Why Linux for media PC? Redux - Page 3

Viva la Cornholio!

Curiously, I've just returned from a summer vacation at Lake Titicaca

I guess there *is* valuable content there for 40+ visitors- plays fine in Firefox on Linux- I don't plan to use Mythweb/stream.

Seriously, I was referring to the music content- nothing wortwhile has been written after about 1987 or so, save for some grunge from the 90's . The Good Stuff like 70's/80's Genesis, Yes, Rush, Pink Floyd, and the like are not represented well at MTV any longer.

Lately I've been having fun with Indie stuff and cbc.radio3.ca -esque stuff, plus neo-prog groups like Porcupine Tree in recent years- mostly non-RIAA as far as I know

I never used anything other than Tmpg DVD Author on Windows, so I prefer minimalist, clean, bloat free DVD and video editing tools, a common characteristic of Linux apps. Some might consider Tmpg's interface "awful" if you are measuring against the Roxio/Ulead/Pinnacle/Cyberlink "wizard" style Dick & Jane See-dog-run stuff. And I don't need/want the Adobe/Sonic/DVD-lab/Scenarist level either.

The latest DeVeDe and ManDVD on Linux are Tmpg-like in their minimalist design, with the added bonus of video codec conversion built in. Q DVD Author is making steady progress, as well as DVDStyler.

Here's an overview, though all the apps have been rev'ed several times since the article:
http://www.linux.com/feature/118910

As a bonus, basically all the A/V tools I used on XP work fine on Linux under Wine: Tmpg DVD Author 1.6 (probably later versions work, but the last I on used on Xp was 1.6), DVD Shrink, DVD Fab, AVI-Mux. HDTV2MPEG2, CDex, Irfanview, IMGburn and others. There are Linux native functional equivalents for most of these.

VLC, Nero, Avidemux and Audacity are Linux native versions.

The rest is handled by native Kino, Kdenlive, K3B, etc.

I was exaggerating just a little when I said "nothing good written after 1987"- you just ain't gonna hear recent vintage Good Stuff on the radio or the MTV's of the world- the Sufjan Steven's, Marillion's, Porcupine Trees, Bucketheads of the world

..you just have to work a little harder to find them.

P.S- His Highness sends greetings from Lake Titicaca, who most voraciously accepted my tribute of TP

Reason #2467 for using Linux over Windows:

http://digg.com/software/Got_A_Pirat...t_to_be_Nagged

http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/arch...be_nagged.html

From the digg discussion, I'm amazed how many people still openly claim to use pirated/unauthorized copies of XP, and are willing to undergo the gyrations and hacks to avoid the WGA and other nonsense like PowerDVD updates for BluRay DRM changes just to use it- and no, it doesn't matter if you are adept at finding warez'd versions of XP/PowerDVD and/or find hacking XP/Vista to remove protections/WGA "trivial".

I wish the Windoze gamerz would just grow up and recognize their addiction is only hurting them in the long run. I was a PC "gamerz" type in the Golden Age of DOS gaming circa 1991-1996, chasing new sound cards, video cards and CPU upgrades to play the latest games then- nothing's changed. And then I grew up.

I wonder how many forum members in the Windows area use warez'd/corporate license copies of XP/Vista or PowerDVD and AnyDVD HD, or pay for one license and use it on multiple computers?

The point is, you just can't do that any longer, whether for legal, ethical, and/or practical reasons.

re: BluRay issues on Windows

Here's another side...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post14563156

I've had no issue with my Ubuntu/Mint 7.10/8.04x boxes 1:1 pixel mapping automagically with all my displays- Epson HC400 720p projector, Envision 22" 1680x1050 LCD over VGA and DVI, Acer 1920x1200 24" LCD over VGA and HDMI, and a 42" Olevia over HDMI and VGA. The best thing to do a priori is to buy displays that pixel map from a *computer* in the first place- displays that don't are at fault, not any OS in particular (whether it's OSX, Linux or Windows).

And yes, I've levied this same rant all over avsforum the past 8+ years- the projector, panel and Windows forums- DON"T BUY A PROJECTOR/PANEL THAT DOESN'T PIXEL MAP FROM A COMPUTER OUT OF THE BOX!!! There are SO many that do at this point (probably most panels and projectors on shelves now), it amazes me that scanrate/timing/scaling issues are *Still* being brought up in 2008!?

