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adeffs.mythtv at gmail

Jan 9, 2012, 9:43 AM

Post #1 of 45 (1117 views)
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Ubuntu TV

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/ubuntu-tv-making-its-debut-at-ces/

some very nice interface ideas. I'm wondering if these things could be
done in MythTV with the current theme abilities?

--
Steve
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/User:Steveadeff
Before you ask, read the FAQ!
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then search the Wiki, and this list,
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memmott at gmail

Jan 9, 2012, 1:13 PM

Post #2 of 45 (1094 views)
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Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 12:43 PM, Steven Adeff <adeffs.mythtv [at] gmail>wrote:

> http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/ubuntu-tv-making-its-debut-at-ces/
>
> some very nice interface ideas. I'm wondering if these things could be
> done in MythTV with the current theme abilities?
>
> --
>

I just came in to see if anybody had posted about this yet - What's the
underlying tuning technology? Is it MythTV or did Canonical roll their own?

jeremy.dwain.jones at gmail

Jan 9, 2012, 1:25 PM

Post #3 of 45 (1092 views)
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Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 3:13 PM, Matt Emmott <memmott [at] gmail> wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 12:43 PM, Steven Adeff <adeffs.mythtv [at] gmail>wrote:
>
>> http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/ubuntu-tv-making-its-debut-at-ces/
>>
>> some very nice interface ideas. I'm wondering if these things could be
>> done in MythTV with the current theme abilities?
>>
>> --
>>
>
> I just came in to see if anybody had posted about this yet - What's the
> underlying tuning technology? Is it MythTV or did Canonical roll their own?
> What about MythTV and XBMC?

According to Ubuntu's website here: http://www.ubuntu.com/tv/contributors
They are working with Mythtv and xbmc.

Very interesting. Can any Dev's weigh in on this?

Below text pasted from http://www.ubuntu.com/tv/contributors
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Myth TV and XBMC are popular open-source TV projects, particularly in the
Ubuntu community. We’re very pleased to collaborate with members of both
communities, enhancing the quality of back-end code that is shared between
projects.
Our focus is to bring a Unity front end to the TV, suitably adapted to the
entertainment, lean-back experience of the living room, but there are
plenty of areas where our needs intersect perfectly with those of other
communities.

Any improvements or changes we make to either project are contributed back.
And we welcome contributions from both communities.

------------------------------------------------

Is this just a different front-end using a myth-tv backend for the
recordings?

Jeremy

raymond at wagnerrp

Jan 9, 2012, 1:43 PM

Post #4 of 45 (1090 views)
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Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On 1/9/2012 16:25, Jeremy Jones wrote:
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 3:13 PM, Matt Emmott <memmott [at] gmail
> <mailto:memmott [at] gmail>> wrote:
>
> I just came in to see if anybody had posted about this yet -
> What's the underlying tuning technology? Is it MythTV or did
> Canonical roll their own?
>
>
> What about MythTV and XBMC?
>
> According to Ubuntu's website here: http://www.ubuntu.com/tv/contributors
> They are working with Mythtv and xbmc.

I can't say I've heard about any of this.

> Myth TV and XBMC are popular open-source TV projects, particularly in
> the Ubuntu community. We’re very pleased to collaborate with members
> of both communities, enhancing the quality of back-end code that is
> shared between projects.

The only code really shared between both MythTV and XBMC are the FFMPEG
decoding libraries both are based around.
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memmott at gmail

Jan 9, 2012, 1:44 PM

Post #5 of 45 (1093 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 4:25 PM, Jeremy Jones
<jeremy.dwain.jones [at] gmail>wrote:

