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Open Source Multimedia Center For Windows
An anonymous reader writes "A new opensourced multimedia center for Windows has been released. Media Portal boasts the ability to turn your PC into an advanced HTPC (Home-Theatre PC) and PVR/DVR (Personal/Digital Video Recorder). It allows you to listen to your favorite music and radio, watch all your video's and DVD's, view, schedule
and record live TV and much more. The software is a port of the homebrew Xbox Media Center software which requires a Modded Xbox to run."
say nothing about the website being hosted on a modded xbox!!!!
Does it still require the MFC to be compiled ?
If this is the case I then fail to see the interest of this especially when it requires an Xbox and then Micorsoft to gain alittle money from the operation.
Geek factor > Open Source interest.
Trolling using another account since 2005.
don't link the home page or anything
http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/
homepage seems to indicate 0.1.0.0 not 1.0 ... i.e. beta not release ....
t
You're still paying the Micrsoft tax after all.
- Just my $0.02, take with a grain of salt, your mileage may vary.
I don't particularly feel like rebooting in the middle of LOTR or whilst playing mp3s.... I'll stick to Hardware...
Gravity!... It's not just a good idea... It's the Law!
The SF Media Portal site seems to be /.'d. Here's the Google Cache.
only old people watch TV
finally
I think its misleading not to include that its only for xbox on the title
The project is at SourceForge if you guys want to give maxconsole a break.
Tech News, Reviews and Tutorials
Clearly a threat to Copyrights, Profits and Homeland Security. In certain the authorities (MPAA/RIAA/Microsoft have already been notified and are moving the threat level up from Plaid to Paisley)
The software is a port of the homebrew Xbox Media Center software which requires a Modded Xbox to run."
Now I'm certain Microsoft will be activating their Bucket 'o Lawyers* The only people allowed to give away something like that for free must have an ulterior motive, such as locking everyone into mind control or market share...
*Not to be confused with the toys Bucket o' Soldiers or Barrel o' Monkeys, but toys of their masters all the same.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
This could be interesting.
What is the most inexpensive hardware with enough OOMPH to run this?
I looked at Mini-ITX systems, and the HUSH grabbed my eye. Then the price grabbed me somewhere else.
And I don't really want to get an XBOX then modify it, so don't give me the obvious answer...
- For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat
Well, whatever it was I'm sure it had a promising future before it got Slashdotted.
No, this software does not require an XBox at all. It's a standalone program that gives you a nice 10' interface suitable for vewing on TV, and operation with a remote.
Think MS Media Center, but Open-Source. And a good bit more flexible, in my opinion. I've been following this software for awhile, actually. This is really nothing new..
Who wants to pay $150 for Windows to run an app that runs better on Linux?
Mod this crap down.
This just in from http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/
Latest News
01-December 2004
IMPORTANT NEWS PLEASE READ THIS!
There are some rumors floating around about MediaPortal 1.0.
However this is very wrong, because as you can see below we just released 0.1. The current version 0.1 is not considered as the first stable release and it is definitely not final!
This does not mean the product is an alpha release! The 0.1 is considered a very nice and stable beta release, which everyone can and should test and help out to fix bugs and/or improve the product even further. And remember: it is free forever!
Alot of people also use this as the dashboard, or OS so to speak, of their modded XBOXes. The version I have also has some built in VOIP capabilities. With VOIP locked into a media center, you could simulate the full movie theater experience, with everyone talking to each other during the movie.
Seriously though, comedies tend to seem funnier in theaters, i think in part to the fact that you are with a bunch of other people laughing. Its like how children, and some adults, look around before or while they are laughing, as if they are looking for approval.
VOIP in a media center could also be fun and useful for streaming educational videos, sporting events, sales, what have you. I hope they port those options over too. Forgive me if they mentioned that in TFA, but i couldnt seem to connect to it.
If you read the summary correctly, you'd see that it's a PORT of Xbox Media Center, which does require a modded Xbox. Media Portal however, runs on Windows PC's.
- Mike
...an extraneous apostrophe remover?
Except for the fact that these guys have made one good movie after another. Lucas has not.
Sam Raimi (Look at the director and writer credits, not producer)
Rob Tapert
(ok, maybe not Bruce Campbell, but he's got some gems in there)
I wish the author thought of that before he wrote up the article.
I used this program, it has Ogg support using the Winamp player as the underlying technology. Plays WMA and WMV with Windows Media player and DVD as well. I prefer the Windows Media Center 2005 for music using Losless WMAs however.
I just got my Xbox modded yesterday, and it included the excellent XBMC. Only problem is upgrading it. My version is a few months behind, and you cannot download binaries from Sourceforge, because the project must be compiled with Microsoft's dev kit for the Xbox, and XBMC is an unlicensed project. I still have not figured out how to get binaries!