I did the same vetting of displays when I used Win98SE and XP on my projectors- I would never buy a display that didn't pixel map from a computer (any computer or OS) that was set to a desktop resolution and refresh rate matching the native resolution and refresh rate of the display.

In the history of avsforum, Sony displays- panels, RPTVs and front projectors- have ALWAYS been on the top of the list of displays that don't pixel map/sync well with computers- any computer or OS. Sony tends to scale (overscan/underscan) VGA and/or HDMI/DVI inputs whether you want them to or not, and/or have funky refresh/resolution restrictions. A simple forum search and forum archive search will clearly demonstrate this.

That said, I'm certain you could edit the xorg.cong file manually to get the numbers your display wants- no different than the manual monitor.inf file editing we did on Win98SE or in the early days of XP on HTPC's, or the manual input of display scan rates needed even in the Nvidia "custom resolution" gui in their control panel or the old Powerstrip custom res systray tool.

You might want to start a new thread so others can chime in on your Sony display pixel mapping issues specifically.

Didn't intend to offend anyone with the pixel mapping rant- just a pet peeve of mine. It's the displays fault for not pixel mapping, not any particular computer's, OS or driver (in 99% of cases).

Use the test pattern attached.

Download and double click to view, then use the picture viewer's "set as wallpaper" pick- varies depending on image/picture viewer. Or set as wallpaper manually- varies by desktop (Gnome/KDE/etc) and/or distro.

Use the Display Properties on your desktop to make the test patter "tiled", not scaled. Be sure you keep the test pattern as GIF or uncompressed BMP, not JPG or other lossy format- it will destroy the 1-pixel-ness of the image.

If you are pixel mapping, the test pattern should be clear and distinct single pixel lines, no moire patterns or fuzziness/blurriness.

See

http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/s...threadid=90884

for more detail, from the "good ole days" of these forums

The thread has simulations of how the test pattern is corrupted when you are not pixel mapping.

No.

"Pixel mapping" has no meaning with a CRT anyways- I assume you are referring to custom timings to make your CRT sync to a Linux box?

I haven't bought a Sony product in about 10 years...

It sounds like the set is several years old. My suggestion would be to sell it and buy an LCD panel or LCD RPTV that is known to do 1:1 mapping from a computer, which is probably most models on shelves now.

Some people take offense when you tell them to "get with the program"

I've bought/sold so much AV and PC equipment in the past 20 years it would make your head spin...

But seriously, this is 2008- there is ZERO excuse for not buying a TV with VGA, DVI/HDMI and all the other inputs, and ensuring you get a set that has "passthrough", 1:1, or similar "no scaling' or "no overscan" menu option, which is very easy to do at this time.

The whole "custom timings" from a PC's video card was just a kludge for old non-digital sets that couldn't lock to standard PC scan rates. Nearly every HDTV with VGA and HDMI or DVI inputs now is just a big "PC monitor" and should trivially allow 1:1 mapping, i.e. a no-scaling/no-overscan option.

To be more specific, the KDL-40V3000 appears to be a 1920x1080p panel

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Produ...40V3000&tp=161

To do 1:1 pixel mapping, you need to set your PC desktop resolution to 1920x1080, which should happen automatically if you connect the PC to the set via VGA or HDMI using an Nvidia card and the latest Nvidia 173.xxx driver via EnvyNG auto-install (see sticky thread in the Linux forum).

If the Linux desktop (Gnome, KDE, etc) doesn't auto-set to 1920x1080, just use the Nvidia X Server Settings control panel to set it (just like Display Properties in Windows). You should launch the control panel as root (sudo) to make the resolution change stick (i.e. Save Xorg.Conf pick in the Nvidia control panel).

You can then use the test pattern and procedure I posted earlier to ensure 1:1 mapping- the manual for your set on page 32 (at the Crutchfield link, left side)
http://akamaipix.crutchfield.com/Man...15840V3000.PDF

shows that the menu item Screen->Auto Adjust should "snap" the image to 1:1, with phase and "pitch" adjustments possible over analog VGA. HDMI shouldn't need any manual tweaking- at least that's how most other brand's panels work.