>
>
> On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 3:13 PM, Matt Emmott <memmott [at] gmail> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 12:43 PM, Steven Adeff <adeffs.mythtv [at] gmail>wrote:
>>
>>> http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/09/ubuntu-tv-making-its-debut-at-ces/
>>>
>>> some very nice interface ideas. I'm wondering if these things could be
>>> done in MythTV with the current theme abilities?
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>
>> I just came in to see if anybody had posted about this yet - What's the
>> underlying tuning technology? Is it MythTV or did Canonical roll their own?
>> What about MythTV and XBMC?
>
> According to Ubuntu's website here: http://www.ubuntu.com/tv/contributors
> They are working with Mythtv and xbmc.
>
> Very interesting. Can any Dev's weigh in on this?
>
>
> Below text pasted from http://www.ubuntu.com/tv/contributors
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Myth TV and XBMC are popular open-source TV projects, particularly in the
> Ubuntu community. We’re very pleased to collaborate with members of both
> communities, enhancing the quality of back-end code that is shared between
> projects.
> Our focus is to bring a Unity front end to the TV, suitably adapted to the
> entertainment, lean-back experience of the living room, but there are
> plenty of areas where our needs intersect perfectly with those of other
> communities.
>
> Any improvements or changes we make to either project are contributed
> back. And we welcome contributions from both communities.
>
> ------------------------------------------------
>
>
> Is this just a different front-end using a myth-tv backend for the
> recordings?
>
> Jeremy
>

I tend to go with a TL;DR approach and didn't read that far down in the
article till now, thanks. XBMC has been working on a unified front end for
multiple backends for years now, and it has never really taken off. From
that article it looks to me like Canonical took some XBMC front end pieces,
muddied it to add a Unity look and feel, and set it to connect to MythTV
for the back end.

I wonder if they have any hardware partners or if this can easily be
shoveled onto a Google TV. Since Google TV boxes are now 80 bucks
refurb'ed, this could be viable if they can get H.264 decoding and the like
to work.

raymond at wagnerrp

Jan 9, 2012, 1:48 PM

Post #6 of 45 (1093 views)
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Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On 1/9/2012 16:43, Raymond Wagner wrote:
>> Myth TV and XBMC are popular open-source TV projects, particularly in
>> the Ubuntu community. We’re very pleased to collaborate with members
>> of both communities, enhancing the quality of back-end code that is
>> shared between projects.
> The only code really shared between both MythTV and XBMC are the FFMPEG
> decoding libraries both are based around.

That actually makes even less sense, since they are using GStreamer instead.
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memmott at gmail

Jan 9, 2012, 2:07 PM

Post #7 of 45 (1093 views)
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Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 4:48 PM, Raymond Wagner <raymond [at] wagnerrp> wrote:

> On 1/9/2012 16:43, Raymond Wagner wrote:
> >> Myth TV and XBMC are popular open-source TV projects, particularly in
> >> the Ubuntu community. We’re very pleased to collaborate with members
> >> of both communities, enhancing the quality of back-end code that is
> >> shared between projects.
> > The only code really shared between both MythTV and XBMC are the FFMPEG
> > decoding libraries both are based around.
>
> That actually makes even less sense, since they are using GStreamer
> instead.
> _______________________________________________
>
> Looks like Will Cooke from Canonical has been in contact with some
Mythbuntu devs; maybe they're working exclusively with the Mythbuntu folks.

https://lists.launchpad.net/ubuntu-tv/msg00003.html

adeffs.mythtv at gmail

Jan 10, 2012, 1:40 PM

Post #8 of 45 (1033 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Matt Emmott <memmott [at] gmail> wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 4:48 PM, Raymond Wagner <raymond [at] wagnerrp> wrote:
>> On 1/9/2012 16:43, Raymond Wagner wrote:
>> >> Myth TV and XBMC are popular open-source TV projects, particularly in
>> >> the Ubuntu community. We’re very pleased to collaborate with members
>> >> of both communities, enhancing the quality of back-end code that is
>> >> shared between projects.
>> > The only code really shared between both MythTV and XBMC are the FFMPEG
>> > decoding libraries both are based around.
>>
>> That actually makes even less sense, since they are using GStreamer
>> instead.
>> _______________________________________________
>>
> Looks like Will Cooke from Canonical has been in contact with some Mythbuntu
> devs; maybe they're working exclusively with the Mythbuntu folks.
>
> https://lists.launchpad.net/ubuntu-tv/msg00003.html

some more news from phoronix,
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTA0MDc

