digg

Join DiggAbout

Linux Media Center Edition watch!

video.google.com — Controls everything from your TV to your security system using anything from your cell phone to a Wii remote.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • BlaenkDenum, on 07/02/2008, -11/+33I haven't tried it but it but I've known it's really awesome. It has so many features and best of all it's FOSS.
    • bocaJWho, on 07/03/2008, -10/+1Is it? This looks awesome, indeed, but with some of those graphics it definitely looks like there is some hardware acceleration going on, and unless the truly open support for nVidia or ATI just got a LOT better, there have to be at least some proprietary drivers being used.

      Still very cool.
    • se1zure, on 07/03/2008, -6/+22It's super ugly, and this guys voice was amazingly annoying.
      • Zalyster, on 07/03/2008, -0/+13Seriously. For a MCE, you'd think it would look good. The Linux community has definitely taken strides to make their OS look much better recently, but this is like a step back toward a Geocities site or something. I know it doesn't matter that much when I'm watching a fullscreen video, but seriously, could they have at least tried? Though I guess now that it's more stable, they can put more time into the visual side of things.
        In any case, kudos to the team.
      • joshman5k, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2You want to hear an annoying linuxMCE example:

        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcNwnANrCpw
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC-YwwQ1Pkk

        Don't say I didn't warn you.
      • timfidler, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Brilliant! The first few sentences are pure gold before you start getting used to it or fall asleep.
    • Rhendal, on 07/03/2008, -1/+7If you haven't tried it, how do you know it's awesome?
      • nmnnotmyname, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2If you can see it in action, you can tell that when it operates properly it is quite nice.
    • joeyignorant, on 07/05/2008, -0/+0why must the ui for nearly everything in linux look so gawdy the features look pretty cool but ithink ill stick with my current mce app till this one gets a little cleaner looking
      slick ui does alot for overall quality imo
  • Gonzell, on 07/02/2008, -4/+32*drool*
    Maybe it's time I upgraded from my XBMC? lol
    • jerkychew, on 07/03/2008, -1/+8XBMC runs on Linux, I've got it running on my Ubuntu 7.10 box at home alongside mythtv and WOW under Wine.
    • AshsToAshs, on 07/03/2008, -2/+19Anything other than XBMC is a downgrade.
      • Gonzell, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1I don't know about that....XBMC has served me well so far.
    • procopio, on 07/03/2008, -2/+6It is really hard leaving XBMC after you taste it.
  • vovka3, on 07/02/2008, -14/+66This dude is ***** amazing!!
    LinuxMCE is badass!!! It should definitely go first page!!
    • yuanzhoulu, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1"Edition"?

      dude, it's not hard to just apt-get/emerge/etc whatever the heck you want.

      what next, Ubuntu Small Business Edition, Gentoo Enterprise Edition, Fedora Student Edition?

      they could just make an 'mce' package for other linuces so you can just apt-get this bastion and install it
      • schotty, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Why not?

        If it makes it easier to find and use, why not tailor a distro to doing one specific job?
  • KennMac, on 07/02/2008, -3/+192You know what's great about linux... that on-screen assistant woman was probably just some coder's wife.
    • koswix, on 07/03/2008, -5/+94Why do you assume that it's probably just some coder's wife? Could it not just be some coder?
    • GeorgeStone2, on 07/03/2008, -12/+32Coders don't have wifes.
      • kyletehgreat, on 07/03/2008, -2/+54wives.
      • coadyj, on 07/03/2008, -10/+1In all my years as a coder, I have never met a girl who knows anything about coding. But all my managers are women, so what side would you like to be on???
      • GeorgeStone2, on 07/03/2008, -2/+4*pedantic.
      • dontera, on 07/03/2008, -11/+10then what would you the call the woman who has birthed my 4 children and sleeps with me every night?
      • popfrogs, on 07/03/2008, -1/+43@dontera: Your sister? Oooooooh. :)
      • arjie, on 07/03/2008, -0/+19How foolish. Where do you think new coders come from?
      • KowGawd, on 07/03/2008, -0/+17Ummm, the Coder Stork. Duh! It's science.
      • Zalyster, on 07/03/2008, -4/+3@Dontera:
        a guy.
      • dimension128, on 07/13/2008, -0/+1@Dontera:
        Um that comment was good up till the "and sleeps with me every night" part.
        Wives just don't do that. Even wifeless people know that.
        Even if you mean 'sleeps with' as in 'we sleep in the same bed'...
        Having a wife automatically gives you an expert rating in the skill "getting comfortable on the couch for the night".
  • Kingoftherings, on 07/02/2008, -1/+19Looks awesome, and I was thinking about setting up a MythTV box. I'm not liking the color scheme for the UI, but it sounds like an early build, so hopefully it gets cleaned up a bit. :P
    But it does have really cool features. I wonder where I can get me one of them gyro-motes. Now that I think about it, it'd be neat to use a Wiimote with this.
  • traphik, on 07/02/2008, -38/+151Sure is ugly looking.
    • antriver, on 07/03/2008, -6/+29I agree
    • Awspire, on 07/03/2008, -8/+27Dugg down for the truth. That GUI looks like some no-frills grocery store brand. But, because it's built on Linux, its just dandy.
      • HonoredMule, on 07/03/2008, -12/+8Are you kidding me?

