LinuxMCE - User contributions [en]

User:Seer

2010-09-08T19:25:01Z

Seer:

Hi there. I'm Seer Snively. I'm running the development version of LMCE 0810, reading lots of code, and thinking about new UI's and adding some crazy features like a visual calendar to add events, and a nice pretty way to display event notices.

But that's all future talk. Right now, I've just got my nose buried in code trying to wrap my head around it all.

My home page is [http://www.gamehendge.org/ Gamehendge.org]

User:Seer

2009-04-02T22:45:08Z

Seer: first draft

Hi there. I'm Seer Snively. My handle on IRC is "Anon of Ibid". I'm running the development version of LMCE 0810, reading lots of code, and thinking about new UI's and adding some crazy features like a visual calendar to add events, and a nice pretty way to display event notices.

But that's all future talk. Right now, I've just got my nose buried in code trying to wrap my head around it all.

My home page is [http://www.gamehendge.org/ Gamehendge.org]

Nintendo WiiMote

2009-04-02T20:42:32Z

Seer: resized image and added caption to wiimote image

{| align="right"
| __TOC__
|}
[[Category: Hardware]]
[[Category: Input]]
[[Category:Infrared]]
[[category: tutorials]]

[[Image:Wiimote.jpg|right|thumb|The Nintendo Wiimote]]

This device is not out of the box supported by LinuxMCE, but it is known to work [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CWiiD] [http://forum.linuxmce.com/index.php?topic=1246.0] [http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=2411.msg11435].

== Wiimote setup ==

I will try to explain what i have done to make the wiimote work with linuxmce.

The wiimote is a cheap gyration device which could work for linuxmce instead of the chief remote from fiire which i find too expensive!!

= Setup =

Login ([[Logging_In]]) as root to the media director which has a bluetooth stick with ssh.
Install the cwiid driver as follows
apt-get install libcwiid0
apt-get install wminput

Make sure the uinput kernel module is loaded at boot-time:
echo "uinput" >>/etc/modules
Load it manually in the mean time:
modprobe uinput

create the daemon
cat >/usr/sbin/wminputd <<"EOF"
#!/bin/bash
#read the config file
. /etc/wminputd.conf
export DISPLAY=:0

while true
do
#check if the Orbiter/OrbiterGL is already running!
if [ "$(pidof OrbiterGL)$(pidof Orbiter)" ]
then

#check if the wiimote is already connected
if [ -z "$(hcitool con|grep $WIIMOTE_BDADDR)" ]
then
PID=$(pidof wminput)
if [ "$PID" ]
then
kill -9 $PID
fi
#mouse acceleration, adjust to your liking
#see also: "man xset" and/or "xset -h"
# xset m 1/2 3
wminput -c ir_ptr $WIIMOTE_BDADDR &
fi

fi

sleep 5

done

EOF

Make it executable
chmod 755 /usr/sbin/wminputd

*Create the config file ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vi vi commands])
vi /etc/wminputd.conf

#this is the config file for the wminputd
#enter the wiimote mac address, you can find it with
#hcitool scan and then press the red button
#besides the battery's off the wiimote
#Then place the show'n mac address as follows
WIIMOTE_BDADDR="00:AA:00:BB:AA:FF"

you can find your address with hcitool scan

*Edit the file /etc/cwiid/wminput/buttons

vi /etc/cwiid/wminput/buttons
And make it suitable to your needs
below is mine
#buttons

Wiimote.A = BTN_LEFT
Wiimote.B = BTN_RIGHT
Wiimote.Up = KEY_UP
Wiimote.Down = KEY_DOWN
Wiimote.Left = KEY_LEFT
Wiimote.Right = KEY_RIGHT
Wiimote.Minus = KEY_F7
Wiimote.Plus = KEY_F8
Wiimote.Home = KEY_F3
Wiimote.1 = KEY_F1
Wiimote.2 = KEY_F6

