http://wiki.linuxmce.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Thedaver&feedformat=atomLinuxMCE - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T16:32:38ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.24.1http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Known_Issues_LinuxMCE10&diff=17577Known Issues LinuxMCE102009-02-05T13:19:45Z<p>Thedaver: Undo revision 17576 by Thedaver (Talk)</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category: Known Issues]]<br />
== Known issues with LinuxMCE 1.0 ==<br />
<br />
It is best to install version 1.0 on a separate box, rather than your main Ubuntu system because of the following issues:<br />
<br />
* The installer is messing up Ubuntu's xorg.conf file by removing the nvidia driver and replacing it with vesa. This was actually a necessary hack that got forgotten about. There is a bug in the nVidia drivers (it has been reported) that causes them to crash when two X sessions are running and try to open the same card. Using the 'nv' driver on one and the 'nvidia' on the other still doesn't work, but using vesa on one and nvidia on the other does. So the hack changes Ubuntu's xorg.conf from nVidia to Vesa. If you install a dedicated LinuxMCE box this isn't an issue, but it can be a problem when you are a Ubuntu user and want better performance on your Ubuntu desktop than the vesa driver allows.<br />
<br />
* The installer will revert the Ubuntu sources.list back to the default, removing any non-standard repositories, when it does the upgrade before installing itself.<br />
<br />
* As mentioned in other places, the scripts carried from Pluto were written to be run on a dedicated system and 'take over' completely. It was a huge task just getting LinuxMCE 1.0 out the door, and the Ubuntu integration is still a work in progress and the scripts are still too invasive. If this is a dedicated system, or if you're not a Linux user, this is perhaps still a good thing because you'll never need to touch your configuration files: LinuxMCE will setup the dhcp server, samba network shares, network settings, and so on. But, if you are a Ubuntu user, be warned that it will override some of your settings until we get the Ubuntu integration improved.<br />
<br />
Additional issues:<br />
<br />
* Most of the problems reported so far are caused by using UI2, which requires OpenGL, on video cards without good Linux OpenGL support. The solution is to use UI1 instead. nVidia 6xxx and higher are preferred and will run UI2 with the 3d effects and alpha blending.<br />
<br />
* A bug in the media browser was identified that is causing it to run very slow and consume a lot of memory. A 1.01 patch will be out soon.<br />
<br />
* In the haste to release the updated LinuxMCE 1.0 that didn't use the website for downloading the software after the Digg story brought the server down, there was a sloppy error building the package for the Windows binaries. Most of them are empty. This means the Windows orbiter that runs on web pads, pda's and ms smart phones, as well as some other windows applets which are also on the download page in your Core's admin web site, are missing.<br />
<br />
* Some of the users reported having broken packages during the installation of LinuxMCE, usually 'pluto-orbiter' package. This could happen from a number of reasons. We have identified a few of them, such as: <br />
- the vim package cannot be installed because of a conflict at 'vim-common'. For details on how to fix that, please follow: [http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Installer_Problems]<br />
- The Ubuntu repositories are sometimes unavailable. You should try reinstalling, or installing the packages by hand</div>Thedaverhttp://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Known_Issues_LinuxMCE10&diff=17576Known Issues LinuxMCE102009-02-05T13:18:46Z<p>Thedaver: /* Known issues with LinuxMCE 1.0 */</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category: Known Issues]]<br />
{{subst:PRODWarning|Known_Issues_LinuxMCE10}} <br />
== Known issues with LinuxMCE 1.0 ==<br />
<br />
It is best to install version 1.0 on a separate box, rather than your main Ubuntu system because of the following issues:<br />
<br />
* The installer is messing up Ubuntu's xorg.conf file by removing the nvidia driver and replacing it with vesa. This was actually a necessary hack that got forgotten about. There is a bug in the nVidia drivers (it has been reported) that causes them to crash when two X sessions are running and try to open the same card. Using the 'nv' driver on one and the 'nvidia' on the other still doesn't work, but using vesa on one and nvidia on the other does. So the hack changes Ubuntu's xorg.conf from nVidia to Vesa. If you install a dedicated LinuxMCE box this isn't an issue, but it can be a problem when you are a Ubuntu user and want better performance on your Ubuntu desktop than the vesa driver allows.<br />
<br />
* The installer will revert the Ubuntu sources.list back to the default, removing any non-standard repositories, when it does the upgrade before installing itself.<br />
<br />
* As mentioned in other places, the scripts carried from Pluto were written to be run on a dedicated system and 'take over' completely. It was a huge task just getting LinuxMCE 1.0 out the door, and the Ubuntu integration is still a work in progress and the scripts are still too invasive. If this is a dedicated system, or if you're not a Linux user, this is perhaps still a good thing because you'll never need to touch your configuration files: LinuxMCE will setup the dhcp server, samba network shares, network settings, and so on. But, if you are a Ubuntu user, be warned that it will override some of your settings until we get the Ubuntu integration improved.<br />
<br />
Additional issues:<br />
<br />
* Most of the problems reported so far are caused by using UI2, which requires OpenGL, on video cards without good Linux OpenGL support. The solution is to use UI1 instead. nVidia 6xxx and higher are preferred and will run UI2 with the 3d effects and alpha blending.<br />
<br />
* A bug in the media browser was identified that is causing it to run very slow and consume a lot of memory. A 1.01 patch will be out soon.<br />
<br />
