LinuxMCE - User contributions [en]

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2009-01-22T15:03:59Z

Freymann: /* In development */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not.
* the D-Link DSM 320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD
* the Sipura 3000 in the furnace room

This switch is now completely full so if I want to add more devices I'll need to remove something or replace the switch with something that has more ports!

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - 2 x X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler (the first one didn't work)
*SS13A - 3 x Slimline Switch Decorator White

Total money to date (Jan 09) on X10 Equipment: $314.93 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I programmed LMCE to turn on the outside garage lights, living-room table light and accent at the bottom
of the stairs in the basement at sunset and I added a timed event to shut the garage and living room
light off at 11pm, and the basement accent light off at 2am.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. After confirming with the electrician that the double breaker does indeed
connect to both phases, I have ordered another phase coupler as it would seem the one I
received doesn't work. At least I can do that myself now!

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* Telephony

Linksys Sipura 3000 - $115.74<br>
50' Cat6 Cable - $50.55 (this total also included a 6" M/M VGA Cable for other purposes)<br>
Jack, Duplex 1-line, $3.99<br>

I installed this in our furnace room by the fuse panel. Since we use ADSL I had to split the phone line from the demarc point and feed one into the Sipura and the other to the rest of the house. Otherwise, I followed the instructions as set out here:

http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Sipura/Linksys_spa3000_pstn_interface

With many thanks to jondecker for his work. See his thread about the spa3000 here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=7102.0

Things seem to be working pretty well, except I can't hear any voice messages when played back through the web admin (the only place I've tried to hear them) and I can't seem to route an incoming call to a specific voice mail box other than general voicemail. Not a big deal at the moment.

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

With some help from the forums and seth, I was able to get this machine to network boot into UI2
without overlay. I had to disable the screensaver too. While playing back video I SSH'd into the box and ran top
and was surprised at how little CPU was being used.

I'd put this in the master-bedroom today except it suffers from MythTV exiting about 30-45 seconds after you go
to Media > TV. It just sits on the MythTV menu. I can press Watch TV and it will show me the TV but it still
exits. In order to watch MythTV I have to go to the KDE Desktop and manually call up MythFrontend. Sometimes
this works well, other times it doesn't. I never did get to the bottom of this. See my thread here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5602.msg32802#msg32802

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00
* $24.28 - 10' VGA M/M cable
* $100.00 - Monitor Wall Mount

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

I've since added a wall mount for the monitor. To hide the video cable I purchased a ten foot
M/M VGA cable that I can run in behind the drywall. I'll add a new pic soon. The bedroom setup
has changed 3 times now and I really like the way it's looking now.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers. Their eBay store is now closed.

User:Freymann

2009-01-22T15:01:07Z

Freymann: /* Networking */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not.
* the D-Link DSM 320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD
* the Sipura 3000 in the furnace room

This switch is now completely full so if I want to add more devices I'll need to remove something or replace the switch with something that has more ports!

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - 2 x X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler (the first one didn't work)
*SS13A - 3 x Slimline Switch Decorator White

Total money to date (Jan 09) on X10 Equipment: $314.93 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I programmed LMCE to turn on the outside garage lights, living-room table light and accent at the bottom
of the stairs in the basement at sunset and I added a timed event to shut the garage and living room
light off at 11pm, and the basement accent light off at 2am.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. After confirming with the electrician that the double breaker does indeed
connect to both phases, I have ordered another phase coupler as it would seem the one I
received doesn't work. At least I can do that myself now!

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* Telephony

Linksys Sipura 3000 - $115.74<br>
50' Cat6 Cable - $50.55 (this total also included a 6" M/M VGA Cable for other purposes)<br>
Jack, Duplex 1-line, $3.99<br>

I installed this in our furnace room by the fuse panel. Since we use ADSL I had to split the phone line from the demarc point and feed one into the Sipura and the other to the rest of the house. Otherwise, I followed the instructions as set out here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=7102.0

Things seem to be working pretty well, except I can't hear any voice messages when played back through the web admin (the only place I've tried to hear them) and I can't seem to route an incoming call to a specific voice mail box other than general voicemail. Not a big deal at the moment.

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

With some help from the forums and seth, I was able to get this machine to network boot into UI2
without overlay. I had to disable the screensaver too. While playing back video I SSH'd into the box and ran top
and was surprised at how little CPU was being used.

I'd put this in the master-bedroom today except it suffers from MythTV exiting about 30-45 seconds after you go
to Media > TV. It just sits on the MythTV menu. I can press Watch TV and it will show me the TV but it still
exits. In order to watch MythTV I have to go to the KDE Desktop and manually call up MythFrontend. Sometimes
this works well, other times it doesn't. I never did get to the bottom of this. See my thread here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5602.msg32802#msg32802

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00
* $24.28 - 10' VGA M/M cable
* $100.00 - Monitor Wall Mount

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

I've since added a wall mount for the monitor. To hide the video cable I purchased a ten foot
M/M VGA cable that I can run in behind the drywall. I'll add a new pic soon. The bedroom setup
has changed 3 times now and I really like the way it's looking now.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers. Their eBay store is now closed.

User:Freymann

2009-01-22T14:54:47Z

Freymann: /* Car PC */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not.
* the D-Link DSM 320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with one empty connection.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - 2 x X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler (the first one didn't work)
*SS13A - 3 x Slimline Switch Decorator White

Total money to date (Jan 09) on X10 Equipment: $314.93 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I programmed LMCE to turn on the outside garage lights, living-room table light and accent at the bottom
of the stairs in the basement at sunset and I added a timed event to shut the garage and living room
light off at 11pm, and the basement accent light off at 2am.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. After confirming with the electrician that the double breaker does indeed
connect to both phases, I have ordered another phase coupler as it would seem the one I
received doesn't work. At least I can do that myself now!

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* Telephony

Linksys Sipura 3000 - $115.74<br>
50' Cat6 Cable - $50.55 (this total also included a 6" M/M VGA Cable for other purposes)<br>
Jack, Duplex 1-line, $3.99<br>

I installed this in our furnace room by the fuse panel. Since we use ADSL I had to split the phone line from the demarc point and feed one into the Sipura and the other to the rest of the house. Otherwise, I followed the instructions as set out here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=7102.0

Things seem to be working pretty well, except I can't hear any voice messages when played back through the web admin (the only place I've tried to hear them) and I can't seem to route an incoming call to a specific voice mail box other than general voicemail. Not a big deal at the moment.

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

With some help from the forums and seth, I was able to get this machine to network boot into UI2
without overlay. I had to disable the screensaver too. While playing back video I SSH'd into the box and ran top
and was surprised at how little CPU was being used.

I'd put this in the master-bedroom today except it suffers from MythTV exiting about 30-45 seconds after you go
to Media > TV. It just sits on the MythTV menu. I can press Watch TV and it will show me the TV but it still
exits. In order to watch MythTV I have to go to the KDE Desktop and manually call up MythFrontend. Sometimes
this works well, other times it doesn't. I never did get to the bottom of this. See my thread here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5602.msg32802#msg32802

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00
* $24.28 - 10' VGA M/M cable
* $100.00 - Monitor Wall Mount

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

I've since added a wall mount for the monitor. To hide the video cable I purchased a ten foot
M/M VGA cable that I can run in behind the drywall. I'll add a new pic soon. The bedroom setup
has changed 3 times now and I really like the way it's looking now.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers. Their eBay store is now closed.

User:Freymann

2009-01-22T14:51:56Z

Freymann: /* Automation */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not.
* the D-Link DSM 320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with one empty connection.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - 2 x X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler (the first one didn't work)
*SS13A - 3 x Slimline Switch Decorator White

Total money to date (Jan 09) on X10 Equipment: $314.93 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I programmed LMCE to turn on the outside garage lights, living-room table light and accent at the bottom
of the stairs in the basement at sunset and I added a timed event to shut the garage and living room
light off at 11pm, and the basement accent light off at 2am.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. After confirming with the electrician that the double breaker does indeed
connect to both phases, I have ordered another phase coupler as it would seem the one I
received doesn't work. At least I can do that myself now!

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* Telephony

Linksys Sipura 3000 - $115.74<br>
50' Cat6 Cable - $50.55 (this total also included a 6" M/M VGA Cable for other purposes)<br>
Jack, Duplex 1-line, $3.99<br>

I installed this in our furnace room by the fuse panel. Since we use ADSL I had to split the phone line from the demarc point and feed one into the Sipura and the other to the rest of the house. Otherwise, I followed the instructions as set out here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=7102.0

Things seem to be working pretty well, except I can't hear any voice messages when played back through the web admin (the only place I've tried to hear them) and I can't seem to route an incoming call to a specific voice mail box other than general voicemail. Not a big deal at the moment.

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

With some help from the forums and seth, I was able to get this machine to network boot into UI2
without overlay. I had to disable the screensaver too. While playing back video I SSH'd into the box and ran top
and was surprised at how little CPU was being used.

I'd put this in the master-bedroom today except it suffers from MythTV exiting about 30-45 seconds after you go
to Media > TV. It just sits on the MythTV menu. I can press Watch TV and it will show me the TV but it still
exits. In order to watch MythTV I have to go to the KDE Desktop and manually call up MythFrontend. Sometimes
this works well, other times it doesn't. I never did get to the bottom of this. See my thread here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5602.msg32802#msg32802

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers. Their eBay store is now closed.

User:Freymann

2009-01-22T14:42:17Z

Freymann: Added info on Linksys Sipura 3000

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not.
* the D-Link DSM 320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with one empty connection.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler

Total money to date (Dec 08) on X10 Equipment: $277.97 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage lights at 5pm EST. I
added another timed event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm. I suppose I could have set the garage
lights to come on automatically at sunset. Most likely when spring approaches and I have to keep
adjusting the on time to be later I may just do that.

