Currently only h264 support is working, and I haven't tested it yet, but to install --> http://xbmc.org/forum/showpost.php?p=284042&postcount=268

The thread is here --> http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40362

Assuming the ION will be reasonably priced, that's going to make a perfect frontend. :)

Is VDPAU supported on the GeForce 8200 motherboard onboard chipset?

Yes, the 8200 is a G98 card, full VDPAU support. You will need to allocate 512MB to it in the BIOS though.

If anyone's considering building a screen, I've just finished my Mega Screen, detailed over here (http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/projector-screens-diy-screens/16799-mega-screen-black-widow-flavor.html).

Please don't mention this in the screens forum though, as that mod is censor-happy and very restrictive. He warned me not to post there again, so fair enough, I've put up my procedure on the forum which pioneered Black Widow.

Wow. Looks like the linux world is getting GPU-accelerated XBMC before the windows world.

VDPAU freaking rocks. A few weeks ago I got it set up with my ancient Athlon 64 + 8800gt rig, and 1080p h264 playback is perfect. I wanted to test VDPAU with my existing hardware before I bought a passive 9500gt. $50 later my otherwise-obsolete PC plays HD h264 encodes. Awesome.

I don't see VDPAU pushing nVidia's ION platform ... instead, I see a collective cheer as everyone's "spare" hardware is suddenly capable of HD playback with a a $30-$50 video card.

Now, if ION end up retailing for $30-50 ... :)

Wow. Looks like the linux world is getting GPU-accelerated XBMC before the windows world.

VDPAU freaking rocks. A few weeks ago I got it set up with my ancient Athlon 64 + 8800gt rig, and 1080p h264 playback is perfect. I wanted to test VDPAU with my existing hardware before I bought a passive 9500gt. $50 later my otherwise-obsolete PC plays HD h264 encodes. Awesome.

I don't see VDPAU pushing nVidia's ION platform ... instead, I see a collective cheer as everyone's "spare" hardware is suddenly capable of HD playback with a a $30-$50 video card.

Now, if ION end up retailing for $30-50 ... :)

I agree. It's a good day to be a linux user. :)

Also, I wasn't implying that nvidia was using vdpau to push ion -- I'm just personally excited about having such a small form-factor available to use as a frontend, ESPECIALLY if I can use xbmc's awesome UI to "run the show". It's exactly what I've been looking/hoping for!

VC-1 is reported to be working now, as well. :)

I'll test within a day or so (still organizing after my move and much stuff left to do).

motd2k:

Is 512 MB a specific requirement to enable all functionality? I think that my motherboard will only allow me to allocate 256 MB.

I can't wait to hear your results. Right now, my "development" box is down and I'm not yet willing to commit anything new to my "production" PC's. It needs a PSU and I'm too cheap to spend any money on it. I keep hoping to "come across" a chassis or PSU in a dumpster.

It will be very interesting to see how nVidia prices ION. If ION is priced higher than the popcorn hour (and I expect it will be), it'll basically guarantee ION is not in my theater.

Granted, ION can do more than the PCH. So we'll have to see how it's priced.

I haven't read all the VDPAU threads/posts, but does VDPAU enable tear-free video playback with compositing enabled (Compiz)?

I haven't read all the VDPAU threads/posts, but does VDPAU enable tear-free video playback with compositing enabled (Compiz)?

I think there may still be some issues on some gpus, so for now the recommendation is to have compositing disabled, but I'll test that with my setup, too, and let you know how it works for me.

I haven't read all the VDPAU threads/posts, but does VDPAU enable tear-free video playback with compositing enabled (Compiz)?
If you are talking about VDPAU in general (ie, aside from XBMC), I had to disable compositing to get tear-free video with my 8800gt and mplayer. There are a few compiz features I miss, but not enough that I'd give up gpu acceleration.

I can't wait to hear your results...
w00t! --> http://xbmc.org/forum/showpost.php?p=284843&postcount=303

Note that I don't get any tearing, but I do get mega-framedrops with compositing enabled. (I want to call it "composting", but it's just too cool, and I can't bring myself to do it :D)

Awesome news.
mega-framedrops with compositing enabled.
Is this with xbmc windowed or full screen?

