Mailing List Archive: MythTV: Users

Media Center Demo

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merle.reine at lindows

Mar 27, 2003, 12:02 PM

Post #1 of 13 (2324 views)
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Media Center Demo

I just got a Windows XP Media Center system to test and it is pretty
nice (for a Windows machine).

Check out this demo if you have not already. Perhaps some good ideas
for MythTV?

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/wmx/mce/300k/mcedemo300k.asp

Click the lower right arrow to skip the intro stuff and the click the
Try it Out! link.

Click the Skip Intro link and try it out. Microsoft is using SDL
(http://www.libsdl.org/index.php) which is blazingly fast.
NOTE: I am not endorsing Microsoft, I just test all of their products
and thought it had some good ideas for MythTV.
--
Merle Reine <merle.reine [at] lindows>
Lindows.com Hardware Certification

jjamieson at futurefoundations

Mar 27, 2003, 12:25 PM

Post #2 of 13 (2301 views)
Permalink

RE: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

Holy... Did they just take screenshots of Xbox Media Player and post them? This is crazy, it's *exactly* what XBMP looks like.

Take a look at some screenshots of XBMP: http://www.xboxmediaplayer.de/newweb/info_screens.htm

-----Original Message-----
From: Merle Reine [mailto:merle.reine [at] lindows]
Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 2:03 PM
To: mythtv-dev [at] snowman
Cc: mythtv-users [at] snowman
Subject: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo

I just got a Windows XP Media Center system to test and it is pretty nice (for a Windows machine).

Check out this demo if you have not already. Perhaps some good ideas for MythTV?

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/wmx/mce/300k/mcedemo300k.asp

Click the lower right arrow to skip the intro stuff and the click the Try it Out! link.

Click the Skip Intro link and try it out. Microsoft is using SDL (http://www.libsdl.org/index.php) which is blazingly fast.
NOTE: I am not endorsing Microsoft, I just test all of their products and thought it had some good ideas for MythTV.
--
Merle Reine <merle.reine [at] lindows>
Lindows.com Hardware Certification

daveb at ball-home

Mar 27, 2003, 4:24 PM

Post #3 of 13 (2295 views)
Permalink

Re: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

On Thu, 2003-03-27 at 19:02, Merle Reine wrote:
> Microsoft is using SDL (http://www.libsdl.org/index.php) which is
> blazingly fast.

sdl is something i've played with a bit and like a lot - but Microsoft
using it? Really? Wow - I am supprised. Can i ask what gave you to
reach that conclusion? Is there a website i can look at?

And i would have thought that they'd use MFC / DirectX.

DaveB

mythtv at zencow

Mar 28, 2003, 12:22 PM

Post #4 of 13 (2295 views)
Permalink

Re: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

Joseph Jamieson wrote
> Holy... Did they just take screenshots of Xbox Media Player
> and post them? This is crazy, it's *exactly* what XBMP looks like.

you realize that XBox is a Microsoft product, right? ;-)

chuckf at fullplaymedia

Mar 28, 2003, 12:32 PM

Post #5 of 13 (2290 views)
Permalink

RE: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

You realize that XBMP is not a Microsoft product, right? ;-)

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Palmer [mailto:mythtv [at] zencow]
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 11:23 AM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo

Joseph Jamieson wrote
> Holy... Did they just take screenshots of Xbox Media Player
> and post them? This is crazy, it's *exactly* what XBMP looks like.

you realize that XBox is a Microsoft product, right? ;-)

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] snowman
http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

jjamieson at futurefoundations

Mar 28, 2003, 12:39 PM

Post #6 of 13 (2286 views)
Permalink

RE: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

Yea but Xbox Media Player is a "homebrew" project that's been in
existence for quite awhile now. You need a Modchip to run it because
of the fact that the xbox will only run "Digitally Signed" code.

