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Messages - alx9r

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166
I got a reply from Samme saying that he was busy with other things and isn't involved in this project at the moment.  He also said the following:

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Well, I got setup as admin, but I don't have console access, I think, or atleast Paul was the only one who had that earlier. I was also into adding some extensions, but then the lack of time came in the way and I've had quite intense job/studies since last fall.

I think you should contact Paul about this matter, I think he can help you out better than me.

I'm believe Samme means Paul Webber.  I tried Paul Webber's address listed here
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Contacts

but I only received an auto-reply.  I haven't progressed beyond that.

It would be nice to know if anyone is handling basic administration of the wiki.  It would be comforting to see that the content is backed up and that the server is in good hands.

167
Users / Re: New in the Wiki: Alx9r's Sample Setup
« on: June 01, 2008, 05:32:14 pm »
Hi Todd,
I'm glad it's helping you.  I don't have 5.1 working yet because I haven't received my receiver yet.  I've got a Marantz sr7500 5.1 and 7.1 capable receiver on order.  It should arrive in about a week.  I don't expect it to be any more difficult to set up than the TV and remote.  Once I have it set up I'll post the setup and tweaks I made to get it working. 

If you look at my system diagram (if you haven't already checked it out) you can see how I'm intending to connect the receiver and speakers.  I'm hoping that configuration is going to work.  I'm planning to use SPDIF to output audio to the receiver.  I do have the SPDIF-OUT/OPT breakout already, but won't have any component that accepts SPDIF input to test whether that it's working until I get my sr7500.

Cheers,

Alex

168
Users / New in the Wiki: Alx9r's Sample Setup
« on: May 31, 2008, 08:04:57 am »
Hello,
I have finished the first complete incarnation of my LinuxMCE system.  Check it out in the wiki here:
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Alx9r%27s_Sample_Setup

Hopefully someone finds that documentation useful.  I am still adding to my system and will keep the wiki up-to-date as I add things, so keep watching if you're interested.

Enjoy,

Alex

169
I am new to LinuxMCE.  I think most new users would agree that the documentation for LinuxMCE, in particular the wiki, could use improvement. 

I have been contributing to the wiki and would like to do more.  The wikimedia installation is missing a few components that allow, for example, easily adding Navboxes.  Navboxes are common in wikipedia.  You can see an example at the bottom of this page (click the show button on the right-hand-side of the powder-blue bars):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU

There are two "wiki admins", Lozzo and Samme, listed on this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Contacts

I have attempted to contact both Lozzo and Samme and am waiting to here back from them.  I'm not holding my breath as it seem that both Lozzo and Samme have been inactive since late 2007. 

Does anyone know who "has the keys" to the LinuxMCE wiki? 

I really would like to contribute but get the feeling that the wiki infrastructure itself isn't being taken care of by anyone.

Thanks for the help.

Alex


170
Users / Re: Survey: What Graphics Chip is Working for You?
« on: May 27, 2008, 12:46:31 am »
Andrew,
I think I buried my own question in my last post.  I really would like to know if all the cards you listed worked without any special installation steps.

Cheers,

Alex

171
Users / Re: Survey: What Graphics Chip is Working for You?
« on: May 26, 2008, 01:57:15 am »
Hi Andrew,
Thanks for all of the info.  Did all of the cards you listed work without any special installation steps?  If so, that's great news.

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Hmmm... well 'out of production' is probably a little over-stated. There are plenty of 6150 class MB's still available stand alone and there are still a number of packaged products too. So I think you will see this chipset around for a little while yet.
I'll admit that 'out of production' might be an overstatement for the 6150.  In Canada at least though, it's not that easy to get your hands on a suitable 6150 motherboard.  I just did a quick search of two of the most popular end-user suppliers in Canada (ncix and tigerdirect).  There is only one model of motherboard with the 6150 onboard in stock at those suppliers.  That is the BIOSTAR MCP6P-M2 which doesn't have DVI or HDMI out.  Newegg in the USA only has only that BIOSTAR and a server-class mobo also without DVI or HDMI. 

