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Topics - wierdbeard65

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1
Users / Sharp Aquos
« on: November 28, 2010, 03:16:33 am »
Hey Folks,

I'm thinking of getting a 60" Sharp Aquos TV (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Sharp+-+AQUOS+/+60%22+Class+/+1080p+/+120Hz+/+LCD+HDTV/1348076.p?id=1218252650535&skuId=1348076) for my main viewing area. I've been trying to get information as to RS232 control options etc, but so far, no joy :-(

Has anyone else got one of these yet? If so, comments?

2
Users / U-Verse
« on: September 12, 2010, 02:35:47 am »
Hi,

I've just moved across the pond to the US and am about to start installing my MCE system over here to carry on playing with it.

Anyway, for the time being, be have installed AT&T's U-Verse package for internet access and TV. I wondered if anyone has any experience with using U-Verse as a TV source?

Obviously, in an ideal world, I would be able to recored the U-Verse IP-TV stream directly off the wire, but I suspect that won't be do-able (although I'd love to be proved wrong!)

Also, I don't know if I can move my STBs "inside" onto my MCE network, or if the firewall etc will then block the IPTV stream (I's rather avoid ending up with 2 LANs :) )

Thoughts?

3
Users / Wiki Update
« on: May 01, 2010, 10:29:44 am »
Folks,

Following a (sometimes heated) discussion (http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=10034.0) I have created a version matrix template.

I intend to start adding the following to the top of every wiki page:

Code: [Select]
{{versioninfo}}This will create a "blank" versiontable at the top of the page stating that the status of this page with regard to both 710 and 810 is unknown.

Can I ask you to do three things, please?

  • If you are creating a page, or visit a page that does not have the table at the top yet, please edit it to put the above code in
  • If you visit a page that has an "unkown" status and you know the status for a version, modify the above tag by putting in parameter substitutions. For example, if I find a page that I know works with 810, I would modify the tag to read
Code: [Select]
{{versioninfo|810Status=Working|810UpdatedDate=1st May 2010|810UpdatedBy=Wierdbeard65}}
  • If you are a forum administrator, make this topic sticky

The parameters are:

  • 710Status
  • 710UpdatedDate
  • 710UpdatedBy
  • 810Status
  • 810UpdatedDate
  • 810UpdatedBy

Obviously, when the next version is on the horizon, we can update the template as required :)

Please post below with your suggestions for "official" statuses.

Thanks!

4
Hi!

Having utterly failed to get PXE to work, and screwed my core in the process, I decided to build from scratch. I downloaded the (THEN) latest snapshot (LinuxMCE-8.10-22889-i386.iso) and "burnt" it to a USB key. When I ran the "check CD for defects" I got 152 corrupt files.

My first thought was that it was either the USB process, or a corrupt download, but then I saw this message on another thread:
Did I mention that I get this error on the windows orbiter as well. I have tried almost every possible combination. I even went back and made sure to burn the DVD at 4x. I run the cd check on 0810beta 2 and it comes up with 152 files have errors.I tried to download another .iso and I get the same thing.
Not only the same error, but the same number of corrupt files!!

I re-tried with a "plain" Kibuntu 810 iso and it has installed fine.

So, I guess my first question is, "is there anything wrong with the current iso snapshots?"

Moving forward, if I use the network (web) install, will I end up at the same place as the latest snapshot should take me?

Thirdly, I have just found out that my isp (BT) has moved the goalposts and I now have a cap on download per month. I want to go for the option which will result in the least download from here on and certainly want to avoid repeated downloads of snapshot iso's just to see if I can find one that will work for me ;)

As always, Thanks in advance for any advice  :)

5
Users / Multiple back-ends and the internet.
« on: March 17, 2010, 02:36:57 pm »
Hi!

Ok, I'm still in the middle of setting my system, but have had a bombshell dropped on me. I'm moving! Currently, I live in the UK, however my company is transferring me to the US. We, as a family, will therefore relocate.

My problem is getting the kids on-board. They have their TV programmes, some of which are not neccessarily available stateside (and those that are may well be either subscription based or full of ads.

So, I figured I could take my current satellite system (sky box, dish etc.) round to may parents-in-law and install it there with a small Myth back-end. Obviously, this would be no good for live TV, but recordings could be configured to be copied over the 'net (using a VPN, perhaps?) to my core / NAS in the US, from where we could watch them. The UK listings would appear in my channel guide and I could set up recording from there...

Is this possible? If so, how do I start?

TIA!

6
Users / Kernel Panic with e100 NIC
« on: February 15, 2010, 11:37:33 pm »
Hi!

Ok, I have an old Compaq box that I'm trying to get working as my first MD. If I boot it from my Kubuntu 8.10 Live CD and to an LSMOD I see that it is using the e100 driver. It connects to the network and it can ping DCE Router.