* In the haste to release the updated LinuxMCE 1.0 that didn't use the website for downloading the software after the Digg story brought the server down, there was a sloppy error building the package for the Windows binaries. Most of them are empty. This means the Windows orbiter that runs on web pads, pda's and ms smart phones, as well as some other windows applets which are also on the download page in your Core's admin web site, are missing.<br />
<br />
* Some of the users reported having broken packages during the installation of LinuxMCE, usually 'pluto-orbiter' package. This could happen from a number of reasons. We have identified a few of them, such as: <br />
- the vim package cannot be installed because of a conflict at 'vim-common'. For details on how to fix that, please follow: [http://wiki.linuxmce.com/index.php/Installer_Problems]<br />
- The Ubuntu repositories are sometimes unavailable. You should try reinstalling, or installing the packages by hand</div>Thedaverhttp://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Understanding_digital_cable&diff=17575Understanding digital cable2009-02-05T13:13:14Z<p>Thedaver: /* Intro */</p>
<hr />
<div>{| align="right"<br />
| __TOC__<br />
|}<br />
<br />
=Intro=<br />
In the United States, a transition to digital cable is being made on [http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_digital_tv_transition June 12, 2009]<s>February 17th, 2009</s>. Many sources have been giving confusing information about who will need converters and this also affects LMCE's tv recording. Here are the answers that LMCE users will need to know about the switch. Other countries will have different schedules for converting terrestrial, cable and satellite services.<br />
<br />
==Definitions==<br />
'''OTA''': This is shorthand for "Over the Air". This refers to any tv channels which are broadcast for free. They are over the air in the sense that all you need is an antenna plugged into your tv to access them. There is no need for a subscription to a cable company in order to receive these stations. However, some cable companies provide these channels in their tv line up.<br />
<br />
'''Broadcast Television''': This is the another way to say OTA. As are Digital Terrestrial Television, or DTT.<br />
<br />
'''A Coax cable''': This is the standard tv cable. When going from a wall jack to the tv, you use a coax cable. It's basically an insulated piece of copper wiring with an attachment on the ends to hold it in the plug. <br />
<br />
'''Analog cable''': This refers to the type of signal that comes through the coax cable. It is very similar to a radio signal in that multiple channels (or stations) can be carried through the wire on different frequencies. You don't need a wire for each tv station. This is why we use the term "tv tuner". A tuner is able to lock onto different frequencies carried through the coax cable. This is simplified definition. If you have any more details, please add them.<br />
<br />
'''Digital cable''': This also refers to the type of signal that comes through a coax cable. But with digital tv, 1s and 0s are sent through the coax cable. Thus, a different type of tuner is required to understand this stream of data. <br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntsc NTSC]''': National Television System Committee. The analogue television standard used for North America and some other countries. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 60Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: PAL<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL PAL]''': Phase Alternate Line. The analogue television standard used for much of the world outside North America. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 50Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: NTSC<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC_Standards ATSC]''': Advanced Television Systems Committee. The digital replacement for NTSC - used in much the same territories. Although some digital satellite services in the North American territory, at least, have opted to use DVB-S/DVB-S2 instead - this is the digital replacement for PAL in satellite services. eg. Dish.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvb DVB]''': Digital Video Broadcasting. The digital replacement for PAL - used in much the same territories. DVB-S, DVB-T, DVB-C, DVB-H refer to the specific standards for Satellite, Terrestrial, Cable and Handheld, respectively. There are additional formats already in place or to be released soon that include version 2's of these existing formats.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM QAM]''': Quadrature Amplitude Modulation is a format that can be used for digital information. Just like there are multiple types of file formats for an audio file, (mp3, wma, ogg, flac, etc) there are formats for digital television. QAM seems to be becoming the standard format in the US. More information is needed here, so please help out. <br />
<br />
'''Encrypted signal''': If a piece of data is encrypted, that means that the information is sent in code which only a few people are allowed to know. Cable companies often encrypt their cable signal in order to prevent stealing. If the signal cannot be decrypted, the tv signal is not viewable.<br />
<br />
'''Clear QAM''': Clear QAM is basically a television signal in QAM format that is not encrypted. Virtually all of the OTA stations in the U.S.A use this format.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==The switch to digital==<br />
<br />
Analogue Switch Off (ASO) So what exactly will be happening on [http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_digital_tv_transition June 12, 2009] <s>February 17th</s>? All OTA stations will be required by federal law to cease broadcasting analog and begin broadcasting digital. That means that the free stations which are tuned using rabbit ears will no longer carry an analog signal. They will carry digital. Thus, a digital tuner will be needed to understand this new stream of data.<br />
<br />
<br />
However, cable companies are NOT required to change to digital. Hence, comcast customers will not be required to change anything once the <s>February 17th</s> change happens. Comcast will still continue to send analog cable to it's subscribers if they so choose. Here are some common situations and what the outcome will be after <s>February 17th</s> ASO.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: NO, I use an antenna<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO<br />
<br />
