Free Software Media Center
- Anmelden oder Registrieren um Kommentare zu schreiben
I am a member!
I just thought I'd post a little info about a new free software capable media center we are working on.
It will be centered around the same case as the Penguin Wee at: libre.thinkpenguin.com if all goes well.
It looks like at the moment it will probably run $349. It is capable of playing HD content.
It is currently in testing. The main problem users are going to face with a completely free version is a lack of non-infringing content.
If all goes well and there is an interst we will offer them in black as well.
I am a member!
> The main problem users are going to face with a completely free version is a lack of non-infringing content.
Maybe I don't understand what a "Free Software Media Center" should be, but what the content license has to do with the software ?
I am a member!
They don't really have anything to do with each other except that without content a media center is of little value.
A free software media center would be a little computer with remote that had no depencies on non-free drivers, firmware, or other software and could be hooked up to a TV. With a media center content gets streamed to the device (and TV) over the Internet. In other words users would not need a propritary peice of firmware to do HD decoding or have access to web sites that dependend on Adobe Flash's digital restrictions managment capabilities. Most media centers are using XBMC or a derivative I believe. I'm not sure if XBMC is fully free software compatible. I suspect it is or largely is. Some of the derivatives are probably dependent on non-free components.
I don't know for a fact that sites like Hulu and Amazon Instant Video (the two big ones that work with GNU/Linux distributions which include or make installation fairly easy of the Adobe Flash player) are utilizing this Adobe DRM although I haven't been able to access these sites with Trisquel. If I recall correctly I once heard Amazon was at least initially not doing anything to restrict content. If that is true then in theory it may work at some point in the future with Trisquel and other free operating systems. I'm not sure about Hulu. I haven't heard one way or another.
I am a translator!
You can always use the media center with legal content ripped from DVD or with TV shows recorded via a TV card.
I am a member!
We were actually thinking more along the lines of streaming content. There are problems with ripping DVD or distribution a device which is aimed at it. Adding a DVD drive and tuner card may require non-free software or for us to violate the law of the United States where we are based.
To rip the majority of commercial DVDs requires a program which is either non-free or a free program that can't be distributed legallly in the United States. The free software is not outright illegal by law if you got a license to write/distribute such code. That license is not a software license it is a license from those who own the 'restriction'. That group requires a fee per user/computer/device/etc and dissallows certain things in regards to dislosing the encryption key. You can get a license to distribute the software if you don't agree to the restrictions. Those restrictions essentially force you to only release non-free code. We couldn't distribute a free program to do the decryption because that free software license would require us to make available the code distributed with the binary (which is prevented by the other license agrement giving us permission to distribute a program that decrypts DVDs).
I am a translator!
I actually meant that the user can rip DVDs on a PC running free software and watch them on TV using the media centre (via an external hard drive).
I think the point is more that "ripping DVDs" is a bit delicate. Be it because of the software used (libdcss) and/or the law in the corresponding country.
Even the most basic things such as recording TV can get pretty problematic both from legal aspects as well from open software (if digital scrambled channels are involved).
I am a member!
Yes. There is at least one source for streaming content that is drm-free (at least some content, although some conent I think relies on a ms-windows only non-free program) and should be compatible with Trisquel.
I don't know that they actually have any HD content though. They are tiny compred to Amazon, Hulu, or Netflix.
I am a translator!
I think Chris is talking about a HTPC, a computer that will playback HD videos and act as a source for your music amplifier.
I am a member!
New info on HTPC: We appear to have a working configuration. It was a bit challenging getting the design to work given the constraints on space. Our first attempt had some heat issues so we scrapped it. To be clear this was never available for purchase. The 2nd is looking good.
Here are the specifications and configured minimally it will probably be $299 USD ($50 less than we anticipated):
Intel Pentium Dual-Core G620T Sandy Bridge 2.2GHz
2GB+ DDR3
20GB+ Hard Drive
Optional Accessories:
Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard (confirmed)
Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard + Touchpad (not yet confirmed)
DVD-RW Drive
USB Wifi Card
Here is what it can handle:
At least 720p HD (tested).
In theory 1080p should work ok although it may not play as gracefully. I'm unsure about Blu-Ray at the moment although given its failure on the market we aren't too concerned.
Does anybody even know if you can even play Blu-Ray on GNU/Linux easily? The last I heard there were some movies you could play and some you couldn't. The technology has since fizzled out so I'm unsure if this is or isn't possible now.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On 2012-02-16 03:00, name at domain wrote:
> New info on HTPC: We appear to have a working configuration. [...]
> In theory 1080p should work ok although it may not play as
> gracefully.
I looked into legal, freely licensed HD content for testing purposes a
while ago:
http://identi.ca/conversation/43299159#notice-43695081
http://floss.shapado.com/questions/where-can-i-find-freely-licensed-1080p-videos
Perhaps links from the above could be summarized somewhere in the
Trisquel docs.
Chris, I also shared some of my results experimenting while I was
configuring my home system w/Trisquel:
https://trisquel.info/en/forum/trisquel-5-and-home-entertainment
On that thread I believe I also mentioned the VAAPI support (which is
part of UBuntu 12.04 LTS and freely licensed I've been told by
Canonical support).
I hope the above is helpful.
Putting Sandy Bridge chipsets may be reconsidered as they implement
hardware DRM mechanisms (not used in Gnu/Linux though, AFAIK). This is
not 100% clear to me but you may want to add a small note or
ivestigate this further.
Cheers,
Fabian
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.11 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: PGP/Mime available upon request
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/
iEYEARECAAYFAk9GNcQACgkQfUcTXFrypNVUhgCfTTOfYCWZV6zKnMQtuMPORpJt
3jYAoOS7OweqIVJdueJgtaeSWFwoH5wM
=njGH
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
Given the comments here at the gentoo forum:
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-691564.html?sid=3c4798ff9793812c747a4e5a0fb81b23
and over at doom9 you get the mixed results. You require as special, patch blu-ray drive and not all disks will work.
