What hardware was used in the 0704 video?

[freymann]

I see, I didn't realize it would cost so much to do something that seems so simple to do.

Are you referring to the 'other' packages or LMCE? I didn't think I would have to spend a lot to play with LMCE but as I said previously, I'm over $3,000 CDN and still going! But you already replied to me in another thread saying money was no object, so I'm a little confused where you stand on that one right now.

I guess the main problem is that a lot of people want it to "just work" like it did in your video, but the video was made using hardware that isn't readily available.

That video is not a very good representation of what to expect in my mind. Nothing works "out of the box" in the manner suggested. Everyone has to go into the web based control panel for LMCE and set up something. I highly doubt any newbie would be able to answer all of Sarah's setup questions properly and end up with such a nicely working system as shown in the video. The video does show you what you can end up with though, it just happens to skip over all the blood, sweat and tears some of us have to go through to get there!

Let me give you my perspective about a recent nvidia driver issue I had just the other day.

Hmmm, I don't think you can compare upgrading Ubuntu from 6.05 (was there really a 6.05? or was that 6.04?) to 8.04 against installing LMCE 7.10RC2 onto a new box. But seriously, you made quite a few leaps there and surely you weren't naive enough to think something wouldn't have changed and broke?

But kudos to you for hammering things out. If you have skills like that they will be handy when playing with LMCE.

I have the MCE remote, it wouldn't work until I gave the lircd daemon a kick in the pants.  I don't know what kind of tuner card is in it, probably a Leadtek Winfast XP 2000.

Your remote should be fine with LMCE.

If you go to the mythbuntu forums and search for that tuner card, I don't think you'll find a lot of happy faces. Check this thread out:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=610426&highlight=Leadtek+Winfast+XP+2000

If you want a fairly painless experience with LMCE ensure you start with compatible equipment as has been suggested to you. If you come back and start complaining nothing works nobody (especially Zaerc) will feel sorry for you! 

[nosebreaker]

I meant I can't justify spending $200k to add home automation to a 4-bedroom house (from the example, around here that's a $400k house).  That's just not worth it.  I would spend another $3k if it meant getting a working system "out of the box" though, I'm already planning to spend more than that for new stuff now anyway.  I'll probably try installing LMCE and see what roadblocks I run into, and if it works with basic things then I'll jump in a bit.  If it takes me too long I might pay someone that works for me to get it working if it is still the best option.

I think it would be a great idea to use current hardware and focus on getting it to "just work" with that.  So that the video is really an example of what it could be, and if you don't buy the "supported hardware" then you'll have to spend more time on it.

No I didn't expect a full upgrade 2 major versions would be painless, but considering all I tried to do was add 1 program to get surround sound I was surprised it upgraded the OS.  I was just trying to illustrate why people are frustrated with Linux in general with one of my experiences.

I probably wouldn't use the MCE remote, I'll probably buy a few Fiire chief's or setup some phones to use the follow me feature.

I do

[totallymaxed]

I meant I can't justify spending $200k to add home automation to a 4-bedroom house (from the example, around here that's a $400k house).  That's just not worth it.  I would spend another $3k if it meant getting a working system "out of the box" though, I'm already planning to spend more than that for new stuff now anyway.  I'll probably try installing LMCE and see what roadblocks I run into, and if it works with basic things then I'll jump in a bit.  If it takes me too long I might pay someone that works for me to get it working if it is still the best option.

I think it would be a great idea to use current hardware and focus on getting it to "just work" with that.  So that the video is really an example of what it could be, and if you don't buy the "supported hardware" then you'll have to spend more time on it.

No I didn't expect a full upgrade 2 major versions would be painless, but considering all I tried to do was add 1 program to get surround sound I was surprised it upgraded the OS.  I was just trying to illustrate why people are frustrated with Linux in general with one of my experiences.

I probably wouldn't use the MCE remote, I'll probably buy a few Fiire chief's or setup some phones to use the follow me feature.

I do

We see this kind of thread so many times that it just gets a bit frustrating for many of us in the community. Search the forum and read the wiki... LinuxMCE is a big complex project... it makes Mythbuntu look like a small utility (and thats not a dig at Mythubuntu at all). The scope of this project and therefore its complexity is important to grasp before getting involved.

However if you ask a few specific questions, do some simple research on the Forum and in the Wiki then you can get a basic system up and running from the DVD installer in about 45 mins. We do this everyday at my company so i know this is the case. But taking the basic install and then adding MD's and exploiting even a minimal subset of the feature set in a 'real home' is a complex and pretty lengthy process and is certainly not one you will just pickup in a few hours. But it is possible if you apply yourself and dont expect instant success.

All the best

Andrew

[nosebreaker]

Ok, I really think that if that is what people want/expect then that is what the project should be aiming for.  I understand trying to make it work with lots of different drivers is difficult, so just use 1 or 2 types of each type of hardware to start with is my suggestion.  If it works flawlessly with specific hardware that would be a great start!

[hari]

This project aims for the needs of the contributors. If you don't want to contribute you can make a feature request.

It works almost flawlessly with specific hardware at the moment.

best regards,
Hari

[nosebreaker]

Argh that's what I'm saying I _want_.  Which specific hardware does it work flawlessly with? I see "supported hardware" but then I see people listing fixes for it.

[hari]

I had no problem finding my parts after some research. I've even documented them on the Wiki. If more users would do the same we would have better compatibility lists..

br hari