--
Steve
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/User:Steveadeff
Before you ask, read the FAQ!
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Frequently_Asked_Questions
then search the Wiki, and this list,
http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/
Mailinglist etiquette -
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Mailing_List_etiquette
_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users [at] mythtv
http://www.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

memmott at gmail

Jan 10, 2012, 1:52 PM

Post #9 of 45 (1035 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 4:40 PM, Steven Adeff <adeffs.mythtv [at] gmail>wrote:

> On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Matt Emmott <memmott [at] gmail> wrote:
> > On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 4:48 PM, Raymond Wagner <raymond [at] wagnerrp>
> wrote:
> >> On 1/9/2012 16:43, Raymond Wagner wrote:
> >> >> Myth TV and XBMC are popular open-source TV projects, particularly in
> >> >> the Ubuntu community. We’re very pleased to collaborate with members
> >> >> of both communities, enhancing the quality of back-end code that is
> >> >> shared between projects.
> >> > The only code really shared between both MythTV and XBMC are the
> FFMPEG
> >> > decoding libraries both are based around.
> >>
> >> That actually makes even less sense, since they are using GStreamer
> >> instead.
> >> _______________________________________________
> >>
> > Looks like Will Cooke from Canonical has been in contact with some
> Mythbuntu
> > devs; maybe they're working exclusively with the Mythbuntu folks.
> >
> > https://lists.launchpad.net/ubuntu-tv/msg00003.html
>
> some more news from phoronix,
> http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTA0MDc
>
>
> --
>
Nice to see that they're making it touchscreen-compatible. I built an HTPC
a couple years ago with a Dell all-in-one touchscreen system and it worked
fairly well, but not having a "back" on-screen button in Myth or XBMC made
it a little cumbersome.

I found this very interesting:
Besides using Unity 2D, Ubuntu TV also relies heavily on Canonical's other
innovation they like, Ubuntu One. With Ubuntu One integrated into Ubuntu TV
it's easy to share movies, music, etc between devices.

Ubuntu One is their cloud service, right? So, all my media is uploaded to
the cloud? First, I have 30GB of music, 2TB of recordings, and 1TB of movie
rips. I can't imagine all that data synching all the time. Second, how in
the heck do they plan on appeasing copyright holders? The last thing we
need are the *AA's cracking down on Ubuntu like they did on ReplayTV a few
years ago.

brian at interlinx

Jan 10, 2012, 2:07 PM

Post #10 of 45 (1032 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On 12-01-10 04:52 PM, Matt Emmott wrote:
>
> Nice to see that they're making it touchscreen-compatible. I built an HTPC
> a couple years ago with a Dell all-in-one touchscreen system and it worked
> fairly well, but not having a "back" on-screen button in Myth or XBMC made
> it a little cumbersome.

A touchscreen television? Didn't the concept of having to go to the
television to select something go away with the remote control?

How does a remote control map to a touch interface? The best I can
think of would be a Wii type interface were the remote moves a finger
around the screen touching things. Very cumbersome.

Another place where they are trying to ram a "touchscreen" interface in
where it doesn't belong -- just like they are doing with on traditional
keyboard-and-mouse platforms.

Unity is horrible on a computer with a mouse and keyboard.

b.

Attachments:

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memmott at gmail

Jan 10, 2012, 2:16 PM

Post #11 of 45 (1033 views)
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Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Brian J. Murrell <brian [at] interlinx>wrote:

> On 12-01-10 04:52 PM, Matt Emmott wrote:
> >
> > Nice to see that they're making it touchscreen-compatible. I built an
> HTPC
> > a couple years ago with a Dell all-in-one touchscreen system and it
> worked
> > fairly well, but not having a "back" on-screen button in Myth or XBMC
> made
> > it a little cumbersome.
>
> A touchscreen television? Didn't the concept of having to go to the
> television to select something go away with the remote control?
>
> How does a remote control map to a touch interface? The best I can
> think of would be a Wii type interface were the remote moves a finger
> around the screen touching things. Very cumbersome.
>
> Another place where they are trying to ram a "touchscreen" interface in
> where it doesn't belong -- just like they are doing with on traditional
> keyboard-and-mouse platforms.
>
> Unity is horrible on a computer with a mouse and keyboard.
>

You're being one-dimensional with what MythTV and its ilk can do. My
project wasn't meant to be a TV, it was a media hub for the kitchen. Get
home, tap a couple things, play media. It had apps like XBMC and MythTV for
media, and I used Chrome to app-i-size some websites like Pandora and
Napster. Worked pretty well overall.

