Messages

4636

Users / Re: Which TV Card?

« on: May 26, 2007, 03:00:04 am »

The exact cards I am using are WinTV-NOVA-T-DVB-T 90003 LF (Rev C2B0)

If the dual 500 works I might invest in one of these, but it would be nice to see it working with these Nova-T's

Interested to hear about your setup DrACoNus - is that in the UK?  What High Def source are you using?

Mike

I own a wintv-nova-t-500 (the european dual turner) and there is a problem in the kernel with its drivers, that makes the kernel ops, and it might crash the system or it might make you quit the video aplication you are using. So right now and before a update is released is a no-way. Its a shame because its a good card, but not even the newest kernel solve this. Well have to wait a bit to use this card.

Hugo

Hi,

Nova T500 is working fine here... we have a number of them installed in various Core's. We also have a single Core with 3 x T500's installed.

4637

Users / Re: Question about Core and Media Directors

« on: May 26, 2007, 02:46:30 am »

Hi all,

I'm trying to find out if it possible to have OTA HD cards in the media director and not located in the core? I'm hoping that I can have an OTA HD card(s) in one media director and that it will store the HD .tp stream back to the core. Once stored at the core, I would then be able to playback on any media director ( assuming they have the ability to playback .tp/.ts streams ). Maybe it does this and I'm just to dense to see it but I want to make sure it will work before I go re-wiring 1/2 my house.

Thank You,

-Brian

Hard drives (or partitions on drives) can be located either at the core (as many as your hardware will support) or can be attached to MD's or can be drives shared over samba from a Windows PC/some other device on the network. Its really completely flexible and as far as i can understand your question linuxmce already does what you are asking about.

4638

Installation issues / Re: A/V Wizard Question For Developers

« on: May 25, 2007, 07:43:06 am »

Hi There,

I am successfully running LMCE hooked up to my 46" HDTV over DVI, I can successfully setup the resolutions of 720p or 1080i using the LMCE control panel under the KDE Menu --> Multimedia. However both these resolutions are overscanned so I would like to use the A/V Wizard to correct this.

When I manually execute the A/V wizard shell script, it launches OK. However the first screen asks me to select my resolution and refresh rate. Although I'm selecting the same values I am successfully using already (720p 60Hz) the A/V wizard crashes X to a black screen after that step and I cannot continue to the overscan adjustment step (which is why I'm running the A/V wizard)

A) is there a way to just run the overscan wizard without having to tamper with my resolution.

B) is there another way I can adjust the overscan?

C) is there a log file dump or anything the developers would like me to post to help diagnose the A/V wizard issue?

Thank You!

Hi,

We've had this situation ourselves. I think the problem is that the AVwizard makes some assumptions about your display and ins some situations those assumptions back it into a corner from which it/you can't back out !! Have you tried hitting 'ESC' to get out of the black screen state?

If all else fails you can go into Web Admin -> Wizards -> Devices -> Media Directors then scroll down to the Hybrid or the MD you are configuring the screen on and manually set the resolution back to something your display is happy with using 'Resolution & Refresh' button. Then to set the overscan correctly for your display you could edit the xorg.conf & the xorg.conf.pluto files and add/adjust the relevant lines in that file (google your screen model/overscan/xorg.conf should get you the info you need)

Good luck :-)

4639

Installation issues / Re: LMCE 1.1

« on: May 25, 2007, 07:33:34 am »

For the record, I'm installing on an Asus M2NPV-VM mainboard with integrated Geforece 6150 Video and integrated Audio; 512MB of RAM; 80GB HDD; DVD-RW; Unknown ATSC Tuner and Unknown DVB-S Satellite Card.

I've got almost an identical setup and I'm having troubles too. I'm going to try reinstalling without using the cached packages.

I would definitely NOT use the cached packages on the 2nd iso... all our install have been without using the Cache CD. Another tip is that currently it may be easier to side step the nVidia problem by using Intel onboard graphics (if you have them... ie i900 or i950 chipset) or ATI. We have had reliable success with either of these. You can always go back and add your nVidia card back in later once the wrinkles in that side of the system have been ironed out.

By the way I understand a new Beta is due soon...

4640

Installation issues / Re: Is LMCE Ready For Public Consumption?

« on: May 25, 2007, 07:25:35 am »

Well this is a good question... however linux-mce is still in beta so if it was stable and released it would be a better question ;-)

Linux-mce is not finished clearly (hence beta status) and clearly needs more work to get to a stable release. But speaking as someone that has been involved with linux-mce's ancestor Pluto I can say that it is a great improvement in every way over that product. The move to Ubuntu and the work to integrate properly with Ubuntu (as opposed to the slightly unconventonal configs/scripts in Pluto!) is a great move in a very positive direction.