What 6150 motherboards are you still able to get easily in the UK?

I agree that there are still a lot of packaged PCs containing the 6150, but for me at least it doesn't make sense to buy a whole pc just so I can cannibalize the motherboard.

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I filled in the survey... but really this info would be better captured on the Wiki ;-)
I'm a bit confused by this last post Andrew.  In my original post, I said I would create a wiki topic if I got enough responses to warrant one.  Are you suggesting that I should have conducted the survey on the wiki or are you just re-iterating that the results should eventually be posted there?

Thanks again for your sharing your experience -- it goes a long way to helping newbies like me select appropriate hardware.

Regards,

Alex

172
Users / Re: Survey: What Graphics Chip is Working for You?
« on: May 25, 2008, 07:30:44 pm »
I guess I should include my experience in this survey:

1. Graphics Chip: nVidia GeForce 6150
2. Highest Def: 1080p playback works great!
3. Using UI2 with Masking
4. LinuxMCE Version: 0710RC1 (I used the AMD64 DVD to install)

5/6. Chip is onboard the ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard.
7. Special installation step: In the bios, i set "Advanced->Chipset->frame buffer size" to 128MB RAM.
8. Chip is now out of production.  UI2 with alpha-blending causes tearing on video playback, use masking instead.

173
Users / Survey: What Graphics Chip is Working for You?
« on: May 25, 2008, 07:19:20 pm »
For those in a hurry, please just answer the questions in bold below.

Hello all,
Anyone who has a working LinuxMCE Media Director, please take the time to answer this survey.  Based on what is in the forums and wiki, it is difficult to select a good linuxmce motherboard.  Narrowing down known-working graphics chips will help a lot in the selection of a motherboard.  At least one of the most recommended and most documented graphics chips (the GeForce 6150 used in the video) is now out-of-production.

Main Survey Questions:

1. What graphics chip is working for you? (if you don't know but know your motherboard model, just put that down)

2. What is the highest definition video that you are successfully playing with this chip?

3. Are you using UI2 with masking or UI2 with alpha blending?

4. What version of LinuxMCE are you using?


Optional Survey Questions:
5. Is your graphics chip on the motherboard or a separate graphics card?

6. What model of motherboard or graphics card are you using?

7. Did you have to perform any special installation steps to get your graphics chip working for you?

8. Is there anything else that you think others should know about your graphics chip?



Thanks for your input.  If I get enough feedback, I will compile this into a nice wiki topic.

Cheers,

Alex

174
Users / Re: Thinking of Jumping In!!!
« on: May 24, 2008, 11:22:36 pm »
rodercot,
I first started reading about LinuxMCE about 6 weeks ago and got all my hardware together about 3 weeks ago now.  After reading much of the wiki and forums I had so many questions that I didn't even know which questions to ask first.  I got hooked by the video but was suspicious that LinuxMCE would be a challenge to get working.  I'm a hacker at heart so I figured the best way to answer my questions was to set up a test system -- so I did. 

So here are my observations after about 3 weeks with hardware.  These are generalizations based on my experience, YMMV:
1. LinuxMCE is really cool and impressively stable once it is set up.
2. Most devices (including those most recommended in the forum and wiki) do not work properly out-of-the-box.  I guess I've averaged about 4-10 hours per device to each one working properly (Hauppauge PVR-150, the remote that came with it, Sharp Aquos TV).  There's usually some small tweak for each device that needs to be performed to get things working.  It's finding that tweak that's time consuming.  Generally, once you find the right tweak the device will work flawlessly afterward.
3. There are numerous minor bugs throughout the system.  I haven't found any that significantly compromise usability, but there is still some polishing to be done.

linuxMCE is a work in progress.  As such, I have the following advice:

If you are computer savvy and can contribute to the project's success (by helping others, documenting how to do things, creating support for new devices, writing code, etc) I highly encourage you to set yourself up with some hardware and get involved.  I have found it quite rewarding so far.