I sold the box last year when I needed the money and haven't gotten around
to building a new one. I threw up a couple pics at http://imgur.com/a/x3lye

brian at interlinx

Jan 10, 2012, 2:22 PM

Post #12 of 45 (1025 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On 12-01-10 05:16 PM, Matt Emmott wrote:
>
> You're being one-dimensional

I don't think I am.

> My
> project wasn't meant to be a TV,

Ahhh. So don't call it a TV then. Canonical are calling their project
"Ubuntu TV". To me, at least, that means it's a TV.

> it was a media hub for the kitchen.

A "media hub" != "TV", IMHO.

> Get
> home, tap a couple things, play media.

But surely you don't do that (I mean walk up and touch the screen) on
the 50" _TV_ you have mounted on the wall above your fireplace, right?
I mean given that my point was entirely about the usability of a touch
interface on a TV.

b.

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memmott at gmail

Jan 10, 2012, 2:39 PM

Post #13 of 45 (1022 views)
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Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Brian J. Murrell <brian [at] interlinx>wrote:

> On 12-01-10 05:16 PM, Matt Emmott wrote:
> >
> > You're being one-dimensional
>
> I don't think I am.
>
> > My
> > project wasn't meant to be a TV,
>
> Ahhh. So don't call it a TV then. Canonical are calling their project
> "Ubuntu TV". To me, at least, that means it's a TV.
>
> > it was a media hub for the kitchen.
>
> A "media hub" != "TV", IMHO.
>
> > Get
> > home, tap a couple things, play media.
>
> But surely you don't do that (I mean walk up and touch the screen) on
> the 50" _TV_ you have mounted on the wall above your fireplace, right?
> I mean given that my point was entirely about the usability of a touch
> interface on a TV.
>
> b

You had responded to my comment that I was glad to see touchscreen support,
because of my previous experience with an HTPC build I had done. So, that
was the context of my reply.

I don't think there are many touchscreen 50" HDTVs out there, so I hadn't
even considered that scenario. That being said, I would love for my 60" TV
to be touchscreen - I tend to have stuff running in the background no
matter what I'm doing and it's a PITA to get home, sit on the couch, cycle
through what I want, launch it, then get back up again. How awesome would
it be to just walk by my TV, tap it a couple times, and have everything
playing?

But, back to the context of my previous comment - I was happy for the
touchscreen capability being there, not for my primary tv, but for my
satellite viewers. I would love for the smaller HTPC boxes I have around
the house (kitchen, garage, basement, office) to be fire-and-forget style,
where I can just tap and go, as opposed to the immersion of the living room
TV.

snharris99 at live

Jan 10, 2012, 4:03 PM

Post #14 of 45 (1029 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

>SNIP How awesome would it be to just walk by my TV, tap it a couple times,
>and have everything playing?

Great until my OCD kicked in and I saw the finger prints all over my TV
screen. Iâ€™ll pass on putting my grimy fingers on the TV screen that I want
to sit down and watch. Now, if you want to rig up a [hidden] Kinect type
system Ã la Minorty Report into my MythTV setup, I am 100% down with that.

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raymond at wagnerrp

Jan 10, 2012, 4:48 PM

Post #15 of 45 (1022 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On 1/10/2012 19:03, Scott & Nicole Harris wrote:
>> SNIP How awesome would it be to just walk by my TV, tap it a couple times,
>> and have everything playing?
> Now, if you want to rig up a [hidden] Kinect type system Ã la Minorty Report
> into my MythTV setup, I am 100% down with that.

Of course any reference to Minority Report isn't complete without
something like this...

http://okcancel.com/comic/3.html
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ron at ronfrazier

Jan 10, 2012, 7:39 PM

Post #16 of 45 (1014 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Brian J. Murrell <brian [at] interlinx> wrote:
> On 12-01-10 05:16 PM, Matt Emmott wrote:
>>
>> You're being one-dimensional
>
> I don't think I am.
>
>> My
>> project wasn't meant to be a TV,
>
> Ahhh. So don't call it a TV then.