        LinuxMCE is a stark contrast against the commercial offerings like Windows Media Center or typical entertainment hardware which have absolutely horrible usability AND aesthetics.

        The setup screens were ugly, but/because who gives a crap? The HUD and menus/guide/etc. however are clean, clear, neutrally coloured, effective, and non-intrusive, while dealing with the same kind of bloated and poorly organized information sets typically seen in any desktop environment. I wish the MCE team would bring their design philosophy to KDE or Gnome.
      • MedHead, on 07/03/2008, -0/+27Windows Media Center looks decent. LinuxMCE looks horrible.
      • DarkShroud, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5Not to mention that Windows MCE can read all of those nasty "Broadcast flags (DRM)" on premium channels like HBO. Without that you can't even view them let alone record.
      • KnytFyre, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1@DarkShroud

        Did you not watch the video. MCE uses the digital tuner to do the viewing, so it can view the DRM protected channels, though I do agree that it mentioned nothing about recording them.
      • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0You didn't digg very far. LinuxMCE has three user interface resolutions.

        The highest resolution interface is beautiful. Only the low resolution interface, for cellphone displays or extremely old computers with substandard graphics, is undesirable. Guess what? Vista doesn't even run on those types of computers.

    • m0deth, on 07/03/2008, -14/+14The ugliness stems from them caring more about the media you play, and how you navigate it, than taking up 80% of your widescreen real estate with a stupid blue moving background that's useless to the medium.

      I think you can set the menu colors and such, gonna play with it here soon to check it out. I currently run MediaPortal, as MCE is such a bloated useless hunk, with too many 'legal' excuses why it won't do certain things.(ie: a for-pay weather module? get real)

      Hint M$....owned again....but you guys keep making those restrictive media deals.....people love that *****.
      • ahawks, on 07/03/2008, -2/+17Listen, function over form is great and all, but this is a media center.

        Its what you run on your entertainment center, probably the central focus of your living room.

        It's what your guests see when they come over to watch a movie.

        It's what the girl you're trying to impress sees. It may actually have a small (very small) influence on you getting laid that night.

        It damn well better look pretty.
      • se1zure, on 07/03/2008, -0/+12so it is impossible to have something that is functional AND good looking!?
    • ChayD, on 07/03/2008, -16/+20Think you can do better? As this is FOSS, there's nothing stopping you from improving the look.
      • ahawks, on 07/03/2008, -6/+15Why should I fix their problems for free?
      • Haxxormaster, on 07/03/2008, -2/+11He's an end user. He thinks it's ugly. So does most everyone else. Can he do better... to fix it, probably not. However, he could download one that looks nicer. Even for free.
      • rlbond86, on 07/03/2008, -6/+12Dugg down for a really stupid argument
      • compacho, on 07/03/2008, -2/+4Yeah, actually i can do better but I don't have the time. That's one of my biggest gripes with linux. It has some great developers behind it but not enough designers. Maybe I'll help a project one day but for now I gotta say linux needs some serious help in basic art design.
      • yeskia, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1I would love to help redesign it, but I'm not a programmer and wouldn't have a clue how to implement it, or how to even get involved with the project.
    • ahawks, on 07/03/2008, -2/+28The setup process is ugly, but that's just setup. You only see it once and it's gone, no biggy.

      However, at 2:00, we see the real interface. With 3 disjointed colors. 3 widget styles (black/blue with white highlight, solid green, no background)

      Then the menu comes up and the selection color is the same as the header bar, implying some connection that isnt there. With a red highlight border just to ugly things up a bit more.

      And the text flows outside the widget space in some places.

      It's just flat out clear that they put zero effort into making this look nice. It wasn't a design choice as m0deth suggests.
      • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -2/+0Guess what, you can run Linux from command line mode, too. It's all black and white that way.

        Linux doesn't spend 10 Gb on fancy presentation just for an installer like Windows and Apple does.

        But that's why Linux runs about 30 to 50% faster than the other two biggest OSs.

        You only run the installer once, you know.