Speaking of sunset and sunrise, I programmed LMCE to turn on the living-room table light at sunset and
when the garage lights go off at 11pm? I have it shut off the living-room table light too.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. After confirming with the electrician that the double breaker does indeed
connect to both phases, I will have to purchase another phase coupler as it would seem the one I
received doesn't work. At least I can do that myself now!

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* Telephony

Linksys Sipura 3000 - $115.74<br>
50' Cat6 Cable - $50.55 (this total also included a 6" M/M VGA Cable for other purposes)<br>
Jack, Duplex 1-line, $3.99<br>

I installed this in our furnace room by the fuse panel. Since we use ADSL I had to split the phone line from the demarc point and feed one into the Sipura and the other to the rest of the house. Otherwise, I followed the instructions as set out here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=7102.0

Things seem to be working pretty well, except I can't hear any voice messages when played back through the web admin (the only place I've tried to hear them) and I can't seem to route an incoming call to a specific voice mail box other than general voicemail. Not a big deal at the moment.

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

With some help from the forums and seth, I was able to get this machine to network boot into UI2
without overlay. I had to disable the screensaver too. While playing back video I SSH'd into the box and ran top
and was surprised at how little CPU was being used.

I'd put this in the master-bedroom today except it suffers from MythTV exiting about 30-45 seconds after you go
to Media > TV. It just sits on the MythTV menu. I can press Watch TV and it will show me the TV but it still
exits. In order to watch MythTV I have to go to the KDE Desktop and manually call up MythFrontend. Sometimes
this works well, other times it doesn't. I never did get to the bottom of this. See my thread here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5602.msg32802#msg32802

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers. Their eBay store is now closed.

User:Freymann

2008-12-15T00:28:37Z

Freymann: /* Automation */ Small update on phase coupler

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not.
* the D-Link DSM 320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with one empty connection.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler

Total money to date (Dec 08) on X10 Equipment: $277.97 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage lights at 5pm EST. I
added another timed event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm. I suppose I could have set the garage
lights to come on automatically at sunset. Most likely when spring approaches and I have to keep
adjusting the on time to be later I may just do that.

Speaking of sunset and sunrise, I programmed LMCE to turn on the living-room table light at sunset and
when the garage lights go off at 11pm? I have it shut off the living-room table light too.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. After confirming with the electrician that the double breaker does indeed
connect to both phases, I will have to purchase another phase coupler as it would seem the one I
received doesn't work. At least I can do that myself now!

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

With some help from the forums and seth, I was able to get this machine to network boot into UI2
without overlay. I had to disable the screensaver too. While playing back video I SSH'd into the box and ran top
and was surprised at how little CPU was being used.

I'd put this in the master-bedroom today except it suffers from MythTV exiting about 30-45 seconds after you go
to Media > TV. It just sits on the MythTV menu. I can press Watch TV and it will show me the TV but it still
exits. In order to watch MythTV I have to go to the KDE Desktop and manually call up MythFrontend. Sometimes
this works well, other times it doesn't. I never did get to the bottom of this. See my thread here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5602.msg32802#msg32802

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers. Their eBay store is now closed.

User:Freymann

2008-12-12T16:10:48Z

Freymann: /* In development */ Updated results with MSI Wind PC

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not.
* the D-Link DSM 320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with one empty connection.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler

Total money to date (Dec 08) on X10 Equipment: $277.97 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage lights at 5pm EST. I
added another timed event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm. I suppose I could have set the garage
lights to come on automatically at sunset. Most likely when spring approaches and I have to keep
adjusting the on time to be later I may just do that.

Speaking of sunset and sunrise, I programmed LMCE to turn on the living-room table light at sunset and
when the garage lights go off at 11pm? I have it shut off the living-room table light too.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. I suspect that the double breaker he installed connects to only one phase of
the house and we'll need to use two separate breakers and ensure they are on opposite sides. Right now
it means some items just don't work and I either need to pay him to come back and make changes or
admit defeat and remove some X10 stuff (which is what I'm basically being forced to do now).

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

With some help from the forums and seth, I was able to get this machine to network boot into UI2
without overlay. I had to disable the screensaver too. While playing back video I SSH'd into the box and ran top
and was surprised at how little CPU was being used.

I'd put this in the master-bedroom today except it suffers from MythTV exiting about 30-45 seconds after you go
to Media > TV. It just sits on the MythTV menu. I can press Watch TV and it will show me the TV but it still
exits. In order to watch MythTV I have to go to the KDE Desktop and manually call up MythFrontend. Sometimes
this works well, other times it doesn't. I never did get to the bottom of this. See my thread here:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=5602.msg32802#msg32802

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers. Their eBay store is now closed.

User:Freymann

2008-12-11T15:23:53Z

Freymann: /* Networking */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not.
* the D-Link DSM 320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with one empty connection.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler

Total money to date (Dec 08) on X10 Equipment: $277.97 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage lights at 5pm EST. I
added another timed event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm. I suppose I could have set the garage
lights to come on automatically at sunset. Most likely when spring approaches and I have to keep
adjusting the on time to be later I may just do that.

Speaking of sunset and sunrise, I programmed LMCE to turn on the living-room table light at sunset and
when the garage lights go off at 11pm? I have it shut off the living-room table light too.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. I suspect that the double breaker he installed connects to only one phase of
the house and we'll need to use two separate breakers and ensure they are on opposite sides. Right now
it means some items just don't work and I either need to pay him to come back and make changes or
admit defeat and remove some X10 stuff (which is what I'm basically being forced to do now).

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

I was able to get the machine to network boot and announce itself to the router, but I'm unable to get
it to finish booting as a Media Director. I believe my issues are the core is AMD64 and this is i386
and what I compile on the server under AMD64 can't be copied to the i386 MD.

I guess I will wait for the next release of LMCE. There's no rush anyway as any media directors I create
DO NOT DO LIVETV unless you go to the KDE Desktop and start MythFrontend from there. I never got any
help with that issue and it hasn't been a deal breaker so I let it be. Here's hopin the next release
resolves that problem and lets me net boot the MSI PC.

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers. Their eBay store is now closed.

User:Freymann

2008-12-11T15:04:37Z

Freymann: /* Notes */ BTE Computers eBay store is no longer active.

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the via EPIA HTPC in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler

Total money to date (Dec 08) on X10 Equipment: $277.97 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage lights at 5pm EST. I
added another timed event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm. I suppose I could have set the garage
lights to come on automatically at sunset. Most likely when spring approaches and I have to keep
adjusting the on time to be later I may just do that.

Speaking of sunset and sunrise, I programmed LMCE to turn on the living-room table light at sunset and
when the garage lights go off at 11pm? I have it shut off the living-room table light too.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. I suspect that the double breaker he installed connects to only one phase of
the house and we'll need to use two separate breakers and ensure they are on opposite sides. Right now
it means some items just don't work and I either need to pay him to come back and make changes or
admit defeat and remove some X10 stuff (which is what I'm basically being forced to do now).

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

I was able to get the machine to network boot and announce itself to the router, but I'm unable to get
it to finish booting as a Media Director. I believe my issues are the core is AMD64 and this is i386
and what I compile on the server under AMD64 can't be copied to the i386 MD.

I guess I will wait for the next release of LMCE. There's no rush anyway as any media directors I create
DO NOT DO LIVETV unless you go to the KDE Desktop and start MythFrontend from there. I never got any
help with that issue and it hasn't been a deal breaker so I let it be. Here's hopin the next release
resolves that problem and lets me net boot the MSI PC.

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers. Their eBay store is now closed.

File:Bedroom htpc.jpg

2008-12-11T15:03:07Z

Freymann:

User:Freymann

2008-12-11T15:01:12Z

Freymann: /* Car PC */ We replaced the CRT TV with an Acer 22 inch widescreen monitor. Updated details and picture.

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the via EPIA HTPC in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler

Total money to date (Dec 08) on X10 Equipment: $277.97 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage lights at 5pm EST. I
added another timed event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm. I suppose I could have set the garage
lights to come on automatically at sunset. Most likely when spring approaches and I have to keep
adjusting the on time to be later I may just do that.

Speaking of sunset and sunrise, I programmed LMCE to turn on the living-room table light at sunset and
when the garage lights go off at 11pm? I have it shut off the living-room table light too.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. I suspect that the double breaker he installed connects to only one phase of
the house and we'll need to use two separate breakers and ensure they are on opposite sides. Right now
it means some items just don't work and I either need to pay him to come back and make changes or
admit defeat and remove some X10 stuff (which is what I'm basically being forced to do now).

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

I was able to get the machine to network boot and announce itself to the router, but I'm unable to get
it to finish booting as a Media Director. I believe my issues are the core is AMD64 and this is i386
and what I compile on the server under AMD64 can't be copied to the i386 MD.

I guess I will wait for the next release of LMCE. There's no rush anyway as any media directors I create
DO NOT DO LIVETV unless you go to the KDE Desktop and start MythFrontend from there. I never got any
help with that issue and it hasn't been a deal breaker so I let it be. Here's hopin the next release
resolves that problem and lets me net boot the MSI PC.

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:bedroom_htpc.jpg]]

I added a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. Originally I was using a Hitachi 21" CRT TV. The video and sound were connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks (red, white, yellow). I wanted to go wide screen so I replaced this with a Acer X223WBD 22in 16x10 2500:1 5MS DVI LCD Monitor for $248.59
including shipping and taxes.

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

User:Freymann

2008-12-11T14:55:38Z

Freymann: /* In development */ Added discussion about MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the via EPIA HTPC in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler

Total money to date (Dec 08) on X10 Equipment: $277.97 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage lights at 5pm EST. I
added another timed event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm. I suppose I could have set the garage
lights to come on automatically at sunset. Most likely when spring approaches and I have to keep
adjusting the on time to be later I may just do that.

