Linux Media Jukebox on the Cheap

tsetem writes "Over on ExtremeTech, they have a write-up on building your own Linux Media Jukebox for a little over $500 and a bit of elbow-grease. This is probably the PC we were hoping that the Lindows Media PC would've been." This particular project uses Freevo which has matured significantly since I last looked at it.

Re:Freevo, MythTV

[AKnightCowboy]

The problem I had with Freevo is I could never get the XMLtv stuff to work right without tons of fscking around. Maybe I was just doing it wrong, but it seemed like you had to enter all the channels you want it to pick up into the config file. Seems like too much work. :-) With MythTV on the other hand I grabbed a handful of Debian packages with apt-get, configured the mysql setup via the dialog prompts and had a PVR up and running on a prototype server in no time at all.

Now all I need is the $1500-$2000 to build this project ($1000-$1500 for a backend server with between 500 and 800 gigs of space, $500 for a nice quiet living room system). Maybe I'm way too into this "free software" stuff. I could just buy a ReplayTV if they don't go out of business for much cheaper, but I'd have less functionality. Hmph. My goals are at least 500 hours of recording time, two tuners, enough horsepower to do DivX encoding from two tuners at once, and a nice quiet set top box for TV output in my living room.

Freevo vs. MythTV

[staini]

MythTV really is better when it comes to features around TV. However Freevo plays any format that MPlayer does. It works on any Video-Out that SDL works on (fbdev, dxr3, x11, ...) and has some nice addons, too. GPhoto2 integration, imdb a web recording interface just to name a few.
From my experience it is much easier to make it look the way you like it and to make it do what you like...

Re:Small but more than just an MP3 player

[Zathrus]

6) affordable!

Sorry, this criteria is incompatible with all previous criteria. Thank you, play again.

Sometimes these articles don't quite get it...

[sarkeizen]

There must be over a hundred DIY-settop-with-linux type articles on the net. The majority of them seem to think there is some kind of trick to buying PC parts. Especially considering the people who read/build these things.

This one is a little better since it talks about Freevo which is the only part of this package that an idiot couldn't put together themselves. It's got some things that might actually make this appealing to someone deciding OEM these to folk. It's got a nice menu. Some good features. However it doesn't do DVD menus...(Ogle does this fairly well guys grab that code). It poorly documents the IR remote situation. IrDA ports don't work very well with regular remotes (Which are ASK). You usually have to make/buy something like an IRman to do the job. It also doesn't appear to do 5.1 decoding or talk about using a SPIDIF output. So any reasonably serious videophile wouldn't look twice. It would be nice if instead of making DIY articles someone could make a distro dedicated to this kind of thing. HW detection on Linux is pretty good and a decent graphical installer would make this rock. Imagine a reasonably n00bish user buying some white-box set top box and dropping in a PVR-in-a-box CD and setting the whole thing up.

Don't get me wrong the work in the Linux space isn't all bad I share developer space with a company who makes settop boxen and they don't even seem to get the whole pvr aspect of settops. They all seem to want to make a e-mail gateway with X10 stuff. Which seems like even a smaller market to me.

Re:Why do this at all?

[Thing 1]

How about people do something different, innovative even instead of trying to make Linux do what XP (or fill in your favorite blank) already does?

How about you do something different and innovative and let the developers (who are working on their own time, their own dollars) climb the mountains they want to climb "because they're there?"

If you were paying the developers, then you'd have the right to tell them what to do.

Re:Freevo, MythTV

[daveball]

Not my experiance at all. They've been very helpful and intereasted with fixing bugs all the time i've been hanging out on the list (~6 months). Some responces are terse - but not to the extent of rudeness, but that is generally reserved for people that haven't made the effort to fully read the docs. I don't think i've seen any new "bug" reported to those lists that hasn't been investigated and fixed a few days later. It's the basic law of free support - if you dash in, demand an answer and are abusive to those that try to help - you won't get very far. If you put in the time, read the documentation, search the archives, read the documentation again - and _then_ post, you'll be a lot happier (90% + of the installation questions asked on the myth list _are_ covered by the documentation.) Take the time to help yourself, and others will take the time to help when you get stuck.

You're trolling right?!?

[TheConfusedOne]

How about people do something different, innovative even instead of trying to make Linux do what XP (or fill in your favorite blank) already does?

Heh, TiVo was out long before XP's Media Center PC was even an idea. (Heck, before XP itself.)

Guess what TiVo was running on? That's right. Linux!

The point is that the first commercial company showed that it can be done on Linux and done well. The problem is that the companies that make PVR's are struggling and their terms and licenses are getting progressively worse.

So, I guess the idea is that the product no longer meets the consumers' needs so it's time to make a new product.