Wizard of OS

At last, a subject that I already know something about.

There two choices for operating systems to run on your HTPC: Windows and some version of Linux (Red Hat, Ubuntu, CentOS, to name a few). So which OS is the best? Well, to misquote Hans Solo, I've been from one end of this galaxy to the other and I've seen a lot of crazy operating systems, and I don't really like either Windows or Linux. Window's problems are well known and I won't dredge them up here, plus it costs money. Linux is free, but you get what you pay for. I'm rather a fan of the original UNIX myself, although I realize that it was not perfect. At least, when an upgrade to the operating system came out, programs that use to work will continue to do so, because UNIX understood the importance of backward compatibility. Linux seems to take the attitude that, no one uses that programming interface any more, so we don't need to support it. Well guys, not every software application is open source, and not every programming shop wants to spend time rewriting their app because of your whims. We'd rather spend time putting in new features. (Getting off soapbox now.)

I would say that, if you're familiar with Linux and like a challenge, then pick your favorite flavor and go for it. Otherwise, buy Windows.

There is also one other driving factor and that is the driver software for the hardware, such as the TV Tuner cards. If there isn't software support for your hardware in the operating system of your choice, then you're shiny new hardware is useless to you. This is also true of the software that you are planning to use to record programs. Look at the operating systems that it supports, and let that drive your decision. In my case, the TV Tuner card that I chose is supported on Windows Vista but not Linux, so Vista it is.

The next question is which version of Windows? And I don't mean XP vs Vista vs Windows 7. I mean Home vs Business vs Ultimate. I suspect that Home is sufficient for an HTPC, but see which version that your recording software supports. In most cases the recording software won't care which version of Windows, but you should check anyway. Wait, what's this? It's a message from the future! It says, "Vista Business doesn't have have a DVD Decoder for playing DVDs and getting a cheap or free one is hard on 64-bit Vista. Get Home or Ultimate instead."

Then there comes the age old question: Retail vs OEM. OEM is significantly cheaper, but officially you should get that version if you are building this machine for resale and only if you are planning to support it yourself. So, if you already know something about Windows, and can are up to a challenge, buy the OEM version, otherwise buy Retail.

For my HTPC, I went with Windows Vista Business, because I am fond of the remote desktop feature. I also got the OEM version because, if there's a problem that I can't solve, Microsoft customer support won't be able answer it either. (I have also found that Microsoft's knowledge base articles have many, many answers in them. Go to msdn.microsoft.com to search them.) Finally, I got the 64-bit version, since the CPU is a 64-bit microprocessor. I've been warned that there may not be 64-bit driver software for all of my hardware, but I'm going to plow ahead.

You may have noticed that I have not touched much on the recording software. This is because I haven't done the research on them. I'm planning of starting with the trail version of Sage TV and seeing how that works. Once I have some opinions on this subject, I'll blog about it.

So, next up, the final shopping list.