Slashdot Mirror
XBMC V11 Eden Has Been Released
New submitter themib writes "After only two release candidates XBMC v11.0 Eden has been released. The latest version contains many updates and new features, including: Addon Rollbacks, Confluence improvements, Dirty region rendering, a new JPEG decoder, movie scraping, better network support, a new upgraded Weather service. This announcement also heralds the new XBMCbuntu Final."
I just installed it on a Windows 7 system and it is smooth as glass. It looks more polished than most commercial offerings I've seen. Kudos to the team and their efforts.
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
Because, of course, clicking on TFA is far too difficult.
As is googling. Far too hard.
In seriousness though, XBMC is quite popular, how could you be a /. reader and not know what it is? Especially with all the hype around Raspberry Pi at the moment?
One thing I know, and that is that I am ignorant...
I find it bizarre that iOS has a version of XBMC when it can only be run on jailbroken devices.
Meanwhile, Android devices, which actually compromise the majority of the market these days, could run XBMC out of the box with no modifications, and there seems to be zero interest in creating a version for Android. It would even be allowed on the official Android market.
Still, considering the heritage of the project, maybe this all makes sense....
Can't wait til the OpenElec final is released
Formerly a program/OS for the original Xbox and called XBox Media Center. They have since stopped supporting the xbox but have ported it to many OSes. I imagine it is used for computer media center for a TV setup as the interface is far to clunky for regular computer use.
It was/is (see xbmc4xbox) great on the Xbox, but I really don't see the appeal of installing it on a computer.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
I've tried a few versions of XBMC (and have 11 downloading in the background, just to take a look), and I never really understood the big deal about it.
With the original XBox, okay, cool, you had a fairly high-functionality networked media player running on a $99 console gaming system. Neat.
But on a modern PC? Running a variety of programs to handle each individual media type in a manner I prefer for them doesn't present any sort of burden to me or to the system. I have no real reason to stay within the context of a single program that can do-it-all - I just make a new desktop shortcut to my preferred handler of format-X, and bam, I have it always instantly available to me.
So tell me, Slashdot - What have I missed here that makes XBMC so impressive?
"XBMC site:slashdot.org" returns 6000 results, so they probably assume /. readers already know what it is.
In any case,
XBMC Media Center (formerly Xbox Media Center) is a free and open source cross-platform digital media hub and HTPC (Home theater PC) software with a 10-foot user interface designed to be a media player for the living-room TV using only a remote control as the input device. Its graphical user interface (GUI) allows the user to easily browse and view videos, photos, podcasts, and music from a harddrive, optical disc, local network, and the internet using only a few buttons.
(From Wikipedia)
Dilbert RSS feed
Ok, it's not just me then. I was wondering if I had accidentally landed on a foreign version of the site that was in another language.
Program Intellivision!
It's been years since the XBOX Media Center supported Xbox.
That's great. Next time, tell us briefly in the summary what it is and why we should care. Honestly not trying to Troll. It would be nice to know if clicking through and reading more would be a waste of my time or not, though.
FYI
"XBMC is an award-winning free and open source (GPL) software media player and entertainment hub for digital media. XBMC is available for Linux, OSX, and Windows. Created in 2003 by a group of like minded programmers, XBMC is a non-profit project run and developed by volunteers located around the world. More than 50 software developers have contributed to XBMC, and 100-plus translators have worked to expand its reach, making it available in more than 30 languages."
Essentially it will run on appliance devices as a media server that is remote capable and can be network controlled or can be used as a server. It is fully dlna capable in both directions. Essentially it is a opensource equivalent to Media Room if you want to use it in house as a hub. You can create AVs and network broadcast it with it, or you can just puddle around and do whatever you want with it because it is opensource.
It took more effort to write that little rant than it would have to just fucking google it.
*slowclap*
Its a media player.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Yes, it also takes less effort to hand somebody a fish than it does to teach them how to fish, but I keep hoping somebody will read the post and learn that their submissions SHOULD include such useful information.
One day, perhaps, it'll get through to people.