    • mockupscaledown, on 07/03/2008, -0/+9This is why you don't let programmers design user interfaces. It's a long known fact that the open source community is finally opening its eyes to in a pretty big way, but it's not yet filtering into every app. Give it time...
      • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0Again, look at the high resolution user interface. I know you Apple and Windows users don't get many choices, but Linux always has lots of choices.
    • ultrasparc, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5Function/Form
    • Seph7, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3A lot of the Myth TV frontends looks a hell of a lot better than this IMO. Plus I don't really fancy controlling my media centre with a gyro, its hard enough selecting the right stuff when ur playing a wii, let alone don it just to put a movie on.
      • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0Then use a regular remote control. It's not that hard.
    • CrushThemTorg, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4Jesus. That is one ass-ugly UI. The world needs more designers who are also nerds.
    • mlerner, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1UI is certainly ugly. Sarah is hot!
    • burn0u7, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0dont judge a book by its cover
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0Fools! There are three resolutions for the UI. The lowest resolution is ugly but is meant for a cell phone display. Check out the UI2b high resoultion interface. It's way nicer than anything you can find on Vista MCE or any other interface.
  • moolcool, on 07/03/2008, -25/+15Why aren't more people digging this, its the coolest thing I've ever seen!
    • geoken, on 07/03/2008, -2/+20because it's really old and there was a video almost exactly like this a ear back.
      • TypeEE, on 07/03/2008, -1/+6Yup, the first moment the video played, I was like "this again?"
    • seweso, on 07/03/2008, -5/+17This is so ***** lame.....it's ugly...very ugly!!
    • MMaster23, on 07/03/2008, -1/+10Never seen Vista MCE ?
      • HonoredMule, on 07/03/2008, -5/+4Yes, thus our amazement at how much better a media platform can be.
    • Awspire, on 07/03/2008, -0/+15"its the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

      Then you haven't seen much.
    • int19h, on 07/03/2008, -0/+7People digg what they digg, that's why.
  • Termina, on 07/03/2008, -12/+15traphik:

    Is there a better looking product out there?

    Especially one with all these features? (Media follows you as you move around the house, built in VOIP and security camera stuff, etc.)
    • molotovcat, on 07/03/2008, -1/+16 That's not an excuse. Not every 'first' has to look terrible.

      Beggars can't be choosers but the UI can definitely use some constructive criticism.
    • mockupscaledown, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5Why couldn't you just reply to him? There's even a "reply" link under each comment.
    • dbr_onix, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1> Is there a better looking product out there?

      Well, the most obvious example is Xbox Media Center, of which the interface is amazing (it's infinitely better than Microsoft's own attempt with the Xbox 360's Media playback stuff)

      The Elisa project looks not too bad (although I've yet to actually run it, and I'm half-considering attempting to port it to OS X), as its UI is rather "inspired" by Front Row.
    • ps3udonym, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3yes yes and YES! This has Myth TV so all those options are configurable (you will need multiple TV cards and a beefy system for streaming to various locations around the house. One card for each place you want to stream to.)

      For all you who are bitching about the appearance.. ALL of it can be changed. Myth has theme support at the very least, not sure about LinuxMCE itself. Regardless it would be easy to go in and change the colours or even create a whole new schema.
  • MistaMatt90, on 07/03/2008, -26/+22How many times does this need to be dugg? Really?
  • sn00kie, on 07/03/2008, -21/+11that's uglier than my dog's ballsack
    • SpeedSteamBoat, on 07/03/2008, -1/+17You seem to know a lot about your dog's ballsack...
      • GeorgeStone2, on 07/03/2008, -4/+3Or he doesn't know much about LinuxMCE
      • 1timeuser, on 07/03/2008, -0/+4or his dogs ballsack runs on LinuxMCE
  • earthforce1, on 07/03/2008, -8/+82Best of all: No DRM
    • DarkShroud, on 07/03/2008, -4/+8Which means you can't record from premium channels. So what's the point of having this then?
    • jhaks, on 07/03/2008, -1/+6Yay! No DRM, meaning I don't get to watch HDTV accept OTA channels! Lucky me since my area has none of the OTA HD channels I want anyway! I love watching SDTV on my new Plasma!

      Pick any commercial HD capable device and it will implement part of the DRM pipeline... you know... because it would be nice if it could play HD content. That is why Windows MCE has DRM.
    • p0tent1al, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2um, XBMC?
  • molotovcat, on 07/03/2008, -5/+41 Most open source programs are ugly as hell. There are obviously exceptions to this, but this looks like it was pulled straight from the 90s. That being said, there are some amazing projects out there if you can get past the horrid looking UIs.
    • GeorgeStone2, on 07/03/2008, -3/+7I agree with this. Most OSS is ugly as sin. Which can sometime affect the usability.
    • craigyjack, on 07/03/2008, -1/+8Most OSS is using either QT or GTK, which will look however you theme or choose it. My GTK stuff looks nice for the most part because I use a custom theme that looks awesome to me. That is what is great about the theming. And the new QT/KDE4 stuff looks really great imo.
    • Stonekeeper, on 07/03/2008, -1/+10I'd rather an adequate UI for a bad ass program than a shiny front end to a piece of crap. Both is obviously better but functionality>looks.
    • infiniphunk, on 07/03/2008, -6/+3yup, and betcha you are at home typing this on your Win2000 rig huh?
    • BlaenkDenum, on 07/03/2008, -3/+2Media Portal [ http://www.team-mediaportal.com/ ] is open source, extensible, and looks awesome. It runs on Windows though and requires .Net
      • djphatjive, on 07/15/2008, -0/+1This just shows you how dumb people on here are, mediaportal is based off of xbmc. And everyone loves xbmc but not Mediaportal? wtf.
    • codelogic, on 07/04/2008, -0/+2"Most open source programs are ugly as hell. There are obviously exceptions to this"

