Hi - I'm using the Wiki, but having some problems.

• Beelink S12 Pro Win11

• Old Panasonic TV (TH-40C400Z)

• Harman Karnon Citation 700 Soundbar (single HDMI connection)

When connect PC -> TV -> Soundbar (all HDMI, ARC btw TV and soundbar) I get sound, but the PC sound setting are showing 2.0 only (I guess as that's what my TV supports and the PC thinks I'm just sending audio to my TV)) and I can't change the setting. The TV doesn't seem to have any pass-through/bitstream settings, just CEC on or off.

When I tried to connect both TV and soundbar to PC directly using the two HDMI ports on the PC, the PC doesn't recognise the soundbar, neither as audio device or monitor. All I can under audio devices is my TV and my 3.5 jack pc speakers. So this direct PC to soundbar connection also doesn't work.

Is my best bet to buy an audio exractor? Or is there something I can do with my PC to get it to recognise the soundbar when I connect via HDMI directly to PC?

Okay, so, I fear that this is a stupid question, but, why does it seem so difficult to just, you know, play 4K video files?

A bit about my set up. I have a nice TV (LG CX OLED), and I also use this TV as a computer monitor, hooked up to a not-as-nice Windows PC. IF it matters, I have a GeForce GTX 1060 6GB. To play media files, I generally use VLC, and feel it is great. I also have a PS5 if that helps.

The problem I often encounter, though, is that VLC, as amazing as it is for most applications, does not take kindly to playing 4K media. I have went tough a bunch of those troubleshooting guides online, where you fiddle with arcane settings under VLC's hood. Nothing works--4K video will play for maybe a few seconds and then it will freeze on a certain frame while the sound continues to play. And that's the best case scenario--sometimes it'll just crash. Another issue is that turning on hardware acceleration on VLC also makes it function much worse for other media--I get a strange glitch even on 1080p files where often when pausing a video and then resuming it, the video will freeze on a particular frame as the sound continues. It is very annoying and it means closing the program and then re-opening the video file pretty much every second time I need to pause a video.

I want to be able to utilize my beautiful TV to the fullest extent that it is capable of, but I keep getting stuck with trying new settings for VLC and getting frustrated, or trying new programs that also don't play the files properly. Ideally, I could configure VLC such that it will play media of all resolutions without annoying glitches, but, at this point I would settle for either a different program or a different kind of solution altogether.

Using the tools at my disposal, how can I get 4K media files to play? It doesn't have to be off of my computer, I could get used to playing things off of my PS5 or even my TV, if that would work (I've never used the USB drive and I don't know what it's capable of in that respect). If there's some obvious solution I'm overlooking, feel free to point it out.

Hey guys

I'm setting up some transducer speakers for a racing sim.

I've got a 7.1 card (set to 5.1)

What I'd like to be able to do is just play an mp3 and in turn direct it to each of the 5.1 outputs in turn.

Does anyone know if there is a piece of software that would let you do that ?

I know on the windows speaker configuration page you can click each speaker in turn and get a little jingle out of the speakers, but I want to just have something constantly playing out of each output at a time so I can adjust stuff and then move on to the next speaker.

Been googling around and not found anything as yet.

Someone suggested vb-audio potato but I can't find anything on the page which suggests it can do that.

Grateful for any advice.

Thanks all.

I watch DVDs more than Blu-rays. The price of PowerDVD seems a bit high for me. I'm not sure if it's worth buying. If possible, are there any other recommended DVD player software?

*I AM ONLY 2 DAYS INTO ANYTHING TO DO WITH HIGHER END AUDIO/SPEAKERS I KNOW BASICALLY NOTHING*
I have an onkyo tx sr803, and only 3 speakers. (front right, front left, and center*) It is running from a windows 10 PC via aux to rca with these specs:

• rtx 3060
• ryzen 3700x
• 32gb 3600mhz ram

Things i have found/tried:
checked the cord on both ends, it is plugged in securely
noticed that it does not produce a static sound like the others when there is no sound input
set windows sound to 5.1 since 3.0 doesn't exist
fiddled with the center speaker frequency in the avr