* create the init file
vi /etc/init.d/wminputd

#!/bin/sh
# Start/stop the wminputd daemon.
#
### BEGIN INIT INFO
# Provides: wminputd
# Required-Start: $syslog $time
# Required-Stop: $syslog $time
# Default-Start: 2 3 4 5
# Default-Stop: 0 1 6
# Short-Description: mousemodule
# Description: wminputd
#
#
#
### END INIT INFO

test -f /usr/sbin/wminputd || exit 0
. /lib/lsb/init-functions

case "$1" in
start) log_daemon_msg "Starting wii-remote mousemodule" "wminputd"
start-stop-daemon -b --start --quiet --pidfile /var/run/wminputd.pid --name wminputd --startas /usr/sbin/wminputd -- $LSBNAMES
log_end_msg $?
;;
stop) log_daemon_msg "Stopping wii-mote mousemodule" "wminputd"
start-stop-daemon --stop --quiet --pidfile /var/run/wminputd.pid --name wminputd
log_end_msg $?
;;
restart) log_daemon_msg "Restarting wii-mote mousemdule" "wminputd"
start-stop-daemon --stop --retry 5 --quiet --pidfile /var/run/wminputd.pid --name wminputd
start-stop-daemon -b --start --quiet --pidfile /var/run/wminputd.pid --name wminputd --startas /usr/sbin/wminputd -- $LSBNAMES
log_end_msg $?
;;
*) log_action_msg "Usage: /etc/init.d/wminputd {start|stop|restart}"
exit 2
;;
esac
exit 0

Make it executable
chmod 755 /etc/init.d/wminputd

run the script and push the red button beside the battery and your wiimote is ready to go

enable the script so that it will start at boot time
update-rc.d wminputd defaults
now start the script and see if it works
/etc/init.d/wminputd start

= Troubleshooting =

*Q: When i reload the router then the wiimote will be slow
*A: Just push the red button besides the wiimote so it will connect again

= Added 3-30-2008 =
I tried this and it works beautifully!

A couple of other notes...

Its a pain to get to the little red button by the battery. Instead, you can press and hold the '1' and '2' buttons at the same time for the same effect.
The power button will not start the system, but once the system is started (with either the Red button or the button 1+2 being held down together), holding the power button for a couple of seconds will turn the wiimote off and break the connection.

== Troubles Experienced ==
*I have a Targus bluetooth doggle. The system recognizes the adapter, but it would not allow the Wiimote to connect. What I need to do to get it to work is get to a command prompt and execute '''hciconfig hci0 down; hciconfig hci0 up; hciconfig hci0 piscan'''. Then I am able to press the 1 & 2 buttons then it works. An additional change that I need to make was in /usr/sbin/wminputd. Had the change the line ''wminput -c ir_ptr $WIIMOTE_BDADDR &'' to ''wminput $WIIMOTE_BDADDR &''. Otherwise I could not move the cursor, but the buttons works. Then I also mapped the buttons to how I wanted them. If I come up with a fix/workaround for executing the hciconfig commands I will update this. Thanks!

LinuxMCE talk:Community Portal:Category Proposal

2009-03-31T22:48:32Z

Seer: added my comment / stale?

I've created this page to make a proposal of how to setup the categories for the wiki. Feel free to add/edit/comment.

*Computer Hardware
**Motherboards
**Graphic Cards
**Sound Cards
**TV-cards
**Keyboards
**Mice
**Remotes
**Bluetooth Devices
**Laptops

*PDAs and other Portable Devices except cell phones
**Webpads

*Software
**Third party software

*Audio Sources
**Receivers

*Video Sources
**Set-top boxes
***Satellite boxes
***Cable boxes
***Digital terrestrial boxes
***PVR boxes
**VCR
**DVD
**Blu-ray
**HD-Dvd
**Cameras
**TV-cards (also in computer hardware)

*Video Displays
**LCD
**Plasma
**Projectors

*Multimedia

*Networking

*Home Automation
**Lighting
**Climate
**Security (Maybe this should be it's own main category?)

