Difference between revisions of "User:Jamo"

From LinuxMCE
Jump to: navigation, search
(Security Cameras)
(Undo revision 35030 by Wweliajema (talk))
 
(58 intermediate revisions by 3 users not shown)
Line 8: Line 8:
 
== Current Setup ==
 
== Current Setup ==
  
=== Core/Hybrid ===
+
=== Core ===
 
*Chassis: FOXCONN TSAA-426 300WATT ATX
 
*Chassis: FOXCONN TSAA-426 300WATT ATX
 
*PSU: incl in Chassis: 300w
 
*PSU: incl in Chassis: 300w
 
*Mobo: FOXCONN H61MX-V DDR3 LGA1155
 
*Mobo: FOXCONN H61MX-V DDR3 LGA1155
*CPU: INTEL CORE I5 2400 3.1GHZ
+
*CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3240 CPU @ 3.40GHz
 
*GPU: onboard Intel Sandy Bridge chipset
 
*GPU: onboard Intel Sandy Bridge chipset
 
*RAM: 8Gb (2x KINGSTON DDR3 4GB 1333)
 
*RAM: 8Gb (2x KINGSTON DDR3 4GB 1333)
*Cooling: CPU cooler, PSU cooler
+
*Cooling: CPU cooler, PSU cooler, Case fan
*HDD: SEAGATE 32Gb SATA
+
*HDD: SEAGATE 320Gb SATA
 +
*HDD2: SEAGATE 500Gb SATA
 
*DVD: SONY +/- DVD WRITER 24+R,SATA
 
*DVD: SONY +/- DVD WRITER 24+R,SATA
  
 
LMCE:
 
LMCE:
*10.04
+
*12.04
*UI1
+
  
 
Cost:
 
Cost:
  
 
Issues:
 
Issues:
*Presently, I seem to have a problem if I switch to the KDE desktop from the UI... desktop works fine but switching back to UI seems to hang up the MD or possibly the orbiter or both. I think the core is still working but haven't confirmed that.
 
*Sandy bridge graphics chipset not supported out of the box in 10.04: see [[Sandy_Bridge]]
 
  
=== Media Director 1: Lounge ===
+
* None
*Chassis: HP6710b notebook
+
*PSU: integrated
+
*Mobo: ? Chipset: Mobile™ Intel® 965GM Express
+
*CPU: Intel Core™2 Duo Processor T7500 @ 2.2Ghz
+
*RAM: 2Gb
+
*Cooling: ?
+
*HDD: WD2500BEVT - SATA 232Gb
+
*DVD: MATSHITA DVD
+
*WLAN: 802.11b/g
+
*NIC1: Broadcom Netlink Gigabit Ethernet
+
*Bluetooth: Yes
+
  
Cost: ?
+
=== Media Director 1: TV Room ===
 +
[[Zotac_Zbox_AD04|Zotac_Zbox_AD04]]
 +
 
 +
Cost: ~ ZAR 2,700
 +
Remotes:
 +
* AD04 MCE Remote
 +
* [[Rii_Mini_i8|Rii Mini i8]] WiFi keyboard/touchpad
 +
 
 +
IR Control: USBUIRT
  
Issues: None as yet, just set up and haven't enabled bluetooth yet.
 
 
==== AV Equipment ====
 
==== AV Equipment ====
AV Receiver - Onkyo TX-7440
+
TV - Hisense 40" LCD TV
[[http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/127/p1010373r.jpg]]
+
* MD video Connection: HDMI @ 1080p
* Connection: 3.5mm stereo jack from MD to L/R RCA on CD input of receiver
+
* MD audio Connection: HDMI to TV; TV 3.5mm stereo jack out to DiVoom 2.1 Sound.
* Remote: None
+
* Satellite Set-top box input: Composite video (PAL-I) and stereo audio - 3-way RCA input to AV1 RCA jacks
* Controlled by LinuxMCE: No
+
* Remote: Manufacturer IR remote
 +
 
 +
Satellite TV - settop Box: DSTV PVR I (SD) with dual-view
 +
* Dual LNB input (coax) from satellite dish
 +
* Single RF output (coax) going to TV2 of tenant
 +
* TV1 composite video/stereo RCA out.
 +
* Remote: Manufacturer IR remote
 +
 
 +
Audio Receiver - Divoom 2.1 Stereo computer sound
 +
* Connection: 3.5mm stereo jack in from TV headphone jack
 +
* Remote: None.
  