Well, then it's a good thing that in his entire post, he didn't ONCE
use the word TV, except in the names "Ubuntu TV" and "ReplayTV". You
did notice that, right?

--
Ron Frazier
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ryan.goat at gmail

Jan 11, 2012, 4:19 AM

Post #17 of 45 (997 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 10:39 PM, Ronald Frazier <ron [at] ronfrazier> wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Brian J. Murrell <brian [at] interlinx> wrote:
>> Ahhh. So don't call it a TV then.
>
> Well, then it's a good thing that in his entire post, he didn't ONCE
> use the word TV, except in the names "Ubuntu TV" and "ReplayTV". You
> did notice that, right?

But he did respond in a thread that is explicitly discussing "Ubuntu
TV", which is designed to run on. . . TV's. Also very important, HTPC
means "Home Theater Personal Computer". That implies that the visual
interface for the HTPC is a large theater like screen. Maybe even a
TV that you usually sit ten+ feet away from. The counter-top device
that sits in the kitchen that he later described is not a HTPC.

I have to agree, touchscreen functionality for a home theater TV user
interface is a horrible idea. A tablet or counter-top user interface
that can access content served from mythbackend/ubuntuTV-server on the
other hand, those could work with a touchscreen interface very well.

-Ryan
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ron at ronfrazier

Jan 11, 2012, 4:49 AM

Post #18 of 45 (991 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 7:19 AM, Ryan Patterson <ryan.goat [at] gmail> wrote:
> But he did respond in a thread that is explicitly discussing "Ubuntu
> TV", which is designed to run on. . . TV's. Also very important, HTPC
> means "Home Theater Personal Computer". That implies that the visual
> interface for the HTPC is a large theater like screen. Maybe even a
> TV that you usually sit ten+ feet away from. The counter-top device
> that sits in the kitchen that he later described is not a HTPC.

Lets say in your house, you've got 3 pretty much identical computer.
All 3 have the same processor, same memory, same graphics card. All 3
have a digital TV capture card hooked up to your cable or antenna. The
all run the exact same software, with a user interface that is
designed around viewing and managing TV recordings and video files.
One of these computers is in your living room hooked up to a 60" TV.
One of them is in your bedroom hooked up to a 24" TV. And one of them
is in your kitchen hooked up to a 24" touchscreen monitor. So which
ones are considered HTPCs and which ones are not? All 3 are used for
the same purpose.

Sorry, but the term HTPC has expanded beyond what you think of. If
it's a general purpose computer that is configured around the idea of
media playback being its primary purpose, that's pretty much an HTPC.

--
Ron Frazier
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richard.e.morton at gmail

Jan 11, 2012, 6:15 AM

Post #19 of 45 (993 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

Please excuse brevity and pistakes as this email was composed on an Android
smartphone.

Thanks and best regards
Richard Morton

On Jan 11, 2012 12:50 PM, "Ronald Frazier" <ron [at] ronfrazier> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 7:19 AM, Ryan Patterson <ryan.goat [at] gmail>
wrote:
> > But he did respond in a thread that is explicitly discussing "Ubuntu
> > TV", which is designed to run on. . . TV's. Also very important, HTPC
> > means "Home Theater Personal Computer". That implies that the visual
> > interface for the HTPC is a large theater like screen. Maybe even a
> > TV that you usually sit ten+ feet away from. The counter-top device
> > that sits in the kitchen that he later described is not a HTPC.
>
> Lets say in your house, you've got 3 pretty much identical computer.
> All 3 have the same processor, same memory, same graphics card. All 3
> have a digital TV capture card hooked up to your cable or antenna. The
> all run the exact same software, with a user interface that is
> designed around viewing and managing TV recordings and video files.
> One of these computers is in your living room hooked up to a 60" TV.
> One of them is in your bedroom hooked up to a 24" TV. And one of them
> is in your kitchen hooked up to a 24" touchscreen monitor. So which
> ones are considered HTPCs and which ones are not? All 3 are used for
> the same purpose.
>
> Sorry, but the term HTPC has expanded beyond what you think of.

