HTPC Software

htpc build

HTPC Software –

CouchPotato
CouchPotato, a plug-in for SABnzbd, is an automatic NZB and torrent downloader. You can keep a “movies I want”-list and it will search for NZBs/torrents of these movies every X hours. Once a movie is found, it will send it to SABnzbd or download the .nzb or .torrent to a specified directory.

NzbDrone
NzbDrone is very similar to SickBeard without the torrent support. Just like SickBeard, NzbDrone is a PVR for newsgroup users, it watches for new episodes of your favorite shows and when they are posted it downloads them, sorts and renames them.

nzbStatus adds control of and monitor of Sabnzbd to your Mozilla Firefox browser. It also grabs download nzb files and sends them directly to Sabnzbd.

Maraschino
Maraschino is a clean web interface that provides a quick overview of programs such as XMBC, SickBeard, and Sabnzbd. It also gives you control of your XBMC machine, allowing you to access its library and use the webpage as a remote for your XBMC pc.

OpenElec – a free and open source embedded operating system providing a complete media center software suite that comes with a pre-configured version of XBMC and third-party addons with retro video game console emulators and PVR plugins. OpenELEC is an extremely small and very fast booting Linux based distribution, primarily designed to be booted from flash memory card such as CompactFlash or a solid-state drive, similar to that of the XBMC Live distro but specifically targeted to a minimum set-top box hardware setup based on an Intel x86 processor and graphics.

  • Install Guide

Plex Media Server

Plex Media Center

Python 2.7.2
Python is a programming language widely used across multi platforms. Installing Python will enable you to install XMBC add-ons such as Maraschino.

Python Setup Tools
Python Setup Tools is an add-on for Python, enabling easier configuration of Python packages. Installing Python Setup Tools will making install HTPC software such as Maraschino much easier.

Raspbmc – a minimal Linux distribution based on Debian that brings XBMC to your Raspberry Pi. This device has an excellent form factor and enough power to handle media playback, making it an ideal component in a low HTPC setup, yet delivering the same XBMC experience that can be enjoyed on much more costly platforms. Raspbmc is brought to you by the developer of the Crystalbuntu Linux Distribution, which brings XBMC and 1080p decoding to the 1st generation Apple TV.

  • Install Guide
SABconnect++ adds one-click ‘Send to SABnzbd’ buttons to many popular NZB index sites.You also get a taskbar button that allows you to keep an eye on your SABnzbd install: current downloads, pause (individual downloads, or pause all), or remove individual queued downloads.

Sabnzbd
Sabnzbd is a open source binary newsreader. This is an absolute must for downloading from your usenet provider. If you are planning a HTPC build, the first HTPC software to install is Sabnzbd.

Sickbeard

Sick Beard, a plug-in for SABnzbd, is a PVR for newsgroup users. It watches for new episodes of your favorite shows and when they are posted it downloads them, sorts and renames them, and optionally generates metadata for them.

XBian– an XBMC and linux-based OS (based on Raspbian) distribution for the Raspberry Pi, created and maintained by Koenkk

  • Install Guide

XBMC
XBMC is an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media player and entertainment hub for digital media. XBMC functions very well as a standard media player application for your computer and has been designed to be the perfect companion for your HTPC build.

Windows Resource Kit 2003
The Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools are a set of tools to help administrators streamline management tasks such as troubleshooting operating system issues, managing Active Directory®, configuring networking and security features, and automating application deployment. We’ll be using this kit to create services for our HTPC software.