are there some suggestions for MD/Orbiter for a newbie

[toko]

Hi,

I'm right now building a new house and would like to do best integration of linuxMCE. Can sombody give me good suggestions on the following questions please?

Let's say I have a server and a wired network already - so what's missing are the MediaDirectors for

LivingRoom
Bedroom
Bathroom

1) In LivingRoom I have a quite good LCD TV screen. What will feed my TV screen best - is there any little cool box which connects to LinuxMCE server with bluetooth support? Should that one be able to boot by PXE? or best to set up there a normal Desktop PC and use the TV screen as monitor?

2) In Bedroom actually mostly used for audio and light control. Read about WebPads - can somebody recommend one? And please suggest as well all the things whch never would have come into my mind otherwise... And isn't Audio a problem when I don't want to use the built-in speakers but the one installed in my bedroom?

3) Bathroom - ok I know the water is a problem as well as the voltage and whatever else.. I thought cool would be to have a wall-mounted touchscreen used as a MediaDirector to control light, hear audio and watch the news on the little screen.


Yet many many thanks for any help!
Thomas

[sharlee_angelo]

1. my personal view is to connect the box pc to linuxmce machine with an ethernet card. this is because you will need to broadcast dvd's and you need higher bandwith. there are many box pc's (barebones) which can run without a problem any video file (i recommend one with nvidia card).
2. I use a DT Research WebDT 366 and works very well.
3. right now, i know nothing about such kind of device.

[toko]

for nr. 2: how would I solve the audio problem - when I don't want to use the built-in speakers, any idea for that one?

[1audio]

For audio only use a Squeezebox or Roku, simpler and cheaper and still controlled by LMCE. For the bedroom I have had success with an iPaq 5550 (WiFi WinCE handheld) as a control device, except its not working right now. Some problem with connecting?? I'm waiting for v1.1 and then I will troubleshoot it. But to control lights it was great when it was working.

For the main system use a desktop with lots of power and nVidia graphics. Not worth the effort to sort out a different solution when that works.

[Hugolp]

The Squeezebox or the Roku seems interesting but they are expensive. For that prize you can get a cheap computer and play video as well. But if you dont mind to expend the money and you like them, they look allright. If you can get them cheaper second-hand they may be a good option.

Hugo

[1audio]

In the US they aren't so expensive. The current Squeezebox can be had for $250 on eBay and the Rokus are closer to $50 in some cases. For that price most PC's are pretty limited and don't include a display. And suck power.

[Hugolp]

In the US they aren't so expensive. The current Squeezebox can be had for $250 on eBay and the Rokus are closer to $50 in some cases. For that price most PC's are pretty limited and don't include a display. And suck power.

If you can get the Roku for 50$ they are very interesting.

Hugo

[norcal]

The roku is a great piece of hardware, right now it cannot be controlled via orbiter thought just so you know. You can browse all of your music files with the remote and listen to internet radio, but there is no control at this time through pluto.

[1audio]

I have a Roku M1000 talking to Pluto. You need to tell the Roku to talk to Slimserver and then it works. LMCE has a version of Slimserver in it. The Squeezebox integration is a little better it seems but they both work fine. For a self contained audio solution the Roku Soundbridge Radio is a great package (perfect for a Kitchen radio).

[norcal]

@1audio
Are you actually able to turn on/off change music etc through an orbiter? I can succesfully connect to the slimserver and i can browse all of my audio that is stored on the core, but from what i have read that is as far as roku support has gone. When i tried to turn on music using an orbiter it just tells me that it is unable to complete the operation.

[1audio]

From an Orbiter I can select music stored in the system and send it to either a Media Director or a Squeezebox or Roku. Or all of them at once. At one point I had the Slimserver also pointing at the same media directory but an upgrade messed that up and I have not got back to it. I'm using Pluto right now and will go back to LMCE but with my current setup as complex as it is I will wait for the next release of LMCE. Too many devices to sort out.

Getting the Roku working wasn't as simple as it should be. You may need to manually add it so LMCE can access it. I forgot the process so I'm not a lot of help for this.