calling all Linux users. Old Pentium 4 (R) computer being turned into Netflix HTPC Advice

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Petabyte

Petabyte

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Feb 14, 2015
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Hi all. Right now this old Dell Optiplex GX260 is running Ubuntu 14.04 but it's going really slow so I'm thinking the OS is too much for it. I'm thinking of lightening the load with Xubuntu or Lubuntu and thoughts on a recommended Distro or am I on the right track. Also I'm not too sure the integrated graphics is enough to run Netflix. If I need a GPU what would be the good match for the Pentium 4 single core processor. Cheapest route would be best to give this old bessy a new job to do.
 
Solution
A
Don't waste your money and time. This PC max at 1GB ram (if you can find it), and has only AGP slot.

Get Amazon' Fire TV Stick. You will recoup the $40 just in electricity bills in first two months.
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Alabalcho is right. Rather than pouring more money into this dinosaur buy a ready made solution. It will probably cost you less than a graphics card that will handle the task and will perform better. Alternatively, if you want to roll your own, buy a Raspberry Pi; this will comfortably support HD graphics. Both of these solutions are very cheap and will cost next to nothing to run.
 
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Actually Xubuntu is running nicely. No lag and CPU usage is only hovering 10% with the updater and TOP running. 17% for memory. There's a Netflix App that can be installed for Linux Ubuntu builds. This Graphic card has the minimal 256 Mb VRAM and 3d accelerator. There's cards out there for 25 bucks that'll at least handle Netflix. Rasberri Pi is about 100$ and I don't pay for power so that's not an issue except the environment.
 
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I thought about the Pi though and that may come into play when this dinosaur dies but until then I will run this thing into the ground with Netflix playing cartoons for my daughter. HTPC :)
 
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Don't use the netflix app. It is a WINE wrapper for the windows binary.

Instead use latest google chrome, it has native HTML5 support for netflix. Should play netflix quality 720p just fine on a P4.

Lubuntu is marginally lighter than xubuntu, ~100MB difference. Is it worth it? Hard to say.. only you can judge.

BTW for people saying RPi: Although the RPi has a nice hardware decoder that can handle 1080p at bluray bitrates, There is no support for netflix on the RPi!

A chromecast would be my alternative for netflix
http://www.google.com/chrome/devices/chromecast/
 
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Alright yeah I did a little searching and you say just install Chromium right? So far Xubuntu is working quite well with this old Dell. It is not as nice as Ubuntu but it works. Chromium would be the same as Chrome right? I'm just new to Linux and only started to play with it. Thanks
 
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Chromium is the opensource parts of Google Chrome (tm). Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your views) chromium does not include the relevant DRM modules necessary for netflix (because not opensource) and chrome cannot be distributed by default in ubuntu/mint (licensing).

You can download and install manually from googles website, or add the google chrome ppa and install (and easily keep updated). It is working as of version 38+
http://www.ubuntuupdates.org/ppa/google_chrome
 
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Thing is........There's no High Def TV to connect that stuff too. I already have a Smart Blu-Ray upstairs on main TV. Unless they work with Cathode ray tube. The monitor is a 4:3 LCD with no USB. Just trying to revive this old thing till it dies
 
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again 200$ as opposed to free........or maybe not free because it was worth something when it was bought over a decade ago but reuse I guess :)
 
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hehe well it might cost 20-25 for a GPU. Seems this old intel 845G chipset can't handle Netflix. Choppy as all hell. lol. I've got two newer computers here which one is capable of 4K. It's just I'm trying to get this older one as an HTPC for my 6 year old daughter. Live out it's days streaming. Never used Linux so I figured now would be a good time to wipe WinXP off of it and give Linux a try. Runs better than XP did but Netflix is too much. Plays but un-watchable. Suggest an old GPU that would handle streaming video. 20-40 bucks is what I'm willing to dish out for this project
 
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should be able to run it look

Minimum Requirement
Windows x86 or x64 (Browsers must be in 32-bit mode) 1.6-gigahertz (GHz) or higher processor; 512MB RAM
Macintosh
(Intel-based) Intel Core Duo 1.83-gigahertz (GHz) or higher processor; 512MB RAM
 
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I'm using a Radeon 6450 (pcie) on a HTPC with a single core AMD Sempron, 2gb ram, and it works fine for Netflix with Linux Mint Mate 17.1 and an old 811 g wireless card at resolution 1920x1080. But I did need to overclock the processor to 3.4 ghz in order to overcome choppy playback. My guess is the Radeon 5450 would be ok as long as the screen resolution is low (maybe 1024x768), but I could be wrong.
 
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Yeah good to know. See I knew this old hardware could be good for something. Anyways now my issue is that the Board only has PCI and AGP slots. I've found a few on Amazon like the 512 MB Geforce 6200. I think the Native Resolution on the screen is 1024x768.
 
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Yes but it's not just movies....You can surf the web and doo all the wonderful things a PC can do. Scaled down a bit. I'm quite impressed with what Linux has to offer.
 
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My main concern would be either card's compatibility with the open-source drivers for Linux. I doubt you'll find any proprietary drivers that are usable, so you'll be stuck with the open source versions. I think the open source Radeon drivers are quite good... but with that vid-card, I don't know.
 
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open a terminal and use 'top' to measure cpu usage while running netflix. maybe the cpu or ram is maxed out. maybe try lower the quality settings in netflix.

also maybe this will help. type in chrome address bar:
chrome://flags

and set to enable the option:
'Override software rendering list##ignore-gpu-blacklist'

you can check what settings are enables with chrome://gpu

ps. Please ignore the troll telling you to spend $200 on new hardware, he is obviously in the wrong forum!
 
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Yeah the CPU maxes out while trying to play Vids. You think putting a lighter version be better? Mint perhaps or Lubuntu. Maybe I should just try to get an old dual core. Not sure the P4 will handle. The Ram is fine at about 50% of 1 gig. Also just a note.....When Windows XP was on there it was playing Netflix at a watchable framerate. I'm suspecting the Open Source drivers aren't cutting it but check this out

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/81530/Intel-82845G-Graphics-Controller
 
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