Along time ago this strict definition was expanded like you day. How many
home theatres do you have in a mansion? 1? By inference of multiple front
ends myth tv is designed to be used in other rooms...

Touch interface for a kitchenis a great and many other htpc systems support
touch.

If
> it's a general purpose computer that is configured around the idea of
> media playback being its primary purpose, that's pretty much an HTPC.
>
> --
> Ron Frazier
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users [at] mythtv
> http://www.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

mikep at randomtraveller

Jan 11, 2012, 7:34 AM

Post #20 of 45 (979 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On 11/01/12 12:19, Ryan Patterson wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 10:39 PM, Ronald Frazier<ron [at] ronfrazier> wrote:
>> On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Brian J. Murrell<brian [at] interlinx> wrote:
>>> Ahhh. So don't call it a TV then.
>>
>> Well, then it's a good thing that in his entire post, he didn't ONCE
>> use the word TV, except in the names "Ubuntu TV" and "ReplayTV". You
>> did notice that, right?
>
> But he did respond in a thread that is explicitly discussing "Ubuntu
> TV", which is designed to run on. . . TV's. Also very important, HTPC
> means "Home Theater Personal Computer". That implies that the visual
> interface for the HTPC is a large theater like screen. Maybe even a
> TV that you usually sit ten+ feet away from. The counter-top device
> that sits in the kitchen that he later described is not a HTPC.
>
> I have to agree, touchscreen functionality for a home theater TV user
> interface is a horrible idea. A tablet or counter-top user interface
> that can access content served from mythbackend/ubuntuTV-server on the
> other hand, those could work with a touchscreen interface very well.
>
You obviously didn't see the news item on the BBC News last night... where they
demonstrated, at some tech fair (I can't remember which one or where) an
Internet-connected TV from one of the big far-east manufacturers. This was shown
being operated at the proverbial ten foot distance by a demonstrator holding
a... tablet remote control.

It looks like remote controls are all going to converge into a single device
which can control everything in your living/other room, also performing the
search/selection functions along the way. That way you'd have the schedule
information at your fingertips rather than a great distance away.

Ideally, of course, these manufacturers want to converge all your entertainment
on one display device (theirs), with 'content' accessable only from their own
portals over the Internet. Do we wonder why Apple and Google (amongst others)
are looking closely at this market?

--

Mike Perkins

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neilcoo at yahoo

Jan 11, 2012, 9:38 AM

Post #21 of 45 (970 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

--- On Tue, 1/10/12, Matt Emmott <memmott [at] gmail> wrote:

From: Matt Emmott <memmott [at] gmail>
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Ubuntu TV
To: "Discussion about MythTV" <mythtv-users [at] mythtv>
Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 3:39 PM

On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Brian J. Murrell <brian [at] interlinx> wrote:

On 12-01-10 05:16 PM, Matt Emmott wrote:

>

> You're being one-dimensional

I don't think I am.

> My

> project wasn't meant to be a TV,

Ahhh. So don't call it a TV then. Canonical are calling their project

"Ubuntu TV". To me, at least, that means it's a TV.

> it was a media hub for the kitchen.

A "media hub" != "TV", IMHO.

> Get

> home, tap a couple things, play media.

But surely you don't do that (I mean walk up and touch the screen) on

the 50" _TV_ you have mounted on the wall above your fireplace, right?

I mean given that my point was entirely about the usability of a touch

interface on a TV.

bYou had responded to my comment that I was glad to see touchscreen support, because of my previous experience with an HTPC build I had done. So, that was the context of my reply.

I don't think there are many touchscreen 50" HDTVs out there, so I hadn't even considered that scenario. That being said, I would love for my 60" TV to be touchscreen - I tend to have stuff running in the background no matter what I'm doing and it's a PITA to get home, sit on the couch, cycle through what I want, launch it, then get back up again. How awesome would it be to just walk by my TV, tap it a couple times, and have everything playing?

But, back to the context of my previous comment - I was happy for the touchscreen capability being there, not for my primary tv, but for my satellite viewers. I would love for the smaller HTPC boxes I have around the house (kitchen, garage, basement, office) to be fire-and-forget style, where I can just tap and go, as opposed to the immersion of the living room TV.