XBMP can play almost any type of media out there (except new quicktime
formats,) DiVX, Mpegs, DVD's, pictures of almost any format, the list
goes on. About the only thing it can't do at the moment is play TV
(there's no TV card in the Xbox) but they are working on SnapStream
support.

When they come up with accelerated X drivers for Xbox Linux, I'm going
to try MythTV on it. It has a great TV Encoder, so I think it will be a
great front-end unit.

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Palmer [mailto:mythtv [at] zencow]
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 2:23 PM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo

Joseph Jamieson wrote
> Holy... Did they just take screenshots of Xbox Media Player
> and post them? This is crazy, it's *exactly* what XBMP looks like.

you realize that XBox is a Microsoft product, right? ;-)

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] snowman
http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

mythtv at zencow

Mar 28, 2003, 12:55 PM

Post #7 of 13 (2281 views)
Permalink

Re: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

ok, I guess I should have looked at it. It had the word "XBox",
so I just assumed... I'll NEVER do that again... hehehe... ;-)

Joseph Jamieson wrote
> Yea but Xbox Media Player is a "homebrew" project that's been in
> existence for quite awhile now. You need a Modchip to run it because
> of the fact that the xbox will only run "Digitally Signed" code.
>
> XBMP can play almost any type of media out there (except new quicktime
> formats,) DiVX, Mpegs, DVD's, pictures of almost any format, the list
> goes on. About the only thing it can't do at the moment is play TV
> (there's no TV card in the Xbox) but they are working on SnapStream
> support.
>
> When they come up with accelerated X drivers for Xbox Linux, I'm going
> to try MythTV on it. It has a great TV Encoder, so I think it will be a
> great front-end unit.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chris Palmer [mailto:mythtv [at] zencow]
> Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 2:23 PM
> To: Discussion about mythtv
> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo
>
> Joseph Jamieson wrote
> > Holy... Did they just take screenshots of Xbox Media Player
> > and post them? This is crazy, it's *exactly* what XBMP looks like.
>
> you realize that XBox is a Microsoft product, right? ;-)

jr at jrh

Mar 28, 2003, 7:01 PM

Post #8 of 13 (2287 views)
Permalink

RE: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

Xbmp built their interface off of screenshots of Microsoft's media
center, not the other way around.

You should have seen the original interface of xbmp, it was pretty
horrid (with one small nod to the windows media player).

-----Original Message-----
From: mythtv-users-bounces [at] snowman
[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces [at] snowman] On Behalf Of Chris Palmer
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 11:55 AM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo

ok, I guess I should have looked at it. It had the word "XBox",
so I just assumed... I'll NEVER do that again... hehehe... ;-)

Joseph Jamieson wrote
> Yea but Xbox Media Player is a "homebrew" project that's been in
> existence for quite awhile now. You need a Modchip to run it because
> of the fact that the xbox will only run "Digitally Signed" code.
>
> XBMP can play almost any type of media out there (except new quicktime
> formats,) DiVX, Mpegs, DVD's, pictures of almost any format, the list
> goes on. About the only thing it can't do at the moment is play TV
> (there's no TV card in the Xbox) but they are working on SnapStream
> support.
>
> When they come up with accelerated X drivers for Xbox Linux, I'm going
> to try MythTV on it. It has a great TV Encoder, so I think it will be
a
> great front-end unit.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chris Palmer [mailto:mythtv [at] zencow]
> Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 2:23 PM
> To: Discussion about mythtv
> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo
>
> Joseph Jamieson wrote
> > Holy... Did they just take screenshots of Xbox Media Player
> > and post them? This is crazy, it's *exactly* what XBMP looks
like.
>
> you realize that XBox is a Microsoft product, right? ;-)
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] snowman
http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

jjamieson at futurefoundations

Mar 28, 2003, 10:27 PM

Post #9 of 13 (2282 views)
Permalink

RE: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

I used the original interface for awhile. There wasn't much to it.
Pretty much just a list of what media files you had. It was simple, but
I wouldn't quite go so far as saying it was horrid..