=== Media Director 2: Kitchen ===
+
=== Media Director 2: Kitchen (Audio station) ===
*Chassis: IBM Thinkpad T30 notebook
+
* MD: HP6510b Compaq Laptop
*PSU: integrated
+
* RAM: 2Gb
*Mobo: ? Chipset: ?
+
* Graphics Card: Intel GM965/GL960 integrated (1280x1024 max)
*CPU: ?
+
* Sound: Onboard stereo audio jack connected to 5.1 Sound system with speakers mounted in kitchen and adjacent outdoor entertainment area
*RAM: ?
+
* Screen: Laptop screen but hidden in cupboard
*Cooling: ?
+
*HDD: ?
+
*DVD: ?
+
*WLAN: none
+
*NIC1: ?
+
*Bluetooth: No
+
  
 
Cost: ?
 
Cost: ?
  
Issues: Failed to Setup X on first boot (see Troubleshooting tips below)
+
UI: 2 (1024x768)
 +
Issues: None
 +
 
 +
=== Media Director 3: Lounge ===
 +
 
 +
* MD: HP6510b Compaq Laptop
 +
* RAM: 2Gb
 +
* Graphics Card: Intel GM965/GL960 integrated (1280x1024 max)
 +
* Sound: Onboard stereo audio jack
 +
* Screen: Acer 17" LCD 1280x1024
 +
 
 +
Remote: Nintendo Wiimote cheap knockoff using IR pointing
 +
 
 +
Issues:
 +
* USB gamepad auto-install - on firstboot of MD the script got into an install loop adding lots and lots of these devices and I
 +
don't even have one. Fixed that by hacking the gamepad_detect script. Now it only installs one but it keeps adding this device
 +
which interferes with the wiimote. Have deleted the devices from the web admin device tree but they keep being reinstalled unless
 +
I comment out relevant sections in at least 3 /usr/pluto/bin scripts. Working on fixing these scripts and figuring out why
 +
it is detecting this device on my system when I don't have it.
 +
Further info- see forum thread but essentially it is the xconfig setup that picks up an accelerometer in the notebook and creates
 +
device /dev/input/js0. That is then picked up by the gamepad detect scripts. Fix will have to be to either find a diff way of
 +
detecting gamepads or put in a check for the accelerometer false positive.
 +
 
 +
*WOL not working
 +
Specifically - it works if you remove the power cable completely, but not if you just shutdown without removing the power cable.
 +
Links:
 +
http://confoundedtech.blogspot.com/2011/06/enable-wol-on-ubuntu-hp-microserver.html
 +
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/714417
 +
 
  
=== Media Director 3: Study ===
 
*Chassis: Dell Optiplex ???
 
*PSU: ???
 
*Mobo: ? Chipset: ?
 
*CPU: Intel Core™2 Duo Processor ????
 
*RAM: 2Gb
 
*Cooling: ?
 
*HDD: SATA 2Tb
 
*DVD: ?
 
*WLAN: none
 
*NIC1: ?
 
*NIC2: ?
 
*Bluetooth: No
 
  
 
Cost: ?
 
Cost: ?
  
Issues: None as yet.
+
Issues: Volume control on sound card did not work until I applied the [[Volume_Control_Doesn't_Work]] fix of adding
 +
options snd-intel8x0 ac97_quirk=hp_only
 +
to the bottom of the /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base file.
 +
 
 +
AV Receiver - Onkyo TX-7440
 +
* Connection: 3.5mm stereo jack from MD to L/R RCA on CD input of receiver
 +
* Remote: None
 +
* Controlled by LinuxMCE: No
  
 
==== A/V equipment ====
 
==== A/V equipment ====
 +
*TV: Hisense LCD V86PE Full-HD 40"
 
