Some more Ubuntu questions! (Sorry!)

Priapus

Priapus

Priapus

Soldato
Joined
30 Jul 2004
Posts
10,572
Location
East Sussex, UK
Howzit guys.

Still new to this Ubuntu. (7:10). Now only one major thing stops me using it almost full time. :(

When I am in Windows Vista I use my Microsoft Remote + Media Center to watch my videos ect.

I take it that this is not possible at all in Linux, right? :(
 
Not 100% sure but MythTV is a gui front end similar to Media Centre, and I'd be amazed if nobody has gotten the MS Remote working under linux...

Edit: Just done a quick google which came up with:

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/MCE_Remote

Seems the remote is supported under lirc which MythTV can use for control, so that should be able to do what you need...
 
MythTV is more of a complete setup. It's not really the kind of thing you want to use just for watching movies you already, though MythVideo does this spectacularly well. The reason for this is that it is rather heavy on dependencies. It uses the MySQL database, the Apache web server and a load of other stuff. Myth is great, but you might do better with something like Freevo.

With lirc you can set a profile for individual applications so, for instance, you can set it up just with VLC to play, pause, stop, skip ahead, and skip back. This might be good for you. Be prepared to get your hands dirty with the CLI since this is probably the easiest way of setting it up.

If you choose to go with Myth, I recommend you start by installing the Mythbuntu control center with
sudo apt-get install mythbuntu-control-centre
since it pretty much automates setup after you've told it what role your system will play (frontend and backend in your case). The Myth wiki is great as well, containing info on a load of common and uncommon software along with guides.

I'vo got a MythTV thread going a few threads down. Feel free to ask questions in there. :)
 
Hey.

Well, all I need to be able to do with the remote is browse for different videos on the system, then pic the one I want then play it. As I do in Media Center. Will Freevo be better for this?

Appreciate the reply, Billy! :)
 
I haven't used Freevo in a looooooooong time, but my impression was that, between MythTV and Freevo, Myth was more intended to be a PVR that also did other neat things while Freevo was more like a nifty application launcher. As such, the Myth frontend won't work without a backend running the database, even if there aren't any recorded things in it. Myth was all-encompassing, with an internal media player that can play just about anything but is specifically optimized for playing .nuv. On the flip side Freevo serves as a frontend for various existing applications such as gstreamer, mPlayer, and Xine (myth can also do this in addition to using the internal player).

Meh, now that I'm thinking about it you might just want to jump in the deep end and try MythTV. Hard disks are huge nowadays so 100 MiB won't be noticed and the backend isn't that invasive. I'm sure that when (if?) you get it working it will work with your remote and do just what you want it to do.

Post here for help. I've been setting up Myth boxen for the last three weeks for two different friends. :p
 
I don't mind jumping in the deep end at all, Billy. I like a challenge! :D

So, are you saying that once MythTV is setup I will be able to use my MS remote and search on the PC for all my videos and play them, pause, skip ect?

If so, then I am more then happy to switch to Linux (almost) full time. There's only one other thing that completely stops me.

Would it be possible for me to add you to my MSN, Billy?

Once again, appreciate all that help! :D
 
Yeah, I do just that just about every day. :)

Sure, feel free to add me.

EDIT: You don't really seatch for files to play with it. Rather, you tell it which directories to watch and it adds the files found within to the gallery. After you've configured it it'll then look at the names of the files found and try to find matches for those at IMDB. If it finds something it'll download the poster, rating, summary, director, and year for each film.
 
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