[mythtvnz] Linux MCE Report

[Toby Mills]

A while ago I asked if anyone had tried LinuxMCE and got no responses.
So I decided to give it a go myself to see what its like.

Linux MCE is basically glue that joins together multiple open source 
applications including MythTV and asterisk.
It is based on Kubuntu.
The download for it is around 3.5Gb so it is not small and needs to be 
burnt onto a DVD.

Installation went pretty smooth, it detected all my hardware and began a 
video assisted configuration wizard that walks you through setup. I've 
never seen anything as smooth as this before. It all worked without a hitch.
After installation it then downloaded some automatic online updates 
which upgraded Mythtv to 20.1 + fixes

After installation and configuration was completed it all came up with a 
fairly basic default setup. The software began detecting network shares 
on my network and asked if I wanted to map them and use them to store or 
read media, as I already have a myth box on the network, it detected it 
and mapped all the existing files so they appear in the Linux MCE 
interface. It found our photo albums and MP3 collection and organised 
them into an easy to use structure.

Linux MCE uses mythtv in the backend for recording programs, but you 
browse and watch the programs through the Linux MCE interface. Its very 
different from mythtv, but much more powerful as everything is overlaid 
over the top of your media. The interface is very easy to use and it has 
the most amazing gliding menus that I have ever seen . If I decide to go 
with it, I'll have to replace my remotes with a Gyro remote which really 
makes the system easy to navigate. It is desinged to be pointer based 
navigation instead of mythtv's button based navigation.

I decided to try and get tricky and plug in some extra gadgets I have 
around the house to see if I could break it.
This system is a gadget freaks dream. It supports just about every cool 
gadget that has ever been invented and ties it into the system seamlessly.
I added in my DLink IP cameras simply by using the IP camera wizard and 
typing in the IP address of each camera. They instantly appeared in the 
security menu so you can bring up a camera which overlays with 
transparency on the TV program you are watching, very cool.

Next I plugged in an X10 CM12 controller that I had lying around. I have 
a few X10 devices and light switches around the house but haven't been 
actively using it because of lack of a nice interface. It took a little 
bit of configuration to get it working, but it wasn't too difficult. Now 
I can control the lights in any room by using the Lighting menu while 
watching any program. It brings up an overlay of your house layout and 
you just navigate around turning stuff on and off  from your TV. You can 
setup scenes and time based rules easily using the web interface.

Next I decided to get really tricky and try plugging in our security 
system. I have a DSC Maxsys alarm panel which has a serial interface, to 
add it I just plugged in a serial cable and used the confirguration 
wizard which supports this panel and many others. You can use the 
security menu in Linux MCE to set the alarm, or can use a PIR sensor to 
send messages and trigger events in Linux MCE. (eg walk into a room and 
the lights turn on). For example, setting the alarm also sends messages 
to turn off all the lights etc. The logic available is complex but very 
powerful.

There are a whole pile of extra features I'm planning on testing next 
and will report back on how that goes.
I have a bluetooth dongle that I will add, this allows the system to 
communicate with bluetooth mobile phones and whenever a bluetooth phone 
comes in range, it uploads a phone based version of the remote control 
software. This can give you presence monitoring in each room and allows 
your media to follow you. For example if you have two Linux MCE 
frontends and you are watching TV in the lounge and move into the other 
room, the media you are watching will follow you. It also supports 
synchronisation so that multiple frontends can be playing the same media 
perfectly synchronised. This is something that has really annoyed me 
about straight mythtv, especially when playing music.

I haven't even tried any of the Asterisk stuff yet, I already have an 
asterisk box but if it works well, I may merge it all into one box to 
give voicemail notification and access directly from the TV.

I didn't expect much when testing this system out, I expected much of it 
to be broken or not work as expected but to be honest I'm in shock at 
how good it is. It really all does work so far with no major bugs or 
showstoppers. I haven't even needed a command line yet, it is all GUI 
and web based.
The "Glue" is rock solid and seems very stable considering how complex 
it all is. Its based off the pluto system.

Completely ditching my existing Mythbox and replacing it with this is a 
major step and not something that I will undertake lightly. But at this 
point I am so impressed with LinuxMCE that I am going to begin a 
migration plan. I think I will work towards replacing my backend with a 
Linux MCE box but keeping my frontends just pointing towards the Myth 
installation on Linux MCE, then I'll progressively switch over to 
running the Linux MCE client on each frontend over a few months.

I'm testing it on my main pc at the moment by dumping in an old 20Gb 
drive and installing it on that.
I'd highly recommend giving this appliance a go, especially if you are a 
gadget freak like me and have lots of toys around the house that you 
always wished you could integrate.

I'll write up how the rest of it goes over the next week or so.

download from www.linuxmce.org

Cheers
Toby
www.np.co.nz