*Amplifier: Onkyo TX-7440
 
*Amplifier: Onkyo TX-7440
  
 
==== ADSL router / modem ====
 
==== ADSL router / modem ====
 +
SiteCOM 300Mbs Wireless N ADSL 2/2+ Modem router with 4 10/100 LAN PORTS
  
==== Network Hub ====
+
==== Network Switches====
x Port generic 10/100 hub
+
D-Link 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch - DGS-1008D <- internal LMCE network
=== Security Cameras ===
+
El-cheapo IR camera: RMI-550WF
+
sourced from: http://www.securitycameras.co.za/shop/product_info.php?cPath=32&products_id=253
+
  
Installation notes:
+
[http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?event=viewProduct&cid=7&scid=39&localeCode=EN_USA&pid=1644|SMCGS8P-Smart EZ Switch™ 10/100/1000] <- external network driving POE Security cameras Cameras
* technical issue - the camera has a thick cable that comes out of the back plate which then splits into various connectors - s-video, RCA, A reset switch, 12v supply socket and RJ-45 female port. I installed the camera on an external wall of the house and drilled a hole through the double-skin brick wall in order to push the cable through neatly.... problem was the cable (specifically because of the RJ-45 jack) would require a HUGE diameter hole to go through... probably around 40mm. That is a big hole to put in the wall of your house in order to neatly install a camera. I experimented with a number of options but ended up cutting the cable *gasp* and re-soldering and heat-shrinking the individual copper wires on the inside of the wall. Not a great solution but it was done neatly and it works.
+
* 12v power supply: the camera comes with a transformer to take 230v AC down to the 12V DC supply required by the camera. I had to install a 230V AC wall socket in my ceiling area in order to plug in the transformer.
+
* Wall bracket supplied is not particularly solid, nor or the wall plugs and screws to mount it. Be gentle and careful... it's easier to over-tighten and strip. So far it is still pointing in the right direction despite a few large storms.
+
  
 +
=== Security Cameras ===
 +
* El-cheapo IR camera: RMI-550WF / [[EasyN_FS-603A-M106_IP_Camera|EasyN FS-603]]
  
Setup:
+
Dyndns for security camera:
  
* Video stream URL: http://cameraIP:webserverport/videostream.cgi
+
Gnudip. run from startup scripts:
* Followed IP Cameras wiki and it worked flawlessly
+
  
Overall:
+
/etc/init.d/gnudip
 +
[code]
 +
#!/bin/bash
 +
# James's script to setup dynamic dns
 +
usr/local/gdipc/bin/gdipc.pl -g 8001:8002
 +
[/code]
  
* Good for the price- about ZAR1600 delivered. Very cheap for IP camera
+
Run at startup
* Support / manual is horrendous - translation from mandarin or something and no website/forum/tech-support evident
+
[code]
* web-based setup works OK but lots of features that are probably intended for other models not supported by this one (switch on/off, zoom etc)
+
update-rc.d gnudip defaults 99
 +
[/code]
  
 
== Next step(s) ==
 
== Next step(s) ==
  
*Enable bluetooth on MD1 and try to use mobile orbiter on Nokia 5800
+
*Clean up corrupted audio database (after documenting schema)
** No dice: 5800 uses Symbian S60 version 5 which is not supported. Trying to recompile app for this release....
+
*Try to get javaMO running on HTC one V and /or blackberry 9900 to see if it's any good and how it compares with weborbiter
*Upload and organise existing media
+
*Try to get Qorbiter running on HTC on V for the same purpose
** Purchase and install dedicated hdd in core. Size? 500Gb?
+
*document wiimote installation and usage
** May have to format...?
+
*Put a wifi repeater in the roof near the kitchen to cover that side of the house
** Use LINUX MCE directory structure= YES when prompted - this should craete the basic folders
+
*Try to get T30 outputting stereo sound on the line-in or mic-in jack as well - then can use rear speakers of surround sound setup as another sound zone
** [NOTE: need to do a folder lock when copying media en-masse or else the LMCE tries to autosync/tag. See wiki/forums for this ] Copy media into folders using network share from desktop computer ## Only copy media that is good to go, not intermediate rubbish, eg:
+
*Add 4 more security cameras with POE splitters for power and a POE switch to drive them
*** Music: id3 tag sorted out, no glitches in file, no duplicates- best of breed.
+
*Get IR remote working with Serial Homebrew IR sensor for lounge MD
*** Photos: The keepers. Generally photos in the prints folder on gallery. Maybe we should have an additional "keep" folder or something
+
*Get IR blaster from Serial Homebrew IR sender on lounge MD working
*** Videos: Dunno
+
*Fix multi-zone audio in sync!!!
 +
*Edit web-orbiter to give more feedback - eg. actual vol %, possibly "push" the current song, feedback when a powered-up MD actually is ready (for those MDs you can't see)
  
