Ubuntu Home Theater PC Part 2: Software & Setup

First and foremost, we'll need to get Ubuntu. I recommend downloading the newest version Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex. Make sure to download PC (Intel x86) desktop CD and not the AMD64 bit version, as the 64 bit version of Ubuntu is not currently supported by Boxee. Burn the file to CD. (I used InfraRecorder)

Make sure to sign up for Boxee.

The Installation of Ubuntu should be straightforward. Select your language, and run Ubuntu from the Live CD. I recommend this to make sure your computer doesn't have any compatibility issues with Ubuntu. Test out the internet, test out sound, fiddle around a little and when you're happy, install Ubuntu!

If you need additional support, take a look at the Ubuntu Help Section. If you have Windows or any other operating system already installed, and you want the option to use both. This is an excellent Guide to follow. If you're too squemish to partition your hard drive, you can only run the WUBI installer that is on the live CD. So just go into Windows normally and run the installer from Inside Windows. It'll install Ubuntu without any partitioning, so you don't have to backup your data. However, Ubuntu installed in this method is not as fast or effective as the traditional method, as you still have to defrag your hard drive.

So, once you have Ubuntu installed, lets get working. First and foremost, we need to update and download the right packages. While everything can be done graphically, to speed things up we'll use the terminal. (Don't worry, if you can copy and paste you'll be fine).

Click on Applications > Accessories > Terminal
In the terminal, paste this and hit enter:
sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/intrepid.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list
Type in your password and watch it go. This adds the Medibuntu respository which will install flash, java, and a variety of codexs to play videos and audio.

Next, type this in:
wget -q http://packages.medibuntu.org/medibuntu-key.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add - && sudo apt-get update
and enter your password.

This will install medibuntu packages and update Ubuntu.

Now copy and paste this into the terminal:
sudo apt-get remove gnash gnash-common libflashsupport mozilla-plugin-gnash swfdec-mozilla && sudo apt-get install alsa-oss faac faad flashplugin-nonfree gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse gstreamer0.10-pitfdll libavcodec-unstripped-51 libmp3lame0 non-free-codecs sun-java6-fonts sun-java6-jre sun-java6-plugin unrar

It installs support for flash, java, video codecs and other goodies.

If that went well, you can move onto the next step, installing Boxee! If you haven't registered for Boxee already, make sure you do that now at http://www.boxee.tv/

Go to System > Administration > Software Sources.

In Sources Software, select Third-Party Software tab, click Add, and enter:
deb http://apt.boxee.tv intrepid main

Go back to the terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)
enter
sudo apt-get install boxee.

Give Boxee a whirl, Applications > Sound & Video > Boxee

You can use a wireless mouse or keyboard, or a PC remote to control it. Post your experience with it and email me if you need any help.

Oh, and just for fun, if you have a Wiimote and a blue tooth adapter for your PC, you can control your Ubuntu HTPC with your Wiimote!

I'll post some videos of the setup a bit later.



Troubleshooting:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=766683
http://forum.boxee.tv/forumdisplay.php?f=4