Author Topic: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!  (Read 6151 times)

Ray_N

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Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« on: March 26, 2009, 03:58:02 am »
   I must say guys... you should be really proud of yourselves...Beaucoup Kudos to all who contribute to this project.
What do I mean? Well, when I first decided to set up LinuxMCE in my home, we were thinking "Well, how about a nice system where we could watch movies and record TV with one common interface? Ok...I've heard of this thing called LinuxMCE, lets try that". But what we found out tonight just blew us away. Wife and I were getting ready to cozy up and watch a movie tonight and we just noticed that all of our home made videos were there that we can now watch from the living room. So we don't have to be stuck in the office or the laptop to watch them. Everything was there...we started watching old honeymoon videos and Christmas vacations and all. Great wife-brownie-points right there!. (Just last night I had done a full synch of my network drives but couldn't see it finishing).
   And Oh, By The Way, now we also have our music down in the living room. I mean, I realize this is what a "media center" does. So some of you may say "Duh!". But this is so much more than what we had originally intended...just excellent guys! Thank You!
I realize this is just scratching the surface of LMCE, and there's so much more, but so far...Awesome!  And we just have one hybrid right now...
   Definitely have to/will do some "pay it back" to the community...

Thank you all!
R

tkmedia

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2009, 04:29:33 am »
Quote
So we don't have to be stuck in the office or the laptop to watch them.

Just wait till you have a MD in the bedroom and you can start your movie in the living room and then have it follow you into the bedroom.



Tim
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colinjones

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2009, 09:47:40 am »
Duh! :)

Quote
So we don't have to be stuck in the office or the laptop to watch them.

Just wait till you have a MD in the bedroom and you can start your movie in the living room and then have it follow you into the bedroom.



Tim

Nooooo don't do it! My partner and I are now retiring to the bedroom at, like, 8pm to plough through more battlestar galactica, movies and other TV shows (Not Going Out is a favourite at the moment!)... the wine bottle, etc have moved up there now :) there's a tentative, forced yawning from one of us at about 7:30pm, half way through something, then I bounce the current stream upstairs, and up we scuttle. We even had an argument a couple of days ago.... so I split the stream..... ;) problem solved haha!

lmce3000

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2009, 10:02:13 am »
Hell yeah!!! I'm hooked on LMCE as well. Will post pics of my system soon.

John.
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totallymaxed

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2009, 10:39:05 am »
Duh! :)

Quote
So we don't have to be stuck in the office or the laptop to watch them.

Just wait till you have a MD in the bedroom and you can start your movie in the living room and then have it follow you into the bedroom.



Tim

Nooooo don't do it! My partner and I are now retiring to the bedroom at, like, 8pm to plough through more battlestar galactica, movies and other TV shows (Not Going Out is a favourite at the moment!)... the wine bottle, etc have moved up there now :) there's a tentative, forced yawning from one of us at about 7:30pm, half way through something, then I bounce the current stream upstairs, and up we scuttle. We even had an argument a couple of days ago.... so I split the stream..... ;) problem solved haha!

This thread is starting to sound like a something from a forum on 'improving your relationships' lol...'splitting the stream' sounds like a euphemism for some other activity too me ;-)

...does LinuxMCE have a whole aspect I never even realised it had... ;-)

Keep it up guys

Andrew

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Ray_N

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #5 on: March 26, 2009, 01:00:49 pm »
hehehehee...That's right!  :D

Next on Dr. Phil:
   Take your romance from the couch to the bedroom...and back...with LinuxMCE

Or... today in Oprah:
   You don't have to be a couch potato anymore...
I mean...really...people don't have to be glued to the couch anymore...and that is just awesome...Now they can be munching down straight from the fridge...  ;D

Or here's another interesting add-on. For those people that have workout videos and the like, now they don't need to be fumbling with DVDs and, if short on time, can start warming up their workout in one place and finish in another.  But that would be too healthy...so we'll just stick with the couch-potato example...