If you aren't adept at troubleshooting, think that you'll need a lot of help setting up your system, or don't have a lot of time to invest in setting up your system and contributing back to the community, you might want to wait for linuxmce to mature before jumping in.

Regards,

Alex

175
Users / Re: Strange problem with running 20_DenonReceiver.sh
« on: May 21, 2008, 06:17:44 am »
I had a similar problem with my Sharp Aquos LC-42D64U.  Here's how I solved it: After connecting the RS232 cable for TV control and letting it autodetect, I selected "No, this is not the correct TV" and manually selected the Sharp Acquos LCxxD6U/LCxxD7u. This seems to disable the auto-detection for the port that the TV is connected to. 

176
Alx9r, I see the wiki shows your system is setup. 

Todd,
I think the system diagram on my user page implied that I am further along than I actually am.  I updated it so that you can see what's actually part of my setup right now.

Cheers.

177
I set up a category on the Wiki: Sample User setups.

Please add your setup to the category!

Cheers.

Perspectoff

Thanks Perspectoff.  I think it's still a bit premature to put my setup in the wiki.  When I finally do, I'll categorize it accordingly.

Alex

178
Hi Todd,
Thanks for your interest.  The parts of the system that I have built are working great.  I'm very happy with the hardware I selected.


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Does it handle high def tv fine?

I'm not sure what exactly you are asking, but hopefully this helps.  I have a couple of 1080p files that I have been playing using the system:  Monsters Inc. and a trailer for the new Indiana Jones (both 1080p).  They play mostly flawlessly.  Very occasionally while playing Monsters, playback freezes for about 1/4 second.  It could be the rip -- I haven't tracked it down yet.  The Indiana Jones trailer is flawless.  There was quite a bit of tearing with alpha-blending enabled, I run in overlay mode now.

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Anything you are having problems with?

I've been spending quite a bit of time setting up hardware: It seems that despite my careful hardware selection, almost every piece of hardware I add needs a few small tweaks to get them working.  I've been keeping careful notes on my user page so that I can reproduce the tweaks whenever I start with a fresh install again.  I'm on about my 8th fresh install already.  Now that I know what has to happen, I can apply all the tweaks in about an hour after a fresh install.  The tweaks seem to be quite small, however, they sometimes take quite a bit of time to track down.

My current challenge looks similar to the problem in this thread:
http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=3006.0

If you or anyone has any more questions about the progress on my system, feel free to ask.  You can also watch my user page as I update it.

Cheers,
Alex

179
Users / Re: USB UIRT + streamzap (or other) remote - howto
« on: May 17, 2008, 06:36:28 am »
I tested and added skeptics' technique to add new remote support.  It and some other related information is now in the wiki here:
http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Add_support_for_new_remote_controls

enjoy!

180
teedge,

You certainly raise some valid points.  This is exactly why I put this proposal forth for feedback -- I'd rather not invest time in something that isn't of value to others. 

As with any writing, I think it's important to figure out who the audience for this reference design is.  I was assuming it would be most useful for complete newbies.  By complete newbie, I mean someone who has only watched the video and not invested much time reading the wiki and forums.  I was a complete newbie about 3 weeks ago, so my experience is still fresh in my mind. 

After watching the video I was so excited I wanted to get a LinuxMCE system set up right away.  When I entered the world of the wiki and the forum I was confronted with page after page of discussion about what hardware doesn't work, what tweaks have to be made to get certain components to do certain things, etc.  For a few days after I first ventured into the forums and wiki I honestly didn't believe the video was real.  All I really wanted was sufficient details about the system in the video to be able to replicate at least part of what I saw. 

isnt your proposal of giving an example of working hardware, by using the hardware utilized to make the video, the same as this...

