Media centers for PC/Linux

sirex · Mar 2, 2016

So what are people using here to play media? iTunes?Kodi?WMP?

Personally, I use MusicBee. I loved it when I used to use an old 80 gig iPod. Could transfer music to the iPod without the use of iTunes. Now I just stick with it because its quick and light.

For movies or videos I use Media Player Classic. If I want to stream to the PS3 I use PS3 Media streamer on my laptop and TVersity on the desktop.

So, what do you use?

dragonsfire · Mar 2, 2016

Always been a Winamp guy (old version V5) and for video I go "Media Player Classic". I still play the classic games, Wiz8,Caesar III, Pharaoh/Cleopatra, and old 1995 3D Pinball space cadets

Workstation Win7 and Internet box Debian.

SmokenFire · Mar 2, 2016

When I built my last gaming computer I took most of the parts out of the old one and build a media center with them. It's an i3 chip, old AMD gpu, 8 gb ram win 7 pro box that I filled with 4TB of storage drives. HDMI out the back to our receiver w blu ray player. Also use Media Player Classic and iTunes. I have all our family photos, music (about a TB now) and movies on that box. It is not connected to the internet nor will it ever be. I love it - I can set our family photos to slide show when people come over for holidays, etc and then I can put on death metal when they stay too late.

sirex · Mar 2, 2016

Sweet. Always like hearing other people preferences. Yeah, the laptop is what? a 17 inch screen, 4th gen i5, 1 TB HDD. And shoot the desktop is just some old Wal Mart HP box, piece o crap. But- it served us well for like three years.

Helvete · Mar 2, 2016

I'm actually very impressed with the WMP that comes with Windows 10, it's a very big difference from the one in 7 and 8 and can finally play FLAC and other lossless files. I normally run that or VLC depending on which I have open, I like VLC for videos because you can sync a bad audio track and adjust subtitle speed etc.

zkariya · Mar 2, 2016

i use K-Lite Codec Pack Mega for videos

dragonsfire · Mar 2, 2016

I used to use VLC all the time then found out that WMPclassic is sharper images. K-Lite Codec is a must

irn8cctC2uZ · Mar 2, 2016

sirex said:
So, what do you use?

I do not always listen to music. But when I do I use MPlayer. The same goes for videos, and everything you can imagine. When I have to watch DVD or BluRay, I go with VLC or RIP the disc and play with MPlayer.

bpiela · Mar 2, 2016

A few years ago, I ripped my CD collection and used iTunes. I don't mind it. For streaming to the TV, I have a roku on my TV in the bedroom and the living room TV is a smartTV so we just Netflix directly to it.

I never really bought a ton of movies. For music, I was seriously buying CDs for quite a long time. In college, when music was just starting to come out on CD, my friends and I were competitive in trying to be the first one to own a particular CD. I remember telling my friends that I would buy a keg when Rush 2112 came out on CD. When it eventually was released, I didn't even know it. One of my friends gave it to me as a gift and told me that I was buying the keg that evening. Good times. I really slowed down over the last few years but I still have over 2500 CDs floating around the house. I think of them as hard copies.

alkhall · Mar 2, 2016

Although I rarely listen to music on my PC anymore, I have an Auzentech X-Meridian 7.1 2G optically coupled to a Logitech Z-5500 system.

Samsung optical drive.

Windows Media Player works fine; Windows 7 x64.

lostfido · Mar 6, 2016

Plex for everything here. Windows 10 with 6tb of storage as a server, bring a roku on vacation and I have everything. Sync feature to iPhones is easier than iTunes.

calchilihead · May 13, 2016

lostfido said:
Plex for everything here. Windows 10 with 6tb of storage as a server, bring a roku on vacation and I have everything. Sync feature to iPhones is easier than iTunes.

I use a Drobo5N (15TB) with Plex to serve up all my media files. Works like a champ.