[EDIT] I forgot you're on Kubuntu. So... without compositing, what does KDE look like? Is it still beautiful?

Yes, the 8200 is a G98 card, full VDPAU support. You will need to allocate 512MB to it in the BIOS though.

motd2k:

Is 512 MB a specific requirement to enable all functionality? I think that my motherboard will only allow me to allocate 256 MB.

any info on this? I've seen 512 mentioned several places as required.. but yet to be able to trace it back to a requirement in any VDPAU docs? I have the same concern.. my system only allows "auto" or 256M in BIOS. So I'm wondering what I will/won't see in terms of improvement.

Awesome news.

Is this with xbmc windowed or full screen?

[EDIT] I forgot you're on Kubuntu. So... without compositing, what does KDE look like? Is it still beautiful?
Full screen and yes, I love it!

any info on this? I've seen 512 mentioned several places as required.. but yet to be able to trace it back to a requirement in any VDPAU docs? I have the same concern.. my system only allows "auto" or 256M in BIOS. So I'm wondering what I will/won't see in terms of improvement.

The functionality is the same. The "set bios to 512" came from early-on testing with beta drivers -- it was needed for smooth playback. Whether or not this still holds true for 180.29, I don't know. It would be great i one of you guys would test it and let us know.

Full screen and yes, I love it!

The functionality is the same. The "set bios to 512" came from early-on testing with beta drivers -- it was needed for smooth playback. Whether or not this still holds true for 180.29, I don't know. It would be great i one of you guys would test it and let us know.

Test any VDPAU, or XBMC in particular?

I did a quick test of mplayer-vdpau yesterday and saw total-offload.. CPU was in the low single digits.

I'll look at getting the new xbmc and give that a whirl as well, tho it might be a few days for results (busy week).

Test any VDPAU, or XBMC in particular?

I did a quick test of mplayer-vdpau yesterday and saw total-offload.. CPU was in the low single digits.

I'll look at getting the new xbmc and give that a whirl as well, tho it might be a few days for results (busy week).
I meant any vdpau. If playback was smooth for you in mplayer, then it will be with anything else vdpau-enabled.

So, it appears that you've answered the question -- the on-board 8200 works with 256MB RAM allocated.

I meant any vdpau. If playback was smooth for you in mplayer, then it will be with anything else vdpau-enabled.

So, it appears that you've answered the question -- the on-board 8200 works with 256MB RAM allocated.

Yep. I've got xbmc compiling in the background (ssh to house)

Sweet!

Having trouble with "./configure"...

I followed the directions here:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45525
cd ~
svn co https://xbmc.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/xbmc/branches/xbmc-vdpau xbmc-vdpau
cd xbmc-vpdau/XBMC
./configure
make

But I get the following error upon issuing ./configure
jay@jay-desktop:~/xbmc-vdpau/XBMC$ ./configure
configure: Ensuring config.guess and config.sub exist and is executable
checking build system type... i686-pc-linux-gnu
checking host system type... i686-pc-linux-gnu
checking for ccache... none
checking for g++... g++
checking for C++ compiler default output file name... a.out
checking whether the C++ compiler works... yes
checking whether we are cross compiling... no
checking for suffix of executables...
checking for suffix of object files... o
checking whether we are using the GNU C++ compiler... yes
checking whether g++ accepts -g... yes
checking for gcc... gcc
checking whether we are using the GNU C compiler... yes
checking whether gcc accepts -g... yes
checking for gcc option to accept ISO C89... none needed
checking for gawk... gawk
checking whether ln -s works... yes
checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... yes
checking how to run the C preprocessor... g++ -E
checking for grep that handles long lines and -e... /bin/grep
checking for egrep... /bin/grep -E
checking for ANSI C header files... yes
checking for sys/types.h... yes
checking for sys/stat.h... yes
checking for stdlib.h... yes
checking for string.h... yes
checking for memory.h... yes
checking for strings.h... yes
checking for inttypes.h... yes
checking for stdint.h... yes
checking for unistd.h... yes
checking boost/shared_ptr.hpp usability... no
checking boost/shared_ptr.hpp presence... no
checking for boost/shared_ptr.hpp... no
configure: error: ERROR: Could not find a required library. Please see README.linux

I am too inexperienced to understand what to do with this error. Anyone have any ideas? I am not registered on the xbmc forums, but I will if no one has any ideas.