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Video#Equipment_used_in_the_demo

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Nowhere is there a complete description of an actual working useful LinuxMCE system.

but....isnt there? isnt that where you got your "design" from? how do you propose to make it better? you even say you are using whats in the video. are you going to use things that do not work "out of the box" and include simple instructions for getting these other parts to work also?

That's a valid point.  For me, the Equipment_used_in_the_demo section was a starting point.  I guess I was looking for more detail to give me confidence that I would be able to hook everything up without encountering problems that I couldn't justify spending the time to fix.  Perhaps this is just semantics, but for me a the list of hardware in the Equipment_used_in_the_demo is not what I call a complete description. 

For me a complete description includes at least the following:
1. Complete bills of materials: Cables, heatsinks, power supplies, remotes, etc.  Every last part that went into the system and their model numbers.  Whenever I have encountered unfamiliar systems, it has always been helpful to understand the parts make up the system.

2. A diagram showing how the components are connected.  This should include ethernet, serial, infrared, and rf connections.  Some of the system's interconnections could be deduced from the video, but many could not.  For example, how exactly is the cable box connected?

3. Setup instructions describing any tweaks and workarounds.  I had to take extra steps to get the PVR-150 working.  I had to install dvd css manually despite that it was reported as installed already.  These steps are necessary to get the system working but are definitely not shown in the video.

I would guess that the three items above are probably irrelevant to most initiated LinuxMCE users, but I personally would have found them extremely useful when I was first starting out.

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also, the bill of materials part.....its relative. people may find things cheaper or not want the same materials as you. they arent held fast to purchase hardware from only a few vendors. so they can search for what they need and prefer. 40 dollars for a fanless cpu cooler? what if someone finds a perfectly good heat sink with a fan? thats just one part. many people will want atsc tv cards also, which that 150 wont do.
I don't understand the point you are trying to make here.  I'm certainly not the right person to be dictating what parts users should obtain to build their system.  Maybe there is a misunderstanding here:  The bill-of-materials doesn't dictate what parts people have to use (we are still in the free world right?), but rather describes exactly what parts were used in a working system. 

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youve got the board on there from the video which isnt in production anymore....as you even say yourself. so, how do you propose people follow your design with equipment that is either very difficult to find or soon impossible to get at all?
A valid point. That mobo became near impossible to obtain about a week after I ordered mine.  I'll probably get a more readily available mobo to include in this design.  I suspect that the availability of fully compatible will be an ongoing issue for LinuxMCE for some time to come.  A current example is the availability of suitable DVD jukeboxes.

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anyway, its a good idea. i think you should be a little more dangerous though if you really are that into it. try some things from the forums that people get to work well. maybe even ask other people to help you contribute what they have that works. a single system built on specs that are obsolete, hard to get, or not practical for certain people wont be of much use to many at all. anyway.
Point well taken, in the future I will push the envelope with respect to the hardware I use for the reference design.

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i think its a good idea, but it could use a little work still.
Thanks. This is just the beginning of this effort.  Hopefully it will turn into something truly useful.

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I think that is a good idea and I was planning on doing the same thing when I installed mine from scratch. Right now there is a lack of info on how to setup things like security systems/HVAC controllers/Cameras and I know I have questions that havn't been answered. That would save some time for people I am sure.

thats what we need. things that are extremely lacking in testing and documentation. try some of those out and make reference designs for those pieces to work next. after you get your basic system set up and stable. that would be extremely helpful.

Since I am a newbie, having sufficient documentation to get a basic system set up and stable is my priority.  Personally I would rather support newbies to get their systems up and running with a minimum of frustration than to refine the more advanced features of the system.

Thanks for the feedback teedge77, I'm interested in your input.  I suspect, however, that you are probably a much more advanced user than would find the reference design useful.

Cheers,

Alex
newbie advocate

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