Re: Is there Linux equivalent of MS XP Media Center
From: Mark Kent (mark.kent_at_demon.co.uk)
Date: 12/26/04
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Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2004 19:26:47 +0000
tight one <tightone@borko.org> espoused:
> On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 19:15:57 +0000, Jon Smith wrote:
>
>> I'd like to build a PC that will also do DVR, DVD player, CD/MP3/VCD player
>> with remote control like the MS XP Media Center. I'd watched DVD in my
>> Linux laptop before but is it easy make a Linux as XP Media Center
>> equivalent?
>
<snip silly troll>
I use a linux machine to feed my house RF distribution network, so that
I can play *anything* to *anywhere*.
The main reason for the use of linux is that x-servers can be started
remotely (on a spare tty), and apps can be started on eg., a wireless
networked laptop, to display on the wired machine's x-server. Mplayer
with a suitable simple front-end (iselect is, in fact, excellent for this)
provides a super user-friendly selection method, with a menu which uses
arrow keys to move and the return key to play a film.
The standard, if somewhat arcane, mplayer keys are all fully available,
and as the OSD displays on the TV, then full feedback to the user
is there.
Since the portable is with the user, then any mixer app can be used to
set the sound level out of the PC.
My arrangement uses an nvidia-based card for video-out, it's set up to
present an image of the 800x600 X-server to the video output. This is
easily done from the XF86Config file.
The Video and Sound outputs (I use a second sound-card for this) are taken
to a video-switch (as other PCs can also be used to output this way),
and then on to a modulator (which is in another part of the house), the
RF output of which feeds the main RF distribution network in the house,
as well as the audio (stereo) via the audio distribution network.
Consequently, channel 9 on every TV in my house carries the PC's video/
audio out. This means that any divx, mp3, mpc, mpeg, avi, whatever is
visible/audible anywhere. It also means that eg., realplayer streams,
ogg and mp3 streams and so on, can also be played anywhere round the
house, either using televisions or the stereo audio distribution system.
If you don't have a stand-alone modulator, you can get away with feeding
the audio & video into the scart-input on your VCR, which can then
be fed around your house using an inexpensive RF distribution box (4
way ones are probably less than 25 quid now), and if you started with
a reasonable amount of signal, you might be able to passively split
it further. Be careful of cheap splitters, though, they are resistive
rather than inductive and *very* lossy. The disadvantage to only using
RF distribution is that, unless you have a commercial-grade modulator
with NICAM, then you only get mono sound. (I guess in NTSC countries
you probably only get that anyway?). Also, to get teletext as well,
(it would be cool to stream slashdot to a text ticker!), you'd need a
commercial-grade modulator.
My 'multi-media' PC also has an RF keyboard (49MHz device) with mouse,
which is reputedly capable of operating up to 30m away, but I've found
it's somewhat patchy in performance. Using that (with fresh batteries),
you can directly drive an X-server, but really, for multi-media playback,
you don't really want all the bits which come with a standard desktop,
rather, just selecting the film/audio track/stream to play and getting
a fullscreen display is best. Still, it's probably simpler than installing
a wireless network.
xmms can be used with its 'console control' method, but it's a bit klunky
when you don't drive the x-server as well.
If you wanted to be super-subtle, you could run different x-servers on
the svga and video-out outputs of nvidia cards, which means that you
could split the machine between multiple users. Personally, though,
I quite enjoy watching someone play doom or quake on the tele :-)
Frankly, this setup might be seen as overkill by a lot of people, but like
most of these things, when you get used to the level of flexibility this
approach offers, watching people moving DVDs from one room to another to
watch it somewhere else seems terribly old-fashioned, kind of Microsoft
thinking, where one machine sits in one place to do one thing.
Of course, I've been doing this since before XP saw the light of day,
so I don't really know what wonderful features it might have, but my
experience of using a Win2k machine for a couple of years has not lead
me to believe that there's any simple way of running graphical displays
from remote machines.
Anyway, to get the best from this, you also need a wireless network, and
a laptop with reasonable battery life (a simple, older machine is fine),
which can ssh into your MM machine, start an x-server if there isn't a
clean one running (you don't really need screensavers, window managers, or
anything else like that), and then launch your movie/ogg whatever player.
Another alternative could be to use VNC, either directly (probably too
slow for movies), or to start a player to output on the second x-server
which plays to the video-out.
To get your movie player to output to a server on the same machine
without using xhost, you can use unix sockets like this:
export DISPLAY=unix:2
assuming that the x-server you want is the third one going. Either using
chvt (if you have permission) or attaching this server to the video-out
only ensures that the output is the one you want. Personally, I prefer
the flexibility of being able to switch between multiple x-servers in
this way. Now, if you start mplayer, it will display to server no.3,
but the console output will still be on your current tty. You can use
this for getting 'screen' sessions to output to the gui for graphical
stuff, whilst still being visible across multiple controlling machines.
You can extend this, using a TV-card with video-input(s) and possibly a
separate video switch to switch a channel between eg., multiple cameras
for, say, astronomy, personal pr0n, or whatever takes your fancy.
Remote controlling IR controlled devices from another room is relatively
easy with the IR extenders which a dead cheap from Index or Argos, and
use the 433MHz band to extend the range of your remote. I've had good
success using multiple transmitters to one receiver (multiple senders,
if you prefer), allowing control of satellite receivers, VCRs etc.,
from multiple rooms, as they display around the house.
The key to the thinking here is taking a standard engineering concept,
something repeated in droves in Unix designs, which is that of
reuseability.
An RF distribution network, once installed, can be used for a myriad
of things. It's important to filter out the crap you don't need, so,
for example, if you get your analogue and digital TV in group A (analogue
only in US?), then fit a GrpA filter to ensure no other signals get onto
your network, then you can use all the remaining channels for yourself
(okay, you need to leave a guard band, but you could easily have 30
channels within your house).
Similarly, an audio distribution network is well worthwhile. I've a
reasonably priced audio distribution amp (around 200 quid?) with 12
outputs, each independently level adjustable. I had to make up most
of my pattress plates myself (drill, drill-stand, patience), but the
high-tech result is worth it. In particular, I would say if you're
going to install a cat5 network, then put in an RF one, and an audio
one as well. The incremental cost for the cable is negligible, and the
flexibility amazing.
Okay, it's taken longer than just saying "yes", but I thought it worth
adding some details to indicate the level of flexibility which the
linux modular structure enables.
If you want the down and dirty details, then email me. Hehe, maybe
I should write an article on this for linux format :-)
-- | Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk | Your aims are high, and you are capable of much.
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