But it certainly won't if silence is the answer.
Did the XBMC guys drop a bunch of platforms?
Also just noticed that their competitor www.mythtv.org is about to have a release early next month as well.
Does "dirty region rendering" de-pixellate Japanese porn or something?
When I go to a restaurant, I expect the fish to be handed to me.
A 10-foot user interface? Really?
Their they're doing there hair.
Why do you assume that he didn't read TFA or do a Google search because he found it too difficult?
He did neither of those things because he couldn't be arsed.
Yup, that's a technical term! You definitely wouldn't want the usual 2-foot computer UI when you're on your couch fairly far from your screen. Heck, I have my occasional issues with it when I'm not so far...
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
XBMC had especially superb value when the Icefilms / MegaUpload plugin was working. That was a great period in history. Now it's not so exciting on desktops, but it does make a good interface for a dedicated media center.
- Tweaking the ears of the grammatically challenged since 2002.
If you use Trakt to keep track of your shows, make sure to get the development version here until it gets released to the production channel. If you don't use Trakt... you don't know what your missing! - HEX
Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
Damn it, trakt.tv not .com - HEX
Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
WMC is 'nice' for OTA HDTV if you have a CM4221 antenna + ATSC tuner combo ( or QAM if you have a cable connection), which I do enjoy. XBMC on the other hand with plugin's and aggreators... gives me online access to so much more than WMC can and greatly enhances usablilty between my pc & HDTV, its the epitome of convergence in technology at this stage of the game.
Now, if I could only get XBMC shoehorned stand alone into a high end "smart" HDTV with wifi to my LAN. It just might make for the ultimate home theatre pc experience I so crave.
This strange comment at the bottom of the message is illogical.
Yes Sir, Ten Foot Interface! That is if you have the space & range and a nifty projector to throw it up onto your wall. I'd have suggested the R2-D2 Projector from 2007, but haven't seen them around lately.
This strange comment at the bottom of the message is illogical.
Like all BIG companies, they were started by a small number of people. Usually one or two.
Now, if I could only get XBMC shoehorned stand alone into a high end "smart" HDTV with wifi to my LAN. It just might make for the ultimate home theatre pc experience I so crave.
Indeed, this is the exact reason I've signed up for two of the Raspberry Pi boards. One for fun, one for my TV.
On another note, one of the things I was hoping to do with my new computer (kubuntu/nVidia but I could change the OS) was connect HDMI to my TV and have that as a separate display device for movies only. I can make it an extended desktop, but that isn't what I want at all. I thought this would be a fairly common thing, but I haven't been able to find anything with Google. Sound over HDMI is still a problem for me also. Sigh
The subject who is truly loyal to the Chief Magistrate will neither advise nor submit to arbitrary measures (Junius)
It is open source, it is free (both as in speech and beer), it has a fairly high quality both under the hood and on skin. I have been using it for more than 2 years now and it has not failed me like some android phones did. Very easy to use, quite stable. Heartfelt kudos to the developers, maintainers and the whole community.
-----
"Look like you are or be like you look"
Rumi
It's not quite your stated ideal, but I'm happy with XBMC running on a rooted Apple TV. Cheap, easy and the videos look fantastic (without having to run iTunes or transcode anything!).
"XBMC site:slashdot.org" returns 6000 results, so they probably assume /. readers already know what it is.
I kill way too much time here, and I've never heard of it before.
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
+1 insightful.
Sound over HDMI is why I bought a boxee box, after running it alongside mythtv in my own system for years. Got tired of trying to fight it, and losing.
They discontinued support of the Xbox version quite a while ago, but it's still being worked on by the XBMC4Xbox project.
Most of those codecs like X264? ILLEGAL in any country that signed Berne, all that? Is patented.
I thought Berne was about copyrights, not patents.
ALL the major formats ARE PATENTED
True, but all patents essential to VP8 are licensed permissively.