Result: In order to continue watching any television at all, you will need a digital converter. Your antenna will be plugged into the converter box, which will then feed into your tv set.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comcast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Analog<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO or YES. Doesn't matter either way<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will need to change. Your cable provider will continue providing you with analog tv and your television will be able to understand it. Comcast has specifically said it will continue broadcasting analog.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Digital and/or High Def<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: Yes, of course<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will change for you either. You already are using digital, so the change doesn't affect you.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from a satellite provider<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: either<br />
<br />
Result: Satellite TV will not be affected in anyway by the change to digital.<br />
<br />
==What does it mean for LMCE users?==<br />
<br />
First and foremost, it is essential that your tuner first be compatible with LMCE. Before asking the question "Will I be able to record my television?", you must first ask "Will my tuner work at all with LMCE?" For that, please check the wiki section on tuner cards.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, onto business. The ability of your computer's tv tuner will be limited by the type of signal. If you have an analog cable subscription, LMCE will be able to tune every single channel which you enjoy on your normal television. You will need an NTSC capable tuner for your computer.<br />
<br />
The problems arise when trying to record digital television. In general, most, if not all cable companies encrypt their digital tv signals. Since they undoubtedly keep their encryption techniques a secret, LMCE will be unable to decrypt those signals. The net result is that digital cable from a provider is unable to be tuned/recorded by LMCE, even when using a digital (ATSC) tuner. The only exception are the free, OTA channels. These channels are not encrypted, thus your ATSC computer tuner will be able to watch these streams. There are work arounds to recording digital subscriptions, but that will be added later as it is very cumbersome and unreliable.<br />
[[Category:Tutorials]][[Category:Media Setups]]</div>Thedaverhttp://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Understanding_digital_cable&diff=17574Understanding digital cable2009-02-05T13:12:34Z<p>Thedaver: /* Intro */</p>
<hr />
<div>{| align="right"<br />
| __TOC__<br />
|}<br />
<br />
=Intro=<br />
In the United States, a transition to digital cable is being made on [http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_digital_tv_transition June 12, 2009]<s>February 17th, 2009</s>. Many people have been giving confusing information about who will need converters and this also affects LMCE's tv recording. Here are the answers that LMCE users will need to know about the switch. Other countries will have different schedules for converting terrestrial, cable and satellite services.<br />
<br />
==Definitions==<br />
'''OTA''': This is shorthand for "Over the Air". This refers to any tv channels which are broadcast for free. They are over the air in the sense that all you need is an antenna plugged into your tv to access them. There is no need for a subscription to a cable company in order to receive these stations. However, some cable companies provide these channels in their tv line up.<br />
<br />
'''Broadcast Television''': This is the another way to say OTA. As are Digital Terrestrial Television, or DTT.<br />
<br />
'''A Coax cable''': This is the standard tv cable. When going from a wall jack to the tv, you use a coax cable. It's basically an insulated piece of copper wiring with an attachment on the ends to hold it in the plug. <br />
<br />
'''Analog cable''': This refers to the type of signal that comes through the coax cable. It is very similar to a radio signal in that multiple channels (or stations) can be carried through the wire on different frequencies. You don't need a wire for each tv station. This is why we use the term "tv tuner". A tuner is able to lock onto different frequencies carried through the coax cable. This is simplified definition. If you have any more details, please add them.<br />
<br />
'''Digital cable''': This also refers to the type of signal that comes through a coax cable. But with digital tv, 1s and 0s are sent through the coax cable. Thus, a different type of tuner is required to understand this stream of data. <br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntsc NTSC]''': National Television System Committee. The analogue television standard used for North America and some other countries. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 60Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: PAL<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL PAL]''': Phase Alternate Line. The analogue television standard used for much of the world outside North America. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 50Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: NTSC<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC_Standards ATSC]''': Advanced Television Systems Committee. The digital replacement for NTSC - used in much the same territories. Although some digital satellite services in the North American territory, at least, have opted to use DVB-S/DVB-S2 instead - this is the digital replacement for PAL in satellite services. eg. Dish.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvb DVB]''': Digital Video Broadcasting. The digital replacement for PAL - used in much the same territories. DVB-S, DVB-T, DVB-C, DVB-H refer to the specific standards for Satellite, Terrestrial, Cable and Handheld, respectively. There are additional formats already in place or to be released soon that include version 2's of these existing formats.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM QAM]''': Quadrature Amplitude Modulation is a format that can be used for digital information. Just like there are multiple types of file formats for an audio file, (mp3, wma, ogg, flac, etc) there are formats for digital television. QAM seems to be becoming the standard format in the US. More information is needed here, so please help out. <br />