Speaking of sunset and sunrise, I programmed LMCE to turn on the living-room table light at sunset and
when the garage lights go off at 11pm? I have it shut off the living-room table light too.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. I suspect that the double breaker he installed connects to only one phase of
the house and we'll need to use two separate breakers and ensure they are on opposite sides. Right now
it means some items just don't work and I either need to pay him to come back and make changes or
admit defeat and remove some X10 stuff (which is what I'm basically being forced to do now).

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN - (RETIRED AND NOW SOLD)

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

* MSI Wind PC Intel 945GC 1 x 200Pin Intel GMA 950 Black Barebone - $269.00 CDN Delivered

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032&Tpk=N82E16856167032

After reading about this in the forums I thought I would purchase one in the hopes of using this in the master-bedroom
in place of the VIA machine. I removed the old CRT TV and replace it with a widescreen Acer LCD monitor, so we no
longer have the requirement of needing RCA Video out.

My hope was to have a fully functioning LMCE Media Director in the bedroom. The MythBuntu box is working OK but
it doesn't save bookmarks on movies making it a little harder for the better half to pick up where she left off.
Bookmarks on recorded programs work fine though.

This unit arrived Dec 10/08. I thought I would play with it to see how far I could get with it under LMCE 7.10RC2.
After trying to make sense out of this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/R8168

and this page:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC

and the discussion in this forum thread:

http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6247.0

I was able to get the machine to network boot and announce itself to the router, but I'm unable to get
it to finish booting as a Media Director. I believe my issues are the core is AMD64 and this is i386
and what I compile on the server under AMD64 can't be copied to the i386 MD.

I guess I will wait for the next release of LMCE. There's no rush anyway as any media directors I create
DO NOT DO LIVETV unless you go to the KDE Desktop and start MythFrontend from there. I never got any
help with that issue and it hasn't been a deal breaker so I let it be. Here's hopin the next release
resolves that problem and lets me net boot the MSI PC.

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

User:Freymann

2008-12-11T14:41:14Z

Freymann: /* Automation */ Updated equipment used, money spent, and further described mechanics of it all

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the via EPIA HTPC in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*CM11A - RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface
*LM465 - 6 x dimmable lamp modules
*RR501 - 2-way transceriver module
*KR22A - 6 x Credit Card Controllers
*LM15A - 3 x Socket Rockets (screw-in light on/off switch)
*AM466 - 4 x 3 prong appliance modules
*WS12A - 4 x Decora Dimmer Switch (fading/on/off in-wall light switch)
*MS14A - 3 x EagleEye Motion Sensors
*HR12A - Automation PalmPad Controller
*KR10A - 2 x Key Chain Remotes (never used these)
*XPCP - X10 Signal Bridge Passive Coupler

Total money to date (Dec 08) on X10 Equipment: $277.97 CDN

In the living-room, I have a LM465 module on a table lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a AM466 controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies which will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the master-bedroom, I have a WS12A wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it.
Since switching from a CRT TV to an wide screen LCD monitor in the master-bedroom, I added a AM466
3 prong appliance module and put one of the KR22A credit card controllers in the bedroom, so we can
turn on/off the monitor (and speakers) without having to crawl to the end of the bed to manually turn
things on/off. The light in the master bedroom can be turned on through LMCE but I can never turn it
off so it's not much use actually. I will most likely remove the light switch. The HR12A PalmPad
Controller is going to be used in the master-bedroom but if I pull X10 off the front entrance and
master bedroom light it won't be better than the KR22A Credit Card Controller we're using now.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Front Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor doesn't seem to be working at all in this location. Don't
know why. I will most likely remove all X10 equipment from this location since it's not very effective
here and the better half hates not being able to flip on/off the light manually using the regular
light switch.

In the basement, I have a LM465 light module on a floor lamp. I had a LM465 on a small accent light
at the bottom of the stairs but it doesn't respond all the time and I yanked it and replaced it with
an old plug in timer. I have two WS12A wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light
above the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV. Every time
I reload the router or reboot the core I have to go fiddle (set everything to ignore or leave
alone) with the Lighting Scenarios as I don't want LMCE to be turning on/off lights when I start
media, especially in the day! This is extremely annoying and I wish LMCE would remember the changes
I made instead of rewriting over them.

In the basement Furnace Room, just for fun, I have a MS14A EagleEye Motion Sensor paired up with a
LM465 light module, so when I walk into Furnace Room, a trouble light in the corner turns on and
then shuts off a minute after I leave. I plan to rewire an un-used ceiling light and replace the
wall switch with a WS12A, and eliminate the LM465 so the Motion Sensor turns on the ceiling light
instead of the trouble light. I did it this way to prove it would work before rewiring.

I have the RR501 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house,
main floor. It's completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna.

I have a LM15A socket rocket in the outside Rear Entrance light paired with a MS14A EagleEye Motion
Sensor. I can't control the outside light at all through LMCE but it works fine when using the KR22A
Credit Card controllers. The motion sensor works fine in this location. I leave a KR22A Credit Card
Controller nearby in case the better half wants to manually turn on/off the outside light, as
the light switch has to be ON at all times in order for the socket rocket to work. The better half
is a little annoyed at that, but the motion sensor seems to have relieved some of her anxiety.

I put a AM466 appliance module in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module. This works awesome.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

I went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage lights at 5pm EST. I
added another timed event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm. I suppose I could have set the garage
lights to come on automatically at sunset. Most likely when spring approaches and I have to keep
adjusting the on time to be later I may just do that.

Speaking of sunset and sunrise, I programmed LMCE to turn on the living-room table light at sunset and
when the garage lights go off at 11pm? I have it shut off the living-room table light too.

To help with the problem of not being able to control the outside lights, bedroom lights, and accent
light at the bottom of the stairs, I had an electrician install the X10 Phase Coupler for me. It hasn't
made a bit of difference. I suspect that the double breaker he installed connects to only one phase of
the house and we'll need to use two separate breakers and ensure they are on opposite sides. Right now
it means some items just don't work and I either need to pay him to come back and make changes or
admit defeat and remove some X10 stuff (which is what I'm basically being forced to do now).

The EagleEye Motion Sensors were also a bit of a pain. They are great little devices but they aren't
without their issues. You have to mount them to wherever you are going to place them first, then
install the batteries, and then program them. That can be a little awkward when you install them above
an outside door and then have to climb a ladder or stand on a chair to insert the batteries and program
them.

The other weird issue with the EagleEye sensors are... it automatically sends an ON and OFF command at
dusk/dawn to the next number up from it. Meaning, if I have the EagleEye set to A1, at sunset it wants
to send an ON command to A2, and at sunrise it will send an OFF command to A2. That wasn't too handy for
me when I was already using A1, A2, A3 and A4 (which just happen to be the numbers that the KR22A Credit
Card Controllers work with).

So I had to rejig things and make the rear outside light A1, leave A2 empty, make the AM466 in our
master-bedroom A3, make the front outside entrance light A4 and leave A5 empty, switch my WS12A light
in the master-bedroom from A4 to A6, make the LM465 in the furnace room A7 and leave A8 empty, and set
the RR501 transceiver to A9. (Remember that the keychain and palmpad remotes work through the RR501
transceiver on one house code, in my case A).

I've also tried putting the CM11A controller on the core in the basement. From there not many thing
work at all. It seems to work best upstairs in the living-room, which means I have to leave the
media director on 24/7. Oh how I wish the phase coupler worked!

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Display Alert Email Notification

2008-11-18T02:39:45Z

Freymann: Small updates to the script to prevent duplicate notifications again

The concept around this article is pretty simple:

*Make the core monitor as many pop3 email accounts as you want for new messages
*Pop up a Display Alert window indicating who the new message is from and the subject
*Track messages we've dealt with so we aren't constantly reminded about the same message over and over
*Provide an 'ignore message with this text in the subject line' function

This allows me to use the LMCE boxes in the house and keep an eye in incoming email messages. If I see a message that I think I may need to deal with I can then pause whatever is going on, go to my email, and then come back.

You need to get the pop3.class.inc file from this location:

http://www.phpclasses.org/browse/package/1120.html

'''Just scroll to the bottom where you can click on DOWNLOAD and save it. There's also a version available for PHP5.'''

For those that some how miss the fact you can click on the class and download it ''without being logged in'' (you probably didn't scroll all the way to the bottom!) I've put a copy of pop3.class.inc online here:

http://ww2.interpool.ca/files/pop3.class.inc

You can also get a copy of my php script here:

http://ww2.interpool.ca/files/chkmail.php

as the formatting on this page may not work well for the source code below.

Now you'll need to copy and paste this code into a file (I called it chkmail.php):

----

<pre>
<?php

// A little php script to check for new mail messages and sent a display_alert
// command to alert LinuxMCE users of new email messages
// Put this script and the pop3.class.inc somewhere. Data files will be created
// in this directory to store data about incoming messages.
// To run it: php chkmail.php
// and press Ctrl-C to stop. Or make it a background job:
// php chkmail.php &
//
// -------------------------------------------------------------
// Add your mail account info to the $mail_accounts array
// Separate your different accounts with opening/closing quotes
// Separeate your account info with a semi-colon (;)
// $mail_accounts = array("pop3.servername;pop.username;pop3.password")
// Add as many accounts as you like
// $mail_accounts = array("pop3.servername;pop.username;pop3.password","pop3.servername2;pop.username2;pop3.password2")
//

$mail_accounts = array("pop.server1;username1;password1","pop.server2;username2;password2");

$ignore_subjects = array("Cron");

// # of seconds between mail checks. 300 = 5 mins.
$waitfor = 300;

//
// You shouldn't have to edit anything below
// -------------------------------------------------------------

require_once('pop3.class.inc');

$pop3 = new POP3;

while (1) {

foreach ($mail_accounts as $account) {

list($mailserver,$username,$password) = explode(";", $account);

// Read in data file for this account
$file_name = $mailserver . "-" . $username . ".cfg";
$ids = read_file($file_name);
if ($ids == false) {
// That's ok, no previous data
$ids = array();
$orig_count = 0;
} else {
$orig_count = count($ids);
for ($i = 0; $i < $orig_count; $i++) {
// Want to strip carraige returns and line feeds so our array
// comparisons later match correctly
$ids[$i] = ereg_replace("\n\r|\r\n|\n", "", $ids[$i]);
}
}