 
== Proposed Setup ==
 
== Proposed Setup ==
Line 132: Line 156:
 
still under construction....
 
still under construction....
  
== Troubleshooting and tips ==
+
== Tips ==
=== Troubleshooting ===
+
* Failed to setup X: IBM Thinkpad T30 MD CReation
+
At the "failed to setup X" stage of MD creation, drop to tty2 (ctrl-alt-f2 on md), log in, become root and do
+
the following:
+
[code]
+
sudo apt-get remove --purge xorg-driver-fglrx
+
sudo apt-get install --reinstall libgl1-mesa-glx libgl1-mesa-dri
+
sudo reboot
+
[/code]
+
Should get to AVWiz. Background is that the fglrx (proprietory ati driver doesn't support the older radeon cards) and also inteferes with the open-source driver so must be removed and some of the open source drivers refreshed. See [url]http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=815355[/url]
+
* MDs hanging / freezing
+
* Fix networking after motherboard swap
+
Had to get my motherboard replaced under warranty. Eth0 was an onboard NIC so that was effectively replaced as well. When I brought up the system again, Eth0 (which was the external NIC that connected to my ADSL router and received config by DHCP) wasn't picking up an address - ie I couldn't get to the machine from outside.
+
I could connect via Eth1 - 192.168.80.1, the internal NIC dhcp server. So I ssh in and ifconfig doesn't even show the second NIC (onboard). lspci shows it, though. So I ran ifconfig -a and that shows a new interface- Eth2! So I edit /etc/network/interfaces and change the settings from Eth0 to Eth2 and hey presto, it works after reboot.
+
 
+
=== Tips ===
+
 
* Nvidia card needs to be 6200 or better
 
* Nvidia card needs to be 6200 or better
 
* Sound on media directors: Look for cards/chips that deliver:
 
* Sound on media directors: Look for cards/chips that deliver:
 
** 16-bit 96KHz sample rates. This is the level of audio used for the 5.1 surround sound channels on DVD movies (or better).
 
** 16-bit 96KHz sample rates. This is the level of audio used for the 5.1 surround sound channels on DVD movies (or better).
* If you rip media to Private it won't show up in default Movies/Audio etc list - default options are to filter on Public. Find what you ripped by hitting "Options" on the file list
+
* If you rip media to Private it won't show up in default Movies/Audio etc list - default options are to filter on Public. Find what you ripped by hitting "Options" on the file list when looking for the media and then include your username. You'll have to hit a pin to play the media, though. If you want to move it from private to public, physically move the file(s) to the public folder.
when looking for the media and then include your username. You'll have to hit a pin to play the media, though. If you want to move it from private to public, physically move the
+
* To rip commercial dvds you may need to install libdvdcss2. Ensure this complies legally and with your conscience. It complies with my conscience because while I don't believe in copy protection, I will not rip a DVD that I do not own. As follows:
file(s) to the public folder.
+
** On the MD (or better still the core prior to diskless creation step): sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2 w32codecs
* To rip commercial dvds you may need to install libdvdcss2. Ensure this complies legally and with your conscience. It complies with my conscience
+
* To access your media via SAMBA shares (on your Core or MDs) from the external network, you need to open the following ports in the firewall:
because while I don't believe in copy protection, I will not rip a DVD that I do not own. As follows:
+
** UDP/137    - used by nmbd
On the MD (or better still the core prior to diskless creation step): sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2 w32codecs
+
** UDP/138    - used by nmbd
 +
** TCP/139    - used by smbd
 +
** TCP/445    - used by smbd
 +
== Troubleshooting ==
 +
 