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>> That being said, I would love for my 60" TV to be touchscreen

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't. Touchscreens need a layer of not-quite-visually-invisible sensor over the screen which degreades the picture quality greatly. As also does all the greasy fingermarks that we as humans can't help but leave on touchscreens.

As for the look of UbuntuTV... I think it looks horrible. I have over 1000 movies, I cant imagine working with a mediacenter that wastes so much screenspace on whitespace and redundant prettyness that it can only display 6 titles at a time.

Ubuntu seem to have entirely lost the plot with GUI design. I've switched from Ubuntu to Mint just to get away from the unity insanity.
You know Ubntu have gone way too far when they clearly prioritise their idea of "visually pleasing" even over usability. they're basically ignoring the whole purpose and use of a GUI.

eric at lisaneric

Jan 11, 2012, 10:01 AM

Post #22 of 45 (967 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 12:38 PM, Neil Cooper <neilcoo [at] yahoo> wrote:
> Touchscreens need a layer of not-quite-visually-invisible sensor over the screen
> which degreades the picture quality greatly.

Somewhat, but not greatly. My 800x480 4" cell phone touch screen can
appear to have a much sharper image than my 1920x1080 52" non-touch
screen, so having touch certainly isn't a deal breaker.

> As also does all the greasy fingermarks that we as humans can't help but leave
> on touchscreens.

Meh. The three little humans who live in my house have already
covered the non-touchscreens with greasy fingermarks anyway, so this
doesn't seem like a big difference.

Eric
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jedi at mishnet

Jan 11, 2012, 10:37 AM

Post #23 of 45 (966 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 05:16:22PM -0500, Matt Emmott wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 10, 2012 at 5:07 PM, Brian J. Murrell <brian [at] interlinx>wrote:
>
> > On 12-01-10 04:52 PM, Matt Emmott wrote:
> > >
> > > Nice to see that they're making it touchscreen-compatible. I built an
> > HTPC
> > > a couple years ago with a Dell all-in-one touchscreen system and it
> > worked
> > > fairly well, but not having a "back" on-screen button in Myth or XBMC
> > made
> > > it a little cumbersome.
> >
> > A touchscreen television? Didn't the concept of having to go to the
> > television to select something go away with the remote control?
> >
> > How does a remote control map to a touch interface? The best I can
> > think of would be a Wii type interface were the remote moves a finger
> > around the screen touching things. Very cumbersome.
> >
> > Another place where they are trying to ram a "touchscreen" interface in
> > where it doesn't belong -- just like they are doing with on traditional
> > keyboard-and-mouse platforms.
> >
> > Unity is horrible on a computer with a mouse and keyboard.
> >
>
> You're being one-dimensional with what MythTV and its ilk can do. My
> project wasn't meant to be a TV, it was a media hub for the kitchen. Get

Point your remote in the general direction of the living room or
family room and click away. No need for another box in the kitchen in
a remotely modern house.

[deletia]
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richard.e.morton at gmail

Jan 11, 2012, 10:50 AM

Post #24 of 45 (968 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

Not every house is open plan... How can I watch tv, listen to music in the
kitchen without a ' media hub'

R

Please excuse brevity and pistakes as this email was composed on an Android
smartphone.

Thanks and best regards
Richard Morton

raymond at wagnerrp

Jan 11, 2012, 11:08 AM

Post #25 of 45 (966 views)
Permalink

Re: Ubuntu TV [In reply to]

On 1/11/2012 13:37, jedi wrote:
>>> Another place where they are trying to ram a "touchscreen" interface in
>>> where it doesn't belong -- just like they are doing with on traditional
>>> keyboard-and-mouse platforms.
>>>
>> You're being one-dimensional with what MythTV and its ilk can do. My
>> project wasn't meant to be a TV, it was a media hub for the kitchen. Get
> Point your remote in the general direction of the living room or
> family room and click away. No need for another box in the kitchen in
> a remotely modern house.

Perhaps someone is watching something different in the family room.
Perhaps you want to pull up a website, or display a recipe. Perhaps you
give it a barcode scanner and have it monitor your pantry, building
dinner suggestions and printing shopping lists. There are plenty of
reasons as to why a computer in the kitchen could be useful.
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