.NET, I tried running it on my PC before modding my Xbox and it crashed every time I tried to do anything, I might download and try again.
This project is compiled with Vanilla
Although modding an Xbox isn't for the faint of heart (I just had someone else do it), it's fun and the software you get is very powerful. I was up and running with MP3's burnt on a DVD-R and some Divx TV shows. By the way, you can make XBMC be the default program when you boot the Xbox, if thats all you want to use your console for.
How girlie!!
I make use of my "grabs" with a Radeon 7000 TV out card patched into my entertainment system. For real l33tness, every night before bed I sync my "vcr" directory to my laptop, and carry my Trek/Spike TV and adult swim with me throughout the day. And if I want to save my TV programming, which I do save alot, a standard CD-R holds 2 hours of Divx in the bitrate I encoded it in, which is a decent bitrate for broadcast. Right now I have about six 50 CD spindles of Spike TV and Adult Swim programming.
Proof that I married the right person: all I have to do is make the ISO's. My wife burns them in her spare time ;) Oh, she cooks, cleans, pays bills, and runs Debian Sid with WindowMaker, and doesn't care when I go out gaming, and hardly spends a dime on non-essential girly stuff. Great in the other "wifely" duties areas too.
I really should write a HOWTO on how I put it together. Its quite cool. On a side note, I should write a HOWTO on how I found the perfect Geek wife.
-- 4 8 15 16 23 42
welcome our new open source overlords.
The days of the digital watch are numbered.
[...]A new opensourced multimedia center for Windows has been released. Media Portal[...]
How is this new. I've been tracking this app for months now, downloading from time to tie and trying it. It's good and everything (mythtv and freevo stand closer to my heart by anyway), but drooling it being new stuff... well, just nother well informed guy.
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I can think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
I remember awhile ago I installed this a long time ago when it first started development, and it still supported my old hauppauge card and my Riva TNT2 video card, Installed it yesterday when I saw 0.1.0.0 was released and it doesnt even open, read the min requirements, and you NEED a mpeg2 hardware encoder, WMP9 which crashes my system so I refuse to install it, and a directx 9 card. After my frusttration yesterday, I convinced myself maybe I should install mythtv, Not sure if I will need a mpeg2 encoder for time shifting, but it will be a fun project over the break.
The point is:
* The VAST majority of computer users are using Windows ie... they've already paid for it, so it's not an issue (ie. it came with their computer or whatever)
* They don't want to wipe it out completely to install a media center
* Things like this can exist harmoniously with Windows, and can be tried before wiping it all out... or you can use the computer for both purposes (htpc and normal)
There is another free (not open source) windows based media pc solution... It's called myHTPC.
Now, it's since turned into a paid product called Meedio, however you can still get the free version and have access to a gazillion (oh yeah baby, that's a number) plugins for it.
This all sounds great, but I just spent a wad on all new HDTV gear and am distressed to find that you can't easily capture HD to a DVR in a PC. Maybe in a year or two...
Has anyone tested this out yet? I'd be interested in how it compares with Meedio, WMCE, Sage TV, Snapstream, etc... I guess I'll have to wait until I get home.
I used myHTPC for a while and it worked pretty good. They moved to a commercial project called Meedio (probably worth the money when they get the TV tuner working), but I've been looking for other solutions.
Tech News, Reviews and Tutorials
Pay $15 and get something that works, or pay nothing and get something fantastically finicky, built around unnecessarily obscure and unwieldy commands, and nuances of configuration. Choices, choices. I'll uh... have to get back to you, I'm still trying to figure out how to get an up-kernel for my dual processor xeon, and how to make use of the soundblaster live, and how to get some reasonable behavior out of the DVD-RAM drive.... Linux is super cool, as long as you're not married to things working 100%.
http://www.xbins.org/
#xbins on efnet
What does this do, besides lack any substantial development history, that MythTV doesn't do?
That being said, it seems to be working great on my Xbox, that mighty 733MHz P3 w/no hw MPEG capabi...BUFFERING...
I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
Just because, you know, for the rest of us who want to plug in our systems to our TV sets without having to shill out money for a modded Xbox or a PC.
52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
http://mediaportal.sourceforge.net/> instead of some little piracy gaming console website trying to sell you modchips.
I must be imagining the HDTV files on my MythTV hard drive...
I don't have a HD display yet, due to high prices, but a pcHDTV-3000 card was less than $200, so I got one. There are similar cards for Windows, but I can't speak to their ease of use.
HD looks great on my PC, and is still pretty good scaled down to my old 27" XBR. Even the Over-The-Air SD shows look better than the analog signal from my cable company.
funny how maxconsole.com and teamxodus.com are on the same server ... very objective console scene news site
LOL
Media Portal is not new, and has been posted on /. before (that's how I read about it first).