Also, on your remote, the "Wide" button purportedly has a Normal mode, which "Displays the picture in its original resolution and aspect ratio", which appears to mean "no scaling" and "1:1", but you'd have to verify with the test pattern given Sony's track record with scaling and VGA/DVI inputs.

...which is why I only buy LCD's

How is the burn in issue with current model plasmas? I have been tempted by the contrast/blacks/dynamic range of plasma, but computer compatibility keeps me with LCD. The $999 or less prices for top tier 768p 50" plasmas like Samsungs I've seen recently have been very enticing.

LCD's have made year over year improvements in contrast, black level and dynamic range, with variable LED backlighting really taking off. The gap keeps getting more narrow year over year re: picture quality.

DLP and DiLA (LCOS) RPTV's and front projectors are relevant to pixel mapping also, but I think rear projection is going the way of the dodo with the low cost of front projectors and >50" panels below $1000 (usually plasma, but 50" LCD panels are getting close). And those panel sizes will only get bigger at the $1000 price point.

Basically people go with the biggest panel they can afford, and if they want an even bigger picture, add an $89 7-8ft wide manual screen and ~$600-$900 720p projector to fill the "big picture" gap for special events- movie time and sports.

I only use Myth for DVR/PVR tuner card control. I say "only" but with the schedulesdirect program guide info and the Mythweb interface, it's *really* nice for tuner card control- ATSC/QAM digital and analog cable.

For "front end" style media playback, the top runner at the moment is probably XBMC. I plan to do a combo Myth/XBMC setup- myth for tuner card control, and XBMC for front-end style media playback.

http://xbmc.org/

http://xbmc.org/download/

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?p=185738

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1067758

Geexbox is a fun quick and dirty media player distro, turning any PC into a set top box:

http://www.geexbox.org/en/index.html

The cool thing about Geexbox is its ridiculously low hardware requirements- no hard drive required! Perfect for making network/wifi/DVD-ROM only set tops/front ends. The development versions support HDTV resolutions:

http://www.geexbox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9932

http://www.geexbox.org/forum/viewfor...40dc1eaf3aa1a1

No excuse not to try Geexbox- boots from CD/USB without touching your OS drive.

Another alternative is Freevo, but its focus is also PVR/DVR-

http://freevo.sourceforge.net/

A commercial option is SageTV

http://www.sagetv.com/download.html

If you don't need a 10' interface/set-top-like interface, the best media players for a desktop environment are VLC for DVD playback (VLC supports remotes via lirc)

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

and SMplayer/mplayer for all other video files/formats (VLC doesn't play HD mkv's well yet)-

http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/
http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/downloads.php

KMplayer is also nice to have in your media player repertoire, since it is a multi-purpose front end for xine and ffmpeg in addition to mplayer:

http://kmplayer.kde.org/screenshots.php


For desktop audio players, there's Amarok/Exaile, Rythmbox, Banshee, Songbird for music manager style, and Audacious or XMMS for Winamp 2.x style. VLC and SMplayer do audio playback, of course, as well as the front end/media center style stuff mentioned above.

Other audio/music options:

http://www.ubuntugeek.com/ubuntu-med...-overview.html

http://www.anewmorning.com/2008/05/2...audio-players/

http://www.listen-project.org/

Aqualung is looking interesting-

http://aqualung.factorial.hu/home.html

This is a *very* exciting time to be using/switching to Linux. The year-year adoption growth rate over the past 2-3 years has been astounding. Yes, the absolute usage numbers of Win/OSX are obviously higher at the moment- it's the relative growth rates that matter now:

http://marketshare.hitslink.com/report.aspx?qprid=9

Linux is on the cusp of "breaking out". Think exponential growth curve shape- we've been on the "flat" part up until recently- now Linux adoption is moving onto the "nose" of the curve. I think most converts are not as much "Windows refugees"/"MS haters"/"FOSS fanboys" as they are "DRM refugees" and "closed/proprietary-ness refugees", which means converts from both Apple and MS...