*Telecom
**Cellullar phones (Mobile phones?)
**IP-phones
**Phone-Providers (or less obvious "Phone-Lines" as in the pluto-admin)

*Development

==Suggestion==
One thing I think is important is that articles must not appear once in a category and then again in a more general category. For example, Sony Amplifier should not appear once in 'audio hardware' and then again in 'hardware'. This is consistent with the [http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_User%27s_Guide:_Using_Categories#Category_considerations guidelines for Wikimedia projects], which are very well thought through. [[User:Lozzo|Lozzo]] 13:33, 26 September 2007 (MST)

:I think it's important for articles to be in as many relevant categories as possible, this helps to navigate and find similar pages much quicker. Guidlines of other wikis don't apply here, just because some other unrelated wiki uses that organisation doesn't mean we have to. So please don't remove Categories from pages, they are there for a reason. --[[User:Zaerc|Zaerc]] 04:51, 3 October 2007 (MST)

::With respect, I completely disagree. Categories are there to facilitate an elegant taxonomy - not for things to be appearing twice. Having strict categories (i.e. without repetition and in the style used on wikipedia as the reslt of much community debate) makes things easier to maintain ''and'' to find. [[User:Lozzo|Lozzo]] 00:56, 7 October 2007 (MST)

:::The problem is that this is not the wikipedia (or wikimedia). And the resulting policy of much community debate there does not automaticly apply here. Things are not either hardware or a phone or an orbitter, they can be all three at once. Hence they should appear in all these relevant categories. Likewise a NAS should go under storage and networking as well as hardware. I think this makes them much easier to find and I really don't see how it could hinder maintenance --[[User:Zaerc|Zaerc]] 05:34, 7 October 2007 (MST)

==Expanding the existing structure==
It seems better to me, for the Hardware section at least, to take into account the existing structure, and expand on that. Implementing the proposal above will scatter the existing pages and leave many categories empty. As soon as certain categories become overcrowded they can be split into subcategories. Therefore with a few adjustments we can mostly leave things the way they are and expand it where needed. This should ease the pain of a transition as well.

Below is an expanded and slightly modified version of the existing stucture, this should be a lot less intrusive, and yes some categories appear as sub-categories again, I see no problem with that. Categories for future expansion are in brackets, to be created when there are enough pages to justify (fill) them. --[[User:Zaerc|Zaerc]] 04:51, 3 October 2007 (MST)

----
The above was moved here from the article for reference --[[User:Zaerc|Zaerc]] 07:57, 19 February 2008 (PST)
----

I am concerned about one thing with regards to the follow categories and that is continuity of terms.
* 1 Core
* 2 Orbiters
* 3 Media Directors
* 4 Network Attached Storage
* 5 Security
* 6 Telecom
* 7 Home Automation
* 8 Multimedia
* 9 Personal Computing
are the list of options one gets by selecting the read more button on the main page. This is the terminology that was used by Pluto, so the documentation is going to have references to these different aspects of the LinuxMCE software. My thoughts would be to work out from the above main categories, because not everyone is going to use the Home Automation, or the Security features built in. My example:
* 1 Core
* 2 Orbiters
* 3 Media Directors
* 4 Network Attached Storage
* 5 Security
* 6 Telecom
* 7 Home Automation
* 8 Multimedia
* Audio Sources
o Recievers
* Video Sources
o Set-top boxes
+ Satellite boxes
+ Cable boxes
+ Digital terrestrial boxes
+ PVR boxes
o VCR
o DVD
o Blu-ray
o HD-Dvd
o Cameras
o TV-cards (also in computer hardware)
* Video Displays
o LCD
o Plasma
o Projectors
* 9 Personal Computing

just my 2 cents worth.

I think this looks real good. Thumbs up from me. --[[User:Samme|Samme]] 00:03, 28 September 2007 (MST)

::I also like it. What's the status of this? It seems pretty stale, with the last update to this "discussion" in 2007. Anyone? [[User:Seer|Seer]] 00:48, 1 April 2009 (CEST)

TV tuner card

2009-03-22T21:12:23Z

Seer: added note about supported hardware & hardware encoding.

[[Category: Video| ]]

A '''TV tuner card''' allows television signals to be received by a computer. LinuxMCE systems featuring such cards can stream live TV to any [[media director]] in the home using [[MythTV]]. TV tuners are available as PCI-bus expansion card, PCIe (PCI Express) bus or USB devices.