Having trouble with "./configure"...

I followed the directions here:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45525
cd ~
svn co https://xbmc.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/xbmc/branches/xbmc-vdpau xbmc-vdpau
cd xbmc-vpdau/XBMC
./configure
make

But I get the following error upon issuing ./configure
jay@jay-desktop:~/xbmc-vdpau/XBMC$ ./configure
configure: Ensuring config.guess and config.sub exist and is executable
checking build system type... i686-pc-linux-gnu
checking host system type... i686-pc-linux-gnu
checking for ccache... none
checking for g++... g++
checking for C++ compiler default output file name... a.out
checking whether the C++ compiler works... yes
checking whether we are cross compiling... no
checking for suffix of executables...
checking for suffix of object files... o
checking whether we are using the GNU C++ compiler... yes
checking whether g++ accepts -g... yes
checking for gcc... gcc
checking whether we are using the GNU C compiler... yes
checking whether gcc accepts -g... yes
checking for gcc option to accept ISO C89... none needed
checking for gawk... gawk
checking whether ln -s works... yes
checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... yes
checking how to run the C preprocessor... g++ -E
checking for grep that handles long lines and -e... /bin/grep
checking for egrep... /bin/grep -E
checking for ANSI C header files... yes
checking for sys/types.h... yes
checking for sys/stat.h... yes
checking for stdlib.h... yes
checking for string.h... yes
checking for memory.h... yes
checking for strings.h... yes
checking for inttypes.h... yes
checking for stdint.h... yes
checking for unistd.h... yes
checking boost/shared_ptr.hpp usability... no
checking boost/shared_ptr.hpp presence... no
checking for boost/shared_ptr.hpp... no
configure: error: ERROR: Could not find a required library. Please see README.linux

I am too inexperienced to understand what to do with this error. Anyone have any ideas? I am not registered on the xbmc forums, but I will if no one has any ideas.

If you already were using XBMC (and the repository is still added), then run:
sudo apt-get build-dep xbmc
That will pull in the dependencies. Then run configure again.

If you already were using XBMC (and the repository is still added), then run:
sudo apt-get build-dep xbmc
That will pull in the dependencies. Then run configure again.

What if I already removed xbmc? I removed it by un-checking all the xbmc entries in synaptic. I also unchecked the xbmc sources in software sources.

I guess I'm know in a minute - I re-checked the xbmc sources and apt-get build-dep xbmc

[EDIT] Compiling now... thanks again mythmaster

Having trouble with "./configure"...

I followed the directions here:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45525
.....
checking boost/shared_ptr.hpp usability... no
checking boost/shared_ptr.hpp presence... no
checking for boost/shared_ptr.hpp... no
configure: error: ERROR: Could not find a required library. Please see README.linux


Section 3.1 of the README.linux, located in xbmc-vdpau/XBMC/.
libsdl-stretch-dev wasn't found (using ubuntu 8.10), removed it without any consequences, compiled successfully.

Regards

Success:
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/2183/screenshot000jw1.th.jpg (http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/2183/screenshot000jw1.jpg)
17% CPU usage with an Athlon 64 @ 2.4GHz, 2x512 DDR400, and a 8800gt. This motherboard, cpu and ram is about to become my new media server, and will get a 9500gt (or 9600 if I can find a passive one on sale). I'm skipping the G98 8400GS that is so popular because I need a little more horsepower for 1080i deinterlacing (I suspect the 8400gs doesn't have enough power for post processing). I have a 9500gt in my theater PC that works perfectly, and will likely buy the same card since it's currently on sale (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187034&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL021709&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL021709-_-DesktopGraphicsVideoCards-_-LI2B-_-14187034).

