Perfect Home Entertainment System

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

After Installing Ubuntu Run these commands First

- sudo apt update; sudo apt upgrade

- sudo apt install vlc

- sudo apt install ubuntu-restricted-extras

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.

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:-
          • Oreo Cursors ( https://www.pling.com/p/1360254/ )
            • Under Download Button Click Oreo_spark_purple_cursor.tar.gz
          • Sweet GNOME Theme ( https://www.pling.com/p/1253385/ )

            • Under Download Button Click Sweet-Dark.tar.gz

          • Mac-OS BigSur Icons(I recommend MacOS bigsur Icons since it looks beautiful on bigscreens) ( https://www.pling.com/p/1427387/ )
            • Under Download button Click BigSur-Originals-KDE.zip
          • After downloading them proceed to the next Sub-step
     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

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.

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

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