Great job guys!
R

jthodges

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #6 on: March 26, 2009, 01:14:18 pm »
Or here's another interesting add-on. For those people that have workout videos and the like, now they don't need to be fumbling with DVDs and, if short on time, can start warming up their workout in one place and finish in another. 

This was key to wife acceptance for me.  I've tried to wow her with IR integration and webpads, but so far nothing has impressed her as much as the exercise room MD and having the media follow her back to the living room when she's done.  Er, yeah, I mean I use it too of course  :)

seth

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2009, 01:31:36 pm »
 ;)
I have a little bit more to add to this.
My wife is 7 months pregnant. She has been told by the doctors to limit her movement, and spend less time on her feet. Now normally this would be fine, however, I already have 2 daughters at toddler age. One is 3 and the other is 2.

They have a TV/MD in their playroom. There is also another one in the main viewing area of the Living room. Now occasionally they watch the same thing, but more frequently they prefer something else. With this system the wife, lying or sitting in the bedroom, can start media on all the other MD's from a central location, the Master Bedroom MD. She can also, adjust the lights, and check on the playroom activity from a webcam in that room. Also, with the addition of some fairly inexpensive microphones, each MD has also become an intercom system. So if it gets too loud in any of the other rooms, she can fire up the intercom to each location, or broadcast to all, "Settle down in there!"

All for free. Well less the cost of hardware. But the software that runs it all, free as in beer.

I have nothing but good things to say about this system. Everyone who has ever been at the house, and seen first hand, the lights dimming during TV/Movie watching, media being played simultaneously on all screens in the house. It is just a wonderful thing.

My best to all the hard work that has gone into this project. With the future release of 8.10 on the horizon, things can only get better.

Kindest Regards,

Seth
« Last Edit: March 26, 2009, 01:33:12 pm by seth »
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wierdbeard65

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #8 on: March 26, 2009, 02:57:24 pm »
Quote
does LinuxMCE have a whole aspect I never even realised it had.....

Brings a whole new meaning to "home automation"! LOL ;D
Paul
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colinjones

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #9 on: March 26, 2009, 11:29:17 pm »
guys guys GUYS! Don't even go there, totallymaxed :)

totallymaxed

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #10 on: March 27, 2009, 12:46:45 am »
guys guys GUYS! Don't even go there, totallymaxed :)

;-)

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seth

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #11 on: March 27, 2009, 01:43:01 pm »
 ;D
I have discovered a yet another practical benefit of this system.

From the Master Bedroom orbiter screen - "House To Sleep Mode"
I have recently put a MD in my bedroom, and every night, while the wife watches Lifetime or some other food channel, I can go back there and catch up on my SciFi recordings, or start to watch a movie. I have picture windows in that room, that looks out over my property, this floor of the house is actually up off the finished grade by about 12 feet, so I get quite the vista view effect, but anyways, down the road looking out that window is my brother-in-laws place, and he has a 13 year old son, who is in the habit of touching and sometimes breaking all my stuff, but anyways, without further delay.........

Now when I see my annoying nephew from down the road heading for the house, you know the one who comes in, and touches, sometimes breaking all your stuff, and fingering up your Wii games, and.... forgive me I digress.

You see him coming up in the evening, you hit that button, and all the lights including the outside lights go off, and now he thinks everyone has retired for the evening, and he turns and goes back home.  ;)

Just one more useful thing that this system can do.

I have already made a new scenario for the living room MD, called, Lights Out, based on this auto generated scenario.

Regards,

Seth
« Last Edit: March 27, 2009, 02:12:04 pm by seth »
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lmce3000

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #12 on: March 27, 2009, 01:55:02 pm »
Nice ! (Chuckling and Rubbing Hands Together Like Mr Burns From The Simpsons).

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firefist235

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Re: Ooohh...so this is what a real media center is!!!
« Reply #13 on: June 24, 2009, 07:14:06 pm »
I am building up and improving my hybrid. when i am finished i build a MD for my parents living room.

No more: "Give me that DVD with Mel Gibson" :D