<br />
'''Encrypted signal''': If a piece of data is encrypted, that means that the information is sent in code which only a few people are allowed to know. Cable companies often encrypt their cable signal in order to prevent stealing. If the signal cannot be decrypted, the tv signal is not viewable.<br />
<br />
'''Clear QAM''': Clear QAM is basically a television signal in QAM format that is not encrypted. Virtually all of the OTA stations in the U.S.A use this format.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==The switch to digital==<br />
<br />
Analogue Switch Off (ASO) So what exactly will be happening on [http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_digital_tv_transition June 12, 2009] <s>February 17th</s>? All OTA stations will be required by federal law to cease broadcasting analog and begin broadcasting digital. That means that the free stations which are tuned using rabbit ears will no longer carry an analog signal. They will carry digital. Thus, a digital tuner will be needed to understand this new stream of data.<br />
<br />
<br />
However, cable companies are NOT required to change to digital. Hence, comcast customers will not be required to change anything once the <s>February 17th</s> change happens. Comcast will still continue to send analog cable to it's subscribers if they so choose. Here are some common situations and what the outcome will be after <s>February 17th</s> ASO.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: NO, I use an antenna<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO<br />
<br />
Result: In order to continue watching any television at all, you will need a digital converter. Your antenna will be plugged into the converter box, which will then feed into your tv set.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comcast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Analog<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO or YES. Doesn't matter either way<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will need to change. Your cable provider will continue providing you with analog tv and your television will be able to understand it. Comcast has specifically said it will continue broadcasting analog.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Digital and/or High Def<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: Yes, of course<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will change for you either. You already are using digital, so the change doesn't affect you.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from a satellite provider<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: either<br />
<br />
Result: Satellite TV will not be affected in anyway by the change to digital.<br />
<br />
==What does it mean for LMCE users?==<br />
<br />
First and foremost, it is essential that your tuner first be compatible with LMCE. Before asking the question "Will I be able to record my television?", you must first ask "Will my tuner work at all with LMCE?" For that, please check the wiki section on tuner cards.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, onto business. The ability of your computer's tv tuner will be limited by the type of signal. If you have an analog cable subscription, LMCE will be able to tune every single channel which you enjoy on your normal television. You will need an NTSC capable tuner for your computer.<br />
<br />
The problems arise when trying to record digital television. In general, most, if not all cable companies encrypt their digital tv signals. Since they undoubtedly keep their encryption techniques a secret, LMCE will be unable to decrypt those signals. The net result is that digital cable from a provider is unable to be tuned/recorded by LMCE, even when using a digital (ATSC) tuner. The only exception are the free, OTA channels. These channels are not encrypted, thus your ATSC computer tuner will be able to watch these streams. There are work arounds to recording digital subscriptions, but that will be added later as it is very cumbersome and unreliable.<br />
[[Category:Tutorials]][[Category:Media Setups]]</div>Thedaverhttp://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Understanding_digital_cable&diff=17573Understanding digital cable2009-02-05T13:11:44Z<p>Thedaver: /* The switch to digital */</p>
<hr />
<div>{| align="right"<br />
| __TOC__<br />
|}<br />
<br />
=Intro=<br />
In the United States, a transition to digital cable is being made on February 17th, 2009. Many people have been giving confusing information about who will need converters and this also affects LMCE's tv recording. Here are the answers that LMCE users will need to know about the switch. Other countries will have different schedules for converting terrestrial, cable and satellite services.<br />
<br />
==Definitions==<br />
'''OTA''': This is shorthand for "Over the Air". This refers to any tv channels which are broadcast for free. They are over the air in the sense that all you need is an antenna plugged into your tv to access them. There is no need for a subscription to a cable company in order to receive these stations. However, some cable companies provide these channels in their tv line up.<br />
<br />
'''Broadcast Television''': This is the another way to say OTA. As are Digital Terrestrial Television, or DTT.<br />
<br />
'''A Coax cable''': This is the standard tv cable. When going from a wall jack to the tv, you use a coax cable. It's basically an insulated piece of copper wiring with an attachment on the ends to hold it in the plug. <br />
<br />
'''Analog cable''': This refers to the type of signal that comes through the coax cable. It is very similar to a radio signal in that multiple channels (or stations) can be carried through the wire on different frequencies. You don't need a wire for each tv station. This is why we use the term "tv tuner". A tuner is able to lock onto different frequencies carried through the coax cable. This is simplified definition. If you have any more details, please add them.<br />
<br />