// Connect to mail server
$do = $pop3->connect($mailserver);
if ($do == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Login to your inbox
$do = $pop3->login($username, $password);
if ($do == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Get office status
$status = $pop3->get_office_status();

if ($status == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

$count = $status['count_mails'];

for ($i = 1; $i <= $count; $i++) {
$email = $pop3->get_mail($i);

$email = parse_email($email);

if ($email == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Check to see if the Message-ID is in our ids array.
// Only announce if it's a new message and NOT in the existing array
$testid = trim($email['headers']['Message-ID']);
$testid = get_simple_email($testid);
if (empty($testid) || $testid == " ") {
// Try different spelling
$testid = trim($email['headers']['Message-Id']);
$testid = get_simple_email($testid);
}
if (empty($testid)) {
print_r($email[headers]);
$testid = $file_name;
}

if (!in_array($testid, $ids)) {
// add this one to the ids array
if (count($ids)==0) {
$ids = array($testid);
} else {
array_push($ids, $testid);
}
// echo a few things to the terminal for monitoring purposes
echo "Message-ID: [$testid]\n";
$efrom = $email['headers']['From'];
$efrom = get_simple_email($efrom);
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s") . " New messages from: $efrom\n";
echo 'Subject: ' . $email['headers']['Subject'] . "\n\n";
// send message to dcerouter if subject isn't in ignore list
$found = 0;
foreach ($ignore_subjects as $subj) {
if (eregi($subj, $email['headers']['Subject'])) {
$found = 1;
break;
}
}
if (!$found) {
$message = "Email from $efrom regarding " . $email['headers']['Subject'];
exec("/usr/pluto/bin/MessageSend localhost 0 -305 1 809 9 \"$message\" 70 \"\" 182 10 251 0");
echo "Broadcasted this message to dcerouter.\n";
// Let the pop up show for multiple messages
sleep(10);
}
}

}

if ($count == 0) {
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s") . " There are no new e-mails\n";
// This is a good place to clear out the data file since the mailbox is now empty
if (file_exists($file_name)) {
@unlink($file_name);
}
}

// See if there's been any additions to the ids array
// and if so, write back the new info
$new_count = (count($ids));
if ($orig_count < $new_count) {
write_file($file_name, $ids);
}

$pop3->close();

}
unset($msgids);
unset($ids);
sleep($waitfor);
}

function parse_email ($email) {
// Split header and message
$header = array();
$message = array();

$is_header = true;
foreach ($email as $line) {
if ($line == '<HEADER> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '<MESSAGE> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '</MESSAGE> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '</HEADER> ' . "\r\n") { $is_header = false; continue; }

if ($is_header == true) {
$header[] = $line;
} else {
$message[] = $line;
}
}

// Parse headers
$headers = array();
foreach ($header as $line) {
$colon_pos = strpos($line, ':');
$space_pos = strpos($line, ' ');

if ($colon_pos === false OR $space_pos < $colon_pos) {
// attach to previous
$previous .= "\r\n" . $line;
continue;
}

// Get key
$key = substr($line, 0, $colon_pos);

// Get value
$value = substr($line, $colon_pos+2);
$headers[$key] = $value;

$previous =& $headers[$key];
}

// Parse message
$message = implode('', $message);

// Return array
$email = array();
$email['message'] = $message;
$email['headers'] = $headers;

return $email;
}

function get_simple_email($str) {

$open = strpos($str, "<");
$close = strpos($str, ">");

if (($open === false) && ($close === false)) {
return $str;
}

return substr($str, $open + 1, $close - $open - 1);

}

function read_file($name) {

if (file_exists($name)) {
$ids = file($name);
return $ids;
} else {
return false;
}

}

function write_file($name, $data) {

if ($fd = @fopen($name, "w")) {
foreach ($data as $line) {
if (!empty($line)) {
fwrite($fd, $line . "\n");
}
}
fclose($fd);
return true;
} else {
return false;
}
}

?>
</pre>
----

When you put the two files (in the same directory) on the core, make sure the user you start the script with has permission to write files in that directory, otherwise it won't be able to keep a tally of the messages it has already seen.

Display Alert Email Notification

2008-11-05T18:07:32Z

Freymann: Small updates to the script to prevent duplicate notifications

The concept around this article is pretty simple:

*Make the core monitor as many pop3 email accounts as you want for new messages
*Pop up a Display Alert window indicating who the new message is from and the subject
*Track messages we've dealt with so we aren't constantly reminded about the same message over and over
*Provide an 'ignore message with this text in the subject line' function

This allows me to use the LMCE boxes in the house and keep an eye in incoming email messages. If I see a message that I think I may need to deal with I can then pause whatever is going on, go to my email, and then come back.

You need to get the pop3.class.inc file from this location:

http://www.phpclasses.org/browse/package/1120.html

'''Just scroll to the bottom where you can click on DOWNLOAD and save it. There's also a version available for PHP5.'''

For those that some how miss the fact you can click on the class and download it ''without being logged in'' (you probably didn't scroll all the way to the bottom!) I've put a copy of pop3.class.inc online here:

http://ww2.interpool.ca/files/pop3.class.inc

You can also get a copy of my php script here:

http://ww2.interpool.ca/files/chkmail.php

as the formatting on this page may not work well for the source code below.

Now you'll need to copy and paste this code into a file (I called it chkmail.php):

----

<pre>
<?php

// A little php script to check for new mail messages and sent a display_alert
// command to alert LinuxMCE users of new email messages
// Put this script and the pop3.class.inc somewhere. Data files will be created
// in this directory to store data about incoming messages.
// To run it: php chkmail.php
// and press Ctrl-C to stop. Or make it a background job:
// php chkmail.php &
//
// -------------------------------------------------------------
// Add your mail account info to the $mail_accounts array
// Separate your different accounts with opening/closing quotes
// Separeate your account info with a semi-colon (;)
// $mail_accounts = array("pop3.servername;pop.usename;pop3.password")
// Add as many accounts as you like
// $mail_accounts = array("pop3.servername;pop.usename;pop3.password","pop3.servername2;pop.usename2;pop3.password2")
//

$mail_accounts = array("pop3.server1;username1;password1","pop3.server2;username2;password2");

$ignore_subjects = array("Cron");

// # of seconds between mail checks. 300 = 5 mins.
$waitfor = 300;

//
// You shouldn't have to edit anything below
// -------------------------------------------------------------

require_once('pop3.class.inc');

$pop3 = new POP3;

while (1) {

foreach ($mail_accounts as $account) {

list($mailserver,$username,$password) = explode(";", $account);

// Read in data file for this account
$file_name = $mailserver . "-" . $username . ".cfg";
$msgids = read_file($file_name);
if ($msgids == false) {
// That's ok, no previous data
$ids = array();
$orig_count = 0;
} else {
$ids = explode("\n", $msgids);
$tally = count($ids) - 1;
for ($i = 0; $i < $tally; $i++) {
// Want to strip carraige returns and line feeds so our array
// comparisons later match correctly
$ids[$i] = ereg_replace("/\n\r|\r\n/", "", $ids[$i]);
}
$orig_count = (count($ids));
}

// Connect to mail server
$do = $pop3->connect($mailserver);
if ($do == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Login to your inbox
$do = $pop3->login($username, $password);
if ($do == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Get office status
$status = $pop3->get_office_status();

if ($status == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

$count = $status['count_mails'];

for ($i = 1; $i <= $count; $i++) {
$email = $pop3->get_mail($i);

$email = parse_email($email);

if ($email == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Check to see if the Message-ID is in our ids array.
// Only announce if it's a new message and NOT in the existing array
$testid = trim($email['headers']['Message-ID']);
$testid = get_simple_email($testid);
if (empty($testid) || $testid == " ") {
// Try different spelling
$testid = trim($email['headers']['Message-Id']);
$testid = get_simple_email($testid);
}
if (empty($testid)) {
print_r($email[headers]);
$testid = time();
}
if (!in_array($testid, $ids)) {
// add this one to the ids array
if (count($ids)==0) {
$ids = array($testid);
} else {
array_push($ids, $testid);
}
// echo a few things to the terminal for monitoring purposes
echo "Message-ID: [$testid]\n";
$efrom = $email['headers']['From'];
$efrom = get_simple_email($efrom);
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s") . " New messages from: $efrom\n";
echo 'Subject: ' . $email['headers']['Subject'] . "\n\n";
// send message to dcerouter if subject isn't in ignore list
$found = 0;
foreach ($ignore_subjects as $subj) {
if (eregi($subj, $email['headers']['Subject'])) {
$found = 1;
break;
}
}
if (!$found) {
$message = "Email from $efrom regarding " . $email['headers']['Subject'];
exec("/usr/pluto/bin/MessageSend localhost 0 -305 1 809 9 \"$message\" 70 \"\" 182 10 251 0");
// Let the pop up show for multiple messages
sleep(10);
}
}

}

if ($count == '0') {
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s") . " There are no new e-mails\n";
// This is a good place to clear out the data file since the mailbox is now empty
if (file_exists($file_name)) {
@unlink($file_name);
}
}

// See if there's been any additions to the ids array
// and if so, write back the new info
$new_count = (count($ids));
if ($orig_count < $new_count) {
write_file($file_name, $ids);
}

$pop3->close();

}
unset($msgids);
unset($ids);
sleep($waitfor);
}

function parse_email ($email) {
// Split header and message
$header = array();
$message = array();

$is_header = true;
foreach ($email as $line) {
if ($line == '<HEADER> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '<MESSAGE> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '</MESSAGE> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '</HEADER> ' . "\r\n") { $is_header = false; continue; }

if ($is_header == true) {
$header[] = $line;
} else {
$message[] = $line;
}
}

// Parse headers
$headers = array();
foreach ($header as $line) {
$colon_pos = strpos($line, ':');
$space_pos = strpos($line, ' ');

if ($colon_pos === false OR $space_pos < $colon_pos) {
// attach to previous
$previous .= "\r\n" . $line;
continue;
}