I wasn't aware of how long the MS Media Center thingy's screenshots were
around. Even still, it's pretty funny how XBMP looks so much like the
ones in the screenshots. There's even a skin that comes with it that
makes it truly look like the MS one.

At any rate.. This is the MythTV list =) MythTV is neato, I can't
wait to get a better setup to use it to it's full potential. The
dual-TV card thing is real cool. I wonder what the performance is like
when recording a show and watching live TV on the other.

I noticed an option for "hardware MJPEG" in the encoder drop down menu.
Do any TV cards out there support this feature? Ideally, this would
let you do MythTV with a lot less of a powerhouse of a box (and a more
quiet one too.)

-----Original Message-----
From: J.R. Hyde [mailto:jr [at] jrh]
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 9:01 PM
To: 'Discussion about mythtv'
Subject: RE: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo

Xbmp built their interface off of screenshots of Microsoft's media
center, not the other way around.

You should have seen the original interface of xbmp, it was pretty
horrid (with one small nod to the windows media player).

-----Original Message-----
From: mythtv-users-bounces [at] snowman
[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces [at] snowman] On Behalf Of Chris Palmer
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 11:55 AM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo

ok, I guess I should have looked at it. It had the word "XBox",
so I just assumed... I'll NEVER do that again... hehehe... ;-)

Joseph Jamieson wrote
> Yea but Xbox Media Player is a "homebrew" project that's been in
> existence for quite awhile now. You need a Modchip to run it because
> of the fact that the xbox will only run "Digitally Signed" code.
>
> XBMP can play almost any type of media out there (except new quicktime
> formats,) DiVX, Mpegs, DVD's, pictures of almost any format, the list
> goes on. About the only thing it can't do at the moment is play TV
> (there's no TV card in the Xbox) but they are working on SnapStream
> support.
>
> When they come up with accelerated X drivers for Xbox Linux, I'm going
> to try MythTV on it. It has a great TV Encoder, so I think it will be
a
> great front-end unit.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chris Palmer [mailto:mythtv [at] zencow]
> Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 2:23 PM
> To: Discussion about mythtv
> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo
>
> Joseph Jamieson wrote
> > Holy... Did they just take screenshots of Xbox Media Player
> > and post them? This is crazy, it's *exactly* what XBMP looks
like.
>
> you realize that XBox is a Microsoft product, right? ;-)
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] snowman
http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] snowman
http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

johnmythtv at crombe

Mar 29, 2003, 9:49 AM

Post #10 of 13 (2271 views)
Permalink

Re: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

> From: "Joseph Jamieson" <jjamieson [at] futurefoundations>
> I noticed an option for "hardware MJPEG" in the encoder drop down menu.
> Do any TV cards out there support this feature? Ideally, this would
> let you do MythTV with a lot less of a powerhouse of a box (and a more
> quiet one too.)

It's for the Matrox G200 and G400 series of video cards. They were
originally in the $300 to $400 range when they were introduced a few years
ago, but now can be found for under $50. They do hardware MJPEG encoding
(not decoding) which does eliminate a huge load from the CPU.

I've got the G200 myself and it's working very well at 350x240 (decimation
2,2) but I can't go any higher, and the other codecs (RTJPEG, MPEG4) don't
work well at all on my box (P3-800). I'm about to buy a new motherboard/cpu
to boost up my performance but wonder if the G200 is the right card for the
job or not.

I asked earlier if anyone had a G200/G400 and got higher performance that
the hardware MJPEG at 2,2 but nobody answered.

Take care,
JC

jjamieson at futurefoundations

Mar 29, 2003, 10:00 AM

Post #11 of 13 (2267 views)
Permalink

RE: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

Is the resolution a limit on the hardware, your machine, or the drivers?