'''Digital cable''': This also refers to the type of signal that comes through a coax cable. But with digital tv, 1s and 0s are sent through the coax cable. Thus, a different type of tuner is required to understand this stream of data. <br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntsc NTSC]''': National Television System Committee. The analogue television standard used for North America and some other countries. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 60Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: PAL<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL PAL]''': Phase Alternate Line. The analogue television standard used for much of the world outside North America. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 50Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: NTSC<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC_Standards ATSC]''': Advanced Television Systems Committee. The digital replacement for NTSC - used in much the same territories. Although some digital satellite services in the North American territory, at least, have opted to use DVB-S/DVB-S2 instead - this is the digital replacement for PAL in satellite services. eg. Dish.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvb DVB]''': Digital Video Broadcasting. The digital replacement for PAL - used in much the same territories. DVB-S, DVB-T, DVB-C, DVB-H refer to the specific standards for Satellite, Terrestrial, Cable and Handheld, respectively. There are additional formats already in place or to be released soon that include version 2's of these existing formats.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM QAM]''': Quadrature Amplitude Modulation is a format that can be used for digital information. Just like there are multiple types of file formats for an audio file, (mp3, wma, ogg, flac, etc) there are formats for digital television. QAM seems to be becoming the standard format in the US. More information is needed here, so please help out. <br />
<br />
'''Encrypted signal''': If a piece of data is encrypted, that means that the information is sent in code which only a few people are allowed to know. Cable companies often encrypt their cable signal in order to prevent stealing. If the signal cannot be decrypted, the tv signal is not viewable.<br />
<br />
'''Clear QAM''': Clear QAM is basically a television signal in QAM format that is not encrypted. Virtually all of the OTA stations in the U.S.A use this format.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==The switch to digital==<br />
<br />
Analogue Switch Off (ASO) So what exactly will be happening on [http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_digital_tv_transition June 12, 2009] <s>February 17th</s>? All OTA stations will be required by federal law to cease broadcasting analog and begin broadcasting digital. That means that the free stations which are tuned using rabbit ears will no longer carry an analog signal. They will carry digital. Thus, a digital tuner will be needed to understand this new stream of data.<br />
<br />
<br />
However, cable companies are NOT required to change to digital. Hence, comcast customers will not be required to change anything once the <s>February 17th</s> change happens. Comcast will still continue to send analog cable to it's subscribers if they so choose. Here are some common situations and what the outcome will be after <s>February 17th</s> ASO.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: NO, I use an antenna<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO<br />
<br />
Result: In order to continue watching any television at all, you will need a digital converter. Your antenna will be plugged into the converter box, which will then feed into your tv set.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comcast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Analog<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO or YES. Doesn't matter either way<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will need to change. Your cable provider will continue providing you with analog tv and your television will be able to understand it. Comcast has specifically said it will continue broadcasting analog.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Digital and/or High Def<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: Yes, of course<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will change for you either. You already are using digital, so the change doesn't affect you.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from a satellite provider<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: either<br />
<br />
Result: Satellite TV will not be affected in anyway by the change to digital.<br />
<br />
==What does it mean for LMCE users?==<br />
<br />
First and foremost, it is essential that your tuner first be compatible with LMCE. Before asking the question "Will I be able to record my television?", you must first ask "Will my tuner work at all with LMCE?" For that, please check the wiki section on tuner cards.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, onto business. The ability of your computer's tv tuner will be limited by the type of signal. If you have an analog cable subscription, LMCE will be able to tune every single channel which you enjoy on your normal television. You will need an NTSC capable tuner for your computer.<br />
<br />
The problems arise when trying to record digital television. In general, most, if not all cable companies encrypt their digital tv signals. Since they undoubtedly keep their encryption techniques a secret, LMCE will be unable to decrypt those signals. The net result is that digital cable from a provider is unable to be tuned/recorded by LMCE, even when using a digital (ATSC) tuner. The only exception are the free, OTA channels. These channels are not encrypted, thus your ATSC computer tuner will be able to watch these streams. There are work arounds to recording digital subscriptions, but that will be added later as it is very cumbersome and unreliable.<br />
[[Category:Tutorials]][[Category:Media Setups]]</div>Thedaverhttp://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Understanding_digital_cable&diff=17572Understanding digital cable2009-02-05T13:11:12Z<p>Thedaver: /* The switch to digital */</p>
<hr />
<div>{| align="right"<br />
| __TOC__<br />
|}<br />
<br />
=Intro=<br />
In the United States, a transition to digital cable is being made on February 17th, 2009. Many people have been giving confusing information about who will need converters and this also affects LMCE's tv recording. Here are the answers that LMCE users will need to know about the switch. Other countries will have different schedules for converting terrestrial, cable and satellite services.<br />