// Get key
$key = substr($line, 0, $colon_pos);

// Get value
$value = substr($line, $colon_pos+2);
$headers[$key] = $value;

$previous =& $headers[$key];
}

// Parse message
$message = implode('', $message);

// Return array
$email = array();
$email['message'] = $message;
$email['headers'] = $headers;

return $email;
}

function get_simple_email($str) {

$open = strpos($str, "<");
$close = strpos($str, ">");

if (($open === false) && ($close === false)) {
return $str;
}

return substr($str, $open + 1, $close - $open - 1);

}

function read_file($name) {

$contents = false;

if (file_exists($name)) {
if ($fd = @fopen($name, "r")) {
$contents = fread($fd, filesize($name));
fclose($fd);
}
}

return $contents;
}

function write_file($name, $data) {

if ($fd = @fopen($name, "w")) {
foreach ($data as $line) {
$line = ereg_replace("/\n\r|\r\n/", "", $line);
if (!empty($line)) {
fwrite($fd, $line . "\n");
}
}
fclose($fd);
return true;
} else {
return false;
}
}

?>
</pre>
----

When you put the two files (in the same directory) on the core, make sure the user you start the script with has permission to write files in that directory, otherwise it won't be able to keep a tally of the messages it has already seen.

Display Alert Email Notification

2008-10-27T15:04:33Z

Freymann: added link to chkmail.php script

The concept around this article is pretty simple:

-Make the core monitor as many pop3 email accounts as you want for new messages
-Pop up a Display Alert window indicating who the new message is from and the subject
-Track messages we've dealt with so we aren't constantly reminded about the same message over and over
-Provide an 'ignore message with this text in the subject line' function

This allows me to use the LMCE boxes in the house and keep an eye in incoming email messages. If I see a message that I think I may need to deal with I can then pause whatever is going on, go to my email, and then come back.

You need to get the pop3.class.inc file from this location:

http://www.phpclasses.org/browse/package/1120.html

'''Just scroll to the bottom where you can click on DOWNLOAD and save it. There's also a version available for PHP5.'''

For those that some how miss the fact you can click on the class and download it ''without being logged in'' (you probably didn't scroll all the way to the bottom!) I've put a copy of pop3.class.inc online here:

http://ww2.interpool.ca/files/pop3.class.inc

You can also get a copy of my php script here:

http://ww2.interpool.ca/files/chkmail.php

as the formatting on this page may not work well for the source code below.

Now you'll need to copy and paste this code into a file (I called it chkmail.php):

----

<pre>
<?php

// A little php script to check for new mail messages and sent a display_alert
// command to alert LinuxMCE users of new email messages
// Put this script and the pop3.class.inc somewhere. Data files will be created
// in this directory to store data about incoming messages.
// To run it: php chkmail.php
// and press Ctrl-C to stop. Or make it a background job:
// php chkmail.php &
//
// -------------------------------------------------------------
// Add your mail account info to the $mail_accounts array
// Separate your different accounts with opening/closing quotes
// Separate your account info with a semi-colon (;)
// $mail_accounts = array("pop3.servername;pop.usename;pop3.password")
// Add as many accounts as you like
// $mail_accounts = array("pop3.servername;pop.usename;pop3.password","pop3.servername2;pop.usename2;pop3.password2")
//

$mail_accounts = array("pop3.server1;username1;password1","pop3.server2;username2;password2");

$ignore_subjects = array("Phrase 1", "Phrase 2", "Word");

// # of seconds between mail checks. 300 = 5 mins.
$waitfor = 300;

//
// You shouldn't have to edit anything below
// -------------------------------------------------------------

require_once('pop3.class.inc');

$pop3 = new POP3;

while (1) {

foreach ($mail_accounts as $account) {

list($mailserver,$username,$password) = explode(";", $account);

// Read in data file for this account
$file_name = $mailserver . "-" . $username . ".cfg";
$msgids = read_file($file_name);
if ($msgids == false) {
// That's ok, no previous data
$ids = array();
$orig_count = 0;
} else {
$ids = explode("\n", $msgids);
for ($i = 0; $i < count($ids); $i++) {
// Want to strip carraige returns and line feeds so our array
// comparisons later match correctly
$ids[$i] = ereg_replace("/\n\r|\r\n/", "", $ids[$i]);
}
$orig_count = (count($ids));
}

// Connect to mail server
$do = $pop3->connect($mailserver);
if ($do == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Login to your inbox
$do = $pop3->login($username, $password);
if ($do == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Get office status
$status = $pop3->get_office_status();

if ($status == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

$count = $status['count_mails'];

for ($i = 1; $i <= $count; $i++) {
$email = $pop3->get_mail($i);

$email = parse_email($email);

if ($email == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Check to see if the Message-ID is in our ids array.
// Only announce if it's a new message and NOT in the existing array
$testid = trim($email['headers']['Message-ID']);
$testid = get_simple_email($testid);
if (empty($testid)) {
// Try different spelling
$testid = trim($email['headers']['Message-Id']);
$testid = get_simple_email($testid);
}
if (empty($testid)) {
print_r($email[headers]);
$testid = time();
}
if (!in_array($testid, $ids)) {
// add this one to the ids array
if (count($ids)==0) {
$ids = array($testid);
} else {
array_push($ids, $testid);
}
// echo a few things to the terminal for monitoring purposes
echo "Message-ID: $testid\n";
$efrom = $email['headers']['From'];
$efrom = get_simple_email($efrom);
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s") . " New messages from: $efrom\n";
echo 'Subject: ' . $email['headers']['Subject'] . "\n\n";
// send message to dcerouter if subject isn't in ignore list
$found = 0;
foreach ($ignore_subjects as $subj) {
if (eregi($subj, $email['headers']['Subject'])) {
$found = 1;
break;
}
}
if (!$found) {
$message = "Email from $efrom regarding " . $email['headers']['Subject'];
exec("/usr/pluto/bin/MessageSend localhost 0 -305 1 809 9 \"$message\" 70 \"\" 182 10 251 0");
}
}

}

if ($count == '0') {
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s") . " There are no new e-mails\n";
// This is a good place to clear out the data file since the mailbox is now empty
if (file_exists($file_name)) {
@unlink($file_name);
}
}

// See if there's been any additions to the ids array
// and if so, write back the new info
$new_count = (count($ids));
if ($orig_count < $new_count) {
write_file($file_name, $ids);
}

$pop3->close();

}
unset($msgids);
unset($ids);
sleep($waitfor);
}

function parse_email ($email) {
// Split header and message
$header = array();
$message = array();

$is_header = true;
foreach ($email as $line) {
if ($line == '<HEADER> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '<MESSAGE> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '</MESSAGE> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '</HEADER> ' . "\r\n") { $is_header = false; continue; }

if ($is_header == true) {
$header[] = $line;
} else {
$message[] = $line;
}
}

// Parse headers
$headers = array();
foreach ($header as $line) {
$colon_pos = strpos($line, ':');
$space_pos = strpos($line, ' ');

if ($colon_pos === false OR $space_pos < $colon_pos) {
// attach to previous
$previous .= "\r\n" . $line;
continue;
}

// Get key
$key = substr($line, 0, $colon_pos);

// Get value
$value = substr($line, $colon_pos+2);
$headers[$key] = $value;

$previous =& $headers[$key];
}

// Parse message
$message = implode('', $message);

// Return array
$email = array();
$email['message'] = $message;
$email['headers'] = $headers;

return $email;
}

function get_simple_email($str) {

$open = strpos($str, "<");
$close = strpos($str, ">");

if (($open === false) && ($close === false)) {
return $str;
}

return substr($str, $open + 1, $close - $open - 1);

}

function read_file($name) {

$contents = false;

if (file_exists($name)) {
if ($fd = @fopen($name, "r")) {
$contents = fread($fd, filesize($name));
fclose($fd);
}
}

return $contents;
}

function write_file($name, $data) {

if ($fd = @fopen($name, "w")) {
foreach ($data as $line) {
$line = ereg_replace("/\n\r|\r\n/", "", $line);
if (!empty($line)) {
fwrite($fd, $line . "\n");
}
}
fclose($fd);
return true;
} else {
return false;
}
}

?>
</pre>
----

When you put the two files (in the same directory) on the core, make sure the user you start the script with has permission to write files in that directory, otherwise it won't be able to keep a tally of the messages it has already seen.

Display Alert Email Notification

2008-10-27T14:58:50Z

Freymann: Run a PHP script on the core to alert you of new messages in your pop3 accounts

The concept around this article is pretty simple:

-Make the core monitor as many pop3 email accounts as you want for new messages
-Pop up a Display Alert window indicating who the new message is from and the subject
-Track messages we've dealt with so we aren't constantly reminded about the same message over and over
-Provide an 'ignore message with this text in the subject line' function

This allows me to use the LMCE boxes in the house and keep an eye in incoming email messages. If I see a message that I think I may need to deal with I can then pause whatever is going on, go to my email, and then come back.

You need to get the pop3.class.inc file from this location:

http://www.phpclasses.org/browse/package/1120.html

'''Just scroll to the bottom where you can click on DOWNLOAD and save it. There's also a version available for PHP5.'''