I guess because I am used to Pluto and possibly no more about its inner workings linux-mce is less threatening to me that for some others here. But I do think that the progress being made by the developers (and many of those are part of the Pluto dev team) should be supported and applauded by all of us.

4641

Feature requests & roadmap / Re: A Pluto Veteran Wonders: Will LinuxMCE End the Nightmares?

« on: May 25, 2007, 07:15:14 am »

Hi people,

To begin with, congratulations - and a big Thank You - to Paul Webber and everyone else involved in LinuxMCE. The Pluto project was crying out to be forked, and you guys finally did it.

I'm posting this in the roadmap forum, because rather than talk about any specific issues, I'm concerned with what the LinuxMCE project can do to rescue the Pluto system from the dark place the original developers stuck it in... no more about them, though, because it's really bad form to come to a forked project and rant about the original.

As I think anyone here can see, LinuxMCE at the moment feels like looking at a cockroach through a microscope - it's just one really big bug. And I bet that the same bugs exist in the Pluto codebase - I can't imagine that the LinuxMCE developers put all those bugs in. And where the bugs end, start the missing or badly thought out features that PlutoHome said they have no interest in dealing with.

So, to come to the point while I still have readers left (do I?), I am wondering if the LinuxMCE people intend to focus on work that makes the system available to a wider audience while waiting for core bug fixes to filter through from the Pluto codebase, or do you consider everything that may be wrong in the code you inherited to be something that you need to deal with?

Or, to put it another way - would you say that bug reports would be more effective here or in the Pluto forums ^(*)?

Thanks for your attention,

Itai

(*) This is actually a trick question... I already know bug reports are totally ineffective on the Pluto forums.

Clearly bug reports should be posted in the linux-mce Mantis bug tracking database (http://mantis.linuxmce.com/login_page.php). These forums are for discussion/questions/answers too and also so everyone involved can 'discuss' common experiences.... good and bad. However the developers will track/fix bugs in the Mantis database... so if you want to document a problem and bring it to their attrention then enter a Mantis report for it (Mantis will then email you when any action is taken too).

4642

Feature requests & roadmap / Re: Boot via Network

« on: May 24, 2007, 10:45:36 pm »

LinuxMCE already does boot over network...

All MediaDirectors and Orbiters run directly off the Core.

First, enter the Admin site and press "MediaDirectors" and Press "Setup diskless MD *"
* When you add a new diskless M/D, you must first click this button, wait for the setup process to complete, then do a "quick reload router", and then you can bootup your new diskless media director.

That does not take long, then enable PXE boot in Bios on the PC you want to use as an MediaDirector.

The next step takes a while... With Gigabit network it's not so slow, but with 100mbit it can take 1 - 4hours to build the image.
Use an Orbiter to do the setup, or you will not get the messages you need to answer to get the MD up and running.

Actually the best way to add a diskless MD is to set your MD's network interface to network boot or LAN boot and make that the 1st boot device in your Bios setup. Then with a network cable plugged in and connected via your router to your Core power the MD up. It should start to boot automatically and after a few seconds you will see an announcement in yellow text on the booting MD's screen that the MD has been announced on your Core's local MD. Select follow the onscreen prompts on Cores MD to select the new MD and to choose which 'Room' to add it too and then sit back and wait about 10 mins while it is added.

4643

Users / Re: Identify and add my content to LMCE

« on: May 24, 2007, 10:17:32 pm »

The drive is recognized and the movies come up in the Orbiter menu. But not in the media management menu. I probably need to add it to pluto somewhere, but I'm not sure now.

OK sorry misunderstood you. I've seen that happen a few times but I don't have any solution for you. It seems to happen sometimes and then not other times. I'd suggest filling in a bug report in Mantis and getting one of the linuxmce IM support guys to look at it for you.

4644

Users / Re: Which TV Card?

« on: May 24, 2007, 10:01:22 pm »

Hi Im loving using LinuxMCE its great.

I would like to know now which TV card to get, I would like one that receives DVB-T (UK Freeview i think). Im looking at the Hauppage Series as they seem pretty well supported. Any ideas?

I have a usb freecom one lying around but im not sure if this would work I cant see any success anywhere.

I would like to know if i will need to re-format the computer and re-install everything to get it working or can it be added after. Im hoping so but im not sure how to go about it on my system which I have been using for a couple of weeks and loving.

Thanks in advance.


Matt

We're using the Happauge T500 twin DVB-T tuner cards here in the UK... they work very nicely.

4645

Users / Re: Yet another MythTV question.

« on: May 24, 2007, 09:58:15 pm »

I think that you need to select UI1 or UI2 with alpha blending for that to  be available... I may have that wrong but I think that is the case.