Furthermore, it's not at version 1.0 like the article claims. Read the snip on the website about rumors.
On the whole - if you are looking for some free PVR software NOW, get MythTV or Freevo. There are excellent tutorials on the net on how to set up a MythTV system - from scratch - no hardcore Linux skills required.
i've been using xbox media center and xbox media player before that for a while now and i absolutely love it. my xbox has ceased playing games and now just play movies and music. just stream them to my xbox via samba. this developer team constantly updates and bug fixes their work. it plays virtually every known format and this is with 64 mb of ram on a stock xbox and an older processor. if there was a way to add a tv card to the xbox it would blow all these very pricey new media players/pvr's out of the water. $ 150.(no you don't need a modchip) yes i know about mythtv...
from the requirements page:
WDM compatible TV card or a hardware MPEG2 TV card
That right there is why I'll be running this and not MythPC.
Im dreaming ofa big bndwdth, That can resist the
It really is good, I had a quick go at the media portal doobry but couldn't work out how to make it work tho :(
Can anyone in the know compare this to the other Open Source solutions out there? I've been having a MISERABLE time getting MythTV to work. 8( Is this program as good? Easy to install configure? How does it compare to MythTV, Freevo, Meedio/MyHTPC?
Moo.
I find interesting that the poster linked to Team Xodus, a modchip maker, rather than xbox-scene.com which has much more balanced information+tutorials on how to run homebrew apps without a modchip/even opening your Xbox.
We could do all this before, what added value is there to running this kind of thing?
With an XBox it made sense because you didn't actually have a UI to work with. With a PC you don't need this kind of thing at all.
If you're going to run it on a mini itx and use it like a toaster, why not use movix or something similar that has an operating system with it?
BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
Right now the best PVR-type software you can get, open source or closed source, is Mythtv.
.NET, the guy learned the mythtv protocols and built a front end that will work on Windows with a backend that runs on Linux.
Very flexible, you can have multiple front ends work with multiple back ends and have many many different tv tuner cards and have it all work in concert together.
Now this is all Linux stuff, of course, however you can get a front end for Mythtv that will work in Windows.
It's called WinMyth and is written in
Basicly the backend serves the data in mpeg2 or mpeg4 or mjpeg type streams to the frontend over a network. And the frontend is also what you use to scedual recordings and play games and stuff like that.
You can find the home page of the product at
http://winmyth.sourceforge.net/
Yep make part copy content of cdrom into partion setup boot manager one MythTV box.(this is simpler than fighting Fedora)
Note Fedora is the worst pick of any disto for media work.(You did well to get as far as you did)
SUSE Mandrake and Debian(with a better installer ie different disks provide Debian installers). You would have had a chance.
Really... Isn't the point of media center is supporting remote, so you can sit in your chair, relax, turn off your brain and push little buttons? .avi file, it plays. The same for Pictures and DVD.
And.. It seems they will be using winlirc, which doesn't support my remote...
So I'll stick with my SlyControl (program with macroeing with remote control) forever. It makes everything just easy. Press TV and it launches my tv tuner program. Press Menu and select
So without good integration with remotes Media Portal is just pretty "shell" for doing things I already know how to do.
I know, I know: "code it yourself" and stuff... Not now, sorry.
- Arwen, I'm your father, Agent Smith.
- Well, you're just Smith, but my father is Aerosmith!
" I still think Beyond TV snapstream is the only logical option on windows XP due to price and the fact that it runs on virtually all cards. MythTV and other open source projects seem so raw still"
plug I just posted a review of BeyondTV 3.5 on my site. There's also SageTV on windoze that's good. (sage tv review)
GBPVR is free as in beer and although an independent project hangs pretty well with the commercial apps in most respects, from what I understand.
Also commercial is Meedio HTPC which used to be myHTPC which has a beta PVR plugin that should be not beta pretty soon.
GotTV (no link handy sorry) recently spun into something else, and is also windows and "free" (not sure if it's FOSS or not...)
Have you used mythTV lately? I'm not sure you are giving it a fair shake. I think the issue is more the complexity of the install/linux learning curve than usability/look and feel issues... (hopefuly efforts like knoppmyth mitigate that a little bit)
*shrug* that said, I do like the polish and all the features of BTV, but there's a lot of options out there, and i'm glad to see media portal's (and xmbc's) progressing nicely)
e.
Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
This is just the mplayer/xine/ffmpeg code ported to Xbox, and now Windows. It plays everything the Linux version does, including Oggs.
Let me guess... only old people play jazz fusion.