For those that some how miss the fact you can click on the class and download it ''without being logged in'' (you probably didn't scroll all the way to the bottom!) I've put a copy of pop3.class.inc online here:

http://ww2.interpool.ca/files/pop3.class.inc

Now you'll need to copy and paste this code into a file (I called it chkmail.php):

----

<?php

// A little php script to check for new mail messages and sent a display_alert
// command to alert LinuxMCE users of new email messages
// Put this script and the pop3.class.inc somewhere. Data files will be created
// in this directory to store data about incoming messages.
// To run it: php chkmail.php
// and press Ctrl-C to stop. Or make it a background job:
// php chkmail.php &
//
// -------------------------------------------------------------
// Add your mail account info to the $mail_accounts array
// Separate your different accounts with opening/closing quotes
// Separate your account info with a semi-colon (;)
// $mail_accounts = array("pop3.servername;pop.usename;pop3.password")
// Add as many accounts as you like
// $mail_accounts = array("pop3.servername;pop.usename;pop3.password","pop3.servername2;pop.usename2;pop3.password2")
//

$mail_accounts = array("pop3.server1;username1;password1","pop3.server2;username2;password2");

$ignore_subjects = array("Phrase 1", "Phrase 2", "Word");

// # of seconds between mail checks. 300 = 5 mins.
$waitfor = 300;

//
// You shouldn't have to edit anything below
// -------------------------------------------------------------

require_once('pop3.class.inc');

$pop3 = new POP3;

while (1) {

foreach ($mail_accounts as $account) {

list($mailserver,$username,$password) = explode(";", $account);

// Read in data file for this account
$file_name = $mailserver . "-" . $username . ".cfg";
$msgids = read_file($file_name);
if ($msgids == false) {
// That's ok, no previous data
$ids = array();
$orig_count = 0;
} else {
$ids = explode("\n", $msgids);
for ($i = 0; $i < count($ids); $i++) {
// Want to strip carraige returns and line feeds so our array
// comparisons later match correctly
$ids[$i] = ereg_replace("/\n\r|\r\n/", "", $ids[$i]);
}
$orig_count = (count($ids));
}

// Connect to mail server
$do = $pop3->connect($mailserver);
if ($do == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Login to your inbox
$do = $pop3->login($username, $password);
if ($do == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Get office status
$status = $pop3->get_office_status();

if ($status == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

$count = $status['count_mails'];

for ($i = 1; $i <= $count; $i++) {
$email = $pop3->get_mail($i);

$email = parse_email($email);

if ($email == false) {
echo $pop3->error;
continue;
}

// Check to see if the Message-ID is in our ids array.
// Only announce if it's a new message and NOT in the existing array
$testid = trim($email['headers']['Message-ID']);
$testid = get_simple_email($testid);
if (empty($testid)) {
// Try different spelling
$testid = trim($email['headers']['Message-Id']);
$testid = get_simple_email($testid);
}
if (empty($testid)) {
print_r($email[headers]);
$testid = time();
}
if (!in_array($testid, $ids)) {
// add this one to the ids array
if (count($ids)==0) {
$ids = array($testid);
} else {
array_push($ids, $testid);
}
// echo a few things to the terminal for monitoring purposes
echo "Message-ID: $testid\n";
$efrom = $email['headers']['From'];
$efrom = get_simple_email($efrom);
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s") . " New messages from: $efrom\n";
echo 'Subject: ' . $email['headers']['Subject'] . "\n\n";
// send message to dcerouter if subject isn't in ignore list
$found = 0;
foreach ($ignore_subjects as $subj) {
if (eregi($subj, $email['headers']['Subject'])) {
$found = 1;
break;
}
}
if (!$found) {
$message = "Email from $efrom regarding " . $email['headers']['Subject'];
exec("/usr/pluto/bin/MessageSend localhost 0 -305 1 809 9 \"$message\" 70 \"\" 182 10 251 0");
}
}

}

if ($count == '0') {
echo date("Y-m-d H:i:s") . " There are no new e-mails\n";
// This is a good place to clear out the data file since the mailbox is now empty
if (file_exists($file_name)) {
@unlink($file_name);
}
}

// See if there's been any additions to the ids array
// and if so, write back the new info
$new_count = (count($ids));
if ($orig_count < $new_count) {
write_file($file_name, $ids);
}

$pop3->close();

}
unset($msgids);
unset($ids);
sleep($waitfor);
}

function parse_email ($email) {
// Split header and message
$header = array();
$message = array();

$is_header = true;
foreach ($email as $line) {
if ($line == '<HEADER> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '<MESSAGE> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '</MESSAGE> ' . "\r\n") continue;
if ($line == '</HEADER> ' . "\r\n") { $is_header = false; continue; }

if ($is_header == true) {
$header[] = $line;
} else {
$message[] = $line;
}
}

// Parse headers
$headers = array();
foreach ($header as $line) {
$colon_pos = strpos($line, ':');
$space_pos = strpos($line, ' ');

if ($colon_pos === false OR $space_pos < $colon_pos) {
// attach to previous
$previous .= "\r\n" . $line;
continue;
}

// Get key
$key = substr($line, 0, $colon_pos);

// Get value
$value = substr($line, $colon_pos+2);
$headers[$key] = $value;

$previous =& $headers[$key];
}

// Parse message
$message = implode('', $message);

// Return array
$email = array();
$email['message'] = $message;
$email['headers'] = $headers;

return $email;
}

function get_simple_email($str) {

$open = strpos($str, "<");
$close = strpos($str, ">");

if (($open === false) && ($close === false)) {
return $str;
}

return substr($str, $open + 1, $close - $open - 1);

}

function read_file($name) {

$contents = false;

if (file_exists($name)) {
if ($fd = @fopen($name, "r")) {
$contents = fread($fd, filesize($name));
fclose($fd);
}
}

return $contents;
}

function write_file($name, $data) {

if ($fd = @fopen($name, "w")) {
foreach ($data as $line) {
$line = ereg_replace("/\n\r|\r\n/", "", $line);
if (!empty($line)) {
fwrite($fd, $line . "\n");
}
}
fclose($fd);
return true;
} else {
return false;
}
}

?>

----

When you put the two files (in the same directory) on the core, make sure the user you start the script with has permission to write files in that directory, otherwise it won't be able to keep a tally of the messages it has already seen.

User:Freymann

2008-07-28T16:11:41Z

Freymann: /* Notes */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the via EPIA HTPC in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

So now I just went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage
lights at 9pm ET and the basement accent light at the bottom of the stairs at 9pm. I then add an
event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm and the basement accent light at 1:30am.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,623.89 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

User:Freymann

2008-07-28T16:08:14Z

Freymann: /* Notes */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the via EPIA HTPC in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

So now I just went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage
lights at 9pm ET and the basement accent light at the bottom of the stairs at 9pm. I then add an
event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm and the basement accent light at 1:30am.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $3,000.00 + CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates, and I did
utilize some existing equipment like stereos and tv's.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

User:Freymann

2008-07-28T16:02:15Z

Freymann: /* Core */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the via EPIA HTPC in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

So now I just went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage
lights at 9pm ET and the basement accent light at the bottom of the stairs at 9pm. I then add an
event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm and the basement accent light at 1:30am.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

User:Freymann

2008-07-28T12:41:34Z

Freymann: /* Media Director */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

[[Image:g.freymann.jpg]]
Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
*$150.00 -> APC 750VA 450 watts UPS with auto shutdown software/usb port
This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the via EPIA HTPC in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

I pulled the batteries out of the unit and left it unplugged and disconnected from the computer for about
16 hours but it didn't erase the memory. Fortunately, I still had my MythBuntu system loaded on the
internal drive so I booted off the hard drive and used a heyu erase command which erased the eprom!

So now I just went to the LMCE admin web page and added a timed event to flip on the garage
lights at 9pm ET and the basement accent light at the bottom of the stairs at 9pm. I then add an
event to shut off the garage lights at 11pm and the basement accent light at 1:30am.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

* Another Via MB based MD - $155.00 CDN

This basically replaced the DLink and I'm running MythBuntu 7.10 on the local HD which talks to the LMCE Core.
Just like the master bedroom, I mounted my media drive in the core and have access to our media collection and
the MythTV portion works fine. I connected one of my now un-used MCE IR dongles and grabbed the extra remote
from the basement.

I did manage to load the VIA Unichrome video drivers on this box but the SVideo Output would not work at all in the
windows environment, and even with the LCD monitor connected I was unable to view TV or Movies, even with UI1. I'll
wait for better via video drivers and try again, but for now, mixing MythBuntu 7.10 and LMCE seems to be great.

Processor VIA C3® Nehemiah 1GHZ
Chipset VIA CLE266 North Bridge
VT8235M South Bridge
System Memory 512MB DDR266
HDD 40 GB
VGA Integrated VIA Unichrome™ AGP graphics with MPEG-2 Accelerator
Expansion Slots 1 PCI
Onboard IDE 2 X UltraDMA 133/100/66 Connector
Onboard Floppy 1 x FDD Connector
Onboard LAN VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
Onboard Audio VIA VT1616 6 channel AC'97 Codec
Onboard TV Out VIA VT1622M TV out
Onboard 1394 VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire

Back Panel I/O
1 PS2 mouse port
1 PS2 keyboard port
1 Parallel port
1 RJ-45 LAN port
1 Serial port
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 VGA port
1 RCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
1 S-Video port
3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in; can be switched to 6 channel output

Front Panel I/O
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 1394 port
2 Audio jacks: line-out and mic-in

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 73000 GT 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 7.50 -> CPU Case Slot Fan (to further cool the video card)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.
*$ 80.00 -> Powerhouse 550T UPS
*$979.46 -> Olevia 242-T11 42" LCD HD TV

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room2.jpg]]

The CPU was in the left cupboard, but when I added the LCD TV in July 08, it now sits behind the TV.
There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box that was there when I was running MythBuntu. I've left it there, and
I assume LMCE is using the swap space. Since I have 2x500GB in the core, I have chosen not to include the
disk space in the mix for now.