Please see also:
*[[:Category:TV Cards|TV cards category]]
*[http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Category:Video_capture_cards MythTV tuner cards category]
*[http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Video_capture_card MythTV tuner cards article] This is a good place to start if you are wondering which cards are supported by MythTV, one of two PVR programs used by LinuxMCE.

==Types of tuner card on the market==
* Cards for analog TV. Cheaper models output raw tuner data, which requires intensive encoding by another device, normally the system CPU. More expensive models encode the signal to MPEG, relieving the main CPU of this load. This is called '''Hardware Encoding''' and is worth every penny. Many cards also have analog input (composite video or S-Video). and many also provide FM radio reception.

* Cards for digital TV, including satellite TV. Digital TV is broadcast as an MPEG stream, so no encoder is necessary; instead, the digital cards must extract the correct PIDs from the transport stream, which requires much less processing power.

* Hybrid tuners that handle both analog and digital inputs. A Hybrid tuner has one tuner that can be configured to act as an analog tuner or a digital tuner. Switching in between the systems is fairly easy, but can not be done "on the fly". The card operates as a digital tuner or an analog tuner until reconfigured.

* Combo tuners that have both analog and digital tuners on one card. This is similar to a hybrid tuner, except there are 2 separate tuners on the card. One can watch analog while recording digital, or visa versa. The card operated as an analog tuner and a digital tuner. The advantages over 2 separate cards are cost and utilization of expansion slots in the computer. As the US converts from analog to digital broadcasts, these tuners are gaining popularity.

Mirrors 710

2009-03-18T02:11:24Z

Seer: /* LinuxMCE 0710 */ added link to DVD install guide

= LinuxMCE 0710 =
'''Before installing, check out the [[Known Issues|Known issues]], and please read the [[Installation Guide]] and/or the [[DVD Installation]] guide.''' Installing from DVD is the fastest. Installing from CD .iso images on your hard disk is second fastest (you will need to install Kubuntu 7.10 first), and installing from burned CDs is slowest.

== What you have to download ==
To install LinuxMCE you need to download the DVD (which includes everything needed for the installation) or you can download both LinuxMCE CD's plus a Kubuntu 7.10 CD. You can also choose to download the Dual Layer DVD which includes extra demo media.

'''''Warning: The DVD installation will wipe the entire disk of the machine -- all previous data will be permanently lost!'''''
(Note: There is a new "keep settings" option which will preserve data in the home directory for most, '''''but not all''''', installations. Also, there are instructions on how to use the [[DVD Install And Custom Partitions|DVD Install with custom partitions]])

LinuxMCE 0710 was released on May 7th, 2008. This is also known as LinuxMCE 0710 RC2.

====NOTES:====

- To upgrade from a 0710 beta to 0710, you can use "LinuxMCE Install CDs for i386" or "LinuxMCE Install DVD for i386" with "keep settings" option.

- To upgrade from 0704, you can use :
a) "LinuxMCE Install CDs for i386 - 0710 RC2" or "LinuxMCE Install DVD for i386 - 0710 RC2" with "keep settings" option or
b) the upgrade helper application from [http://www.linuxmce.com/upgrade/gutsy-upgrade-scripts_0.1.0-2_i386.deb gutsy-upgrade-scripts_0.1.0-2_i386.deb] and choose to install from web or from DVD (you must have the double layer DVD).

==Download locations==

To get the latest sources, use [[http://svn.linuxmce.com/trac.cgi/wiki svn]].

This wiki page is editable so users can add additional mirrors. If you would like to mirror LinuxMCE, please contact danielk@cuymedia.net. He will give you rsync access to the linuxmce.org servers so you can automatically download the releases ahead of time.

