Author Topic: LinuxMCE Hardware packs for newbies  (Read 24170 times)

mitcoes

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Re: LinuxMCE Hardware packs for newbies
« Reply #15 on: December 24, 2007, 10:51:42 am »
I'm not kidding, of course I can do this job, but, even me, if you can read a recopilation work and some tsted configurations, as a newbe or even as a computer seller, you woud be able to choose better.

My plan is to buy a silent case and put my actual computer on it with some aditions as tuner and upscaling devices when I'll buy a new computer

I have a Gigabyte 8iI945P mobo, P4 530 @3 Mhz with 3 Gb of RAM DDR2, ASUS ATI X600 EAX, DVD PLEXTOR 750A, conceptronic firewire card and integrated ethernet, realtek sound card, and 2x 200 Gb SATA HDD, 1x500 GB SATAII HDD, 1x 40 GB IDE HDD (With Kubuntu),
and as external devices ASUS web cam(it doesn't work with linux, but it is detected), Canon lite scanner, Brotherhl-1230 as Laser printer, 2 200 GB external IDE HDD with dual firewire/USB cases.

Perhaps there are a good and cheap configuration, that can change my plan and then let this computer running linux, and let the new one only for games (I'm a gamer and still use windows for gaming, some day, when video drivers will preform similar it will not be necessary).

But my request was and is not because of me, is becouse newbes can find an easy way (better if it is a closed product for them) to become LinuxMCE users. I'm sure if LINUX MCE would have any product with it preinstalled as some windows MCE specific devices, it would have more market introduction.

If I were a CEO from any computer company, even hardware company that make those Multimedia USB HDD    , I would have a good and cheap product and a High level product with LinuxMCE, and with my name as for example //XXXX Media Center// and a logo that says Powered by Linux MCE, but normal people would buy my //...// because they do not understand and know about operating Systems and hardware configurations.

That because I would like this kind of list, where there are other question, devices with good drivers for linux, not only that work, for example, ATI is not a good brand for Linux, even they are making efforts, now Nvidia Linux drivers are much better, the gap between windows and linux performance is bigger in ATI.

Internal Upscaling cards does it exist? because I've read about this specific hardware chips for DVDs but I cannot find any for PCI, but can it be performed by software and better with PC Video cards?, I'm afraid not.

Then, even if it is not a hardware design, and it is only a computer that you can buy by parts, making a branded product, would expand the use of Linux MCE and of course the same Linux itself. As there are more game consoles than desktop computers, there will be more MCE than desktop computers , and this marvellous work is an enormous advantage to be placed at a lot of homes, and perhaps can be the beginning of the success (in market share terms) of opensource OSs. But I think a little bit more, the remote commands are similar to Wii ones, and MCE boxes will be too excellent Linux video game machines, with games Wiimote style,  Open Source games, but commercial ones too and some TV models today has HDDs inside, why not Linux MCE as OS for this TVs and then TVs will be computers, and the same model, cheaper only with IR receiver.
This would be a great product for Hotels.

Excuse my long post, I cannot be right, but I'm not kidding, and the subject is Hardware packs for newbies, a list and even final products is a good idea, not from only one person, a colaborative one or a wiki. And of course some product as the Wallmart one for gOS.

   

Marie.O

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Re: Upscaling (WAS: LinuxMCE Hardware packs for newbies)
« Reply #16 on: December 24, 2007, 05:27:09 pm »
[..]Internal Upscaling cards does it exist? because I've read about this specific hardware chips for DVDs but I cannot find any for PCI, but can it be performed by software and better with PC Video cards?, I'm afraid not.

During a recent HT enthusiasts meeting we compared a Lumagen Scaler to a PC running Dscaler5 (without ffmpeg specifics), and we could not find a noticable difference on a CRT beamer displaying onto a 2,20x1,50 screen.

I don't know at the moment, how good the scaling within xine is, but even if it might not be as good as the used windows solution, it will eventually be there.

rgds
Oliver

1audio

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Re: LinuxMCE Hardware packs for newbies
« Reply #17 on: December 24, 2007, 05:56:54 pm »
Xine uses the Dscaler technology. (Wonders of open source.) Switching it on when running Xine from a desktop is pretty simple. In LMCE is very difficult to figure out which features are enabled. On the Media director options there is a section for deinterlace quality where you can explore the options. They are VERY CPU intensive on HD. And using the alpha blended UI conflicts a little with them so you get worse tearing etc. I use the overlay mode on my main video at 1080p. On the HQV disk none of the options seemed to make a big difference but I'm not sure they even took. Supposedly you change the option and reload the router for it to work. But you may need to restart the MD to see it work.

mitcoes

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Re: LinuxMCE Hardware packs for newbies
« Reply #18 on: December 25, 2007, 06:44:56 pm »
A newbie question, a PS3 (Sony Pkaystation3) version of LinuxMCE will be created?

May PS3 be a good hardware for LinuxMCE?

I think that it is possible and if it has good performance Sony will sell a lot more of their consoles and probably would preinstall LinuxMCE on some PS3 systems, and it would be a great tool in HD vs. BR disks battle.

1audio

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Re: LinuxMCE Hardware packs for newbies
« Reply #19 on: December 25, 2007, 06:55:34 pm »
The PS3 would be a great platform for LMCE if the Linux for it made the internal services available. The Linux for the PS3 gives access to one of the 8 processors and no access to the media player stuff as I remember. Possibly Sony is worried about passing BluRay content out of the box.

hari

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Re: LinuxMCE Hardware packs for newbies
« Reply #20 on: December 29, 2007, 09:12:29 pm »
i did a "newbie pack" for a diskless md in the wiki:
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/MD_Newbie_Pack_Slim_I

not yet confirmed working (awaiting order) but the board was tested by totallymaxed and others.

best regards,
Hari
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