I have a multimeter if anybody knows how that would help see if the speaker itself is broken, they are over 25 years old and havent been used in who knows how long

here is the online version of the manual if you would like to take a look:
https://www.manuals.ca/onkyo/tx-sr803/manual?p=11

I had this older dell optiplex system that's the exact size to fit under my TV cabinet, I went with windows media center as I've wanted to use it on a TV as i didn't have a Pc when it was released, is there any way to manually add metadata (such as poster art) in a way that windows media center is able to view it?

hi, so i have a htpc built up with windows 10 on it, i'm gaming on it too using steam big picture and a controller. i'd like to find a program for windows that essentially acts like a smart tv os and works with remotes when launched. i've tried kodi, and my issue with it is that a lot of the sources i use are very difficult to integrate and not all of them work properly. i've also tried plex, but their software doesn't allow remote navigation and frustratingly doesn't have an exit button when in full screen. also it just takes you to the web browser for streaming services, again not remote friendly. it needs to be able to do Netflix, prime video, channel 4 (uk), youtube etc, in a way that allows me to use a remote. any help greatly appreciated.

I'm trying to watch a 4k HDR Blu-Ray with MPC-HC version 2.2.1 and using madVR version 0.92.17 as the renderer, but it drops most frames and is noticeably only rendering at 4-8 fps, which makes the movie unwatchable. I have posted madVR settings below. Please let me know if there's any other settings I should post to help troubleshoot this or why it might be happening? I feel like I've been searching for hours. Thank you.

If it makes a difference my GPU is connected via HDMI to a Samsung television that supports HDR10+.

As far as I know, only the TV is connected/configured and these are the default settings. If they're not, please somebody let me know what is wrong. I'm not good at this.

https://preview.redd.it/c8ksaa9seyzc1.png?width=1528&format=png&auto=webp&s=303a60d497833ffc557c91de1a97df213dbb49ea

https://preview.redd.it/wnebhe11fyzc1.png?width=1524&format=png&auto=webp&s=61c2854439e5da764474b676bb1b072dcc0606fe

https://preview.redd.it/njmv8wb7fyzc1.png?width=1530&format=png&auto=webp&s=d370f0d76720a7cbffed43f72d4e85999e30a058

https://preview.redd.it/50wgoxp9fyzc1.png?width=1535&format=png&auto=webp&s=83309a6dde40a706e0b08eaa1e11803ce0484ecf

I have a possible upgrade to a Ryzen 3600, 32gb ram and a Radeon 6700XT that I can bring along as part of a potential upgrade. The motherboard, enclosure, and CPU cooler will have to be replaced because it's an ITX build with only 2 SATA ports and the custom water loop won't be suitable for HTPC use.

My existing setup is running an older quad core I5 4690k and a GTX 1070 with 16gb of RAM. It lives under my TV in the living room in an HTPC chassis with 3x 3.5" hard drives on it and an SSD for Windows 10 to run on. I think it has plenty of horsepower for my needs.

Access to my Plex server is shared with a handful of friends and family. At most, I might have 2-3 concurrent remote streams. A lot of my content is downloaded in 4k HDR with surround sound audio and I usually use the Plex app on my TV to watch locally in the home. More and more of it is also coming in HEVC which I don't think the CPU can handle, but the GPU probably can. Bandwidth isn't much of an issue for myself or most of my users - I have fiber to the home and my heaviest viewers do as well.

We use Windows on the PC for watching Youtube in the browser and I'll occasionally use it to run Zwift or other training apps while using the exercise bike. The Youtube app on is just awful enough that we'd rather have a dedicated browser for it.

Is this worth the effort to upgrade? From what I'm reading, I might be a bad idea to go all AMD because of poor support on the transcoder side of things. The extra cores are appealing for the idea of running unraid and some VMs but i'm not sure if this is the right hardware for the job since the best transcoder support seems to be on the Intel/Nvidia side of things. Of course, I can bring my 1070 along for the ride and try to sell the 6700xt.

Hello! I would love to get this subreddit help and tips, so i bought a new oled tv, s90c.