{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="border-collapse:collapse; border-color:#8eabd0; background:#e7edf5"
|- style="background: lightsteelblue"
|-
!Official Torrents:
|
*[http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4175308/LinuxMCE_Install_DVD_for_i386_-_0710_RC2.4175308.TPB.torrent LinuxMCE-DVD-i386-rc2.iso]
*[http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4175304/LinuxMCE_Install_Upgrade_DVD_for_i386_-_0710_RC2.4175304.TPB.torrent LinuxMCE-DVD-DL-i386-rc2.iso]
*[http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4175297/LinuxMCE_Install_CDs_for_i386_-_0710_RC2.4175297.TPB.torrent LinuxMCE-CD1-i386-rc2.iso LinuxMCE-CD2-i386-rc2.iso]
*[http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4175299/LinuxMCE_Install_DVD_for_AMD64_-_0710_RC2.4175299.TPB.torrent LinuxMCE-DVD-amd64-rc2]
*[http://torrents.thepiratebay.org/4175295/LinuxMCE_Install_CDs_for_AMD64_-_0710_RC2.4175295.TPB.torrent LinuxMCE-CD1-amd64-rc2.iso LinuxMCE-CD2-amd64-rc2.iso]

Please help us seed! Leave your torrent open for as long as possible after your download finishes.
|-
|-
!Worldwide (CoBlitz):
|
*http://coblitz.codeen.org/linuxmce.iptp.org/710/LinuxMCE-DVD-i386-rc2.iso 3.9G
*http://coblitz.codeen.org/linuxmce.iptp.org/710/LinuxMCE-DVD-DL-i386-rc2.iso 7.0G
*http://coblitz.codeen.org/linuxmce.iptp.org/710/LinuxMCE-CD1-i386-rc2.iso 681M
*http://coblitz.codeen.org/linuxmce.iptp.org/710/LinuxMCE-CD2-i386-rc2.iso 678M
*http://coblitz.codeen.org/linuxmce.iptp.org/710/LinuxMCE-DVD-amd64-rc2.iso 3.9G
*http://coblitz.codeen.org/linuxmce.iptp.org/710/LinuxMCE-DVD-DL-amd64-rc2.iso 7.1G
*http://coblitz.codeen.org/linuxmce.iptp.org/710/LinuxMCE-CD1-amd64-rc2.iso 692M
*http://coblitz.codeen.org/linuxmce.iptp.org/710/LinuxMCE-CD2-amd64-rc2.iso 695M
|-
|-
|-
|-
!Europe (full):
|
*http://linuxmce.iptp.org/
*ftp://ftp.possy.de
|-
|-
!Middle East (full):
|

|-
|-
!Australia (full):
|
*http://linuxmce.ihas.com.au/ (for NZ and AU only, others are heavily throttled)
*http://mirror.waia.asn.au/pub/linuxmce/
*http://mirror.internode.on.net/pub/linuxmce/
|-
|-

|-
|-
!Europe (partial):
|


|-
|-
|-
|-
!USA (full):
|
|-
|-
!USA (partial):
|
*http://www.linuxmcecookbook.com/iso/i386 (latest i386 release CD's only)
*http://mirrorlinux.net/distros/mce710rc2/ (latest release only)
|-
|}

Please see the [http://www.linuxmce.org/news.php?id=25 release announcement] on the front page for the md5sums of the files. Since this wiki page is editable we can not keep the md5sums here without the risk of tampering.

Talk:LinuxMCE.Org 2.0

2009-03-18T01:53:24Z

Seer: New section: Is this stale info?

There are many problems with the site.

1) It has been written in terrible English -- misspelled words abound and proper grammar is nearly non-existent. For example, "survailance" should be "surveillance". (A simple dictionary goes a long way.)

2) Only a small portion of the program is actually documented.

3) The changes in the program are not documented and "legacy" instructions are left on the page.

4) There is a lot of "fluff" in the documentation that is meaningless. You can't write "the program can do this and this and this!!!" when only one person has ever been able to do it. Hyperbole misleads the users.

Still, the Wiki is evolving in the right direction, slowly.

If the intent is to correct the main page, then you should get some help from the contributors to the Wiki.

I worked documenting code for an American defense contractor -- the problems with LinuxMCE documentation are not unique. Most programmers are terrible at documentation.

If you want good documentation, you must have a dedicated documenter and one programmer to whom the documenter can ask questions.

== Why not just use the Wiki? ==

Why not just use the Wiki?

It is better written and has the benefit of many user input anyway.