      There definitely are, and XBMC is one of them.
      http://www.vimeo.com/1188004?pg=embed&sec=1188004
      • HerbSolo, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1holy ***** - that's impressive design work!!!
  • blinddonkey, on 07/03/2008, -16/+12The only reason anyone would use this is because it is free. Not because it is good. It looks dreadful. Most of the features are not on other products because maybe 1% of users want them. And the UI is not about the media.
    • NeoMatrixJR, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1Yeah...like the last time I tried to set this up it wanted to be my home's router to accomplish some of the things it can do. That didn't fly too far with me since I'm happy with the router I have, and I don't want to leave this system on 100% of the time to route my IP traffic.
  • Ub3rg33k, on 07/03/2008, -4/+78I've actually tried LinuxMCE. I nuked it off my PC after about 3 days. Its buggy, bloated, ugly, and somewhat unintuative in control. It seems like a cool idea, but unless you need the home automation pieces, stick with a Myth distro for a better Linux media center experience. If Myth isn't your thing, keep an eye on Elisa and The Entertainer Project. Both show great promise even if they aren't 100% fully baked yet.
    • popfrogs, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8Yup, a buddy of mine said the same thing, that LinuxMCE is a nightmare to configure and set up the way you want it. Knoppmyth is still one of the best, however it can't do everything that LinuxMCE can, and it doesn't pretend to.
    • Philter, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2I have also tried it and can confirm it being a beast in its current state. One of the things that really turned me away was that it doesn't respect the folders you put your media in at all. It just lists them in order by file name so you end up with a massive green list of unsearchable crap. I ended up switching to Mythbuntu, which I'm still using, and I like that much better. Now if I could only get Netflix instant viewing to work with it...
      • Pookumz, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1It does respect the folders you put your media in...

        I've got several folders of pictures (first thing I did on mine) and i get the folder structure to browse through when i go media -> pictures....

        Maybe the later versions have changed this item?
  • loconet, on 07/03/2008, -1/+33I'm as much as a Linux fan as anyone - been using it for close to 10 years now. Having said that, I really wish this project well, looks very promising but man, we really need to invest in getting some good interface designers involved in projects like this. From clip it looks like the interface is for some amateur work-in-progress project. I realize this is probably very far from the truth but that's what the great majority of people will think.
    • trying2hide, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5I am an interface designer that is a linux fan.
      If I figured out HOW to do it I would in a heartbeat.

      I would be totally on linux - but I need photoshop (don't get me wrong Gimp is awesome but I work in a corporate environment and it doesn't color pick as well as photoshop). I also have to test in a variety of browsers. I hate the vm ware from linux. Windows to linux is fine but linux to windows looses something. And WINE? Wine... isn't as user friendly as it needs to be. My (2) tech degrees and the fact that I program for a living can't get me thru the support forums to install something in it.
      • m0deth, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3really?
        wow, cause I have office 2k3, along with pshop and illustrator going in ubuntu, on an old dell inspiron 1100 laptop.....try a diff approach maybe, make sure you include the backports in your package manager...some Wine updates sit there for awhile until approved.

        granted not everything is perfect, but so far, not bad for having 0 help from M$ the whole time, Wine is one amazing piece of guesswork from my perspective

        another note: I also find Gimp to be nice, but sorely lacking in color/print control. Some full Pantone support would really help, but it seems their noses are firmly stuck in Adobe's collective ass.
      • popfrogs, on 07/03/2008, -1/+12You know, there's no law stating that you have to RUN Linux to work on a Linux-based project. If you're just coding or designing graphics for the UI, you can photoshop to your little heart's content and throw it on a network share.
      • salomejones, on 07/03/2008, -4/+1Sounds like you're just a lazy whiner, and the fact is now as it has always been: Very good GUI designers do not work for free.
      • Amiga501, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1More to the point: Most of those with great creative talent do NOT like Linux, nor the broods of assholes it attracts.
      • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0Software programmer? Where, from Vermtech?

        Ever heard of virtualization? Linux has a nifty little virtualization program called Virtualbox, that let's you run Windows from Linux, if you really need to. Pretty easy to install, even for me, a convenience store clerk.

        Of course, if you're a Windows user, you probably can't program your microwave, much less click a few buttons to install a virtualization scheme.