-----Original Message-----
From: JC [mailto:johnmythtv [at] crombe]
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2003 11:50 AM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo

> From: "Joseph Jamieson" <jjamieson [at] futurefoundations>
> I noticed an option for "hardware MJPEG" in the encoder drop down
menu.
> Do any TV cards out there support this feature? Ideally, this would
> let you do MythTV with a lot less of a powerhouse of a box (and a more
> quiet one too.)

It's for the Matrox G200 and G400 series of video cards. They were
originally in the $300 to $400 range when they were introduced a few
years
ago, but now can be found for under $50. They do hardware MJPEG
encoding
(not decoding) which does eliminate a huge load from the CPU.

I've got the G200 myself and it's working very well at 350x240
(decimation
2,2) but I can't go any higher, and the other codecs (RTJPEG, MPEG4)
don't
work well at all on my box (P3-800). I'm about to buy a new
motherboard/cpu
to boost up my performance but wonder if the G200 is the right card for
the
job or not.

I asked earlier if anyone had a G200/G400 and got higher performance
that
the hardware MJPEG at 2,2 but nobody answered.

Take care,
JC

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] snowman
http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

johnmythtv at crombe

Mar 29, 2003, 10:07 AM

Post #12 of 13 (2279 views)
Permalink

Re: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

That's the $64,000 question! Need other people with Matrox cards to chime
in and say what res. they've been able to get with their boards. I can only
say what my system has been limited to.

JC

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph Jamieson" <jjamieson [at] futurefoundations>
To: "Discussion about mythtv" <mythtv-users [at] snowman>
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2003 12:00 PM
Subject: RE: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo

> Is the resolution a limit on the hardware, your machine, or the drivers?
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: JC [mailto:johnmythtv [at] crombe]
> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2003 11:50 AM
> To: Discussion about mythtv
> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Media Center Demo
>
>
> > From: "Joseph Jamieson" <jjamieson [at] futurefoundations>
> > I noticed an option for "hardware MJPEG" in the encoder drop down
> menu.
> > Do any TV cards out there support this feature? Ideally, this would
> > let you do MythTV with a lot less of a powerhouse of a box (and a more
> > quiet one too.)
>
> It's for the Matrox G200 and G400 series of video cards. They were
> originally in the $300 to $400 range when they were introduced a few
> years
> ago, but now can be found for under $50. They do hardware MJPEG
> encoding
> (not decoding) which does eliminate a huge load from the CPU.
>
> I've got the G200 myself and it's working very well at 350x240
> (decimation
> 2,2) but I can't go any higher, and the other codecs (RTJPEG, MPEG4)
> don't
> work well at all on my box (P3-800). I'm about to buy a new
> motherboard/cpu
> to boost up my performance but wonder if the G200 is the right card for
> the
> job or not.
>
> I asked earlier if anyone had a G200/G400 and got higher performance
> that
> the hardware MJPEG at 2,2 but nobody answered.
>
> Take care,
> JC
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] snowman
> http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] snowman
> http://lists.snowman.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>
>

ijr at po

Mar 29, 2003, 10:09 AM

Post #13 of 13 (2269 views)
Permalink

Re: Media Center Demo [In reply to]

On Saturday 29 March 2003 11:49 am, JC wrote:
> > From: "Joseph Jamieson" <jjamieson [at] futurefoundations>
> > I noticed an option for "hardware MJPEG" in the encoder drop down menu.
> > Do any TV cards out there support this feature? Ideally, this would
> > let you do MythTV with a lot less of a powerhouse of a box (and a more
> > quiet one too.)
>
> It's for the Matrox G200 and G400 series of video cards. They were
> originally in the $300 to $400 range when they were introduced a few years
> ago, but now can be found for under $50. They do hardware MJPEG encoding
> (not decoding) which does eliminate a huge load from the CPU.

They do hardware decoding as well, but not both at the same time, making it
fairly useless to mythtv, since MJPEG decoding is horribly slow to decode in
software (_much_ more so than mpeg4). So, IMO, any gains from the hardware
encoding are offset by that.

Isaac

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