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The power of Linux MCE

megavideo.com — LinuxMCE is an all-in-one solution for your home that seamlessly combines media & entertainment, home automation, security, telecommunications and computing.

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  • XHashmeerX, on 10/10/2007, -7/+17Wow, very cool. The interface is a bit klunky, Vista MCE is really nice. I'd like to give this a try though, the setup in the beginning looked great with all the various screen and tv resolutions. Impressed so far. Unfortunately, dont have the biggest need to use something like this.
    • Mejogid, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Concerning your pointers about the interface, it seems like the only thing it's really only lacking is some better artwork. This is the sort of thing that's really easy to contribute to, and if any one has the time to mock up a few replacements in the GIMP or Photoshop, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to see improvements.
      • sancho, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I haven't watched the video completely yet, so I don't know if they touch on this. Are there any good remote control solutions for LinuxMCE? Infrared would do, but RF would be better. Is there hardware with good Linux support, and software that handles the events?
        • TrancePhreak, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I believe the program is called lirc, and it is somewhat a pain to setup.
      • maffiou, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Fiire have got a compatible and wicked remote control solution... $100 though...
    • kazamx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I really can't wait until someone is able to get this thinkg fully working on my PS3. With a little bit of messing about I can 'kinda' get it working but not well enough to replace my XBMC with.

      The PS3 could be the greatest media server ever with a bit more work. I love my XBMC it was everything I ever dreamed of 4 years ago, but today its starting to be a little dated. The PS3 can deal with HiDef content. Has a blu-ray built in, full linux support (not full GPU access though :-( and they are talking about releasing an addon that turns it into a PVR. It could be the next XBMC, I hope so
  • dirtmonkey, on 10/10/2007, -23/+8::lays down in coffin and prepares to be buried:: I already have this...its called Windows MCE 2005 dual booting Ubuntu. >:D
    • robojerk, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8The problem wih WinMCE prior to Vista is that no one can buy it. LinuxMCE is desgined for the real A/V enthusiasts, just look at how it much that thing can control. My only issue with it is not really with LinuxMCE but being unable to buy a CableCard reader (and probably never be able to get a linux compatable one) to work with LinuxMCE. Not LinuxMCE's fault but DRM *****.
      • zenerdiode, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5MCE2005 can be bought anywhere. You just have to buy hardware along with it. A $1 fan counts as hardware on most sites.
      • adam84a, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4I'm fairly certain that 2005 could be purchased without a system. You're 100% right about the cable card bit. I would love to build a nice LinuxMCE machine, but I really need a solution with cable card to get the HD channels I want from my cable company.
  • sirhomer, on 10/10/2007, -9/+23It's already much better then Vista MCE/XP MCE in features. Plus you don't have to run a huge bloated desktop OS to run this if you are going for building an HTPC. But I think the UI could be a bit nicer looking.
    • turpenine, on 10/10/2007, -2/+22yeah, the ui is a huge downfall for this system.
    • etandrib, on 10/10/2007, -5/+13"It's already much better then Vista MCE/XP MCE in features". Yep, a terminal has tons of features but it doesn't mean it is USABLE (excluding DIGG users). I'll take a good UI over a mile long "feature" list any day. I looked into LinuxMCE a couple months ago and just laughed… definitely designed by a linux programmer…
      • Theli, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I don't know...

        You can get around a quirky user interface with some experience using the application, but you cannot get around a missing key feature. I haven't tried the program out, but it seems to me that the only problem is a cosmetic one. The user interface could use some more consistency.
    • tiffany98121, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7the big feature it's missing is cablecard support though. if you want to record hbo or showtime in high def, you gotta have cablecard
  • VEGETAble, on 10/10/2007, -24/+11lol, make out a piece of ***** software as something groundbreaking
  • meltingrobot, on 10/10/2007, -3/+8I tried it last week. Still a bit alpha quality, damn thing kept popping up that it found my network shares/devices over and over and over. Also, it's not really that cool if you don't have a lot of the specific hardware that it wants, like a tv and receiver with a serial input, a home security system, and light dimming system installed.
  • VSLOATHE, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5I ran MCE 2005 for a while. I finally had to bag it because of inadequate HD support. Over the air HD isn't hard to do, but it's nigh on impossible to get a workable solution involving an HD feed from satellite or cable.
    • zenerdiode, on 10/10/2007, -2/+5Try out Silicon Dust HD Homerun. It allows you to get Clear QAM on your Vista/MCE box.