If I pxe boot it, though, I get a kernel panic of the "cannot open /tmp/net-eth0.conf" variety.

I have followed the wiki on unknown nics and added e100 to /etc/initramfs-tools-interactor/modules. I regenerated initrd (the script /usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_BuildDefaultImage.sh doesn't exist, so I used
Code: [Select]
mkinitramfs -d /etc/initramfs-tools-interactor/ -o /tftpboot/default/initrdI tried unpacking initrd and looking at the modules file in it e100 is there.

I have no idea where to go from here. Any suggestions?

7
Users / UPnP How to watch DVDs? / Filter files?
« on: February 15, 2010, 01:40:50 pm »
Hi Forum!

Ok, I have my 810 core installed. Currently, I have no Media Directors, but I do have the network all set up as-per the "correct" settings.

I have ripped a couple of CDs and a couple of DVDs to the core. I have set the CD ripping format to .mp3. (DVDs appear to be being ripped as .iso) My first MD is next on the hit-list once I have this bit going  :)

So far so good. I then went to the Media Tomb admin page in WebAdmin and told it to scan the public MCE directory structure. I have then attempted to access the files from both a PS3 and Windoze media player.

Results:
  • I seem to have 2 media servers listed on both devices. MediaTomb and DCERouter. The latter has no media on it.
  • Cd's seem to play fine. (Although when I left the default .ogg ripping format, they didn't)
  • Pictures appear, but so do the thumbnails
  • DVDs don't appear at all
  • All directories appear under all media types on the PS3

So,

1) How do I make my DVDs appear?
2) Is there any way I can apply a filename filter to the files that are scanned to stop the thumbnails appearing? (At the moment it's still Flickr, but I want to put family pics there eventually.)
3) How do I stop the "Empty" media server appearing? I'd also like to rename the working one from Media Tomb to something more family-friendly ;)
TIA!

8
Users / SWMBO just ordered a PS3. Setup advice?
« on: December 12, 2009, 10:54:07 am »
Hi,

Ok, I thought I know where I was going, but now SWMBO has ordered a "family Christmas present" which may change everything....

What I have now.

Single LNB dish,
1 x SKY SD box,
TV in living room (connected to above)
TVs in 3 bedrooms, connected to local DVD / VHS players with no live feed.
TV in basement connected to PS2
3 Laptops (one of which is my work laptop)
2 Desktop machines
WII
Wireless infrastructure.

In preparation for installing an MCE system, I have:
An HP GL380 server.
1 GB LynkSYS POW (48port) switch.
PVR150 Analog capture card.
Dual output USBUIRT

What I want to achieve.

At this stage, I'm not interested in HA or telephony. Maybe once I get media working I'll add that to it! What I would like to do is to be able to watch live TV and recordings (either from Live TV or ripped media) on all the TV's in the house.
I would like to have some control over what the kids (particularly the youngest) watches, and when.
A hight WAF / FAF resulting in less ear-ache.

What I had planned.

Initially:
Dedicated Core
MD in living room, with PVR150 connected to Sky box.
On-screen orbiter, possibly using WiiMote (hopefully existing one!)
Then:
Possible upgrade to Quad LNB and installation of satelitte recievers on core.
Possible alternate installation of DVB-T antenna and tuners on core
More MDs connected to other TVs. (I like the look of the ION boards and there is a nice case that will fix to the VESA slots on the TV that I plan to use).

BUT

I have just been told about the PS3 thing and see from the forums that, although it won't make a full MD, it can play streamed media using uPNP from the core. So..

Alternate (new) plan.
Would this work?

Initially:
Dedicated core
PVR150 in core (moving Sky box to basement)
PS3 as streaming reciever for both recorded and live media.
No idea about Orbiters. I have an N97, SWMBO an iPhone.
Existing MD hardware used in a bedroom or similar.

Then:
Additional recievers, as required. Possibly HD HomeRun unit(s)
Additional MDs.

Comments gratefully recieved!

Constraints:

1) WAF / FAF takes ABSOLUTE priority. It has to work. All the time. No excuses.
2) Cost. I don't have much money to throw at this, so price takes prescidence over features / gimicks.
3) Ease of maintenance. I work away from home, so don't see much of my family (I'm away all week). Being able to remotely manage it and not have to manually "drive" it is important. I also can't afford to send every weekend tweaking it.


9
Users / Wiimotes
« on: December 01, 2009, 02:11:27 pm »
Hi folks,

I hope this isn't a question that's too dumb!

I have a Wii whith two Wiimotes. My Wii is set up in my living room, where my main MD will be. The question is, can the Wiimotes be "paired" with both the MD and the Wii at the same time? Or am I going to have to buy more Wiimotes and use coloured jackets to distingush between them?