I want to use the new tv quality, hdr and enjoy high quality movies/tv shows that i download/run on the pc.

I read a lot about MadVR and a lot others and i tried some settings but the quality wasn’t there. YouTube app had far superior quality.

would appreciate your help a lot 🙏 Thanks

Hello!

I am playing with the idea to get the SilverStone GD11 however I see room for a 3rd fan in the front - would it be possible to remove the "bracket" and mod it to add a 3rd front intake.

I’ve had my HTPC setup for over 20 years without any issues though I’m thinking there are better options out there now. I currently have all my drives as JBOD on my main machine that streams the movies to a HTPC which runs Kodi. I’m considering an unraid server but I know nothing about unraid and then that means 3 PCs which is a tad overkill. What other options is there?

Hello, I am a complete beginner to HTPC. Ive read a bit from this forum and I have some questions.

So I have an old Dell PC that I plan to turn into a NAS. Ive heard that one of the drives should be for an SSD for cache and the rest should be HDDS. Is this true? Also, do the HDDS have to be in RAID? For right now I will be using some harddrives I have on hand that are only a TB and would like to maximize the amount of storage availabe. As for Software, I dont know which one to get. I am a bit confused on which OpenNAS software to get. The stacked or core one.

As for the HTPC, Ive heard great things about the Nvidia Shield Pro. But here are my concerns/questions.

Ive heard it has ads.

Can it upscale everything? Local media and Streamed Media?

How would I connect the shield to my NAS?

Can I install Jellyfin?

Are there any cheaper or better alternatives?

Now for Media Server.

Does Plex have ads? Are these ads only for their free media? Or do they play while streaming local media or from other services (Netflix, etc..)?

Can you install jellyfin on OpenNas and Shield?

What is the difference between Jellyfin and Plex and what do yall recommend?

Ive heard you have to pay for hardware enconding if you use plex, would it be the same if you use a shield? Is that hardware enconding a server thing?

Also, I dont really care about downloading to other devices.

Does anyone know of a third party YT client with a remote-friendly, 10 foot interface? I know that youtube.com/tv exists, but even after installing a plugin that changes my browser information to that of a TV, it doesn't work that well (it has weird scaling and formatting issues and does not work as a PWA, at least not through firefox). I know that there exist YouTube clients out there (freetube on PC and ReVanced on mobile), so I was wondering if someone knew of a YouTube client similar to that of youtube.com/tv

https://preview.redd.it/ang32wgey8zc1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da072bb6048859dda5cbd07a4362ff5903d07816

Hi,

I’m using this cheap wireless keyboard for my HTPC. It is a Chinese knockoff of a Rii i8 keyboard. The media button usually opens the MPCHC. Can I set it for PlexHTPC?

Sanwa Supply 400-MA134BK

It can be used as a mouse, keyboard, and TV remote control. This controller can be easily connected by simply inserting the receiver, and since it is equipped with a gyro sensor that detects movement, you can use the mouse by moving your wrist. It is also a keyboard that allows you to type.

However, it only supports limited brands of TV as a TV remote control. It supports the following brands.

Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Victor, Sharp, Sanyo, Pioneer, Funai, Epson, EIZO(Nanao), LG Electronics, Uniden, MrMAX, Orion, byd.sign, Azuma, Dynex, TMY, neXXion, CANDELA, Hisense

It uses AA battery.

https://preview.redd.it/w23xjqojn7zc1.jpg?width=1088&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=662f87c15d22e6ae584770f4c3cc1e68a3682b80

IO Data IS-RCKBR

Uses AA battery

https://preview.redd.it/v34noasnn7zc1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a542ce83ab00a7fb676540dffb2e43647b095a0b

Rii I25

Not recommended as it uses built in lithium ion battery.

https://preview.redd.it/d7nzfixon7zc1.jpg?width=802&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7fb5baefe23e512cd278fbd5a647ff2c39d11f6e

G7BTS

Not recommended as it uses built in lithium ion battery.

https://preview.redd.it/qo0cp5mqn7zc1.jpg?width=1105&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86a208535bb545a957372e797b24a6e2c20c06d6

