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Comment on Is it realistic to set up a HTPC that doesn't need a keyboard or mouse?

RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

Not really. You can use a frontend like I do, but there will always be little quirks or issues with updates so youll have to keep a mouse and keyboard handy, but you dont need to have it always visible or to use for the system, just for correcting problems.

I set up an HTPC for emulation and gaming. LaunchBox is my frontend of choice. Set up the PC to autoreboot every day at 3am. It only occasionally has an issue where LaunchBox crashes and needs to be manually restarted or something needs an updates.

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PeachMan@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
I like to keep one of these tucked away: www.bestbuy.com/site/…/7575039.p

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- RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I have the same one. Works well for what I need it for.
  
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PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
Thanks for the recommendation. Ill look into Launchbox more.

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- RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  It is great for video games. Other content can work with it but that would be more finnicky. I have successfully got movies and downloaded TV shows to appear in it but you have to set them up like emulated games. The neat part is for older content, you can actually load it up in Retroarch and gain access to Retroarch’s screen shaders like the CRT shaders, which can add a nice touch to older 4:3 content.
  
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  - PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    Do you know if it works anything like the Steam Deck’s game mode? For example, could I potentially add shortcuts for Chrome with specific launch options, or maybe even Kodi? I tinkered with setting up shortcuts for non-Steam items on my SteamDeck and had a some success before, so if its similar, that would probably work well.q
    
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    RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    It is similar to Steam Big Picture Mode, yeah. Its got a special mode called BigBox mode, its designed to mimic console UIs. There are a lot of community made themes that change up how it looks.
    
    You could probably use something like autohotkey or some gamepad mapper to link Chrome into LaunchBox. I have never tried it, but you can technically add any executable with a field for launch arguments.
    
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