TIA

10
Users / New Wiki Categories
« on: November 30, 2009, 10:46:06 am »
Hi folks!

I have just added tow new Wiki categories. "Tested with 710" and "Tested with 810".

These are both sub-categories of the "Versions" category which already existed inside the "Development" category. I will leave it to the community to decide if that is appopriate :)

Could I please ask EVERYONE to do two things (please).

1) Any pages you have created / are responsible for (aspecially in the "Hardware" or "How To" sections), please add [[Category:Tested_with_710]] and / or [[Category:Tested_with_810]] to the top of the page, as appropriate.

2) When you follow any instructions on the wiki, and have tested against a particular version, please update it with one (or both!) of these category tags as appropriate.

Hopefully, this will enable us to (eventually) easily work out if the instructions we are following relate to the version we are using ;D

11
Installation issues / Kubuntu net install
« on: October 28, 2009, 11:17:27 am »
Hi,

Ok, I don't want to spark a long-winded discussion here about why's and wherefores!

I have a problem getting my new server to boot off it's optical drive. I have managed to download a utility called UNetbootin (http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/ which lets me create a bootable USB key to install linux.

Unfortunately, the only version I seem to be able to get to work properly is the net install of 810. That's ok, but I get presented with a long list of packages to choose from.

So my question is, which packages should I select for an MCE build base? Do I install stuff like MySQL or will the MCE scripts do all that later? In other words, which packages make up the "Desktop" version?

Thanks

12
Installation issues / Setting up an 810 dedicated core.
« on: October 14, 2009, 08:55:52 pm »
Hi folks,

I'm in the process of installing my "production" core with 810. It is going to be a dedicated core (not a hybrid) and the ONLY function I may want on it's screen is the ability to kick off the ripping of a DVD.

With 710, you had the option of declaring your core to be dedicated, but that isn't there in 810. From other postings, I can see how to set the machine up so when it boots, I don't have an orbiter (I intend to use the machine, which is Waaaaaay over-speced, for other things as well) but rather a login eitrher to a text prompt (preferable) or the KDE GUI login.

My question is this, how much of the AVWizard do I need to run in order to get the core part of MCE set up? I am at the point where Sarah usually appears, but I can neither see nor hear her (no sound card, which I selected earlier and I non-supported graphics card. Not sure what it is, machine is an HP DL380). Have I gone far enough to bomb out of the wizard now and start booting MD's etc and then using the web admin? If not, what selections are the minimum needed to get it working.

Thanks!

13
Users / Nokia N97, Bluetooth and 810
« on: September 14, 2009, 04:59:16 pm »
I have seen from other threads that there MAY be some issues with 810 and bluetooth, at least with some phones.

I am awaiting the delivery of my graphics card, then I intend to start some serious proof-of-concept work with my family.

I have a Nokia N97 which I would like to use as an Orbiter, if possible. So...

1) HAs anyone managed to get the MO to work on this model?
2) Does bluetooth work ok with 810?
3) If the answer to 2 is "yes", is there any advice on what to look for in a dongle for minimum hassle? (I've seen some dongles advertised on eBay VERY cheap, but don't want to end up trying half a dozen!!!

TIA

14
Users / Locking a non-hybrid core
« on: September 11, 2009, 06:07:57 pm »
Hi,

I'm setting my system up with a dedicated core and was wondeering if it is possible to set MCE up so that it boots, starts the services, but then stops at a login prompt? (Personally, I'd prefer no X on the core if possible so I can log in to do SUDO stuff, but not waste any processing on a GUI that isn't being used!)

Certainly, I'd prefer not to have the Orbiter come up automatically. I'm sure this was an option with 710.

Ideas?

15
Installation issues / Unsure about cards
« on: September 06, 2009, 11:04:46 pm »
Hi,

I'm very much still at the proof of concept (to the family) stage and so am trying to get by spending as little cash as I can for the time being. I have managed to build a dedicated core (810) out of old bits and pieces that I had lying around and it seems to be running fairly well.

My first MD will be going in my living room, where I have a SKY tv STB. I have a PVR150 card to hook up to the STB and a USBUIRT to control both the STB and the TV.

My MD is an old Compaq EVO D51S which has no HDD in it. I have managed to get to to boot ok and run the AVWizard etc etc using the on-board graphics facilities. I can't get any sound out of the on-board sound system though. I also don't have a functioning mouse (which makes using the Orbiter "interesting"!!!)

Ok, the unit has 2 PCI slots and what looks like an AGP slot, however the mounting plate on the back is only 65mm high, rather than the (I think) standard 100mm. (I have seen a spec sheet that describes this as a low-profile AGP 4x slot.)

So...

Can I use this AGP port and if so, where can I find a card that will both fit and work with MCE? I can then use the 2 PCI slots for my PVR150 and a sound card (can anyone suggest a good budget one. I don't need surround sound etc etc.!)

TIA

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