Wechip W7

https://preview.redd.it/0et43j2fo7zc1.jpg?width=701&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a96d3af764c524f4b82712a9f473a12b8d6cc253

G10BTS

https://preview.redd.it/la6prcqxo7zc1.jpg?width=475&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1fb442bdd1ad6f2e513db87a97a56cbaadb8a443

Unique Air Track MAT001GR

https://preview.redd.it/j2byfqrhp7zc1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=531291660d2ae2d36e1c8ee175a856f1238dd8d5

Elecom M-RT1DRBK

https://preview.redd.it/1sz5a5wnp7zc1.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9dd6bc5659daa084cc53aac1e0b0f85f595f37d

Salutations!

Would it be possible to use a 4.1 or 4.0 setup for my desktop?

I'm using a LGC2 with an hdmi earc port as my monitor. I thought about getting an AVR since I definitely have the space. I don't really think a center speaker would fit and it wouldn't look aesthetically pleasing on my setup.

​

I'm looking at the Polk ES15 as L/R fronts and ES10 as surrounds. The distance between me and each speaker would be about 1.5 meters.

​

The purpose would be gaming and music. Has anyone built a similar setup?

​

Thank you for any input!

Problem statement: I want my Windows 11 PC connected to my home theater to function in a way that is equivalent to my Playstation 5.

To me this means the following requirements:

• If I turn off my TV with its remotes, it should put my PC to sleep.
• At any time Windows would turn the display OFF the TV and the receiver should turn off.
  • This should be at the time of any display off event: it was idle or I explicitly told it to sleep or shut down,
  • This should only happen if the PC is the current video input source. I do not want this to happen if the PC idles while I am using some other device like my Apple TV or Playstation.
• At any time Windows would turn the display ON:
  • If the TV and/or receiver are off, they should turn on and switch to the PC input on the receiver.
  • If the TV/receiver are active and the receiver is on some other input source, they should switch to the PC input on the receiver.

Example use-cases, which should be familiar to anyone who uses a PS5:

• If my setup is off and I turn on the controller, everything should turn on and show audio/video from the PC.
• If my setup is running and I walk away, when the PC idles the TV/receiver should turn off and the PC suspends. The same thing should happen if I turn the TV off with its remote, or I tell Steam Big Picture to sleep the PC.
• If I’m using my Apple TV and decide I want to use the PC, turning on the PC controller should be sufficient to switch the audio/video to the PC.
• If I’m playing playstation and the PC goes to sleep, the TV/receiver are not turned off.

My setup is a Sony XBR-900F television connected to a Yamaha receiver, from the receiver output to the TV’s HDMI3 input. The PC is connected to the Yamaha receiver on the HDMI1 input port. I have a Pulse Eight USB-CEC adapter in between the PC and the receiver.

I have an Apple TV and a PS5 connected to other input ports on the receiver.

I have a USB dongle for my XBOX controller which is able to wake the PC up from sleep when I turn on the controller.

My interface to this PC is Steam Big Picture mode using the controller.

This is surprisingly difficult to get working the way I want and I can’t be the first person who wants the system to behave this way. The CEC Tray application doesn’t seem to be sufficient to get this to work. I think I need to have something monitor display on/off events in Windows and invoke CECtray with a script or something, but I’m not sure the best way to go about this.

Hoping somebody out there has gotten this to work reliably end-to-end and has a configuration to share.

Hello, I recently got a samsung q930c and I couldn't figure how to get the full experience with dolby and dtsx when using a pc. I've read some threads about potplayer and tried to setup via instructions but still get no success. What exactly do I need to set up in windows and potplayer to take advantage of the dolby and dtsx, I m kinda new into audio stuff so I might be asking dumb questions. Also, if there are any easier ways to get movies from my pc to my tv I would be interested in any suggestions. My pc has a 4070 with 13600k on a z790 board.

https://preview.redd.it/694c6p1ysgyc1.jpg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ce335a8ecda52fb646d6ab7db7bcb5bb334a508

Hello, fellow htpc fans!