It is connected to a Olevia 42" LCD TV via Component cable (red/blue/green) in from the nVidia 7300 TV out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*Onboard 1 Gigabyte Network port
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I did try a nVidia 7300GT PCIe
video card with fan in this box using UI2 medium and UI2 high. Although it did work better, it would still randomly freeze,
so I can't recommend the motherboard in this machine and I am selling it to recoup some of my money.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

User:Freymann

2008-07-28T12:38:52Z

Freymann: /* Media Director */

File:Living-room2.jpg

2008-07-28T12:38:27Z

Freymann:

User:Freymann

2008-07-17T03:07:30Z

Freymann: /* Automation */

User:Freymann

2008-07-17T03:04:27Z

Freymann: /* Networking */

User:Freymann

2008-07-15T23:55:14Z

Freymann: /* Non Working core */

User:Freymann

2008-07-15T18:33:29Z

Freymann: /* Media Director */

User:Freymann

2008-07-15T18:32:29Z

Freymann: /* Core */

User:Freymann

2008-07-15T14:27:57Z

Freymann: /* In development */

User:Freymann

2008-07-15T14:23:42Z

Freymann: /* In development */

User:Freymann

2008-07-15T14:17:53Z

Freymann: /* Non Working core */

User:Freymann

2008-06-20T01:59:36Z

Freymann: /* About Me */

File:G.freymann.jpg

2008-06-20T01:59:14Z

Freymann:

User:Freymann

2008-06-20T01:54:04Z

Freymann: /* Core */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV. This computer has a UPS attached to it.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the Dlink DSM320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T18:29:22Z

Freymann: /* Notes */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the Dlink DSM320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T17:32:26Z

Freymann: /* In development */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the Dlink DSM320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

[[Image:office.jpg]]

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.

File:Office.jpg

2008-06-19T17:31:58Z

Freymann:

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T15:57:14Z

Freymann: /* Networking */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the Dlink DSM320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the dining room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T14:32:40Z

Freymann: /* Networking */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

We use Bell HSE for our DSL Internet. That uses an external DSL Modem.

That DSL Modem is connected to a LinkSys WRT54G Firmware Version: v1.02.5 providing wireless access to the house. This
is located in our upstairs dining room. A wired network cable runs from one of the 4 wired jacks in the router to the
core in the basement.

The core in the basement connects to the upstairs router at 100MB. I added a 1000MB NIC to the core to run the
internal network, so a long network cable connects to the 1000MB port and runs into my basement office, where it connects to a
gigabyte 8-port unmanaged switch.

From this location (my basement office) I feed all the internal devices:

* my work PC which runs Ubuntu 8.04 and VirtualBox XP, also dual-boots Vista (which I rarely do)
* a work area in my office. Sometimes in use, sometimes not. Right now the retired core is sitting
here doing nothing.
* the Dlink DSM320 in my office, connected to the TV
* the master-bedroom MythBuntu 7.10 Frontend
* the upstairs spare bedroom, where the better half uses her XP notebook
* the living-room MD

I think that leaves me with two empty connections.

I had to run network cables from the living room to the basement, behind the drywall. Fortunately, I had an electrical box behind the TV to run coax and this gave me the ability to fish more wires behind. Moving the suspended ceiling panels out of the way gave me access.

We have a suspended ceiling in some areas of the basement, in other areas the ceiling is open, and in my office the ceiling is dry-walled. Running wires to the living-room and master-bedroom was easy as everything was open. The spare bedroom was a little harder as the ceiling is drywalled underneath (my office) but I was able to use a long rod with a hook and fish the wire from between rafters from the furnace room and run that to the office.

Running a network cable from the switch in my office to my office TV wasn't too bad either. There's a small section of suspended ceiling that gives us access to the plumbing above, so removing a few panels gave me the ability to fish a wire from the switch to the wall, and from there I had to fish the wire down to the antenna outlet.

With some patience and time the house is wired!

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T14:08:57Z

Freymann: /* In development */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* D-LINK DSM 320 Media Lounge

I have two of these left over from before I started tinkering with HTPC's. Under LMCE 7.10B4 the uPnp server software didn't
talk to the Dlink's at all.

Using LMCE 7.10RC2, the newer uPnp server works fine! When I search for network servers, I see the core uPnp and the mythtv uPnp
and I can switch between them depending on the content I desire. This is very handy for occasions when one of the computers are down, as
you could put the Dlink in there while you're working on equipment.

In my basement office, I have one connected to my TV. It plays pretty good, but it does studder and pause regularly, making it
ok for occasional use.

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T14:03:10Z

Freymann: /* Media Director */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* Nothing at the moment

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)
* X10 CM11A controller is on this box. It reaches every light from this location.

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T14:01:07Z

Freymann: /* Media Director */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* Nothing at the moment

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner, IDE
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD in this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T13:56:23Z

Freymann: /* About Me */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

On June 14, 2008, I put the new core in place in the basement, set the living-room to network boot, and started to use LinuxMCE! On June 17th, I took the HTPC from the master-bedroom and tried it under LMCE but decided to load MythBuntu 7.10 and do some network mapping to give it access to our media collection on the core, and it is working great now too.

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* Nothing at the moment

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD and IDE DVD/CD ROM on this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T13:51:02Z

Freymann: /* Car PC */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

Now I'm thinking the new box will become my new LinuxMCE Hybrid/Core and I'll change the other two stations over to LinuxMCE, and be where I wanted to be a few months ago. Kewl!

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* Nothing at the moment

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD and IDE DVD/CD ROM on this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

[[Image:master-bedroom.jpg]]

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.

File:Master-bedroom.jpg

2008-06-19T13:50:22Z

Freymann:

File:Living-room.jpg

2008-06-19T13:49:03Z

Freymann:

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T13:48:48Z

Freymann: /* Media Director */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

Now I'm thinking the new box will become my new LinuxMCE Hybrid/Core and I'll change the other two stations over to LinuxMCE, and be where I wanted to be a few months ago. Kewl!

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* Nothing at the moment

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my living-room MD.

[[Image:living-room.jpg]]

There is an IDE 500GB HD and IDE DVD/CD ROM on this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.

User:Freymann

2008-06-19T13:47:34Z

Freymann: /* Core */

[[category:User Setups]]
[[category:Standard Definition Setups]]
[[category:X10 User Setups]]
[[category:Networking Setups]]
==About Me==
First, a brief history:

Hello. My name is Gerald Freymann and I live in Ontario, Canada.

I first attempted a LinuxMCE installation in March 2008, using 7.10 B4. My core machine worked like crap, one media director was OK but had a bad PVR card and the second media director caused me grief with the video card and I gave up, rather frustrated, confused and extremely disappointed.

Afterwards, I set up a 3 station MythBuntu system in a day, and have been tinkering with it and learning more about MythTV since then. I'm happy to say that I was able to get my MCE Transceivers working under MythBuntu. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4527005#post4527005]

I then tinkered with the X10 equipment I bought but never got to use with LinuxMCE, and quite happily, did very well integrating X10 under MythBuntu both through on-screen menus and remote buttons. See: [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=4733977#post4733977]

From MythBuntu 7.10 to 8.04, I've enjoyed the system and I've learned a heck of lot more! but have been keeping tabs on LinuxMCE, as it was my system of choice in the first place, I just needed another way to play with it without pressure or time constraints.

So, in mid-May I purchased yet another system that I figured would replace the MythBuntu core, but before I did that, I wanted to load LinuxMCE 7.10 RC2 on it, just to see how things have progressed since the 7.10 B4. I was very fortunate this time around, as things just worked! I freely goofed around, not caring if the system came crashing down, and other than tinkering with network cards that caused a fresh reload, this version just seems to work.

Now I'm thinking the new box will become my new LinuxMCE Hybrid/Core and I'll change the other two stations over to LinuxMCE, and be where I wanted to be a few months ago. Kewl!

I thought I would take this opportunity to document what equipment I am using, and what worked, and what didn't.

==System==
Prices are in CDN Funds and most don't include shipping, taxes or mail-in rebates.

===Core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- June 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$279.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ Socket AM2
*1 x AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan (a little noisy, not too bad)
*1 x ECS nVidia GeForce6100SM-M Motherboard
*2GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston?)
*1 x LG 20X IDE DVD RW + Dual Layer optical drive
*disabled on-board nVidia GeForce 6100 as I couldn't use VGA output
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to my main wired/wireless Linksys Router, which is connected to DSL modem)
*6 x USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$ 99.99 -> Hitachi 500GB Serial ATA HD, 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Main OS and initial installation on here)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (Media drive in LMCE file structure)
*$ 24.99 -> D-Link DGE-530T 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter (for the inside Network)
*$ 48.99 -> EVGA GeForce 7200 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe Video card
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 45.00 -> TP-Link TL-SG1008D 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Switch (connected to internal nic in Core, rest of the internal LAN connects here)
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my main Core/Hybrid located in the Basement.

[[Image:basement.jpg]]

It is connected to a no-name 26" LCD HD TV from Wal-Mart via HDMI at 720p, with a DVI to HDMI cable.
I have a Bell ExpressVU 4700 Dish Receiver with SVideo output connected to the PVR-150 input with Left/Right RCA Audio cables.
I have an old cheap stereo that you have to control manually that the Core's sound output feeds on AUX input.
The USB-UIRT controls the dish receiver with one IR dongle stuck to the front and the IR Blaster seems to have no problems
controlling the TV.

===Networking===
'''-> various additional network cabling'''

*$17.99 -> 2 x 25 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 50 FT CAT5e CAT 5e Computer Ethernet PS3 Internet Cable
*$ 6.99 -> 25 FT 8M CAT 6 Network Patch Cable
*$ 3.99 -> 10 FT CAT5e 5e Computer Ethernet Network Internet Cable

===Automation===
'''-> various X10 equipment'''
*$46.09 RCA X10 ActiveHome PC Interface (CM11A)
*6 x dimmable lamp modules (LM465)
*2-way transceriver module (RR501)
*$42.70 -> KR22A, LM15A, AM466, WS12A

In the living-room, I have X10 light controls on a table lamp, floor lamp and china cabinet light. I
have a 3-prong appliance controller on an electric fireplace.

I created two lighting scenarios, one for watching TV which turns on the table lamp and fireplace,
and one for watching Movies will only have the fireplace and china cabinet light on.

