Introduction: Perfect Home Entertainment System

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In this Article I would like to share the knowledge about creating the Perfect HTPC environment Using Linux

Supplies

After Installing Ubuntu Run these commands First

- sudo apt update; sudo apt upgrade

- sudo apt install vlc

- sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

Step 1: Setting Up Ubuntu

I recommend Ubuntu for this project because it is one of the most easiest OS to customize is is very lightweight and can run on very old devices and low-end devices

The Minimum Specs I recommend are

  • 2GB RAM
  • 64-bit Processor

After Installing the OS (Guide:- https://help.ubuntu.com/lts/installation-guide/ ) , Update it.


Step 2: Customising Ubuntu to Make It TV Freindly

  1. Go to Settings > Appearence
    • Enable Auto-Hide the Dock(this will enable us to hide the dock and will not show the dock while watching Video)
    • Increase the Icon Size (to make the icons visible from distance)
    • change the Position on Screenss to bottom(setting it to bottom will give us space to fit maximum icons)
  2. Install Gnome-tweak-tool
    • Open the Terminal
    • type sudo apt install gnome-tweak-tool (then press enter)
    • Now it will ask for password, type in your password and then press enter
    • It will start installing
    • After installing the tool Proceed to the next sub-step
  3. Now open firefox and go to https://extensions.gnome.org/
    • Now click on "Click here to install browser extension" to install the gnome-extension plugin
    • After installing the plugin Search these & Enable:
      1. User Themes
      2. Caffeine(It is a very useful extension to prevent sleeping of pc on a click)
      3. Panel OSD(It will enble us to customise the position of the pop-up notifications
      4. Setting Up Custom Theme
        • To set up Custom Theme go to Pling....Proceed to next Sub-step
      1. Files For Configuring Gnome-Tweak-Tool
        • Then Search for the Following things and Download them(download the in the downloads folder) > after clicking the install button Click the option as given in the list below:-
      2. After downloading the files Extract them
        • Then go to your Home Directory then from the menu options enable Show Hidden Files
          • Then Create a folder named .themes and then copy and paste the extracted folder of Sweet GNOME Theme under it
          • and also create another folder named .icons and the copy and paste the extracted folders of Mac-OS BigSur Icons & Oreo Cursors
      3. Configuring Gnome-Tweak-Tool:-
        1. Go to the Fonts Section change the Scaling factor to 1.2(or to your comfortable value)
        2. Then Go to Extension and click on the gear icon .....after clicking it a dialog box will pop up then change the values to 99%.(this will move the notification pop up to a corner)
        3. Then Go to Appearence Section
          1. Now select these settings as Given in the picture below

      You Have Sucessfully Customized Ubuntu

Step 3: Setting Up Apps

Install these apps from the App Store

    • Spotify

Now To setup External apps we will Need a Browser

For This I recommend Brave Browser which has great in-built ad blocking features which will block ads while watching sites such as Youtube

Follow these steps To add an app:-

  • Go to the Website that you like to make it an app (example:- Youtube.com)
  • after going to the site Click on the browser menu(3 dot icon) and from the list select More Tools > Create Shortcut..
  • After Clicking Create shortcut a dialog will popup and select the option Open as window
  • Your App is Created! Follow the same steps to add other websites and apps
  • After this go to the Launcher(press the SuperKey) and then search the app you just created(Example: youtube) then right click on it and click Add to favourites.

Step 4: Setting Up KDE-Connect to Remotely Control Your Media Center

I recommend this Guide by RealLinuxUser:- https://www.reallinuxuser.com/how-to-install-and-s...

Step 5: Enjoy

Now you have got the Perfect HTPC setup which is compatible with every app and website!