        Oh yes, I forgot, if you're running Windows Vista, you probably are consuming 4 Gb of RAM just to boot. You probably don't have the luxury of even thinking about a virtualizer.
  • sarixe, on 07/03/2008, -1/+18is it themeable?
    • ahawks, on 07/03/2008, -2/+11Sure! It's open source, so you can create a similar build environment, check out the code in svn, hard code in your new look and feel, and create a new branch!

      (sarcasm).

      Given the lack of care they put into the asthetics, I highly doubt they thought about themeing.
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0You can design a customized user interface if you want to, but it isn't necessary.

      The display shows your own photos (just like a screensaver) or, if you don't have any, background pics from flickr.

      The menu controls are blended overlays on the background image. If you are watching media (TV video or a movie) the menu options show up overlayed on the media.

      If you are a Windows MCE user, you probably don't have any idea what I'm writing about, just as a caveman probably can't fathom how to drive a car.
  • robuk24, on 07/03/2008, -1/+16Could do with some designer UI polish but pretty impressive considering it 100% free!
  • sx66gns, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4Fantastic!
  • frosted, on 07/03/2008, -6/+4Looks good, can it be run live from a cd?
    • burn0u7, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0why? that would be stupid. not to mention slow.
  • Buu3, on 07/03/2008, -1/+9Looks impressive! Hope they upgrade the GUI, looks very unsleek and quickly made. Nice start tho!
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0You are looking at the low resolution GUI. There is a beautiful high resolution GUI.
  • trying2hide, on 07/03/2008, -12/+7hmmm.
    DVR or Tivo = minimum 13.00 monthly.
    Clean PC with awesome vid card ... et all = $500.00 ish
    Surround Sound System = $400.00
    Linux MCE = free
    Not paying a corporate giant for recording programs you have already paid to be piped into your home = priceless
    • ahhell, on 07/03/2008, -0/+10Aren't you paying a corporate giant by subscribing to Tivo?
    • jkahrs595, on 07/03/2008, -1/+212004 called. They want their stupid Mastercard jokes back.
    • DarkShroud, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1I will not use Tivo. They sued everyone else in this field into bankruptcy. When MS is the company that's taking a stand against a monolithic company offering people choices something is very wrong.
  • DteK, on 07/03/2008, -3/+9This would be a whole lot better if it were not called "media center"
    That just brings back bad memories.
    • m0deth, on 07/03/2008, -3/+4sadly, the sheep need to see that to know what it is.....
    • dave122, on 07/03/2008, -1/+8I like windows media center, plays nice with my xbox; never had a single issue with it.

      And yes itunes is a bloated pos piece of software.



      • pHreaksYcle, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1Well, I am going to pretend I didn't see the iTunes part because it has absolutely nothing to do with what we're talking about here.

        The reason Xbox plays nice with WMC is because that's all it was built to do. MS products mate with MS products very well, but try to step out of the loyalty box and you get colder and colder.
  • delorenj, on 07/03/2008, -1/+111I've been in the process of configuring LinuxMCE for my house since mid-February...It's hard...it's very, very hard. Hopefully soon, there will be more compatible products - but as of now, just to get your Z-Wave lights to work is going to take a masterful level of knowledge of Linux. I'm a software engineer and my bread and butter is Linux - and I'm telling you - the time you will spend setting this up, compiling new kernels, finding driver source online for your specific components - will humble you.

    Not to mention the anger you will feel when you buy a Linux compatible HDTV card, try to configure MythTV, and find out YOU CAN'T use it because your cable company (let's call them Bagelvision to preserve their anonymity) broadcasts a proprietary signal header just so you can't scan for available channels using third-party software - even WITH the cable box!

    LinuxMCE makes my face hurt...

    ...but I didn't give up yet! I'm still going 5 months later! Wish me luck!
    • polo8, on 07/03/2008, -0/+17Hope you're documenting all these details somewhere. Good luck.
    • sifuchar, on 07/03/2008, -0/+8Yikes .. I am a Linux novice and was going to try to put this together at my house. I think I will spend my time and sanity on other projects!
    • AsgardsAvenger, on 07/03/2008, -1/+6Good luck!
    • ejm143, on 07/03/2008, -1/+4fingers crossed
    • ken830, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6Last year, I tried the then-current version for a few days and gave up... It simply isn't a polished product.
      • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0That was last year. It's much improved now.
    • jhaks, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2If you want to watch encrypted HD channels you will have no luck with Linux since your system needs to support and have a tuner that accepts a cablecard. If you want to watch unencrypted channels then there is no problem but anything beyond OTA or very basic local channels will require a cablecard. The only OS and media center that supports cablecards is Windows Vista.
      • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0Read the suggested hardware section on the LinuxMCE wiki. Two cards work especially well -- better than any Windows compatible cards.
    • Ellipsys, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Good luck to you! I suggest you call your cable company and complain, along with everyone else on your mailing list. Since you're obviously not new to Linux, it would behoove everyone to have someone like you explain exactly what the problem is to the cable company. I don't see any reason that routing /through/ a cable box should be that locked down, or that Cable Cards should not work under Linux. Also,do you have Verizon FIOS or another fiber-optic type provider in your area? Maybe they would be more compatible. Its at least worth a try?
      • Dalhectar, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2FIOS would be worse for the Linux user. FIOS only allows local channels to be sent over clearQAM (FCC mandates local broadcasts must be carried without encrpytion). You'll be stuck a handful of channels without a set top box or cablecard.
  • Chairboy, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5I would be very interested in seeing/reading a comparison between MythTV and this. Both seem to have similar target audiences and tasks, and both represent different elements of the open source movement.
    • delorenj, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3There is no difference. LinuxMCE is a distro of linux...included in this distro is MythTV.
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0LinuxMCE is not a distro of linux -- it runs on the Kubuntu distro. It is a collection of packages.