== Menu listing... ==

One VERY important part of the Linux MCE (or any system really) is the Hardware Compability List (HCL)

This should have its own Menyitem on the Front page.

== Is this stale info? ==

I noticed that this page hasn't been edited in over 6 months. Is anybody on this? Is the current linuxmce.org site the "2.0" version? I personally would love to add some code to mix, but right now I'm playing catch up, so I thought I'd help out with the wiki. I'd ready to write new copy for the home page. I'd also be into writing the "sales pitch" and "What is LinuxMCE" docs for the non-techie. So who has write access to that page? Who is in the "design committee" (the people that would have to say "yes" to any new design changes)? [[User:Seer|Seer]] 02:53, 18 March 2009 (CET)

Main Page

2009-03-18T01:27:03Z

Seer: screenshots box-add wiki links to UI versions & shrink overall size ot text/added dvd install link added

__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__
<div align="center">
<div style="font-size:175%; font-weight:bold">The '''[http://linuxmce.org LinuxMCE]''' wiki</div>
'''Your guide to a smarter home!'''
</div>

{| style="clear: both; border: 1px solid #aaa; background-color: #f9f9f9; color: black; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 1em; padding: 0.5em; float: right; text-align:center"
|'''Screenshots'''
[[Image:MainMenu2.jpg|200px]] Main menu with media in the background (high resolution [[Selecting_the_Right_UI#UI2_with_alpha_blending|UI2B]]) 
|-
|[[Image:FileBrowserUI1.jpg|200px]] Browsing media files (low resolution [[Selecting_the_Right_UI#UI1|UI1]]) 
|-
|[[Image:DialNumberUI1.jpg|200px]] Telephone dial pad (low resolution [[Selecting_the_Right_UI#UI1|UI1]]) [[Screenshots|More screenshots and videos]]
|}
'''LinuxMCE is the only all-in-one open source solution that seamlessly combines:'''
* ''Media & entertainment'' with a server for music and video, plus a [[PVR]] (like TiVo or Sky+)
* ''Home automation'' to control everything from lights to heating with a touch-screen tablet or your mobile phone
* ''Phone system'' with video conferencing
* ''Security system'' that feeds live video to your mobile device during a security breach

LinuxMCE builds on the superior networking capabilities of Linux to create a home automation/multimedia/communication network. No other operating system has this capability.

[[LinuxMCE|Read more]] to see all the possibilities that LinuxMCE offers.

See [[FAQ|the FAQ]] for quick answers to common questions about LinuxMCE.

Watch the [[Video|LinuxMCE Video]] showing a detailed hardware and installation walk-through.

=Download=
Please take a moment to read about '''[[Known_Issues|known issues]]''' before downloading our ''Quick Install DVD'' or the ''Two-CD Installer''.

{| cellspacing=5 cellpadding=5 border=0
|width=48|{{Click || image=Globe.gif | link=Download_Instructions | width=48px | height=48px }}
|'''[[Download_Instructions|Download LinuxMCE]] or buy [[LinuxMCE Products]]''' After checking known issues please download from an appropriate mirror
|}

You may then want to check out the [[DVD Installation]] guide for a step by step walk through of setting up and configuring LinuxMCE.

=Project News=
*[[LinuxMCE-0810 alpha2]] (for testing) is released ''(18-Feb-09)''
*[[LinuxMCE-0810 alpha1]] (for testing) is released ''(1-Dec-08)''
*[[LinuxTag 2008]] a resounding success ''(28-May-08)''
*[[Mirrors_0710|LinuxMCE Version 0710 (RC2)]] is released ''(07-May-08)''
*[[Logo|LinuxMCE Logos]] are now available for download ''(09-Apr-08)''
*[[Insteon_-_Setting_Up_PLM_Template|RC1 Insteon Support]] ''(20-Feb-08)''
*[http://www.osweekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2664 Linux Media Center PCs Review Roundup] ''(4-Oct-07)''
*[http://www.news.com/DRM-troubles-drive-ex-Microsoft-employee-to-Linux/2100-1016_3-6210131.html DRM troubles drive ex-Microsoft employee to Linux] ''(26-Sep-07)''
*[http://linuxmce.org/news.php?id=10| New SchedulesDirect service for MythTV] ''(31-Aug-07)''