[EDIT] So, when I pause and un-pause, the sound continued at normal speed but the video starts playing in fast-forward! Only after I skip back and forth does it 're-sync' to the correct speed. I've tried this on a few ATSC encodes and some downloaded movie trailers.

Has anyone run into any heat issues with VDPAU on account of the typically small and poorly mounted chipset heatsinks found on most motherboards? I'm just wondering if I should maybe purchase a aftermarket heatsink prior to using this.

Also, just to verify, if you compile XBMC to support VDPAU, and don't run the install script, you can keep both versions on your machine correct?

Has anyone run into any heat issues with VDPAU on account of the typically small and poorly mounted chipset heatsinks found on most motherboards?
I assume you're referring to boards with integrated graphics. Based on the 8x00 and 9x00 motherboard threads in the main HTPC AVSforum, it seems that these chipsets do run quite hot. The Zotac 9300 board is the only one I know of that has a fan on the chipset. I assume yours has no active chipset cooling. Can you find a way to direct some air across the heat sink? Via case fans? From the other AVS threads and similar threads on SPCR, it seems just getting some air movement is enough to reduce temps considerably.

So, when I pause and un-pause, the sound continued at normal speed but the video starts playing in fast-forward! Only after I skip back and forth does it 're-sync' to the correct speed. I've tried this on a few ATSC encodes and some downloaded movie trailers.

Do you have "Adjust refresh rate" enabled in video player settings?

Has anyone run into any heat issues ...
Is there any way (zip ties, etc) to attach something like this 40mm Scythe fan for $3.45 (http://www.jab-tech.com/Scythe-Mini-Kaze-40mm-Silent-Mini-Fan-pr-3596.html) (jab-tech.com)? As beautiful as the Thermalright chipset coolers are, it might be easier (and cheaper!) to add a small fan.

Do you have "Adjust refresh rate" enabled in video player settings?
If I remember correctly, I looked at that I remember it being un-checked.

By the way, another slight issue I encountered is that XBMC wants to use the desktop refresh rate reported by gnome - regardless of the actual refresh rate (as reported by nvidia-settings). nVidia knows about this and offers this workaround (http://us.download.nvidia.com/XFree86/Linux-x86/169.07/README/chapter-07.html#id2546809):
Why is the refresh rate not reported correctly by utilities that use the XRandR X extension (e.g., the GNOME "Screen Resolution Preferences" panel, `xrandr -q`, etc)?

<snip>

You can use `nvidia-settings -q RefreshRate` to query the actual refresh rate on each display device.

This behavior can be disabled by setting the X configuration option "DynamicTwinView" to FALSE.
In my case, although nvidia-settings (and my monitor) reported 60Hz, gnome thought 50Hz. Thus, the default mode in XBMC was 1680x1050 @50Hz. After adding the above line to xorg.conf, gnome and XBMC both say 60Hz.

In my case, although nvidia-settings (and my monitor) reported 60Hz, gnome thought 50Hz. Thus, the default mode in XBMC was 1680x1050 @50Hz. After adding the above line to xorg.conf, gnome and XBMC both say 60Hz.
Same thing here (kde/xbmc say 50, nvidia says 60) -- thanks for the tip.

I had av sync probs until I turned on "Adjust refresh rate". Now, all is good after pausing/seeking.

This behavior can be disabled by setting the X configuration option "DynamicTwinView" to FALSE.

For sake of clarity, I should have mentioned that this gets added to the "device" section in xorg.conf, like this:
Option "DynamicTwinView" "false"

For sake of clarity, I should have mentioned that this gets added to the "device" section in xorg.conf, like this:
Option "DynamicTwinView" "false"

You can put it in the "Screen" section, too. ;)

BTW, it works for me, also...1920x1080@60Hz = :D

Just found the other thread here --> http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45525

Noise reduction is now working:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=287773#post287773

In a display of my linux noob-ness...

If I want to upgrade to a newer version of xbmc-vdpau, do I just delete the existing xbmc-vdpau folder and start over?

In a display of my linux noob-ness...