I'm running UI2 with alpha blending.  When you hit "guide" it brings you to the standard mythTV guide.  When you hit "recordings" it brings you to the mythTV recordings screen.

I was referring to the 'tumbling' catalog of recorded shows that formed part of the 'demo video'... this was the UI2 media library browser in action... not a TV guide or EPG as such.

4646

Users / Re: Do I need to get rid of my ATI cards?

« on: May 24, 2007, 09:55:22 pm »

Hi all,

I have been using MS MCE 2005 pretty much since it came out. While it's had it's ups & downs, it has pretty much served it's purpose. Now it's time to try linux MCE. BTW, I am a complete newb to Linux, so this is a steep learning curve for me, but I am hopeful the rewards will make it worthwhile.

For my MS MCE boxes I have always used ATI cards, only because I need component output of 1080i @ 50hz to conect to my HDTV. In various forums that I have followed,nobody had been able to achieve 1080 @ 50hz via component with NVIDIA cards. I was able to achieve it with an ATI R600.

So, now with Linux MCE it seems that there is very little mention of ATI, except that people are advising not to use them. Do I need to get rid of my ATI cards and buy NVIDIA, or is it worth perservering with ATI? If at all possible, I would prefer not to replace perfectly good video cards.

If it is the case that I need to buy new cards, is it possible to achieve 1080i @50hz via component with an NVIDIA card under Linux MCE.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

Phil

Well we have an ATI card (I'm not sure what it is but it is not a new card) in one of our MD's and in UI1 it works very nicely... in fact at the moment it works better than the nVidia's we have. We have not tried UI2 at all as so far it always seems to create more problems and our primary goal is great media playback and your ATI or and Intel onboard 900  or 950 will do the job fine.

Whether you can do 1080i @ 50Hz over component from an nVidia I cant comment but you certainly could from some of the newer Via chipsets so I guess an nVidia 6200 or above should be ok for that (but thats my assumption not a definite yes)

Hope this helps

Andrew

4647

Installation issues / Re: LMCE 1.1

« on: May 23, 2007, 03:55:39 pm »

I'm very new to linux, could somebody please tell me what to do in order to rename this file?
Thanks in advance

Hi there,

Do the following;

Type Ctrl + Alt + 1 (ie hold them all donw at the same time)

Then login using your username & password

Now navigate to the /etc/init.d directory by typing the following;

cd /etc/init.d/ <type return>

Now rename the file kdm.saved to kdm by typing;

sudo mv kdm.saved kdm <type return>
Enter your password at the prompt <type return>

now you need to reboot by typing the following;

sudo reboot <type return>

Now when your system comes back up login and then you should either go straight to the KDE desktop or straight into the linux-mce Orbiter UI

Hope this helps

Andrew

4648

Installation issues / Re: Which is better for LinuxMCE??? (Ubuntu or Kubuntu)

« on: May 23, 2007, 11:00:23 am »

Hi im wondering which is better for LinuxMCE.

Ubuntu or Kubuntu??

From linux0mce 1.1 onwards you have to install Kubuntu as far as i know

4649

Users / Re: Identify and add my content to LMCE

« on: May 23, 2007, 07:29:51 am »

Totallymaxed:
I followed the connection and found the manual functionality but no automation. Also it doesn't show the second disk in my system, except under "other" as a file.
I can find the movies I added through the system but not those that are on a second disk I connected. Is there a special way to add a disk to a core so LMCE will identify its content and manage it? And possibly some suggestions on partition management for those disks? Its curious since I can access the content through the orbiter. LMCE seems to identify it only as a file.


Any suggestions?

Check that the UpdateMedia check box is checked as this scans your attached drives for media and adds them to the DB. Your 2nd disk should have been identified and added automatically is it available from kde at K menu -> System Settings -> Advanced -> Disk & File Systems ? If not that could be the problem. For any content on your second disk to be added to the DB it has to be identified, mounted and scanned by linux-mce

Hope this heps

Andrew

4650

Users / Re: Yet another MythTV question.

« on: May 22, 2007, 10:30:02 pm »

Now to my question, after selecting Media->TV it launches the myth frontend and takes you to live TV.  If you traverse back to the LMCE home screen you see a list of options including (liveTV, recordings, guide, etc.).  When you press "guide" it takes you to the mythTV guide.  In the infamous LMCE debut video that wasn't the guide that was displayed.  That guide allowed you flip through "2 weeks worth of shows" in a few minutes or something like that.  This clearly isn't the guide that was displayed in the video.  Whatever happened to that guide?  I as hoping to see it in the 1.1 release.  It looked nifty and I hope it gets revived.  The current mythtv guide is fine, but it takes away from the media centric experience that LMCE is shooting for.

I think that you need to select UI1 or UI2 with alpha blending for that to  be available... I may have that wrong but I think that is the case.

Andrew