{| cellspacing=5 cellpadding=5 border=0 width=100%
|width=48|{{Click || image=Newspaper.gif | link=LinuxMCE_media_coverage | width=48px | height=48px }}
|'''[[LinuxMCE media coverage|More LinuxMCE media coverage]]''' Third party media and blog coverage
|}

=Wiki Site News=
* A new [[LinuxMCE.Org 2.0|scratch-pad area]] is being set up to help document a new front end website.
* LinuxMCE Wiki was updated to the latest version which includes an RSS feed extension. Instructions about how to use it can be found [http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:WikiArticleFeeds here], or take a look at a [[Test RSS]] ''(31-Jan-08)''

=Documentation Access=
This Wiki has many hierarchical [[:Category:Main|categories]] of articles. There are also developer maillists, [[Source_Code|source code]] repositories (with attached discussions), [http://mantis.linuxmce.org bug/issue report mangement] and [http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php forums] for discussion among users, developers and other members of the LinuxMCE community.

== User Setups ==

{| cellspacing=5 cellpadding=5 border=0
|width=48|{{Click || image=pcwork.gif | link=User Setups | width=48px | height=48px }}
|'''[[User Setups]]''' LinuxMCE User Setups/Configurations
|}

==Support==
{| cellspacing=5 cellpadding=5 border=0
|width=48|{{Click || image=Manual.gif | link=User Manual | width=48px | height=48px }}
|'''[[User Manual]]''' LinuxMCE User Manual
|width=48|{{Click || image=Guides.gif | link=:Category:Tutorials | width=48px | height=48px }}
|'''[[:Category:Tutorials|Guides]]''' HOWTO guides describing common scenarios
|-
|width=48|{{Click || image=FAQ.gif | link=Frequently Asked Questions | width=48px | height=48px }}
|'''[[Frequently Asked Questions]]''' Responses to the most common questions
|width=48|{{Click || image=Hardware.gif | link=Hardware | width=48px | height=48px }}
|'''[[Hardware]]''' Hardware documentation
|-
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Pvr-150 picture quality guide

2009-03-16T20:19:21Z

Seer: format updating, added numbered list instead of many small bullet lists

== PVR-150 PICTURE QUALITY GUIDE ==

The PVR-150 is one of the most common devices used to capture live analog TV broadcast.
After weeks of searching the internet and trying various settings I have finally got to a point where picture quality is almost identical to the picture you get watching your set top box connected directly to you TV.

The first thing you need to take into account is that the picture quality is vary much dependent on the type of connection you are using on the card. I received the best results using the S-VIDEO connection, how ever it is a good idea to experiment with the various connections because in different countries there are different broadcast formats and you might find that using a different connection works better for you.

'''These settings should stop the OSD from tearing, how ever, at the time of writing this these settings do not survive a router reload.'''

# Launch MythTV, got to the '''Utilities/Setup --> Setup --> TV Settings --> Playback'''. On the first screen you'll see several options:
# Deselect the '''Deinterlace''' option.
# For '''Preferred Decoder''' choose '''libmpeg2'''
# Select '''Enable OpenGL'''.
# After that keep clicking '''next''' until you get to the last screen and click '''finish'''. Failing to do so will leave your settings unsaved. The next step is vary important as it is dealing with the picture quality and is the reason for writing this tutorial.
# Still in the setup menu go to '''Recording Profiles --> Mpeg2 Encoders --> Default'''. The reason to use the default profile rather then the high quality one is that they are basically all the same until you change them. I always use the default one because I always want to get the best picture quality I can.
# On the second screen - '''picture size''' choose at least '''720X480'''. Depending on your country, using a larger resolution might give you better quality so try it.
# On the next screen: For '''Stream Type''' use '''DVD-Special 2'''.
# Set the regular bitrate to '''8000'''
# Set the max bitrate to '''12000''', which the highest bitrate the card can handle.
# Once again, go thru all screens until you get to the last one and click finish.

You should now have a pretty good picture quality which is pretty close to direct TV picture quality (at least on my system).