Media server and anyone got an old video card? - Page 5

Garp · 14-04-2007, 10:45

Okay.. my thought so far.

WTF?!?!?!?!

Could they make this install ANY LESS user friendly?

Actually, they probably could, they'd expect us to manually edit text files.
I know I'm a bloke and by definition I don't read manuals, but I'd just like to point out that in my opinion if the common human is expected to use software, they shouldn't have to.

I'm going to have to go off and find instructions on setting this thing up because its confusing the hell out of me. I think, vaguely, that I've got the main PC setup okay, but its just shoved me through some long winded web interface to set things up on it from my main PC rather than it and I'm not certain in the slightest whether its worked. Was I supposed to add the DVD device in the devices setup? If so how was I supposed to do that when its not in the hardware list? Graphics card? Sound Card? etc. etc. etc.

Garp · 05-05-2007, 12:00

Woo.. finally I've got the box working.

Windows +MCE was the easy bit. Graphics card to TV was a bugger. Works with one of my cables to an extent but was coming up very very washed out colours.

After lots of head banging and frustration I discovered online some people talking about a mod to the SCART adaptor:

I cannibalised an old jack to jack audio cable, produced a relevant length piece of twisted copper wire and put it in place, and finally we have a full colour display on our TV downstairs, and its happy streaming video of shared drives on our other PCs

LeperousDust · 23-05-2007, 11:53

Hey Garp, i've just remember about this little project whilst reading the XBMC thread, wondered how the media center software/OS is going, and what you've settled on? I want to get something set up and ready before i come back to uni next year so i can just plug and play and all be happy... LinuxMCE looks good (but overly complicated) if youre still using it how does it cope over time?

Garp · 23-05-2007, 12:12

I can't stand LinuxMCE personally.. i've never got it to work happily on either our media box or my test box, just one headache after another. Windows Media Centre was a doddle to install and works fine, plays across the network happily, and all apart from a few quirks I've started fixing today; like you have to do a registry fix to get it to read the .mkv files which are becoming used more and more!

LeperousDust · 23-05-2007, 17:17

I'm a relative linux n00b anyways, if something went horrendously wrong (which it probably would) im not a fan of being burried by config files were i can really muck things up!

WindowsMCE means i could use that, or a whole host of other alternatives. There aren't many fully fledged media centres within a Linux environment yet really...

Garp · 23-05-2007, 17:40

I can produce a MythTV based one with fair amounts of ease, I've done it in the past for the Sixth Form College I worked for, but certainly at the time it wasn't that easy for a Linux n00b. I learnt a lot about Linux when I produced that solution!

Even still have the build instruction docs kicking around at home..

14-04-2007, 10:45	#41
Garp Preparing more tumbleweed Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 6,038	Okay.. my thought so far. WTF?!?!?!?! Could they make this install ANY LESS user friendly? Actually, they probably could, they'd expect us to manually edit text files. I know I'm a bloke and by definition I don't read manuals, but I'd just like to point out that in my opinion if the common human is expected to use software, they shouldn't have to. I'm going to have to go off and find instructions on setting this thing up because its confusing the hell out of me. I think, vaguely, that I've got the main PC setup okay, but its just shoved me through some long winded web interface to set things up on it from my main PC rather than it and I'm not certain in the slightest whether its worked. Was I supposed to add the DVD device in the devices setup? If so how was I supposed to do that when its not in the hardware list? Graphics card? Sound Card? etc. etc. etc. __________________ Mal: Define "interesting"? Wash: "Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die"?

05-05-2007, 12:00	#42
Garp Preparing more tumbleweed Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 6,038	Woo.. finally I've got the box working. Windows +MCE was the easy bit. Graphics card to TV was a bugger. Works with one of my cables to an extent but was coming up very very washed out colours. After lots of head banging and frustration I discovered online some people talking about a mod to the SCART adaptor: I cannibalised an old jack to jack audio cable, produced a relevant length piece of twisted copper wire and put it in place, and finally we have a full colour display on our TV downstairs, and its happy streaming video of shared drives on our other PCs __________________ Mal: Define "interesting"? Wash: "Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die"?

23-05-2007, 11:53	#43
LeperousDust Bananaman Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Liverpool/Edinburgh Posts: 4,817	Hey Garp, i've just remember about this little project whilst reading the XBMC thread, wondered how the media center software/OS is going, and what you've settled on? I want to get something set up and ready before i come back to uni next year so i can just plug and play and all be happy... LinuxMCE looks good (but overly complicated) if youre still using it how does it cope over time? __________________

23-05-2007, 12:12	#44
Garp Preparing more tumbleweed Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 6,038	I can't stand LinuxMCE personally.. i've never got it to work happily on either our media box or my test box, just one headache after another. Windows Media Centre was a doddle to install and works fine, plays across the network happily, and all apart from a few quirks I've started fixing today; like you have to do a registry fix to get it to read the .mkv files which are becoming used more and more! __________________ Mal: Define "interesting"? Wash: "Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die"?

23-05-2007, 17:17	#45
LeperousDust Bananaman Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Liverpool/Edinburgh Posts: 4,817	I'm a relative linux n00b anyways, if something went horrendously wrong (which it probably would) im not a fan of being burried by config files were i can really muck things up! WindowsMCE means i could use that, or a whole host of other alternatives. There aren't many fully fledged media centres within a Linux environment yet really... __________________

23-05-2007, 17:40	#46
Garp Preparing more tumbleweed Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Hawaii Posts: 6,038	I can produce a MythTV based one with fair amounts of ease, I've done it in the past for the Sixth Form College I worked for, but certainly at the time it wasn't that easy for a Linux n00b. I learnt a lot about Linux when I produced that solution! Even still have the build instruction docs kicking around at home.. __________________ Mal: Define "interesting"? Wash: "Oh, God, oh, God, we're all gonna die"?