Revision as of 01:54, 30 July 2007

Preface to the video

Purpose of the video

The original LinuxMCE 1.0 demo video was in only a couple hours and just shows some of the software's capabilities. Much more effort was put into this new video which is intended to be a walk-through and tutorial as much as a demo. Together with this document, which explains all the steps in more detail, it should be a getting started guide for LinuxMCE. Some things in this document are technical and intended for seasoned Linux users who want to get under the hood, but the goal is that newbie's can get LinuxMCE up and running quickly.

Getting the video in high-def

It's easy to watch the video on Google Video since you don't need to download anything. But, if you're interested in LinuxMCE it's recommended you download the original version, which is in 720p high-def. In it you can read everything on the screen clearly, even the small text on the web pages. All the screen captures and footage were done in HD. It's available in 2 formats: To watch it on a Windows PC, the Windows Media Video (wmv) format is easiest since you don't need any codecs and it's widely supported. It's also in Ogg Theora format (.ogm), which is supported by most Linux distros and can be played using the Kubuntu Live CD. The quality is about the same between the 2 formats.

Stability of the software

The actual architecture in the original LinuxMCE 1.0, which was inherited from Pluto, was already stable. However, the integration with Ubuntu was very incomplete, the setup was pre-alpha at best, and a lot of the features didn't work. In the online survey which asks users if their installation was successful only 23% said 'yes'. With the RC1 for this version it is now 86%, which is quite good considering only 93% reported they were able to get through the Kubuntu installation. Every feature in the demo video should be stable now, with a few exceptions noted below. Basic media playback is now rock solid. A stress-test demo script hammers the system constantly, changing content, playback speed, skipping chapters, etc., several times a seconds, while in parallel forcing the GUI's screens to change, flip through cover art, etc. I've left it running for days, simulating hundreds of thousands of media cycles, without any crashes. There are still missing features, but what you see in the demo video works well.

Equipment used in the demo

In the detailed info for the video I reference the equipment used by number in parenthesis: e.g. boot the computer (1) and insert the i/r receiver (2). Here is the equipment and, when available, the manufacturers page or a source page. I tried to use only widely available, off-the-shelf components when possible to remain vendor neutral and non-commercial. I allowed an exception with the gyro remote because it is the only remote made for LinuxMCE that uses the 3 button navigation concept native to LinuxMCE's UI. Hopefully LinuxMCE will become popular enough that there will be more choices in the near future.

1. The computer consisted of an [m2npv-vm motherboard] motherboard

Following the video

Here are all the steps

BIOS Settings

sample

0:00 Install LinuxMCE

test

19:30 Run the Video Resolution/Audio Setup Wizard

test