 +
=== Media doesn't show ===
 +
First sign of this is usually in UI2 where your pictures are supposed to show as the background but don't. The next sign is when you open audio or video and don't get a list of music/ videos.
 +
 
 +
In my case my media is on a separate hard drive (/dev/sda1) on my core/hybrid.
 +
 
 +
# First step is to determine if the drive is mounted. ssh into the core/hybrid, become root and issue the "mount" command to see all mounted drives. You should see your drive mounted at /mnt/device/xx where xx is a device number. eg: <pre>/dev/sda1 on /mnt/device/29 type ext4 (rw,relatime,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered)</pre> If you don't, presumably there is a problem with the automounter so you need to check that out. If you do see it mounted, try the following. I did these steps and the problem resolved itself but I'm not sure which resolved it.
 +
# ls or cat one of the files from the symlink. LMCE mounts the drive in /mnt/devices/xx" as we saw above but creates symlinks in /home/public/data/yyyyy" to each of your media sources by name (where yyyy is a LMCE name for your source). I think this is where LMCE accesses media so by trying to access from here you force LMCE to do whatever mounting is necessary. Eg: <pre> cat /home/public/data/pictures/0\,00\ GB\ \(sda1\)\ ST500DM002-1BD1\ \[29\]/2014/100_9139.JPG.tnj </pre> That causes the file to be "used" and potentially forces LMCE to mount it. After doing this, I could see my media in the orbiter datagrids but it still wasn't showing on the UI backdrop. However, after a quick reload router it showed. I'm guessing the issue was that something is supposed to trigger the automounter to mount this stuff on startup but it didn't. Either quick reload router or the cat command forced this to happen.
 +
 
 +
== Database SQL scripts ==
 +
Use at own risk!! Suggest changing any of the delete or update commands to a select * command first in order to understand what you're
 +
about to do.
 +
 
 +
* Delete all Attributes that are not linked to any File
 +
<code>
 +
delete from Attribute where FK_AttributeType=2 and PK_Attribute not in (select FK_Attribute from File_Attribute);
 +
</code>
  
 +
== Stuff to solve ==
 +
*Get wake-on-lan working on Lounge, Kitchen MDs
 +
*Figure out how to start-up a playlist (or play-all from audio selector) with a random song and then continue random play (rather than having to push random each time)
 +
* Figure out how to add songs to a playlist/manage a playlist from UI2
 +
* Integrate with ZoneMinder
 +
** Ability to view streams from any / all monitors in ZM from a scenario button
 +
** Ability to trigger events from ZM in LMCE
 +
** Motion events from ZM to pop up Security Camera streaming view and/or notifications on Orbiters depending on state/scenario/security status
 
----
 
----
last edit: 18/04/2012
+
last edit: 2014/04/02

Latest revision as of 06:54, 30 April 2014

Hey-ho, here I am at last. Have had LinuxMCE on my to-do list for a long time and I'm finally getting it off the ground.

Hope to use this page to show my setup with plenty of detail and comments in case anyone would want to duplicate/ learn from it.

Current Setup

Core

  • Chassis: FOXCONN TSAA-426 300WATT ATX
  • PSU: incl in Chassis: 300w
  • Mobo: FOXCONN H61MX-V DDR3 LGA1155
  • CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3240 CPU @ 3.40GHz
  • GPU: onboard Intel Sandy Bridge chipset
  • RAM: 8Gb (2x KINGSTON DDR3 4GB 1333)
  • Cooling: CPU cooler, PSU cooler, Case fan
  • HDD: SEAGATE 320Gb SATA
  • HDD2: SEAGATE 500Gb SATA
  • DVD: SONY +/- DVD WRITER 24+R,SATA

LMCE:

  • 12.04

Cost:

Issues:

  • None

Media Director 1: TV Room

Zotac_Zbox_AD04

Cost: ~ ZAR 2,700 Remotes:

IR Control: USBUIRT

AV Equipment

TV - Hisense 40" LCD TV

  • MD video Connection: HDMI @ 1080p
  • MD audio Connection: HDMI to TV; TV 3.5mm stereo jack out to DiVoom 2.1 Sound.
  • Satellite Set-top box input: Composite video (PAL-I) and stereo audio - 3-way RCA input to AV1 RCA jacks
  • Remote: Manufacturer IR remote

Satellite TV - settop Box: DSTV PVR I (SD) with dual-view

  • Dual LNB input (coax) from satellite dish
  • Single RF output (coax) going to TV2 of tenant
  • TV1 composite video/stereo RCA out.
  • Remote: Manufacturer IR remote

Audio Receiver - Divoom 2.1 Stereo computer sound

  • Connection: 3.5mm stereo jack in from TV headphone jack
  • Remote: None.

Media Director 2: Kitchen (Audio station)

  • MD: HP6510b Compaq Laptop
  • RAM: 2Gb
  • Graphics Card: Intel GM965/GL960 integrated (1280x1024 max)
  • Sound: Onboard stereo audio jack connected to 5.1 Sound system with speakers mounted in kitchen and adjacent outdoor entertainment area
  • Screen: Laptop screen but hidden in cupboard

Cost: ?

UI: 2 (1024x768) Issues: None

Media Director 3: Lounge

  • MD: HP6510b Compaq Laptop
  • RAM: 2Gb
  • Graphics Card: Intel GM965/GL960 integrated (1280x1024 max)
  • Sound: Onboard stereo audio jack
  • Screen: Acer 17" LCD 1280x1024

Remote: Nintendo Wiimote cheap knockoff using IR pointing

Issues:

  • USB gamepad auto-install - on firstboot of MD the script got into an install loop adding lots and lots of these devices and I

don't even have one. Fixed that by hacking the gamepad_detect script. Now it only installs one but it keeps adding this device which interferes with the wiimote. Have deleted the devices from the web admin device tree but they keep being reinstalled unless I comment out relevant sections in at least 3 /usr/pluto/bin scripts. Working on fixing these scripts and figuring out why it is detecting this device on my system when I don't have it. Further info- see forum thread but essentially it is the xconfig setup that picks up an accelerometer in the notebook and creates device /dev/input/js0. That is then picked up by the gamepad detect scripts. Fix will have to be to either find a diff way of detecting gamepads or put in a check for the accelerometer false positive.

  • WOL not working

Specifically - it works if you remove the power cable completely, but not if you just shutdown without removing the power cable. Links: http://confoundedtech.blogspot.com/2011/06/enable-wol-on-ubuntu-hp-microserver.html https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/714417


Cost: ?

Issues: Volume control on sound card did not work until I applied the Volume_Control_Doesn't_Work fix of adding options snd-intel8x0 ac97_quirk=hp_only to the bottom of the /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base file.

AV Receiver - Onkyo TX-7440

  • Connection: 3.5mm stereo jack from MD to L/R RCA on CD input of receiver
  • Remote: None
  • Controlled by LinuxMCE: No

A/V equipment

  • TV: Hisense LCD V86PE Full-HD 40"
  • Amplifier: Onkyo TX-7440

ADSL router / modem

SiteCOM 300Mbs Wireless N ADSL 2/2+ Modem router with 4 10/100 LAN PORTS

Network Switches

D-Link 8-Port Gigabit Desktop Switch - DGS-1008D <- internal LMCE network

EZ Switch™ 10/100/1000 <- external network driving POE Security cameras Cameras

Security Cameras

Dyndns for security camera:

Gnudip. run from startup scripts:

/etc/init.d/gnudip [code]

  1. !/bin/bash
  2. James's script to setup dynamic dns

usr/local/gdipc/bin/gdipc.pl -g 8001:8002 [/code]

Run at startup [code] update-rc.d gnudip defaults 99 [/code]

Next step(s)

  • Clean up corrupted audio database (after documenting schema)
  • Try to get javaMO running on HTC one V and /or blackberry 9900 to see if it's any good and how it compares with weborbiter
  • Try to get Qorbiter running on HTC on V for the same purpose
  • document wiimote installation and usage
  • Put a wifi repeater in the roof near the kitchen to cover that side of the house
  • Try to get T30 outputting stereo sound on the line-in or mic-in jack as well - then can use rear speakers of surround sound setup as another sound zone
  • Add 4 more security cameras with POE splitters for power and a POE switch to drive them
  • Get IR remote working with Serial Homebrew IR sensor for lounge MD
  • Get IR blaster from Serial Homebrew IR sender on lounge MD working
  • Fix multi-zone audio in sync!!!
  • Edit web-orbiter to give more feedback - eg. actual vol %, possibly "push" the current song, feedback when a powered-up MD actually is ready (for those MDs you can't see)

Proposed Setup

still under construction....