      BTW, it's equally impossible to get satellite or cable HD feed on any Linux box. The problem isn't in the OS...it's in the cable/sat companies, their DRM implementation, and their blatant disregard for FCC regulations.
    • tiffany98121, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5velocity micro, dell (xps 410), sony, and hp all have vista media center pc's with cablecard support now
  • chris9902, on 10/10/2007, -4/+33I know open source is all about being free etc etc but for god sake hire a real designer. It looks like a PowerPoint slide from the 90s. Teal and Purple? wtf?
  • SparQy, on 11/04/2007, -18/+15Ugly as hell, which isn't a big problem because a decent skin will eventually be developed, but the menu system is really cludgy.

    They are so excited that it only requires 3 buttons to navigate the features, but fail to mention you also need a gyro remote or a mouse. Well hey, guess what? I can navigate my entire OS with only 1 button. My mouse button.


    Apple Frontrow = elegant but feature poor
    Vista MCE = snappy and a true 10' experience
    Linux MCE = servicable, free, but otherwise a waste of time
  • Hitchhiker90, on 10/10/2007, -22/+5First it uses linux so you know its going to suck pretty badly, secondly the video is so small that nothing is readable. Buried as lame for those two reasons.
  • w3weasel, on 10/10/2007, -4/+6I've attempted this install, because running windows on my DVR is wrong on too many levels. If only this could be installed on more recent Ubuntu releases! As is, it failed to recognize most of my hardware (where Ubuntu installs it easily). Rather than endure the excruciating pain of getting the hardware recognized, I admitted defeat and re-installed Windows / SageTV... Not because I wanted to, but because now that the wife is accustomed to the DVR, she won't let me let her live without it. Too bad windows is so freaking unstable, I guess I'll just re-install it every 6 mos as I have been, until this very appealing Linux distro catches up on some of the end-user niceties that Ubuntu offers.
  • Ramble, on 11/04/2007, -10/+8Frankly, the UI sucks bad. Windows MCE has the best UI I've ever used for any MCE.
  • Kamino, on 10/10/2007, -7/+3The voice-over sounds like Mike Myers. "Donkeh!"
  • bamfsog, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13I have run Windows MCE 2005 and Vista, Beyond TV, and MythTV. I also tried out the 1.0 release of Linux MCE. Of all of them, LinuxMCE was the buggiest to setup, and the was nearly impossible to get all the extra features to work correctly. I am an IT guy, not a newb, and still had tons of issues just getting all the packages installed and configured, let alone getting the setup to a workable state.

    As has been mentioned, you need special hardware if you want to do any of the home automation, which is the coolest part of the demo. The autodiscovery for devices also depends on having the exact versions of certain hardware. Much of the software is alpha/beta quality with the documentation and reliability to match.

    The project has a lot of potential, and I will definitely try it again at some point, but don't fall for the ease of use pitch they are using.
    • ardavis, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Here, here. I tried installing it a couple weekends ago and repeatedly bumped into install failures that hung the system with useless error message. I'm sure if I spent time with the wiki I could eventually have worked something out. But it is *not* an out of the box easy install - whereas Windows MCE actually is (although I can't stand it). I look forward to using Linux MCE someday, but for now I'll be sticking to MythTV standalone.
  • Weip, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Does someone know which tv-tuner cards can support HD? I bough a media center last year, but it doesnt allow hd :(
    • Ramble, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1it depends where you live. I don't know of any DVB-T HD cards but there are a few DVB-S2 cards that do.
  • zenerdiode, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6The biggest problem is any Linux MCE implementation (including Myth) is the lack of support for HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. That's not to give Windows MCE a free pass either though...HD-DVD and Blu-Ray support on Microsoft is somewhat immature...but at the very least there is support in the form of PowerDVD 7.3 and WinDVD 8.0. Neither work in the MCE interface natively, but can be launch from the MCE interface. LinuxMCE or Myth, unfortunately, have no options at all.
    • Skod, on 10/10/2007, -9/+209 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0?
  • pyite, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12The idea is nice. However, the installer of LinuxMCE is absolutely awful.