If I want to upgrade to a newer version of xbmc-vdpau, do I just delete the existing xbmc-vdpau folder and start over?
Nah. If you ran "make install", then cd to the XBMC directory and run "make uninstall". Then (even if you didn't install), I always run "svn update", then "make distclean" (although that prolly isn't necessary -- I like to be thorough), then "./configure" and "make".

Noise reduction is now working:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=287773#post287773
I have to confirm that noise reduction works miracles for HD content even on my 24" display. :)

If you already were using XBMC (and the repository is still added), then run:
sudo apt-get build-dep xbmc
That will pull in the dependencies. Then run configure again.
Similar problem. I'm finally re-building my media server (with a new 1TB drive!), and trying this
sudo apt-get build-dep xbmc
Yields this error:
slimserver@media-server:~$ sudo apt-get build-dep xbmc
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Package libcurl3-dev is a virtual package provided by:
libcurl4-openssl-dev 7.18.2-1ubuntu4.3
You should explicitly select one to install.
E: Package libcurl3-dev has no installation candidate
E: Failed to satisfy Build-Depends dependency for xbmc: libcurl3-dev

Both xbmc intrepid repositories are added and 'reloaded'. One thing I didn't do this time (that I did last time) was install the patched mplayer. This time I figured I'd just use xbmc exclusively. Is there something in mplayer-vdpau that I'm missing?

Hmm...a raging clue! :D
Package libcurl3-dev is a virtual package provided by:
libcurl4-openssl-dev 7.18.2-1ubuntu4.3
You should explicitly select one to install.
http://www.freewebs.com/typischemiel/hardly%20boys.jpg

Might be a raging clue to you, but not to me! This might as well be Old Norse.

So... apt-get install libcurl4-openssl-dev ??? Trying now...

[EDIT] Working! I guess I needed mythmaster's sexually ambiguous nudge...

The VDPAU branch just got merged into the main Linux source.

The SVN PPA builds now include VDPAU support --> http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=33327

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7070/farnsworth11hj.jpg

Just in case anyone cares, XBMC plays my ripped blu-ray files (m2ts) quite groove-a-licious-ly with vdpau accel.

Just in case anyone cares, XBMC plays my ripped blu-ray files (m2ts) quite groove-a-licious-ly with vdpau accel.

I care!

As a matter of fact, I posted this in one of the threads on xbmc.org and hadnt received any replies yet. Maybe you have some thoughts:

"Looking to do a low power build myself with HDMI and optical out for sound. Thinking of using the Celeron 430 1.8Ghz 35 watt for my CPU, but would go with the Sempron 45 watt you picked if the AMD motherboard is better suited.
BTW, this would do XBMC only and replace an xbox running xbmc. No files would be stored, no burning or ripping, everything is on a network server. No game play either."

I have priced it out, and using a dvd burner I already have and a 20gb sata HD I have laying around, I can put together a low power, low cost xbmc htpc for around $200.
Last thing, what hardware are you running?


Thanks in advance..........

Just in case anyone cares, XBMC plays my ripped blu-ray files (m2ts) quite groove-a-licious-ly with vdpau accel.
Probably because VDPAU cares only about the raw video stream (regardless of container), which it can accelerate. One of XBMC's greatest features is the vast number of containers it can open.

I received my BD/HD-DVD combo drive, and have a bunch of HD-DVDs on order. I'll test XBMC-VDPAU with HD-DVD's .evo files when I get them.

In the end, I'm going to have to repackage my rips into .mkv's. None of my windows aps play nice with .m2ts containers (except XBMC, which doesn't have GPU accel in Windows yet!). Mkv has been totally reliable for me.

I care!

As a matter of fact, I posted this in one of the threads on xbmc.org and hadnt received any replies yet. Maybe you have some thoughts:

"Looking to do a low power build myself with HDMI and optical out for sound. Thinking of using the Celeron 430 1.8Ghz 35 watt for my CPU, but would go with the Sempron 45 watt you picked if the AMD motherboard is better suited.
BTW, this would do XBMC only and replace an xbox running xbmc. No files would be stored, no burning or ripping, everything is on a network server. No game play either."

I have priced it out, and using a dvd burner I already have and a 20gb sata HD I have laying around, I can put together a low power, low cost xbmc htpc for around $200.
Last thing, what hardware are you running?


