Looking for an "all-in-one" solution...(Media center, games, emus, the works)

[yalborap]

Well, my title pretty much tells you what I need.

Simply put, I'm trying to rig up a media center/HTPC kinda thing. I want access to both my media, and my games(currently just emulators, for convenience).

Now, I'm pretty open on which OS I use. Linux, Windows, whatever.

HOWEVER, I've got a few requirements;

Easy to set up. I'm a relatively intelligent guy, but I don't want to have to dig through thick config files to figure out how to make the bloody thing work.

FREE. I am also broke. So if it's commercial, it's a no-go.

Can handle SMB shares and the like. This is going on a low-capacity machine, with all the space dedicated to games. It needs to be able to have the media on a separate machine that's still on the network, or via USB.


Is there anything that can do all of this, or am I out of luck?

Thanks in advance!

[loadman]

Sounds like GameEX to me.

There is a free version

[yalborap]

Hrm, that MIGHT work...Are there any other options, though? I'd really rather avoid a program with nag screens.

[Xam]

Hrm, that MIGHT work...Are there any other options, though? I'd really rather avoid a program with nag screens.

You can purchase the program to get rid of the nag screen.

Xam

[gonzo90017]

You could try using Mamewah then try integrating VLC media player. I could get you started with Mamewah.
Mamewah Pack 1.62.zip

This pack contains the following systems

32x
Gameboy Advance
gameboycolor
gamegear
Genesis
lynx (you need a bios image called lynxboot.img)
mame (you need to include your own version)
mastersystem
Model 2
n64
Nebula
neogeopocket
nes
Raine
Winkawaks (to exit it's necessary to press ENTER to pause the game, then Alt+F4 to exit)
zinc
Zsnesd

Installation

1. Unzip the zip file in your C:\ Drive in other words C:\juegos

2. Go inside Mamewah's folder (C:\juegos\Mamewah) and launch Setup.bat it
   takes a few seconds to install. When it's done press OK

3. Put your roms in the "roms" folder for every emulator you would like to use. Do
   the same for the snaps and videos (for Nebula,Winkawaks,Raine, and Zinc use Mame's folders)

4. Launch every emulator and adjust the controls to your liking. For Zsnes once your done
   open zsnesw.cfg and change this line GUIDisable = 0 to GUIDisable = 1 other wise you'll go
   back to Zsnes's menu instead of to the frontend when trying to exit.

5. This package doesn't include a mame version since everyone uses a differnt on
   just unzip your version inside C:\juegos\mame\

6. If you want background music during the game selection screen put your mp3's
   inside C:\juegos\musica

GENERATING GAME LISTS

 Launch Mamewah located in inside C:\juegos\Mamewah
 Press Keyboard key "2". Choose "Select Platform" and press 1
 You'll be presented with a list of emulators, choose one then press 1
 then press "2"> Game List Options> Generate list.

DEFAULT KEYS
 "1" Launches a game when selected and also serve as select when in the menu
 "2" Brings up the Menu
 "3" Previous Emulator
 "4" Next Emulator
 "ESC" Exits the game and also exits Mamewah when in Mamewah

All of these keys can be change. You have to modify "Mamewah.cfg" located
in C:\juegos\Mamewah\config instructions are located in the "docs" folder in
a file called "controles"

You can also change the keys to exit the emulators, since i'm using
Closemul. Read "Closemul - Readme"

If you don't want or need a particular emulator just delete it from 2 folders
C:\juegos\Mamewah\config and C:\juegos\

For those of you who have pc's that won't run NeoGeo, Capcom or any other
mame games I have included some "alternative" emulators:Nebula, Winkawaks, and Raine
For Capcom and Neogeo I recommend Nebula.If there's a Mame game that runs
slowly give Raine a try. List of Raine supported games: http://www.rainemu.com/games/

[yalborap]

Hrm, that MIGHT work...Are there any other options, though? I'd really rather avoid a program with nag screens.

You can purchase the program to get rid of the nag screen.

Xam

You will note that I am broke. Therefore, solutions lacking in 'buy this!' are ideal.

Also, thanks for the advice, gonzo. I'll probably go with Mamewah if I can make it work or just resort to a media-free solution.

[youki]

You can try Media Portal :

http://www.team-mediaportal.com/


Or you can try also AtomicFE and his plug'n play modules.   http://www.atomicfe.com     

[NOP]

Sounds to me like you want an xbox.  (not a 360)

Get a used xbox1 ($50 tops) get it modded, load it up with XBMC and put all the emulators on it.  It's not that difficult to configure, is very much wife-friendly as far as the interface goes, emulates every console up to the PS1, streams all sorts of media from the network and there is a huge support/user base.  Oh yeah, it plays xbox games too. 

For a minimal investment you can get the hardware that is designed to hook up to TV and the software that does everything you're asking for.

Downside is of course if you're looking to do high def TV-not a lot of horsepower inside the box.

[northerngames]

I was going to say an xbox too