LinuxMCE Forums

General => Users => Topic started by: marrandy on November 10, 2007, 09:08:41 pm

Title: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: marrandy on November 10, 2007, 09:08:41 pm
Hello.

I am looking for Replacement TV's as mine are pretty old.  HDTV  flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA.

There is little information in the wiki.

Would I be right in assuming that the best control in order is :-

1)   IP/ethernet

2)   Serial port

3)  infra-red

Where does HDMI come in ?  Does that have a control interface for switching input's etc ?

On a quick google, what I have found is :-

a)   40″ and 46″ MultiSync 20 Series HDTVs by NEC

b)   iLo 32" widescreen HDTV

c)   Akai 32-inch LCT3201AD Widescreen HDTV LCD TV/DVD Player

If people have TV's controlled by linuxmce, can they please add to the wiki at :-

http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Category:Displays

Oh..I added a line and a link to the video web page on the main wiki page as I think that many people have seen or been told by friends about linuxmce would like to know the hardware and steps involved in setting it up.  I hope nobody moves it.  It took me some time, way too long to find that web page.

Looking at  http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Category:Hardware  go down the page to alphatical info and look at S for Sony and the  Sony VAIO VGP-XL1B3 Media Changer isn't even mentioned even though it is shown in the video and listed on the  http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Video  page.

Again, I implore you.  If you have a working (even a test system), add your hardware to the wiki.

Thanks.
Title: Re: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: totallymaxed on November 10, 2007, 09:34:44 pm
Hello.

I am looking for Replacement TV's as mine are pretty old.  HDTV  flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA.

There is little information in the wiki.

Would I be right in assuming that the best control in order is :-

1)   IP/ethernet

2)   Serial port

3)  infra-red

Where does HDMI come in ?  Does that have a control interface for switching input's etc ?

On a quick google, what I have found is :-

a)   40″ and 46″ MultiSync 20 Series HDTVs by NEC

b)   iLo 32" widescreen HDTV

c)   Akai 32-inch LCT3201AD Widescreen HDTV LCD TV/DVD Player

If people have TV's controlled by linuxmce, can they please add to the wiki at :-

http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Category:Displays

Oh..I added a line and a link to the video web page on the main wiki page as I think that many people have seen or been told by friends about linuxmce would like to know the hardware and steps involved in setting it up.  I hope nobody moves it.  It took me some time, way too long to find that web page.

Looking at  http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Category:Hardware  go down the page to alphatical info and look at S for Sony and the  Sony VAIO VGP-XL1B3 Media Changer isn't even mentioned even though it is shown in the video and listed on the  http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Video  page.

Again, I implore you.  If you have a working (even a test system), add your hardware to the wiki.

Thanks.

This is a reasonably complete overview of HDMI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Consumer_Electronics_Control_channel

See the section on CEC for info about control functions etc
Title: Re: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: colinjones on November 11, 2007, 04:54:33 am
I'm not aware of any out-of-the-box Ethernet control (IP or otherwise) for a TV either on the LinuxMCE or TV ends, although in theory you could add that using the DCERouter messaging system I suppose.

The only control interfaces I have seen mentioned here are RS232 and IR. Clearly the serial is the superior if for no other reason than 2-way comms and guarentee of message receipt. However, beware, there are many TVs out there that have 232 but no control interface behind it - it is exclusively for service technicians and flash upgrades, but this is usually mentioned on the product specifications. Actually look for confirmation that the port can be used for controlling/automation, etc.

I believe that there are some default templates for controlling a (very) small number of TVs out of the box. Any others, and you need to build a template to control it yourself - with the dev guys gearing up in the background, this looks like we will start seeing additional devices coming out very soon ... very exciting! Esp. with a shared/distributed, updatable template database inherited from Pluto.