<br />
==Definitions==<br />
'''OTA''': This is shorthand for "Over the Air". This refers to any tv channels which are broadcast for free. They are over the air in the sense that all you need is an antenna plugged into your tv to access them. There is no need for a subscription to a cable company in order to receive these stations. However, some cable companies provide these channels in their tv line up.<br />
<br />
'''Broadcast Television''': This is the another way to say OTA. As are Digital Terrestrial Television, or DTT.<br />
<br />
'''A Coax cable''': This is the standard tv cable. When going from a wall jack to the tv, you use a coax cable. It's basically an insulated piece of copper wiring with an attachment on the ends to hold it in the plug. <br />
<br />
'''Analog cable''': This refers to the type of signal that comes through the coax cable. It is very similar to a radio signal in that multiple channels (or stations) can be carried through the wire on different frequencies. You don't need a wire for each tv station. This is why we use the term "tv tuner". A tuner is able to lock onto different frequencies carried through the coax cable. This is simplified definition. If you have any more details, please add them.<br />
<br />
'''Digital cable''': This also refers to the type of signal that comes through a coax cable. But with digital tv, 1s and 0s are sent through the coax cable. Thus, a different type of tuner is required to understand this stream of data. <br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntsc NTSC]''': National Television System Committee. The analogue television standard used for North America and some other countries. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 60Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: PAL<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL PAL]''': Phase Alternate Line. The analogue television standard used for much of the world outside North America. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 50Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: NTSC<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC_Standards ATSC]''': Advanced Television Systems Committee. The digital replacement for NTSC - used in much the same territories. Although some digital satellite services in the North American territory, at least, have opted to use DVB-S/DVB-S2 instead - this is the digital replacement for PAL in satellite services. eg. Dish.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvb DVB]''': Digital Video Broadcasting. The digital replacement for PAL - used in much the same territories. DVB-S, DVB-T, DVB-C, DVB-H refer to the specific standards for Satellite, Terrestrial, Cable and Handheld, respectively. There are additional formats already in place or to be released soon that include version 2's of these existing formats.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM QAM]''': Quadrature Amplitude Modulation is a format that can be used for digital information. Just like there are multiple types of file formats for an audio file, (mp3, wma, ogg, flac, etc) there are formats for digital television. QAM seems to be becoming the standard format in the US. More information is needed here, so please help out. <br />
<br />
'''Encrypted signal''': If a piece of data is encrypted, that means that the information is sent in code which only a few people are allowed to know. Cable companies often encrypt their cable signal in order to prevent stealing. If the signal cannot be decrypted, the tv signal is not viewable.<br />
<br />
'''Clear QAM''': Clear QAM is basically a television signal in QAM format that is not encrypted. Virtually all of the OTA stations in the U.S.A use this format.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==The switch to digital==<br />
<br />
Analogue Switch Off (ASO) So what exactly will be happening on [http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_digital_tv_transition June 12, 2009] <s>February 17th</s>? All OTA stations will be required by federal law to cease broadcasting analog and begin broadcasting digital. That means that the free stations which are tuned using rabbit ears will no longer carry an analog signal. They will carry digital. Thus, a digital tuner will be needed to understand this new stream of data.<br />
<br />
<br />
However, cable companies are NOT required to change to digital. Hence, comcast customers will not be required to change anything once the <s>February 17th</s> change happens. Comcast will still continue to send analog cable to it's subscribers if they so choose. Here are some common situations and what the outcome will be after February 17th.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: NO, I use an antenna<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO<br />
<br />
Result: In order to continue watching any television at all, you will need a digital converter. Your antenna will be plugged into the converter box, which will then feed into your tv set.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comcast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Analog<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO or YES. Doesn't matter either way<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will need to change. Your cable provider will continue providing you with analog tv and your television will be able to understand it. Comcast has specifically said it will continue broadcasting analog.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Digital and/or High Def<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: Yes, of course<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will change for you either. You already are using digital, so the change doesn't affect you.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from a satellite provider<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: either<br />
<br />
Result: Satellite TV will not be affected in anyway by the change to digital.<br />
<br />
==What does it mean for LMCE users?==<br />
<br />