I am a member!
New info on HTPC: We appear to have a working configuration. It was a bit
challenging getting the design to work given the constraints on space. Our
first design had some heat issues. The 2nd is looking good.
Here are the specifications and configured minimally it will probably be $299
USD ($50 less than we anticipated):
Intel Pentium Dual-Core G620T Sandy Bridge 2.2GHz
2GB+ DDR3
20GB+ Hard Drive
Optional Accessories:
Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard (not yet tested)
DVD-RW Drive
USB Wifi Card
Here is what it can handle:
At least 720p HD (tested).
In theory 1080p should work ok although it may not play as gracefully. I'm
unsure about Blu-Ray at the moment although given its failure on the market
we aren't too concerned. Does anybody even know if you can play Blu-Ray on
GNU/Linux easily? The last I heard there were some movies you could play and
some you couldn't. It has since fizzled out as far as I can tell. I couldn't
even tell you where to rent a Blu-Ray disc. I am still seeing DVDs available
for purchase in stores although it appears the rental business is just about
completely dead. I think there may be some rental boxes left and online
rentals.
Oops, double-posted same reference to gentoo forum. sry....
I am a member!
The HTPC is now available. It starts at $299 as stated with 2GB of ram and a 60GB disk (non-ssd). There is a mini wireless bluetooth keyboard available for it with touchpad. It works great! It does have an HDMI port and uses an optimized CPU to save on energy and reduce heat.
It can be found in the desktop section at http://libre.thinkpenguin.com/ if anybody is interested in purchasing one.
* There is no particular software for multimedia management included like XBMC or MythBox. It ships stock Trisquel for now. There appear to be issues with XBMC in regards to non-free dependencies (they may be removable). I believe MythBox is based on it so it too is probably not entirely free.
We haven't tested this with http://www.eztakes.com/ yet although there is no reason it shouldn't work. They are DRM-free and flash is not required. If you are in a country that doesn't prohibit it you can install software for commercial DVD playback as well.
I hope to purchase one of the "Penguin Wee 2" desktops soon (with the i3 cpu) to use as my main computer. My family doesn't require a lot of computing power and I like its energy efficiency.
Thanks for designing such a neat little machine.
P.S. Sorry if this post is off topic. I thought since this machine is so similar to the media center you made, I could comment on it here. :)
I am a member!
The only real difference between the HTPC and the other is the optional Bluetooth Keyboard with built-in Touchpad. We disabled the 1GB of ram configuration option as well on the HTPC system. The 1GB option is really only a good choice for the 4.0.1 LTS release. Anything else really needs more ram to function adequately. There is a slight difference in the advertising of the two systems and the CPU. The HTPC uses the lower powered Celeron that is available in the Penguin Wee 2 for anyone who is wondering. We might add the Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard with built-in Touchpad as an option on the Penguin Wee 2 in case someone wants it along with the i3 CPU.
I am a translator!
Chris, the HTPC and all the Wees have an Ubuntu-sticker, while the big picture on the index-page has a huge Trisquel sticker. It looks inconsistant, imho there should be the same sticker everywhere.
Other than that: good job! You've probably got one of the best GNU/Linux friendly shops out there.
A suggestion: Put large images to view products. The image size is the same thumbnail.
Nice little box.
As posted before some images would be nice (e.g. front close-up, back close-up, inside look). Also some picture for the bluetooth keyboard would be nice. Is it something like this ?
http://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Wireless-Keyboard-Built-TouchPad/dp/B004JKIOTQ/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_2_1
The only pitty I see: 1080p playback does not work. I guess this is related to the moderate CPU power and missing VAAPI support of the open source Intel driver, right ?
I am a translator!
1080p material, or at least blu-rays, is usually not playable with free software anyway (it's like with DVDs, but the DVD encryption is cracked and it's even legal to watch them in some countries with free programs that crack this encryption). If you have the correct type of display (one with a physical resolution of 720p and one that isn't too huge to make 720p look pixelated) it will look very sharp and detailed even in 720p.
Ripped / "cracked" blurays aren't the only source of 1080p material.
As you might know you can record HDTV broadcasts here in Germany freely from the "öffentlich-rechtliche" TV Stations. Also Youtube is a great source for 1080p material.
But right: I do not want to nitpick...on my 32" Sony Bravia I can hardly tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. Even a normal PAL 16:9 DVD which is from newer age (e.g. digitally produced) will look great.
I am a member!
Ok,
I lied. Actually I should just have been more clear. It can do at least 720p. 1080p was not tested and therefore not included under what it can handle. I think we can safely add 1020p to the list. I can't discern any loss in quality.
We were looking at the most recent Intel Atom initially which if I recall correctly claims to support HD. We never got a board as we found out it requires a non-free component.
Then we were looking at using a broadcom crystalhd decoder card. Again assuming I recall correctly the drivers were free although not the firmware.
:)
AMD doesn't offer a free software compatible solution either.
This actually works much better than I anticipated initially. We didn't have to underclock the CPU or add any additional fans even. After a two day marathon of testing it never got warm let alone hot. The CPU runs slightly warmer than someone aiming for a very 'cool' setup might like although nothing outside specifications. It actually is perfect given the space limitations. I'm also sure if we used non-stock thermal paste it would come down too.
Interestingly we also streamed over an 802.11G USB connection during the testing. It is amazing how well it works considering. The only major upgrade we really had to do was get the office off a poky 1.5Mbps connection. We now have 10Mbps.
- Anmelden oder Registrieren um Kommentare zu schreiben