    Ideally, you should just install Ubuntu, add a source, and then sudo apt-get install linuxmce - I am not going to try it again until it is that easy.
  • timtimes, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Would be nice if an a/v system story were actually hosted on a server that allowed me to watch it without the constant delays.
    This crap is so typical. Whenever a story heralds best hosting solution on planet. Story is 404 after three Diggs.

    Here we have the greatest A/V solution sinced sliced bread hosted on some lowass video server that punks you out while you try and watch it. They'll let you download it though (FOR A PRICE) if you don't want to suffer through the lame streaming.

    Youtube anyone?

    Enjoy.
  • crossmr, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3The problem with linux based MCEs for me anyway, is that I have skype on my MCE, and I use video with it, so until its got video, linux is off the table.
  • nunofgs, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I like how they over-emphasized the fact that, with their remote, you can use linux mce with only 3 buttons. Yet it has the most buttons I've ever seen on a remote and it must be the ugliest thing ever.

    Can't it just work with the Wiimote and do the same?
  • Noobist, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8sooo many features that it seems complicated, great idea, but the interface truly is horrible. why can't anything from linux look nice? :p these features tied with an apple tv style interface would rock, but until then, it's not tempting me
  • theodenking, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Cool... but why does open source stuff always seem to have really horrible UIs? There are loads of talented designers out there who love open source.
    • Meep3D, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Programmers don't generally make good UI design people as it requires a sense of aesthetics and an idea of form over function, where programmers are predominantly function over form people. Unfortunately no real effort is made by the programmer section to appeal to the people of differing skillsets (graphic designers, UI designers etc) instead adopting the 'if you want it code it yourself' mentality.

      The end result is ugly poorly designed interfaces. It certainly doesn't help either than any time anyone calls a spade a spade the Ubuntu fanboys jump on board to defend any criticism, no matter how valid.

      I am saying this because I (I reckon anyway) am not a bad designer and am really interested in UI design and usability, but there is no 'in' in the FOSS world unless your willing to code it yourself.

      Basically FOSS improvements are largely done via Bugzilla, and you could put 10,000 devs on bugzilla for 10 years and still not improve the usability of the code, as that's not what Bugzilla does. Stable, yes. Well made, flexible, featureful? Yes. Good UI's? No. Pretty? No. But until people can actually start discussing these issues without it turning into an Ubuntu-is-perfect-defend-it-at-all-cost-because-we-are-fanboys-and-ms-(sorry M$)-sucks my dad can beat up your dad argument, nothing really will change (or the pace will be glacial at best).
      • kazamx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1While I think your right in a sence, I believe things are changing. More and more developers are realising they aren't making aps for just geeks anymore. The pattern now tends to be the first versions looks like crap but work. Then they get people involved like graphics designers and UI people.

        I have been involved in linux for about 5 years. I can't do any sort of code. My way of helping is to write guides and tutorials. Back in the day developers saw this as almost pointless and I recieved almost no credit for the work I put in. today I find that not only do developers thank me, but they listen to my ideas on UI etc. Afterall if something is hard to write a guide for it is 9/10 hard to use.

        Times are changing. :-)
    • inspireology, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Very well said! They also need to freaking get rid of tux!

      But it does look very very promising. I just hope it gets directed the right way and fulfils it potential.
  • potp, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I think i will give it a try on my laptop. i just need a nice media environment without anything else on it for my entertainment purpose.
  • soljin, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7God that thing looks like ass. Why can't coders be more consistent with colors and stylings of menus. It looks like 15 different programs.
  • ronin691, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Gotta love the logo: http://linuxmce.org/images/head_logo.jpg
  • J0nLightn1ng, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Looks spiffy. This video is an important step in getting others such as GnM's (Grandmas and Moms) interested in alternatives to SWB (spoon-fed Windows bloatware).
    Still (tv-input aside) I have yet to find a more elegant experience than XBMC (especially with options for MC360 and xTV)
  • jonesin, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9What's with all the people ragging on it? It's alpha. Got huge potential, but no, you guys want it all to work the second you see a demo.
    • Random23, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The only reason I would rag on it is because they overpromise and under deliver.