      there is a huge difference between MythTV and LinuxMCE. MythTV does not include home automation, security camera-home automation interfaces, VOIP telephony, remote messaging, security scenarios, climate and lighting scenarios, and remote access. LinuxMCE does.

      MythTV is also difficult to integrate into a multi-user (i.e. multi-PC/multi-room) environemnt, whereas LinuxMCE was designed for this from the ground up.

      No way are they the same. MythTV only does a small fraction of what LinuxMCE does.
  • madk, on 07/03/2008, -2/+8That guys voice is kinda intimidating me.
  • Filmore, on 07/03/2008, -3/+8I have used MythBuntu(and Gentoo+MythTV) and Linux MCE. For just watching and recording shows, a Myth-based system is much easier to use and maintain. For controlling a digital home, LinuxMCE provides easier control interface for most anything you could want to do (including climate and lighting control). Both Mythbuntu and Linux MCE were surprisingly easy to setup.
    Good luck tinkering.
  • sup3rc0w, on 07/03/2008, -12/+14It appeals to all the OMFG ***** M$haft kiddies, however it's not all that good.
    I have been using media centres for years now since the original XBMC was released. Been on Media Portal, been on XP Media Centre, Used Vista MC and extenders.... to name only a few.

    This is just pure below averege in comparison and is fugly as hell
    • sup3rc0w, on 07/03/2008, -2/+7Forgot to mention... the motion sensor remote thing is as useful as a Penis flavored lollipop
      • cyburdine, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3penis flavored lollipop, ha! I've got $10 bucks that says you can find that item in the back of your local Spencer's Gifts and it's probably sold a million units.
    • PhailQuail, on 07/03/2008, -4/+13You just admitted that you have never used MythTV or LinuxMCE, so why would anyone care what you think about this matter?
      • sup3rc0w, on 07/03/2008, -2/+4I probably should have made my point a bit clearer, but I thought it would be obvious since I posted an opinion on Linux MCE, how can I have an opinion without ever using it?

        Anyways... I have used it including all the above mentioned ones plus more... and it's still *****

        There, feel better now?
  • MMaster23, on 07/03/2008, -24/+24christ not again :X

    Vista MCE is and will always be king of all MCEs
    • PhailQuail, on 07/03/2008, -11/+15IE is the best browser ever!
      MS Paint is the best picture editor ever!
      IIS is the best webserver ever!
      And so on...

      You were being sarcastic, right?
      • m0deth, on 07/03/2008, -5/+3MMaster23...

        Gimme the M$ song and dance the next time you try to record ANYTHING in native digital format......go ahead, try to exercise those FAIR USE rights that one corporation saw fit to take away at the behest of hollywood. God please trumpet how ***** cool that is, ya know, a "media center" that cant even play a DVD without some other piece of competing software installed, good ***** call buddy.

        PhailQuail...love the name btw, precious
      • itsthebrod, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5Have you ever *used* Vista's Media Center? It's amazing in terms of capability and options.
    • haydentech, on 07/03/2008, -6/+1Huh? I just ditched MCE because it was dreadful. I went back to Tivo, very happily I might add, since MCE was such a PITA to use and the interface was rather ugly and unintuitive. The quality of recording was also noticeably poorer on MCE, and this was with using a high-end tuner card (Hauppage PVR-1800).
      • itsthebrod, on 07/03/2008, -2/+4Have fun with that monthly fee. The interface for MCE isn't that bad, and I don't see how the hell you consider it "ugly" or "unintuitive." Maybe it's unintuitive for a moron, perhaps.
      • mrASSMAN, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1I don't sew how it could be any more intuitive.. and the recording quality is indifferent from the source when using "Best" quality option.
    • dave122, on 07/03/2008, -3/+19not sure why all the hate on Vista MCE, it works great for me.
    • pelayostyle, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Correction. Vista MCE + MyMovies = complete pwnage
    • burn0u7, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0Indeed, however, OpenSource RULES the town.
  • Ninjao, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2I just built my media center from old pc parts. I really wanted an open source/free media center and tried what was available. Unfortunately they werent up to my standards. I'll give this a try right now..
    • PhailQuail, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2I'm curious to know what part wasn't up to your standards.
    • f0ad, on 07/03/2008, -0/+3Lower your standards or fork over some dough
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0Nowadays you can build a media center inexpensively from new parts, that looks a lot nicer, is a lot quieter, and will be the envy of your friends.