First and foremost, it is essential that your tuner first be compatible with LMCE. Before asking the question "Will I be able to record my television?", you must first ask "Will my tuner work at all with LMCE?" For that, please check the wiki section on tuner cards.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, onto business. The ability of your computer's tv tuner will be limited by the type of signal. If you have an analog cable subscription, LMCE will be able to tune every single channel which you enjoy on your normal television. You will need an NTSC capable tuner for your computer.<br />
<br />
The problems arise when trying to record digital television. In general, most, if not all cable companies encrypt their digital tv signals. Since they undoubtedly keep their encryption techniques a secret, LMCE will be unable to decrypt those signals. The net result is that digital cable from a provider is unable to be tuned/recorded by LMCE, even when using a digital (ATSC) tuner. The only exception are the free, OTA channels. These channels are not encrypted, thus your ATSC computer tuner will be able to watch these streams. There are work arounds to recording digital subscriptions, but that will be added later as it is very cumbersome and unreliable.<br />
[[Category:Tutorials]][[Category:Media Setups]]</div>Thedaverhttp://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Understanding_digital_cable&diff=17571Understanding digital cable2009-02-05T13:09:27Z<p>Thedaver: /* The switch to digital */</p>
<hr />
<div>{| align="right"<br />
| __TOC__<br />
|}<br />
<br />
=Intro=<br />
In the United States, a transition to digital cable is being made on February 17th, 2009. Many people have been giving confusing information about who will need converters and this also affects LMCE's tv recording. Here are the answers that LMCE users will need to know about the switch. Other countries will have different schedules for converting terrestrial, cable and satellite services.<br />
<br />
==Definitions==<br />
'''OTA''': This is shorthand for "Over the Air". This refers to any tv channels which are broadcast for free. They are over the air in the sense that all you need is an antenna plugged into your tv to access them. There is no need for a subscription to a cable company in order to receive these stations. However, some cable companies provide these channels in their tv line up.<br />
<br />
'''Broadcast Television''': This is the another way to say OTA. As are Digital Terrestrial Television, or DTT.<br />
<br />
'''A Coax cable''': This is the standard tv cable. When going from a wall jack to the tv, you use a coax cable. It's basically an insulated piece of copper wiring with an attachment on the ends to hold it in the plug. <br />
<br />
'''Analog cable''': This refers to the type of signal that comes through the coax cable. It is very similar to a radio signal in that multiple channels (or stations) can be carried through the wire on different frequencies. You don't need a wire for each tv station. This is why we use the term "tv tuner". A tuner is able to lock onto different frequencies carried through the coax cable. This is simplified definition. If you have any more details, please add them.<br />
<br />
'''Digital cable''': This also refers to the type of signal that comes through a coax cable. But with digital tv, 1s and 0s are sent through the coax cable. Thus, a different type of tuner is required to understand this stream of data. <br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntsc NTSC]''': National Television System Committee. The analogue television standard used for North America and some other countries. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 60Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: PAL<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL PAL]''': Phase Alternate Line. The analogue television standard used for much of the world outside North America. It is actually a system for encoding the colour signal. Although it doesn't necessarily mean 50Hz refresh rate, this is usually implied because of the local power frequencies in most countries that use it. It is used for transmitting analogue television both terrestrially (broadcast to your antenna) and over cable networks and satellite. Compare: NTSC<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATSC_Standards ATSC]''': Advanced Television Systems Committee. The digital replacement for NTSC - used in much the same territories. Although some digital satellite services in the North American territory, at least, have opted to use DVB-S/DVB-S2 instead - this is the digital replacement for PAL in satellite services. eg. Dish.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvb DVB]''': Digital Video Broadcasting. The digital replacement for PAL - used in much the same territories. DVB-S, DVB-T, DVB-C, DVB-H refer to the specific standards for Satellite, Terrestrial, Cable and Handheld, respectively. There are additional formats already in place or to be released soon that include version 2's of these existing formats.<br />
<br />
'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QAM QAM]''': Quadrature Amplitude Modulation is a format that can be used for digital information. Just like there are multiple types of file formats for an audio file, (mp3, wma, ogg, flac, etc) there are formats for digital television. QAM seems to be becoming the standard format in the US. More information is needed here, so please help out. <br />
<br />
'''Encrypted signal''': If a piece of data is encrypted, that means that the information is sent in code which only a few people are allowed to know. Cable companies often encrypt their cable signal in order to prevent stealing. If the signal cannot be decrypted, the tv signal is not viewable.<br />
<br />
'''Clear QAM''': Clear QAM is basically a television signal in QAM format that is not encrypted. Virtually all of the OTA stations in the U.S.A use this format.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
==The switch to digital==<br />
<br />
Analogue Switch Off (ASO) So what exactly will be happening on [http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090204/ap_on_hi_te/tec_digital_tv_transition June 12, 2009] February 17th? All OTA stations will be required by federal law to cease broadcasting analog and begin broadcasting digital. That means that the free stations which are tuned using rabbit ears will no longer carry an analog signal. They will carry digital. Thus, a digital tuner will be needed to understand this new stream of data.<br />
<br />