      They try and sell it to the newbie crowd, on the merits of its ease of use and setup, when its far from easy for someone to setup. Much less a newbie.

      One day hopefully it will be as awesome as these peoples vision for it is, but for now, it's just another cool thing under development.
    • thefinger, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It's kindof like what Random23 said... They should polish it more before they put it out for viewing.
  • Grassmunk, on 10/10/2007, -5/+6Well, I already have this, the UI is AMAZING and it only cost me $200:

    1) Modded Xbox (soft modded) with Xbox Media Center installed
    2) A Series 2 Tivo ($99 plus 14 bucks a month)

    It costs what a WOW account does and is worth more in my opinion. For all my movies and everything else the XBMC does everything else and the interface is LIGHTYEARS ahead of this *****.
    • kazamx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I love XBMC but its going to come to an end in a few years. it can't handle HD tv, it only has a DVD player not a high def one. I believe these guys are in the early stages of creating the next XBMC. Just now it is very rough and ready, they are trying out many many new ideas to see what works. Some stuff will be dropped, most will be changed and it will become easier and easier to use. I expect that by the time I am ready to scrap my XBMC then Linux MCE on a PS3 will be the perfect upgrade.
    • inspireology, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0They are presently developing XBMC for linux which I am looking forward to.
  • codwif, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Other then Windows MCE, which unfortunately you can't buy, what's out there that would work good as a media player on a tv? PVR doesn't matter to me, just video/music playback from a server.
    • voodoozombie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I like GBPVR better than anything else. Too bad home brew PVRs have to start paying for a decent tv guide source with zap2it halting their free service. It will be a big boost to PVR software like Sage.
    • superspud, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4I think Windows MCE comes with Vista now.
    • awp0, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3You can buy Vista MCE. It comes packaged with Home Premium and Ultimate.
    • kazamx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Mate get a modded classic XBOX. It will be a dream come true for you. It honestly is the greatest piece of software I have ever used.
    • tarkam, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Too bad TVedia (www.8dim.com) seems to have gone out of bussiness, you can still try it though for 30 days. With a regular PC, 2.2 Mhz, XP, and 512 Mb of Ram you can get a "decent" media center. Just get an ATI or NVidia card with super video out or RCA out and you can hook it to a regular TV. It has access to youtube, flickr, live365, and lots of other services. What I like about it the most is that you can "rip" your dvds in iso mode and it automatically "mounts" them (you have to configure it though) and plays them right from its interface. It doesn´t look to nice out of the box, but you can skin it, its really easy.
      • lucidgreen, on 04/18/2008, -0/+0There's a neat little tool out there for ripping ISO's and mounting them. It's called Ultra ISO. You can buy it but I think the trial version is an unlimited trial period. I'm not sure what the full-featured version would actually do for you, though.
        Anyway, it come with a virtual drive you can install. So after you rip the ISO you can mount it in your virtual drive and you're off. Some copyright encryption may apply, however. You might have to get something to remove that (not hard to find) and then create an ISO of the stripped content. If you ask me, making back-up copies for personal use and storage shouldn't be prohibited by any law. After all, you bought it. Wouldn't you want to protect your investment?
    • codwif, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1ya, i could upgrade to vista, i have a vista business on my laptop. but i'm not too sure about putting it on my main desktop yet. or forking out the cash for it for that matter. but a modded xbox is defiantly high on my list of options. i've got an old athalon xp 1700+ system that i want to use as the backend, and for other server duties, so I think I'm going to install ubuntu and mythtv this weekend and give that a go.
  • homp, on 10/10/2007, -6/+0You can download the video here:
    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZEX5O6D2 LinuxMCE_0704_Demo_Video_2mbit(WMV).part1.exe
    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PHQMT7OH LinuxMCE_0704_Demo_Video_2mbit(WMV).part2.rar
    http://www.megaupload.com/pl/?d=R7NCVSTU LinuxMCE_0704_Demo_Video_2mbit(WMV).part3.rar
    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XML6IKT1 LinuxMCE_0704_Demo_Video_2mbit(WMV).part4.rar
    http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8FOCW3PX LinuxMCE_0704_Demo_Video_2mbit(WMV).part5.rar
  • samkline, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1HOLY *****!!!
  • Punisher2K, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1meh. MythTV does everything I need.
  • Justavian, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8If you're looking for another free solution, and you've got XP (it might work on vista too) - might i suggest MediaPortal. I've been using it for quite some time, and while it's not perfect, it's most certainly progressing. I like it quite a bit more than XP MCE, though i've not tried the Vista version. MediaPortal has a lot of plugins, a lot of skins, and a pretty responsive forum and development team.