      Check out the LinuxMCE wiki to see a list of recommended parts that are LinuxMCE compatible (under the newbie packs).

      They are top of the line and you actually won't be forking over a lot of dough.
    • Schmich, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1GL with drivers if you've taken hardware randomly.
  • mnmleon, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5i use elisa on ubuntu
    .
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1That's for media playing only. Not for all the other stuff LinuxMCE does.
  • davidwasman, on 07/03/2008, -5/+18Digg: Where everything old is new again...weeks later.
    • hrhs556x, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5Finally, had to scroll pretty far to find a "this is old" comment, seriously this is on here once every 2 months
    • hrhs556x, on 07/03/2008, -3/+5Finally, can't believe i had to scroll this far to see a "this is old" comment, seriously this is on digg once every 2 months.
  • mrloco, on 07/03/2008, -0/+6The UI seems shocking
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0There are 3 different UIs. The best one requires an nVidia card is is light years better than anything on windows.
  • grexeo, on 07/03/2008, -2/+6Why, with so many talented designers willing to contribute, do Open Source project interfaces still look so ugly?

    I don't mean to bash the project, or Open Source as a whole, I just think it's unfortunate to see great applications let down by poor presentation.
    • BlueTide, on 07/03/2008, -4/+0Might be worthwhile to do a background check about the dependencies of your question, such as "talented" and "so many".
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0You looked at the ugliest UI that is meant for the lowest common denominator devices, such as a cellphone display.

      The normal UI has background photos from flickr or your own collection. Of course, if you only have pics of your ***** or your mother-in-law, then your UI is going to be pretty ugly...

      But I digress...
  • PhailQuail, on 07/03/2008, -3/+4Linux: Smart House edition
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+0There is no such thing. LinuxMCE is the closest thing to Linux: Smart House. Misterhouse is a project that cobbles together a bunch of perl scripts to approximate a smart house, but is impossible to learn or use.

      LinuxMCE takes a lot of the pain (but not all) out of home automation.
  • coadyj, on 07/03/2008, -2/+2This has been out for years, why is it now only being posted on digg? Is this a clasic case of what you like now, i liked five years ago?
    • perspecroff, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1It has not been out for years.

      Pluto (its core predecessor) has only been in development since 2005, and it was largely crippled.

      The latest release was only last month (May 2008) and has had a major overhaul from the 2007 release.
  • mttyd, on 07/03/2008, -0/+13"Get out of my house" LOL
  • joelav22, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1I've tried this as well as mythTV. They work OK, but unfortunately do not even compare to Snapstream's BeyondTV. I really wish they would release a linux version so I could ditch my last remaining windows PC
  • kenvsryu, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2hmmm linuxmce.org is hosed?
    • myranttoyou, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Yah, because it is a Linux server.
  • rexprime, on 07/03/2008, -1/+3great control, now they have work on the look of that hideous GUI
  • Suzilla, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2I tried the beta. In a word, it sux, mainly b/c it doesn't autodetect hardware anywhere near as easily as the video would have you think. Didn't recognize Hauppage card, didn't recognize ATI Remote Wonder. In short, it's not much more than a wrapper around MythTV. Stick with that, instead. It'll take a little work to get it MythTV going, but in the end you'll have something that actually works.
  • SkaheadVa, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2Seems the teams website is down. I cant find if my hardware would work well.

    A64 3200+
    Soltek Nividia base mb
    ATI x1800pro
    2 gigs of Kingmax ram.
    Compro Tuner
    • Ub3rg33k, on 07/03/2008, -2/+3ATI + Linux is not usually a happy combination. You would be better off with an nVidia or Intel graphics product.

      Everything else should work.
      • deroderugridder, on 07/03/2008, -1/+5because ATI's driver is opensourced and Nvidia's is not ?
      • wTheOnew, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Personally I have never had a problem getting Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, and Gentoo) to work with my ATI cards. I've used everything from the 7000 all the way through to HD3870X2 with live CDs and full installs with no problems what so ever. Actually come to think of it the only driver problem I have ever had was the damn button drivers for my laptop.
      • Ub3rg33k, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1@ deroderugridder

        I've just never had a lot of success with ATI and Linux. This is as recent as Ubuntu 7.10. Yes, it can be made to work and yes, AMD is supposedly taking steps to fix this problem. However if someone is asking for a system spec review, chances are that they aren't Linux gurus or else they wouldn't have to ask. Better to steer the new kids to the stuff that works easily so they get to like Linux, rather than blow sunshine at them and have them later get frustrated with a roadblock that could have been foreseen.
      • arvvvs, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2Try 8.04 pal
  • hiredg3Ek, on 07/03/2008, -1/+2v.impressive apart from that man's hideous voice!! The way he says 'hard drive' is sooooo annoying!!!
  • 4DFX, on 07/03/2008, -0/+5Err... How the heck do you connect a lamp to a computer network?!
  • jjustin01, on 07/03/2008, -0/+11Please, bring on a GUI designer!

