Is Linux (Mint or uBuntu or ???) right for me?

[FatherSaint 7]

My current Emby-HTPC-Win11 setup works perfectly, but I keep reading about how Linux is so much more efficient than Windows for this and, of course, it's simply not Windows so that's another plus.

All of that having been said, I am wondering if it would be reasonable for an absolute Linux newbie to jump into this particular pool AND if such a newbie is likely to have success doing so??

• I retired from a support role in IT, so I'm very comfortable in the Windows world but know next to nothing about Linux.
• My Emby server is a dedicated Intel/nVidia HTPC with a bare metal installation - no Docker or anything like that.
• I have a lifetime Emby Premiere license, if that matters to the functionality of Linux

Any thoughts, insights or direction on this would be much appreciated!

[Q-Droid 649]

If you happen to have a second machine laying around try Linux on that one. You can reuse your Emby premiere key on multiple servers. Then when you feel confident enough make the switch if you think it's worth doing.

Linux is a tool, not a religion.

 

[FatherSaint 7]

2 minutes ago, Q-Droid said:

If you happen to have a second machine laying around try Linux on that one. You can reuse your Emby premiere key on multiple servers. Then when you feel confident enough make the switch if you think it's worth doing.

Linux is a tool, not a religion.

 

Excellent idea! Sadly, I have only our main workstation and the Emby HTPC. I could probably find an Amazon refurb pretty cheap to use for this, though.

Something to think about for sure. Honestly, my plan was to back up the current installation and do whole-hog with Linux. My wife, who is watching the shows in the Chicago universe, would not appreciate any significant downtime while I mess around and figure out how to make it all work...

Yeah, good idea, thank you.

[Q-Droid 649]

WAF is usually high on the list. If you jump in there will be downtime. If your Win box is truly an HTPC it can take a long time to replicate that on Linux, if ever. With your background you know exactly what it's like to have someone over your shoulder asking if it's working yet.

 

[richt 73]

Sounds like you have good reasons to not interrupt the status quo.  And as Q-Droid said, the learning curve to get it up and running in Linux could take some time. 

I also worked in IT, but made the transition from Windows to Linux while on the job so switching my desktop and my Emby PC to Linux was less of a climb, but well worth it as some of my hardware is aging out of the Windows realm (won't run Win 11).  I think Q-Droid has a great idea, pick up a used PC and install Linux on it.  Get to know how to do things in it as some functions are wildly different than Windows, starting with users, folder / file permissions, mounting local drives, mapping network drives, and a lot more.  Aside from that, I recommend Linux Mint, mainly because I like the ease of use it provides.  Since it is based on Ubuntu, there are more than enough answers that apply to it through a google search. 

Edited April 17 by richt

[FatherSaint 7]

21 hours ago, richt said:

Sounds like you have good reasons to not interrupt the status quo.  And as Q-Droid said, the learning curve to get it up and running in Linux could take some time.

Thank you! And thank you for your distribution recommendation - I was leaning toward Mint as it seems to be the most novice-friendly, so it's great to have someone who knows what they're doing recommend it.

Now I'm thinking what FLAVOR of Mint to install and I'm leaning toward MATE instead of Cinnamon. Time will tell, I guess.

I found a refurb which hopefully won't take forever to arrive because I'm chomping at the bit to get going on this. It's nothing to write home about, but should be sufficient for a good test setup of Linux and Emby.

HP Z2 Tower G4 Workstation
Intel Core i7 8700K (Coffee Lake)
32GB DDR4-2666 (1333 MHz)
Dell NVIDIA Quadro P400 (2GB)

[Q-Droid 649]

That would make for quite a nice Emby server. The quadro p400 won't be of much use. 

Don't make the mistake that many new to Linux do and go for YouTuber distros. Unless you have a specific known reason to deviate then stick with major distros and current products. Cinnamon is the more current desktop and likely has better support for your HTPC needs. But if you run into dead ends then by all means try other things. 

 

[FatherSaint 7]

24 minutes ago, Q-Droid said:

Unless you have a specific known reason to deviate then stick with major distros and current products.

Thank you for this, it makes sense. Logically, I should go for the mainstream approach. If, like you said, I DO run into issues I could try MATE or whatever.

I'll rebuild my USB drive (Rufus 4x) with the current Cinnamon and try to find something to keep my mind off the pending delivery date.

[Lessaj 61]

The only difference between the flavors really is which desktop environment is pre-installed. Technically you can have multiple desktop environments and it's even possible to switch between them but it's probably not a good idea to have more than one. For the most part, with regards to Emby administration, you're going to be working out of a terminal anyway, which you can do from your Windows PC too via SSH, so it doesn't really matter which one you pick. Unless of course you want to learn to use a linux desktop more, then you should go with a desktop environment that you like to work with and that might take some experimentation. MATE and Cinnamon are fairly lightweight, as well as XFCE - Gnome and KDE are heavier but may seem more modern/polished.

Also if you install Ventoy on your USB you can copy multiple live ISO to it and boot each one to see which DE you like, you don't have to put just one ISO onto the USB it lets you boot from any number of ISO.

Edited April 18 by Lessaj

[TMCsw 122]

I’m a little late here but I would also suggest (as some above have) keeping it basic here.

Start with Debian 12, when you install it it will give you the option to install one or more of the fallowing desktops/options: Source

I don’t Recommend GNOME (ugly and clunky out of the box but after a lot of customization is OK (it’s the Ubuntu default) puke!). Cinnamon is the simplest for beginners but MATE isn’t so bad either. I prefer KDE Plasma (more advanced). (Note you can install none if you wish and pick others later from other sources) (also you can also add Proxmox to this later (excellent for VM’s LXC’s etc.)

But your best friend for Linux is the terminal (be it launched from the desktop or via ssh).

Before you start (if your still waiting or not for the HW) look for info on the following Linux topics on youtube or articles:

1. directory structure
2. permissions
3. systemd
4. SMB(Samba)/NFS

 

Edited April 19 by TMCsw

[FatherSaint 7]

On 4/18/2024 at 8:41 PM, TMCsw said:

I’m a little late here but I would also suggest (as some above have) keeping it basic here.

Start with Debian 12, when you install it it will give you the option to install one or more of the fallowing desktops/options: Source

I don’t Recommend GNOME (ugly and clunky out of the box but after a lot of customization is OK (it’s the Ubuntu default) puke!). Cinnamon is the simplest for beginners but MATE isn’t so bad either. I prefer KDE Plasma (more advanced). (Note you can install none if you wish and pick others later from other sources) (also you can also add Proxmox to this later (excellent for VM’s LXC’s etc.)

But your best friend for Linux is the terminal (be it launched from the desktop or via ssh).

Before you start (if your still waiting or not for the HW) look for info on the following Linux topics on youtube or articles:

1. directory structure
2. permissions
3. systemd
4. SMB(Samba)/NFS

 

Thank you! This is great. I have the new PC to use for testing Linux and was pleasantly surprised to find that it's exactly as advertised and works very well. I had to be away for a bit, but am looking forward to getting into this now.

Thanks again for your help!