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

    One thing to note about Linux MCE (as others have mentioned), is that you may not have the appropriate hardware. I have an ATI Theater Pro TV card, and it's not supported. I also was unable to install Linux MCE onto Ubuntu, and was forced to start over with their pre-packaged Kubuntu+MCE combo. It was only after i installed that i realized my TV card would not be supported.

    It's cool, but it's not quite ready for mainstream.
  • dadood, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1Anyone have spyshots of the PS3 PVR that will coming out in a few months?
  • NeoMatrixJR, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2only real bad part is to get it to do everything it has to become your router for your house too...so it has to be on ALL the time (or at least it's central server)
  • foxbuntu, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0LinuxMCE looks like a neat idea. But if you are looking for Great TIVO like Media Centre support, functionality, easy of use, and feature rich, look at www.mythbuntu.org Mythbuntu is a MythTV Ubuntu based distro that is an all in one install and is has much better TV support and functionality. Check out MythTV.org for a list of the current features and they are growing everyday. Mythbuntu Ingrates all the currently supported features and constantly working on support for more.
  • robitor, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1too bad i have ati, and plus the ui sucks balls
  • largetalons, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Does this use zap2it? Aren't the free feeds going to expire like next month?
    • foxbuntu, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Zap2It will no longer provide a free service to everyone as of Sept 1. 2007. However other paid sources have stepped forward to take their place.
  • Jammerdelray, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3total crap
  • ToadLeg, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Linux Mint is Ubuntu modified so that all codecs, fonts, plugins, and most other "nonfree" things you'll need are installed with the operating system. Just put the CD in, install, and the desktop system is ready. http://www.linuxmint.com/
  • fourthtempleks, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1linux video i find to be very choppy, especially x264. Probably the hardware support on my nvidia 7900 gt isn't being harnassed for video playback..... closed source opengl optimization for video playback from nvidia??? not on your life... open source the precious holier than holy directx hardware? nvidia says we must suffer the wrath of microsoft's closed fist.
  • rileyschuit, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Let me help everyone save some time, I spent a total of 12 hours trying and get this "cool looking" yet crappy script(s) working cause of some of the videos I watched on digg. And I'm no linux noob ether.. I should charge these guys for wasting my time..
  • wheel3r6, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Linux mce is very cool now , in 1-2 years time watch out M$ mce. Give them the time to fix the bugs and linux mce will kick butt.
  • DuffDemon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Does anybody know what the thin client used in that video is?
  • weizbox, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1if only it had the power to uninstall itself...

    I gave LinuxMCE a shot... and at its current state, its a pain in the ass. The direction they are going looks really nice.. but the project needs a lot more polishing, a better user interface for controlling the setup.. and basic uninstall features.
  • MightyFrosty, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0For those interested, both the remote and thin client are by the same manufacturer, Fiire. http://www.fiire.com/ . I happen to think the interface and usability are fantastic. I was even able to install on an ATI without Alpha blending (UGLY), but the best is still to use an NVIDIA. 6600, its all you need really. Peace
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