Finally, for HDMI - yes, later versions of the standard include a control interface (as totallymaxed stated, CEC), I have have asked about this before as well. The issue seems twofold - 1, there needs to be Linux drivers for HDMI chipsets to even be able to access the CEC channel so that you can encode control data on it. I don't think this is even very widespread in Windoze-land much less Linux at this point, but presumably it must be coming quickly as it is one of the primary benefits of HDMI, esp when you daisy chain your AV equipment. And 2, then the LMCE software needs to add this path as a valid way of controlling equipment... I guess this latter point will only get addressed once the former has been dealt with....
Title: Re: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: 1audio on November 11, 2007, 07:25:29 am
1) Don't hold your breath for CEC, its implementation has been spotty and it hasn't been very interoperable. I have seen some implementations that effectively shut the TV off when the DVD player is turned on. It will be a gen 2 standard before its useful. It would be great if it worked.
2) Really only the very high end TV's have RS232 implementations that work. And they have been going away. Some Sharp models, Runco, HP I know are supported.
3) I would look for TV's that support 1080p24 (24 frame/sec support). These are the newest generation. They will support Bluray and HDDVD directly and reduce the bandwidth requirements of the system.
4) HP, and this fall Sony and others, will have TV's with built in media adapters. These will be the way of the future, however internal support for LMCE is another question. Getting them to play content from LMCE should be pretty simple. Getting support for LMCE's feature set is another story.
5) For what its worth I have managed to get an IOdata networked DVD player (Sigma chipset and Syabas middleware) to play content from LMCE and do a pretty good job of it. I have also loaded Wizd and Swisscenter onto the core for better integration with the player with some success. This bodes well for the next gen TV's with similar functionality.
Title: Re: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: tschak909 on November 11, 2007, 07:43:53 am
honestly, 1audio... i don't like where the future is taking us.

we're basically heading into a world where these boxes we are building are useless, because they aren't what the consumer electronics companies have in mind.

the real question is, do we fight back? or just roll over?

-Thom
Title: Re: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: marrandy on November 11, 2007, 07:48:52 pm

Hello again and thanks for all the info/feedback/opinions.

I think I will stick with what I have until it/they fail and just stick an IR emitter on the front to control the TV's.  At least it will work just like any remote, but via the linuxmce system.

Now if only I could get an energy efficient, server and front-ends at a reasonable price so I can move from test to Real Life.  Can't find the MS-7329 in the USA yet...:-(

Title: Re: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: totallymaxed on November 11, 2007, 08:53:20 pm

Hello again and thanks for all the info/feedback/opinions.

I think I will stick with what I have until it/they fail and just stick an IR emitter on the front to control the TV's.  At least it will work just like any remote, but via the linuxmce system.

Now if only I could get an energy efficient, server and front-ends at a reasonable price so I can move from test to Real Life.  Can't find the MS-7329 in the USA yet...:-(



You could search for the MSI Media Live Media Center... that uses the MS-7329 (if you cant find one we will be able to supply those shortly)
Title: Re: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: 1audio on November 11, 2007, 11:16:58 pm
The CE companies are very interested in systems like LMCE. They are also looking for differentiation to try to get a little profit back into the products. The extended features of LMCE/Pluto are opportunities for them. The Media companies are the real roadblock. The latest move to use HDDVD's as sales pitchmen is really offensive and illustrates the underlying greed of Hollywood. Support the writers strike, since its about passing the bucks around and may reduce the greed. Meanwhile don't despair of the potential. With this many people working on the stuff it should be very possible to make anything work.
Title: Re: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: colinjones on November 12, 2007, 08:54:34 am
Totallymaxed - don't suppose you'd be prepared to export to Australia?! Sounds like a good board, but I suspect it will be hard to find here as well....
Title: Re: HDTV flatscreen (hang on the wall) with linuxmce control in the USA
Post by: marrandy on November 12, 2007, 04:10:55 pm
I got the MS-7329 from :-

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=3136.0  where it say's:-

"Well MSI MS-7329 is not an Intel MB but we are testing it now and it looks excellent with onboard 6150 graphics and HDMI output;"

I just did a search on the MSI site with both MS-7329 and 7329 and it responds  with  "product does not exist" on the USA site and "no data found" on the Taiwan site.

Do you mean this one ???

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=Media_Live&class=npc

Aghh...found it

http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=prodcpusupport&prod_no=1113&maincat_no=134&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&cat3_no=#menu

So it's not in their search database...nice...huh