I'm excited to share with you the heart of my living room - my HTPC setup that's been with me since 2010. It's an Antec VERIS Fusion Remote Max that has gracefully aged and adapted through the years.

As you can see, it's nestled perfectly in the TV cabinet , harmonizing with the room's modern yet cozy feel. The HTPC isn't just a machine; it's a part of my home's story, witnessing countless movie marathons, intense gaming nights, and lazy Sunday afternoons.

I've made several upgrades over the years, ensuring it keeps up with the times without losing its essence. It's more than just a piece of technology; it's a testament to the memories we've built around it.

I'd love to see your setups, and rooms, too! Share your HTPC stories and how they fit into your life and space.

Looking forward to your posts!

Cheers!

My current HTPC is starting to show its age.

We basically use it as a streaming machine rather than a proper HTPC, with a few mix&match players I have installed.

Currently on a 1080p Plasma that will be upgraded eventually to a 4k tv. So I'm currently running 1080p hvec, but will move to 4k30 HDR H.265 for new tv. (GPU limited to HDMI 2.0)

Programs:

• Windows 10 with ShutUp10++ to streamline background apps
• PotPlayer (no added madVR yet)
• Jellyfin (started using it, but haven't put time into plugins and management)
• Streaming (YouTube, Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime)
• Steam Streaming over LAN from main PC

Current Build:

• Athlon 5350 AM1 cpu
• 8gigs 1600mhz RAM
• GT 1030

-ML03b case

I'll be replacing the MB, RAM, CPU, and PSU all in one go and will more than likely be buying used components. Right now, I'm looking at Ryzen 3 CPUs as AM4 would give me an upgrade path that would see this system through another 10+ years probably. Plus the lower heat output in this case is better because I can only do LP coolers.

Is there any concern about CPUs when using gpu hardware acceleration?

besides the RT726 Rii i4 bluetooth, is there others with scroll wheel ? thx

Greetings. Please let me know what I screwed up. I plan to direct play 4k remux (~80gb files) locally and would like to be able to handle 3-5 transcodes remotely. I plan to also use for virtualization/docker outside of being a Plex server. I'll also store drone videos and high res images (real estate). Thank you kindly for your time.

OS: unRAID

Case ($189) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QKMQ1B1/?coliid=I1Q6J6TWREWFVD&colid=167FC9BW92UWO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

NVMe (OS) 512 GB ($36.99) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XJ2P1LK/?coliid=IG3Q0TGRJOZCI&colid=167FC9BW92UWO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

NVMe (Cache) 1TB ($61.99) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XHMBQK3/?coliid=I1K0ZAU6CXPKJR&colid=167FC9BW92UWO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Storage (3 drives) ($389.97) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08K3TR9HD/?coliid=I2G8OU43XVKX0P&colid=167FC9BW92UWO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

CPU ($239.99) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ27H8VY/?coliid=ICN52X4FM6C2O&colid=167FC9BW92UWO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

CPU Fan ($44.95) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HCLB7M3/?coliid=I3TSHQBXSDDADD&colid=167FC9BW92UWO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

MOBO ($369.99) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCXP1BXM/?coliid=I1X7H6I0X7BUEN&colid=167FC9BW92UWO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Power Supply 550W ($118.99) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CPXKV6NV/?coliid=I3K27M0H1HA426&colid=167FC9BW92UWO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Future (for expansion) SlimSAS 4x to SATA https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087TD48X4/?coliid=I2TS6QM9LBAQE0&colid=167FC9BW92UWO&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I want to buy a system to play 4K video streamed from my jellyfin server, I will install arch with Lodi on it. I have two systems that I need to choose between. The first one has a i5 7400t with 8gb of ram. The second one has a i3 8100t with 4gb of ram. Thanks for your help!

I have a media pc setup in my living room that I primarily use to access my video/music drives from my roku on. However, I'd like to access it directly to use a wireless mouse/keyboard for browsing the internet on occasion.

My issue is that I have a "tick tick tick" sound that comes through my home theater receiver. The sound never stops and it's a pretty quick repeating sound. The volume of it is fairly low and it's not a very high/low frequency.