Thanks in advance..........

I think you'll be OK with that. My hardware's kind of overkill for just an HTPC frontend because I'm doing everything on this one box, so I wanted to have enough power for encoding. It's a Phenom 9850 (4 x 2.5GHz), 4GB DDR2 800, Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H, 550W Thermaltake PSU, 9300GS, 2 x 80GB Seagate in software RAID0, 250GB Seagate, Sony DVD burner, LITE-ON Blu-ray, Logitech Z-5500, Soyo 24" LCD (1920x1200 native), Gyration RF kb and remote/mouse, and Logitech RF Rumblepad 2 game controller. I'm about to install some MOSFET heatsinks, HVR-1800, my Zalman HSF, and move it to my Silverstone HTPC case (which has an opty in it atm), but I've been lazy. ;)

I just discovered a really nice feature in XBMC: debug mode. How you enable it depends on the skin you're running. In Aeon Stark, you get there through: Settings -> System -> "Enable Debug Logging"

One thing this does is display real time FPS RAM and CPU% counters. Very handy. I was getting some stuttering while browsing my library in "cover flow" mode. With debug mode enabled, I noticed I was only getting 20-30 fps while browsing. The fix was switching my v-sync setting to "enabled during video playback" only. No more stuttering.

I think it has to do with how v-sync works (the whole copy from back buffer deal). Quoting from this excellent explanation of v-sync (http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=928593):
with double-buffered VSync, the framerate can only be equal to a discrete set of values equal to Refresh / N where N is some positive integer. That means if you're talking about 60Hz refresh rate, the only framerates you can get are 60, 30, 20, 15, 12, 10, etc etc. You can see the big gap between 60 and 30 there. Any framerate between 60 and 30 your video card would normally put out would get dropped to 30.

Without v-sync in menus and library browses, navigation is WAY smooth.

Also, after living with re-scraping for the past few months, I have to say storing metadata and artwork locally is the only way to roll. I've never had good luck with any of the media info applications. Luckily, XBMC can export to NFO files on its own.

Why store artwork and NFO files locally?
Because you can get ultra high quality cover art from sites like getvideoartwork.com (http://getvideoartwork.com/) and 1920x1080 backdrops from www.themoviedb.org. This is generally much higher resolution than you can get through the default scrapers. Obscure films are difficult to find, but in most cases google's image results will return something you can use/modify.
Scraped movie info may be wrong, poorly formatted for your favorite skin, or annoying. With local NFO files, you have control over their content. Modify at will.
Scraping accuracy is hit-or miss. Especially with foreign and obscure titles - I see 60-70% accuracy across my whole library. "Darkon" is always identified as "Donnie Darko", for example. On the other hand, with local NFO files, "scraping" is 100% accurate because XBMC doesn't have to guess or ask you for help.
Scraping is time consuming. Picking the correct title, picking folder art, picking backdrops. If you have a large library, this gets very time consuming. With local files, you run 1 auto scan and you're done (with 100% accuracy).
Because you can BACK IT ALL UP. If you ever need to move your library to a different system, you have all your metadata and artwork already. No need to rescrape anything.
Deleting a movie is as easy as deleting a single folder.


To take advantage of this, each movie really needs to be stored in its own folder. The artwork and metadata will go into this folder later. This isn't 100% necessary, but will be much easier to manage than a single folder with tons of movies, NFOs and artwork. As an example, I might have:
folder = "\Movies\Millers Crossing"

\Movies\Millers Crossing\Millers Crossing.mkv
\Movies\Millers Crossing\movie.nfo
\Movies\Millers Crossing\movie.tbn
\Movies\Millers Crossing\fanart.jpg
Where,
- "Millers Crossing.mkv" is the movie
- "movie.nfo" is XML metadata
- "movie.tbn" is a 1000x1500 pixel jpeg (despite the file extension) used for cover art.
- "fanart.jpg" is a 1920x1080 backdrop.