Mark my words the next version of H.26x WILL have DRM support
I thought digital restrictions management was a feature of a container, not a codec. For example, CSS is part of the DVD container, which is based on the MPEG-2 container, and doesn't touch the codec at all. The closest thing to DRM in a codec is BD+, which warps parts of the frame to make them friendlier to the underlying codec (and can disable unwarping in an environment that appears not to conform to the system's C&R rules), and I haven't seen anything other than Blu-ray that implements anything remotely like BD+.
I just upgraded to the new 11 and now there doesn't seem to be a way to add anything to the library, at least not where it used to be. Did they move it or something? I can't find it anywhere.
You don't install it on a regular use computer, but on a HTPC system
The problem here is in getting people to build an HTPC system in the first place. Most people who aren't in Slashdot's geek demographic don't want yet another box connected to their TV along with the DVD player, game console, and/or cable or satellite TV decoder. A lot of people already have trouble hooking up just those. Most pre-built desktop PCs are way too big and noisy to fit well in a living room, and Best Buy appears not to sell a lot of ready-to-run PCs in HTPC cases.
Even runs on a $35 Raspberry Pi!
How much has Raspberry Pi shot up to on the scalpers' market?
I do not really know what you mean with "a computer" here; I suppose you're trying to say "a device with a smaller screen."
Exactly, The general public, that is, non-geeks, see a "computer" as something that sits on a desk in another room, not something in the living room. Please see previous comments by FunkSoulBrother and CronoCloud.
words "HTPC" and "multi-screen setup" should provide more than enough counter-argument.
"HTPC? Isn't that a company that makes smartphones?" The general public tends not to appreciate the advantages of an HTPC over dedicated "consumer electronics devices".
Granted, but do you expect them to explain what chicken is?
The Debian packages are really strange for XBMC. First off the Linux instructions are aimed primarily at Ubuntu. Then the other problem is that there is some kind of a fork between the "official packages" for Ubuntu and the Debian packages provided on debian-multimedia.org, the latter not being up to date (only rc2 is available).
I also note that the Ubuntu packages have an Epoch while the Debian packages do not, which makes it hard to switch between the two.
Short of adding a Ubuntu PPA to my sources.list, I am not sure how I can get this thing installed on Debian, which is a bit annoying.
I wish those great products would actually go the extra mile and work with distributions for their products to be packaged, especially since they seem to be familiar with Debian pacakging...
Semantics is the gravity of abstraction
You forget the Logitech Revue.
You can say that the bootloader is locked, but then so is the AppleTV locked. You listed a bunch of "Pacific Rim" devices which are also presumably available for use, but then excuse away the lack of XBMC port by pointing to incompatibilities across SOC hardware as if this was a new thing.
Bottom line? Most of the XBMC developers probably have iPhones and simply don't care about Android. Considering the AppleTV is only $99, it's hard to blame them.
Have a Virgin Mobile USA smartphone? Give VMRoms.com a try!
I certainly expect them to tell me what's on their Chicken Ala Whateverini
Does this keep all your old settings and movie library intact if you install it? I have custom configuration to use MPC-HC to play the movies and I don't want to rescan my library.
Granted, but do you expect them to explain what capybara is?
TFTFY.
I'm thinking on building a media box for my mom. Just to play videos and stuff from stuff I ripped from all her dvds.
If so, can anyone recommend a barebones no fuss box to install this on? She has no 1080 content but I guess it would be nice if it could handle it for the future.
I googled it before my post. My point was though, that a good summary would have included at least a sentence about what it is. It just makes a better quality summary. I guess this thinking isn't shared by the majority of Slashdot, seeing as I was perceived as a -1 Troll! I would have gladly accepted, and maybe even aggreed somewhat with "off topic".
I'm shoehorning my Raspberry PI into my TV. Planning to leech power from standby circuit, and using HDMI-CEC to use the TVs remote control the RPI. Network via 802.11N.
If you went to actually RTFA and didn't know what it was, there is a menu at the top that says "About" for fuck's sake. Yes, they could have explained, but you could also stop being an indignant shit head for no reason. Just saying.
"Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - BenF
You think complaining about some random, bad summary is going to change anything (other than your karma)? You must be new here!