The PC doesn't have an HDMI plug on it, so I'm using a VGA->HDMI converter. The converter has an 1/8" audio input jack on it so it can send both video and audio through the HDMI directly to the receiver. I've tried using that with a basic audio cable that you would use to go from a computer to a speaker set on your desk and I got the noise.

I tried buying a better insulated cable, still get the noise.

I tried using the jack on the back of the computer and the front, both do the same thing.

I also tried to go directly from the PC to stereo RC jack inputs on the receiver, I get the same noise.

I also tried a USB sound card... same issue.

I was thinking of trying to find a PCIE SPDIF/Toslink card to go from the PC directly to the receiver and see what that does... but thought I'd ask on here and maybe a forum or two to see what others thought.

What's odd is the "tick tick tick" seems to goes away when there is audio playing at a decent volume. But as soon as I pause video or audio, I can hear it and it gets a bit louder after a few seconds.

I should probably try to plug in some wired headphones to the jacks to see if I hear it through them. I'm not sure I have any wired headphones around anymore, everything I have is USB or bluetooth. But I suppose it's worth a try just to see if maybe it's the video adapter causing it for some reason... although, when I unplug the audio, the sound goes away while I still see the picture fine (which is connected through the receiver).

Greetings, I currently am using a late 2014 Intel Mac Mini as an HTPC. I do not use Plex or anything. I just use a mouse to watch Youtube in the browser and VLC to watch media that I may or may not torrent. I have had the Mac Mini for 10 years now and put in an SSD a few years ago which gave it new life.

It looks like the new Mac Minis are pretty expensive so I was thinking a MiniPC running Ubuntu. I see MinisForum has some sales on MiniPCs so my question in Intel or AMD and which model MiniPC for my use case.

I can’t decide on whether to use MadVR on my HTPC and get the benefits of upscaling and tone mapping or to use a nvidia shield and be able to play Dolby vision. What would be the best quality?

I have an older Harmony remote that I use to do some control over my own PC which I've modded to mount the Inteset IR receiver. That allows me to power on and off the PC, but I'd like to use mouse control in Windows to gain full functionality over the device. Does such a thing exist either as a commercial project or a maker device?

Use case: I run Kodi as the primary interface, but I also use the MS Store streaming apps because they're just plain less janky than the Kodi add-ons and generally offer much less friction. This means that I have to pick up a mouse or a controller to point at and start a movie or TV show.

Edit: I do not want to watch my movies on my phone. I don't need to stream my movies. I just need to have an easy way of tracking my physical movie collection so I am no longer repeatedly buying the same movie. Since all of my movies have been ripped and added to my HTPC, the Kodi movies database file is the most straightforward way of tracking what movies I own. So I'm looking for some form of an app that's much like Libib, but all I need to do point the theoretical app to the database so it can populate a list that is searchable. So if I am in the store and I have say... "There Will Be Blood" in my hand and IDK if I own it, I can just open the app and search for it, if it shows up, then I know I own it and I won't make the mistake of buying a movie I already own.

I have a pretty large movie collection that I've ripped and added to my library on my HTPC to which I use Kodi for consuming. Unfortunately my age is starting to be a disservice to me, I have recently started buying movies that I already have copies of, I just don't have the money to waste like that, ya know? So I'm looking for an app much like Libib, this is an app for tracking my physical collection, but I'm just not willing to go through and add all 3000+ of my movies, not if I don't have to... If there's an app like this that will allow me to simply import my Kodi movies db... This would be great. So does anybody have any suggestions?

Note: I do use Yatse as my Kodi remote and I absolutely love it, however, I recently had to factory reset my phone along with freshly install Windows and I've not fully set either of them back up.

I am aware is trakt, but I'm not interested in paying for a service that could shut down at any point for whatever reason. I need something that's local and operates independently of Kodi and Yatse with a user friendly UI.

If anybody has a suggestion that meets my requirements of importing my database, I'd greatly appreciate it.

And Pihole as well. If I get an old SFF pc and load Linux on it, is there a tutorial out there to load it up with packages and other apps to use as a home media center?