XBMC can create all of these files for you. And it's very easy.
Get your movies into their own folders. After you do this, launch XBMC and clean your library (Settings, Videos, Library, Clean Library, you're sure). You should then have nothing in your library, since all the files it used to "see" have been moved into their own folders.
Rescan your library. What we're doing is re-building the database so that we can export it in a useful way. The thumbs and backdrops don't matter, since we'll replace them with high-quality ones later. For now, just make sure you're cool with the movie information you've scraped.
Go to the settings screen, find the area for library settings, and export the video database. XBMC will ask if you want to export to a single file or multiple files. Choose multiple files. This tells XBMC to generate individual NFO files, thumbnails and backdrops inside each movie's folder. Nice!
Now, close XBMC and find all the custom artwork you want and drop it into each movie's folder. The posters HAVE to be renamed "movie.tbn". The backdrops HAVE to be renamed "fanart.jpg".
Restart XBMC
Wipe your current library by setting media content on the parent folder to "none", it will ask if you want to delete everything in the library - say "yes"
Re-set media content to "movies", and run an automated scan. This will go very quickly compared to scraping online sources. Be default XBMC looks for local movie.nfo, movie.tbn, and fanart.jpg files before scraping online sources. It will load all the NFOs and cache all your local images.

Thanks! I hope you double-posted these tips in the XBMC forum, because I'm sure they'd appreciate it.

These tips are already there, just scattered around all over many separate threads. I've tried to register on their forum three times, with three different email addresses - I never get the confirmation email, and can't ever complete the registration. I've given up. The wiki and the forum search button usually answer any questions I have.

These tips are already there, just scattered around all over many separate threads. I've tried to register on their forum three times, with three different email addresses - I never get the confirmation email, and can't ever complete the registration. I've given up. The wiki and the forum search button usually answer any questions I have.

That's odd about the email, but I agree that the wiki and forums are quite informative. Have you tried emailing someone about the confirmation?

Have you tried emailing someone about the confirmation?
Naw. I might if there's ever something really pressing.

To add to my above "storing artwork locally" diatribe, here's a little google search-fu I just learned about. To find 1080p backdrops using google image seach, add this to your search string: imagesize:1920x1080. For example, searching for imagesize:1920x1080 "wall-e" will return only 1920x1080 size images from sites that specifically mention the phrase "wall-e".

Jay_S:

Thanks for the tip with respect to Aeon Stark and vsync, as well as the explanation. Unfortunately, one of my CPU cores jumps up to 100% if I don't have vsync always enabled. Any word on whether this is corrected in the upcoming 9.04 version of XBMC? If not, is there any way to correct it?

Thanks for the tip with respect to Aeon Stark and vsync, as well as the explanation. Unfortunately, one of my CPU cores jumps up to 100% if I don't have vsync always enabled. Any word on whether this is corrected in the upcoming 9.04 version of XBMC? If not, is there any way to correct it?
Wow. You're right. I have the same issue. Looking here (http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32159), seems just about everyone does, even the devs. There's a few suggestions, such as disabling "flipping", but they didn't help me. I think Aeon is just a little too much for my single core athlon 64! Still, even at 100% CPU, menu navigation is much smoother with v-sync disabled.

The irony is that playback of 1080p24 video only uses 10%.

[EDIT] Actually, using the mediastream skin also maxes my CPU.

I don't believe that this is a skin specific issue. Unfortunately none of the suggestions in that thread helped me either. My HTPC is still fully responsive with one core maxed out, but I don't like doing it for power/heat/noise reasons. Hopefully it will be resolved; please post if you hear anything.

These tips are already there, just scattered around all over many separate threads. I've tried to register on their forum three times, with three different email addresses - I never get the confirmation email, and can't ever complete the registration. I've given up. The wiki and the forum search button usually answer any questions I have.

That's usually due to your e-mail provider blocking it as "spam".

Did you try three different providers or just three different account on the same provider?


AFA the "saving local copies" issue is concerned, I wholehearted concur with your reasoning.

And as someone who has had to rerip my CD collection, I'm also a big believer in keeping a local CDDB so that I don't have to go through and fix all the errors and typos and bizarre capitalization or complete lack of capitalization again if I need to do a rerip.