Karma: Excellent Birds (mostly as a result of listening to Laurie Anderson)
I'd say RUNS ON WINDOWS is a pretty damn big feature that MythTV lacks. :P
Joseph?
http://shit.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/01/1 944259
If RMS hears crazytalk like that he's gonna smack you so hard ;-)
(disclaimer: I have a lot of respect for RMS and thank him for playing part in creating a foundation on which a lot of OSS is built on. That doesn't mean he's not a bit crazy around the edges though.)
Failing to learn from history dooms you to repeat it.
Why, just today, I wasted the ENTIRE DAY, when I had many things to do, wiping the drive and then reinstalling all the software for one of the "critical" computers at work, because the damn thing had all kinds of Windblows-induced problems, like viruses, spam, adware, spyware, malware, pop-ups, and whatever other stupid names you can make up for this stuff, all of which exists because Macrosucks can't program a "Hello world" program without opening at least 7,000 security holes which are obvious. As a matter of fact, to make the next version of Windcracks more innovative than the last, why don't they just include the viruses, spam, adware, spyware, malware, pop-ups, and whatever other stupid names you can make up for this stuff, with the default install of the operating system? That way, as soon as you install Losedows, your computer will already be a peace of schitt, as opposed to gradually graduating to that position.
Here's a really good computer fixing story for all you geeks out there. Sony's new laptop that someone I know bought doesn't come with recovery CDs to blow everything off the drive and reinstall it in the event that Windoors--wait, let me rephrase that--when Windoors becomes unusable. (Or in case the hard drive dies, but Losewalls comes with a double-the-price guarantee that it will die before the hard drive dies.) Ok. No recovery CDs. What do you do WHEN Losedows gets all fscked up? The recovery information is ON THE HARD DRIVE. In a special partition reserved for that purpose. Ok. So let me get this straight:
- If the hard drive dies, I have no recovery CDs and will have to rely on the POSSIBILITY that MAYBE Sony will still sell the recovery CDs for this model when that time comes.
- When Losedows crashes, and I have no vendor-supplied floppies, CD-ROMs, etc., somehow, I am supposed to boot the laptop into their innovative CD-less recovery program (which I'd bet is located in the Windloses partition, for your convenience and perpetual happiness).
- When Norton, Symantec, McAfee, or whatever other virus vendors deploy an innovative new virus that can detect this recovery partition, perhaps their virus will be smart enough to copy itself into that partition before fscking up the computer, so that for the user's convenience, it will perpetuate itself even after the contents of the drive (less the recovery partition) is blows away and "restored"...
Yeah. This is marvelous. So they do supply a way for you to make a CD and DVD out of the recovery partition. But 99% of the computer using population does NOT know the importance of TAKING SUCH A STEP before the computer blows up!!!So what's the end result? The computer works for a while. Losedows picks up viruses, spam, adware, spyware, malware, pop-ups, and whatever other stupid names you can make up for this stuff, the user thinks, naturally, that since the computer isn't functioning correctly, that "IT'S BROKEN", so they go out and buy a new one and throw the old one in the trash or something. ALL THIS BECAUSE MACROSHIT CAN'T GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER!!!
And then you go and help those son of a bitches by making FREE multimedia center software for their stupid OS? Help the free software movement instead and help the world rid itself of this disease called Windows!
Interesting that this article ran on slashdot today becauase SnapStream just started shipping their Media Center software package, Beyond Media: http://www.snapstream.com/products/beyondmedia/. I've been using it since it came out. Big thumbs up. I've been using their PVR software for a long time (Beyond TV) and this measures up to that (which is to say, it's really really good).
Does anyone know why Windows 2000 isn't supported?
This thing is written in C# (and I gather the # stands for RAP) and I only know java.
I've been writing a PVR system in Java for about a year now as a home project (running on a win box) , and I've got it working pretty sweet. Its not pure java, as it uses VirtualVCR for the grabbing and XMLTV for grabbing the listings. My next job is going from the WIMP style interface to something a little more set top box like. I'm also considering using a wireless joypad as a remote.
It just a shame that the UK source for XMLTV has been so unreliable over the past year. First ananova stop serving listings data, then the radio times changed their site to block xmltv, before relenting and releasing the listings in an alternate machine readable format. Lets hope the RT guys keep that going.
Relevant sites:
VirtualVCR : http://virtualvcr.sourceforge.net/
XmlTV : http://membled.com/work/apps/xmltv/
Sounds like a nice alternative to Windows Media Center! :-)
-- There are 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, And those who don't.
Panurge has posted for the last time. Thanks for the positive moderations.
What you are saying is totally unacceptable from a performance perspective. I have *TWO* software tuners in my Myth box and it runs without issues. And you sare saying MediaPortal can't even timeshift with *ONE*?
No thanks.