Plus
Nexus 6P 32Gb
Nexus 6 Phone
Nexus 5 Phone
Nexus 7 2013 Tablet
Samsung TAB A 8"
Samsung TAB A 10"

& many Windows laptops, Desktops etc

toyonut

1508 posts

Uber Geek

#1471804 15-Jan-2016 11:47

Netflix will work in Chrome (not chromium as far as I remember) on Linux. I don't think Firefox worked with it though. Lightbox I am not sure about. I didn't log into it but I think I remember an announcement that it was starting to support HTML5 based streaming so it may work in Chrome too. Mint is my preference, but so long as there is an official Chrome and Kodi for your chosen distro, it should be fine.

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sidefx

3712 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1471844 15-Jan-2016 12:10

I think netflix should work, but you may be limited to 720p. I seem to recall this is because the DRM needed for 1080p is only fully implemented for a couple of OS\browser combinations.

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- Richard Feynman

stinger

628 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1497777 23-Feb-2016 12:33

Any suggestions please?

I'm a full time Linux user, and my recommendation would be to ditch the Linux box, and use a Chromecast + compatible mobile device (e.g. Android or iPhone). You can stream both Lightbox + Netflix from it, and also local media. It's what I do. As a Linux user, I can see no advantage on using a Linux box to stream content (and the disadvantage of not being easily able to select from Netflix/Lightbox catalogue). YMMV.

toyonut

1508 posts

Uber Geek

#1498065 23-Feb-2016 20:05

Anyone tried Remix OS for something like this? Could potentially use Android Apps for streaming. Not sure how well the interface would work on a TV though.

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nickrout

219 posts

Master Geek

#1500906 28-Feb-2016 19:34

Netflix can work on chromium if you add a couple of libraries from a chrome install. Then Openelec works with netflix.

But yeah it ain't the easiest.

PANiCnz

990 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1506531 5-Mar-2016 17:07

stinger:

Any suggestions please?

I'm a full time Linux user, and my recommendation would be to ditch the Linux box, and use a Chromecast + compatible mobile device (e.g. Android or iPhone). You can stream both Lightbox + Netflix from it, and also local media. It's what I do. As a Linux user, I can see no advantage on using a Linux box to stream content (and the disadvantage of not being easily able to select from Netflix/Lightbox catalogue). YMMV.

This plus a RPI for Kodi is what I use. By far the easiest.