bobbob1016
April 9th, 2007, 12:21 AM
I decided to replace my Windows Media Center with LinuxMCE. I took out the drive with Windows (so I wouldn't hurt anything), and installed Ubuntu on a new drive. I have the PC in question hooked up to my HDTV, which caused enough problems of it's own to get the native 1366x768@60 resolution in Ubuntu.
After installing the drivers for my ATI card, gnome recognized the 1366x768@60 resolution. I then went to install LinuxMCE. After I downloaded the iso, and finished the install. I told it not to be a DHCP server, but it didn't look like it listened, see below. When it booted up, and changed my PC's name without asking, it didn't auto-login, or auto-start after I logged in. After logging in, I see "Failed to initialize Hal", I reinstalled HAL (I've done this on my desktop ubuntu without problems). I thought, "After the reboot, there'll be a few setup options, then I'll be done." this wasn't the case.
LinuxMCE didn't see my "1366x768@60" resolution, but after asking on the IRC channel, and making an idiot of myself, *(see edit)I thought "google LinuxMCE forums" and there they were, not easy to find on the site, but through google. I found the answer was to go to the LinuxMCE's IP, and do some setup there.
Then I thought, ok, I'll play around with it a bit, and see what's where. I tried my remote, the bias video (I don't think it was officially LinuxMCE's but still) said it would do it automatically, but no. I had to navigate through menus with the keyboard. The "Wizard" didn't set me up as a user either, which I did by accident when I went to the IP address before. After looking around for how to watch TV (I have two tuners, an ATI TV Wonder, and HDTV Wonder, both of which MythTV support, but no auto-configuring here).
Now I go to Media, and there isn't anything there, as I'd expect, but there isn't any "Add Media" button, and it didn't automatically find my FreeNAS, which the video said it would, I have the same login name on the FreeNAS that I gave to the Ubuntu and LinuxMCE install, but it didn't "auto-find" it. Maybe that is because I didn't set it as a DHCP server, although since my computers can still connect to the internet with static IP's and my parents are yelling that they can't get online now, I guess LinuxMCE didn't listen.
When I go to setup MythTV in the hidden tab that I can't remember the name of, I get an onscreen keyboard, a part that says "Mouse" with Left and Right under it, and a dot with chevrons boxing it in, on the left. How is that the MythTV setup?
When I try to exit LinuxMCE and get to my desktop I can't. When I press the power button, all I get is the LinuxMCE startpage.
//End Rant.
I hope these issues get fixed, because LinuxMCE looks great, but still has to mature.
It is also great that they offer free skype tech support, maybe this means they know some of the issues I had. I prefer to post them here though, because I can think about what to say, and make sure everything is there, and correct before anyone sees it.
Edit: I wasn't angry when I posted this, I was frustrated. What I left out was that it took me a day or two to get Ubuntu to show up on my TV properly. My frustration might have been why I didn't see the "Forums" button on the right. I'm not angry at them, I just saw a post by one of the developers looking for help on these forums, so I thought I'd post here, since they probably read these, instead of signing up for another forum just to post one thread.
After installing the drivers for my ATI card, gnome recognized the 1366x768@60 resolution. I then went to install LinuxMCE. After I downloaded the iso, and finished the install. I told it not to be a DHCP server, but it didn't look like it listened, see below. When it booted up, and changed my PC's name without asking, it didn't auto-login, or auto-start after I logged in. After logging in, I see "Failed to initialize Hal", I reinstalled HAL (I've done this on my desktop ubuntu without problems). I thought, "After the reboot, there'll be a few setup options, then I'll be done." this wasn't the case.
LinuxMCE didn't see my "1366x768@60" resolution, but after asking on the IRC channel, and making an idiot of myself, *(see edit)I thought "google LinuxMCE forums" and there they were, not easy to find on the site, but through google. I found the answer was to go to the LinuxMCE's IP, and do some setup there.
Then I thought, ok, I'll play around with it a bit, and see what's where. I tried my remote, the bias video (I don't think it was officially LinuxMCE's but still) said it would do it automatically, but no. I had to navigate through menus with the keyboard. The "Wizard" didn't set me up as a user either, which I did by accident when I went to the IP address before. After looking around for how to watch TV (I have two tuners, an ATI TV Wonder, and HDTV Wonder, both of which MythTV support, but no auto-configuring here).
Now I go to Media, and there isn't anything there, as I'd expect, but there isn't any "Add Media" button, and it didn't automatically find my FreeNAS, which the video said it would, I have the same login name on the FreeNAS that I gave to the Ubuntu and LinuxMCE install, but it didn't "auto-find" it. Maybe that is because I didn't set it as a DHCP server, although since my computers can still connect to the internet with static IP's and my parents are yelling that they can't get online now, I guess LinuxMCE didn't listen.
When I go to setup MythTV in the hidden tab that I can't remember the name of, I get an onscreen keyboard, a part that says "Mouse" with Left and Right under it, and a dot with chevrons boxing it in, on the left. How is that the MythTV setup?
When I try to exit LinuxMCE and get to my desktop I can't. When I press the power button, all I get is the LinuxMCE startpage.
//End Rant.
I hope these issues get fixed, because LinuxMCE looks great, but still has to mature.
It is also great that they offer free skype tech support, maybe this means they know some of the issues I had. I prefer to post them here though, because I can think about what to say, and make sure everything is there, and correct before anyone sees it.
Edit: I wasn't angry when I posted this, I was frustrated. What I left out was that it took me a day or two to get Ubuntu to show up on my TV properly. My frustration might have been why I didn't see the "Forums" button on the right. I'm not angry at them, I just saw a post by one of the developers looking for help on these forums, so I thought I'd post here, since they probably read these, instead of signing up for another forum just to post one thread.