Tips

  • Nvidia card needs to be 6200 or better
  • Sound on media directors: Look for cards/chips that deliver:
    • 16-bit 96KHz sample rates. This is the level of audio used for the 5.1 surround sound channels on DVD movies (or better).
  • If you rip media to Private it won't show up in default Movies/Audio etc list - default options are to filter on Public. Find what you ripped by hitting "Options" on the file list when looking for the media and then include your username. You'll have to hit a pin to play the media, though. If you want to move it from private to public, physically move the file(s) to the public folder.
  • To rip commercial dvds you may need to install libdvdcss2. Ensure this complies legally and with your conscience. It complies with my conscience because while I don't believe in copy protection, I will not rip a DVD that I do not own. As follows:
    • On the MD (or better still the core prior to diskless creation step): sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2 w32codecs
  • To access your media via SAMBA shares (on your Core or MDs) from the external network, you need to open the following ports in the firewall:
    • UDP/137 - used by nmbd
    • UDP/138 - used by nmbd
    • TCP/139 - used by smbd
    • TCP/445 - used by smbd

Troubleshooting

Media doesn't show

First sign of this is usually in UI2 where your pictures are supposed to show as the background but don't. The next sign is when you open audio or video and don't get a list of music/ videos.

In my case my media is on a separate hard drive (/dev/sda1) on my core/hybrid.

  1. First step is to determine if the drive is mounted. ssh into the core/hybrid, become root and issue the "mount" command to see all mounted drives. You should see your drive mounted at /mnt/device/xx where xx is a device number. eg:
    /dev/sda1 on /mnt/device/29 type ext4 (rw,relatime,user_xattr,acl,barrier=1,data=ordered)
    If you don't, presumably there is a problem with the automounter so you need to check that out. If you do see it mounted, try the following. I did these steps and the problem resolved itself but I'm not sure which resolved it.
  2. ls or cat one of the files from the symlink. LMCE mounts the drive in /mnt/devices/xx" as we saw above but creates symlinks in /home/public/data/yyyyy" to each of your media sources by name (where yyyy is a LMCE name for your source). I think this is where LMCE accesses media so by trying to access from here you force LMCE to do whatever mounting is necessary. Eg:
     cat /home/public/data/pictures/0\,00\ GB\ \(sda1\)\ ST500DM002-1BD1\ \[29\]/2014/100_9139.JPG.tnj 
    That causes the file to be "used" and potentially forces LMCE to mount it. After doing this, I could see my media in the orbiter datagrids but it still wasn't showing on the UI backdrop. However, after a quick reload router it showed. I'm guessing the issue was that something is supposed to trigger the automounter to mount this stuff on startup but it didn't. Either quick reload router or the cat command forced this to happen.

Database SQL scripts

Use at own risk!! Suggest changing any of the delete or update commands to a select * command first in order to understand what you're about to do.

  • Delete all Attributes that are not linked to any File

delete from Attribute where FK_AttributeType=2 and PK_Attribute not in (select FK_Attribute from File_Attribute);

Stuff to solve

  • Get wake-on-lan working on Lounge, Kitchen MDs
  • Figure out how to start-up a playlist (or play-all from audio selector) with a random song and then continue random play (rather than having to push random each time)
  • Figure out how to add songs to a playlist/manage a playlist from UI2
  • Integrate with ZoneMinder
    • Ability to view streams from any / all monitors in ZM from a scenario button
    • Ability to trigger events from ZM in LMCE
    • Motion events from ZM to pop up Security Camera streaming view and/or notifications on Orbiters depending on state/scenario/security status

last edit: 2014/04/02