    Aside from that, this is beyond impressive. I am actually blown away with how extensive they have made this.
  • Disillusion, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1The idea is awesome, but I've tried a couple versions of this and it is not as easy as they make it seem. Also it seems worthless if your computer isn't pretty powerful and not hooked up to an HDTV. Also it hated my Hauppage card and the GUI was pretty slow on a Geforce 6800. Not a fast 3D card for sure, but shouldn't be a problem for a simple media center.
  • nielkie, on 07/03/2008, -3/+4That guy talk painfully dramatically.
  • sofa0ne, on 07/03/2008, -0/+2This actually has motivated me to go and look at what hardware would be needed to start building a Media Center.
    (If you know of any resources please feel free to share, for now I am off to Google.)
  • jpeazy, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1I tried this out before and it didn't work nearly as well I as had hoped. Also, what is the point of having a tuner card anymore? There are hundreds of sites that stream HQ material that are of much higher quality than my cable connection. Streaming means, no torrenting, somewhat legal, and incredibly fast. Basically just get the fastest bandwidth your isp provides, drop the tv option and enjoy on demand HQ streams.
    • rlbond86, on 07/03/2008, -0/+1Just wait until your sites get shut down.
    • noogymmij, on 07/04/2008, -0/+1Can you share your ultra high quality streams that provide lots of the content I see on tv....
  • MMilitia, on 07/03/2008, -4/+18Hiring a Flash developer from the 90s to do their UI may have been a mistake.
  • SenorChach, on 07/03/2008, -4/+0Even though the video makes Linux MCE look like it is ready for primetime, it is far from that. Tried to install it on an ATI X1250 onboard 690G based systemboard (M2A-VM HDMI) with an ATI TV Wonder Elite. EPIC FAIL. Can't even get as far as the fancy UI. Hogs the processor and no mouse clicks are even recognized! The fact it does not load Kubuntu the first time around so you can load restricted drivers is a major flaw.

    As much as everyone makes fun of Windows Media Centre 2005, it is a pretty compatible program. When you figure out it's quirks like turning off auto tagging music so it does not screw over your library organizing, you can do pretty much anything with it. The one thing you cannot do is play DVD's you purchased over Component Video.......... (DRM)

    Vista MCE however is a POS, slows down a reasonably fast machine (AMD 4000+, 1GB DDR2, X1250) to a crawl.
    • SupremeBeing, on 07/03/2008, -2/+5That's a fast machine? In 2005 maybe. Welcome to 2008. Those specs are just below average at best.
      • spvr, on 07/04/2008, -3/+0Welcome to "your a ***** douche, shut ya mouth" or welcome to "I say things to get dug up when in actuality, I have no opinion of my own"....That was not much of a supreme comment you left there...
    • itsthebrod, on 07/03/2008, -2/+1That's cute that you think your old/slow machine is fast, and that you subsequently wonder why it doesn't run Vista so well. My PC has Dual Core 2.13 GHz processors and 3GB of ram and I just consider it "average" at best. At least I'm not deluding myself. And for the record, MCE works great on it.
      • Cryoniq, on 07/03/2008, -3/+1You seriously don't know *****.. you don't. That machine spec will run LinuxMCE fine. problem is the ATI drivers and some thing in Kubuntu. Well known.
      • spvr, on 07/04/2008, -2/+0Oh my F'n god that I don't even believe in.

        >>Vista MCE however is a POS, slows down a reasonably fast machine (AMD 4000+, 1GB DDR2, X1250) to a crawl.

        Stop ***** be a fan boy. You're either pathetic, or your a typical end user... The ladder is not a problem, as that's how I make a living. Providing support to you idiots.
    • Dalhectar, on 07/03/2008, -1/+1You deserve an award for even trying Vista on a single core cpu, 1GB of ram with onboard graphics. MythTV, XP MCE, or some third party PVR software like Sage would work good on such a system, but I'd stay away from Vista if I were u.
      • spvr, on 07/04/2008, -1/+0You deserve an award for being a complete idiot. Stop being a FAN BOY and realize what works well, and what doesnt. I use Linux all day long, I love it. I also used to watch TV on a Vista box on a Single core SEMPRON POS, and it worked fine. STFU and go home.
  • Fetching more discussions...
    Show 51 - 94 of 94 discussions
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.