In the master-bedroom, I have a X10 wall light switch rocker switch on my side of the room. I had
one on my better half's side but she hated the way the light switch works and I had to remove it. Now
that it's summer, and warmer at night, I grabbed one of my extra X10 appliance controls and plugged
a small circulating fan into it and placed one of my extra keychain remotes beside the bed. I can hit
3 On/Off to control the fan without leaving the bed!

In the basement, I have X10 light controls on a floor lamp and a small accent light at the bottom
of the stairs, and I have two X10 wall light switch rocker switches controlling a ceiling light above
the bar and two wall sconces on one wall.

I created one lighting scenario for the basement, which turns on the light above the bar and the wall
sconces. This basically puts light to the left and right of me while watching TV.

I have the X10 wireless transceiver in an outlet in the laundry room at the back of the house. It's
completely out of the way and nobody notices the antenna. I used a couple socket rocket's to control
the front entrance and rear entrance lights. I have one of the key chain remotes attached to my car
key chain and now we're able to flip on the lights when we approach the door so we don't have to leave
the lights on when we're out.

I put an X10 appliance control in the garage to control the outside lights there. There are two
lantern type lights on the front of our garage, and whoever installed them originally attached a
3-prong plug to the end of the wire and used a mechanical timer to turn the lights on and off. I
replace the mechanical timer with the X10 appliance module.

Before LinuxMCE I had used heyu to program a schedule into the CM11A controller, which would turn
on the garage lights at dawn, and turn them off at 11pm. The schedule would also turn on the basement
accent light at the bottom of the stairs 15 minutes before dawn, and turn it off at 1am.

The timer function is still in place for those two lights, until I decide to unplug the CM11A,
remove the batteries, and let it sit over night, at which time I'll add events to LMCE to do this instead.

===In development===

* Nothing at the moment

===Media Director===
'''MEDIA DIRECTOR -- March 2008 -- WORKS!'''

*$169.99 -> AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+ Socket AM2
*AMD Original AM2 CPU Fan
*ECS nVidia GeForce6100-SM-M Motherboard
*1GB DDR II 667 Memory 240 Pin (Kingston)
*nVidia GeForce 6100 2D/3D Graphic Engine, up to 256MB Memory (disabled in favour on PCIe Video card)
*Realtek ALC660 6-channel HD Audio
*Onboard 10/100 Network Card (connected to Gigabit Ethernet Switch)
*6 USB 2.0 Port, 1 Parallel, 1 Serial
*1285 Deluxe Black Tower Case
*450 Watt Power Supply
*$121.99 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop EX110 (keyboard/mouse)
*$ 54.99 -> EVGA GeForce 72000 GS 256MB (will take up to 512MB) PCIe
*$ 58.83 -> USB-UIRT
*$ 69.59 -> Gyration Motion Sensing Remote Control (GYR3101US)

This is my living-room MD.

There is an IDE 500GB HD and IDE DVD/CD ROM on this box. I will likely pull the drive out and replace it with an older 40GB IDE hard
for use as local swap.

It is connected to a Toshiba 32" CRT TV via SVideo in from the nVidia 7200 SVideo out.
I have a LG Surround System here for audio (Left/Right RCA sound out from MD goes to AV-1 Input).
I have a Bell ExpressVU 2700 Dish Receiver connected to the PVR-150 via SVideo and Left/Right RCA sound jacks.
The USB-UIRT is controlling the Dish, TV and Stereo. One IR dongle is stuck to the front of the LG Stereo, and it
just blasts the IR which reaches the Dish and TV.

==Comments and Experiences==
===Non Working core===
'''Hybrid/Core -- March 2008 -- FAILED TERRIBLY! -- RETIRED'''

*Some parts have been moved to the new hybrid/core

*$ 34.91 -> Diablo X-Man Silver Gamer Case, Coolmax 400W V2.01 Power Supply
*$360.06 -> EVGA nForce 650i Ultra Socket 775 Motherboard
*EVGA GeForce 8400 GS, 512MB RAM, PCIe w/DVI-TV-OUT
*Samsung 18x DVD RW SH-S183L SATA LS OEM
*Seagate 250GB Serial ATA w/NCQ 7200/8MB/SATA-3G
*Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667 MHZ (2 pieces, for 2GB RAM)
*Intel Pentium D 925 3Ghz DT 800FSB Socket 775
*$102.02 -> Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 MCE BNDL MPEG2 w/REMOTE (now in core)
*$ 79.99 -> WD Caviar 500GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G (now in core)
*$ 29.99 -> Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Burner EIDE
*$ 39.99 -> Logitech Cordless Desktop LX310 (keyboard/mouse) (now in core)
*$ 48.99 -> Gyration GO 2.4 Air Mouse, Refurbished
*$ 30.99 -> Linksys Etherfast 10/100 5-port Switch

Strangely enough, I let this network boot into a MD and it still produces problems. MythTV wouldn't work and if you
left the box alone for a few hours when you came back it would be pretty well frozen. I would love to get another
7200GS video card for this box and try it again as a MD just to see if the 8400 GS video card was the problem with
this box.

At the moment I'd be hard pressed to say the motherboard is compatible until I'm able to test with a different video card.

===Other Non Working items===
''Items that didn't work:''

*$ 9.99 -> Trendware 32 Bit 10/100/1000 Copper Gigabit PCI Network Card.
===Car PC===
*'''MINI ITX Media Center PC/Car PC FULLY LOADED -- March 2008 -- Ok as a MythTV 7.10 Frontend'''
*$210.00

This neat little machine was able to boot up into UI1 on 7.10RC2, and when I added the specific
video drivers for the via video (which was quite easy actually), I could play back videos (with the
occasional freeze, making it not so good) and TV playback had a green screen, picture off kilter, with
lines through it. So basically... no good.

So I loaded MythBuntu 7.10 onto the internal drive and it is now talking to the LMCE core.

I did a NFS mount to my second "media" drive in the core, and mapped the video, audio, and
pictures directories in mythtv to the LMCE core, and basically, this machine is working as it
was before under MythBuntu 8.10, with some very minor exceptions.

For $210, this is actually a pretty decent little HTPC.

I did add a MCE Remote and IR Transceiver. The MCE Remote is one of the programmable remotes so I was able to teach it
how to turn on the Hitachi 21" CRT TV and control the TV Volume! The video and sound are connected to the TV via A/V RCA type jacks
(red, white, yellow).

This box is used in the master-bedroom.

** Complete system with power adapter
* Via EPIA-SP 1GHZ with TV output
* 512MB DDR Memory
* 80GB Western Digital Scorpio HD
* LG DVD-ROM Slim
* 2 additional USB 2.0 ports (4 total)
* Dimensions: 12” x 10 ½” x 2”

====Motherboard Specs:====
*Model Name • VIA EPIA SP13000G
*VIA EPIA SP8000EG
*Processor • VIA C3™/ VIA Eden™ EBGA processor

*Chipset • VIA CN400 North Bridge
• VIA VT8237R-Series South Bridge

*System Memory • 1 DDR266/333/400 DIMM socket
• Up to 1GB memory size

*VGA • Integrated VIA UniChrome™ Pro AGP graphics with MPEG-2 decoder /MPEG-4 Accelerator

*Expansion Slots • 1 PCI

*Onboard IDE • 2 X UltraDMA 133/100 Connector

*Onboard Serial ATA • 2 SATA Connectors

*Onboard LAN • VIA VT6103 10/100 Base-T Ethernet PHY
*Onboard Audio • VIA VT1617A 6channel AC'97 codec
*Onboard TV Out • VIA VT1623M TV Encoder
*Onboard 1394 • VIA VT6307S IEEE 1394 Firewire
*Back Panel I/O • 1 PS2 mouse port
*1 PS2 keyboard port
*1 RJ-45 LAN port
*1 Serial port
*2 USB 2.0 ports
* 1 VGA port
* 1 PCA port (SPDIF or TV out)
* 1 S-video port
* 3 Audio jacks: line-out, line-in and mic-in (Smart 5.1 Support)
*Onboard I/O Connectors • 3 USB connector for 6additional USB 2.0 ports
* 1 1394 connector for 1 1394 port
* 1 Serial port connector for a second com port
* 1 VIP connector
* 1 Front-panel audio connector (Mic-in and Line-out)
* 1 CD audio-in connector
* 1 FIR connector
* 1 CIR connector (Switchable for KB/MS)
* 1 LPT port connector
* 1 Wake-on-LAN connector
* 2 Fan connectors: CPU/Sys FAN
* 1 I2C connector
* 1 LVDS/TTL module connector (Optional)
* 1 +12V power connector
* ATX power connector

*BIOS • Award BIOS
• 4/8Mbit flash memory

*System Monitoring & Management • CPU voltage monitoring

* Wake-on-LAN, Keyboard Power-on, Timer Power-on
*System power management
*AC power failure recover
*Operating Temperature • 0~50°C
*Operating Humidity • 0% ~ 93% (relative humidity; non-condensing)
*Form Factor • Mini-ITX (6 layers)
* 17 cm x 17 cm

==Notes==
So, that's about $2,214.00 CDN not including shipping, taxes, import fees, and mail-in rebates.

I purchase a lot of my equipment from:

-tigerdirect, See [http://www.tigerdirect.ca/indexca.asp?]

-future shop, See [http://www.futureshop.ca/home.asp?newlang=EN&logon=&langid=EN&dept=0&WLBS=fs-web1]

-ebay stores like:

X10 Warehouse, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/X10-WAREHOUSE]

LU Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/LU-COMPUTERS-INC]

Mayco Estore, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/Mayco-Computer-Electronics-eStore_CAT-5e-CAT6-Network-Cables_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ3QQftidZ2QQtZkm]

BTE Computers, See [http://stores.ebay.ca/BTEcomputer]

Once I do move the new core into place and set up the two media directors, I'll include details on each of the setups with pictures, describing the TV and A/V equipment used.