<br />
However, cable companies are NOT required to change to digital. Hence, comcast customers will not be required to change anything once the February 17th change happens. Comcast will still continue to send analog cable to it's subscribers if they so choose. Here are some common situations and what the outcome will be after February 17th.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: NO, I use an antenna<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO<br />
<br />
Result: In order to continue watching any television at all, you will need a digital converter. Your antenna will be plugged into the converter box, which will then feed into your tv set.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comcast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Analog<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: NO or YES. Doesn't matter either way<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will need to change. Your cable provider will continue providing you with analog tv and your television will be able to understand it. Comcast has specifically said it will continue broadcasting analog.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from Comast (or any other)<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: Digital and/or High Def<br />
<br />
Does your tv have a digital tuner?: Yes, of course<br />
<br />
Result: Nothing will change for you either. You already are using digital, so the change doesn't affect you.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cable subscription: Yes, from a satellite provider<br />
<br />
Analog or digital subscription?: either<br />
<br />
Result: Satellite TV will not be affected in anyway by the change to digital.<br />
<br />
==What does it mean for LMCE users?==<br />
<br />
First and foremost, it is essential that your tuner first be compatible with LMCE. Before asking the question "Will I be able to record my television?", you must first ask "Will my tuner work at all with LMCE?" For that, please check the wiki section on tuner cards.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now, onto business. The ability of your computer's tv tuner will be limited by the type of signal. If you have an analog cable subscription, LMCE will be able to tune every single channel which you enjoy on your normal television. You will need an NTSC capable tuner for your computer.<br />
<br />
The problems arise when trying to record digital television. In general, most, if not all cable companies encrypt their digital tv signals. Since they undoubtedly keep their encryption techniques a secret, LMCE will be unable to decrypt those signals. The net result is that digital cable from a provider is unable to be tuned/recorded by LMCE, even when using a digital (ATSC) tuner. The only exception are the free, OTA channels. These channels are not encrypted, thus your ATSC computer tuner will be able to watch these streams. There are work arounds to recording digital subscriptions, but that will be added later as it is very cumbersome and unreliable.<br />
[[Category:Tutorials]][[Category:Media Setups]]</div>Thedaverhttp://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Talk:Known_Issues_LinuxMCE10&diff=17570Talk:Known Issues LinuxMCE102009-02-05T12:55:39Z<p>Thedaver: New page: Is this page still appropriate to retain in the mainstream wiki documents?</p>
<hr />
<div>Is this page still appropriate to retain in the mainstream wiki documents?</div>Thedaverhttp://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Creative_Audigy_2_Value&diff=17569Creative Audigy 2 Value2009-02-05T12:46:43Z<p>Thedaver: </p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category: Hardware]]<br />
[[Category: Audio]]<br />
[[Category: Soundcards]]<br />
<br />
The Creative Audigy 2 Value, also sold as Creative Value LS, is a fairly decent budget soundcard. Creative's page can be found here: http://au.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=1&subcategory=205&product=14189<br />
Be aware this link will most probably expire when the card is no longer current.<br />
<br />
The card seems to work fully in LinuxMCE, although there is some configuration to do before it does. On initial installation in both 0704 and 0710 Beta 2, Appserver would not start up. As a result, Myth would not work. The problem seems to be that Appserver tries to access a sound mixer device upon startup. This card does not have one, and Appserver exits with an errorcode of 139. To fix this issue, install a software sound mixer.<br />
<br />
For more general detail on installing the software mixer, see:<br />
http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php/Softvol<br />
http://alsa.opensrc.org/index.php/How_to_use_softvol_to_control_the_master_volume<br />
<br />
For more specific detail with a working example, see the link off this page:<br />
http://www.pillayfamily.com/index.php/menumainlinuxmce</div>Thedaverhttp://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php?title=Hiper_HMC-2K53A&diff=17239Hiper HMC-2K53A2009-01-23T12:59:14Z<p>Thedaver: product link works but is not for sale any longer at Newegg</p>
<hr />
<div>[[Category: Graphic Cards]]<br />
<br />
*[http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hmc-2k53a.html Hiper HMC-2K53A-H2]<br />
:*The H2 model has an nVidia graphics card and is preferable to the A3 model.<br />
*See [http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/media.html Hiper website] for similar products.<br />
<br />
*Made specifically as a Media PC, with S-video, surround sound, and multiple other outputs already integrated. <br />
*Uses MSI motherboards.<br />
*Has Firewire, integrated IR, multiple USB ports. Built-in WiFi. <br />
*Comes with MSI motherboard. An ideal system for a Media Director.<br />
*Does not includes a DVD optical drive -- SonyNEC AD7630A or Matsuhita CW-8123-B recommended. <br />
<br />
*Note: In 2007, reviewers indicated that Hiper had little Linux support and was not very helpful to the Linux community. However, many Linux incompatibilities for the Hiper have been solved in recent Linux kernels. For more info see: <br />
:*[http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Hiper_HMC-2K53A MythTV info on the HMC-2K53A]<br />
<br />
*Approx. [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856171001 US$300] (April 2008). (Jan 2009 - this product is not available at Newegg)</div>Thedaver