Linux port

Hey all,

Firstly, I think MP is a wonderful idea, a great alternative from proprietary mediacenters like Microsoft's and Firefly.

But we're ignoring a growing OS whose very philosophy (in most cases) is open source and free as in beer: Linux. I understand that there is mediacenter software available for Linux, but these programs are terribly lacking in features and polish, especially when compared to MP. There are also LiveCD distributions built for this purpose, but who wants to screw around with another whole distribution (which might have its own bugs, hardware issues, etc) and then reboot every time they want to watch a movie?

A linux port would be a significant undertaking and even if I had the skill to do such a thing I would cringe at the size of the task. However, I know there must be someone (hopefully some more than one) with the talent, time, and dedication to realize this worthy goal. I humbly make this request of the MP community.

Thanks for reading,
-KitsuneX

Almost everything in Media Portal is Windows specific (think DirectX). It would frankly be easier to write something from scratch rather than "port" Media Portal. If polish is all you desire, I would suggest theming the already very nice MythTV product.

http://www.mythtv.org/modules.php?name=MythFeatures

Note that I am writing this response from a Linux machine, which is my primary development environment. So I'm far from biased. However, right now Windows is the better HTPC platform once you get beyond basic PVR functionality (and beyond Media Portal). Think ffdshow, games, driver support, existing community, etc.

I also prefer Linux. I evaluated two options, MP and Freevo. I decided on MP for three reasons... features, ease of configuration, and features. Freevo did have one really cool feature that MP doesn't but this is probably for a niche crowd... Game emulators. You can play SNES, Genisis games, etc from inside Freevo.

I digress... as much as I hate Windows and the evil empire of Microsoft, I opted for an XP/MP config. While MP on Linux would be cool, a port is a lot of work. MP is based on proprietary MS technologies such as DirectX and .NET. The core of MP would have to be gutted and rewritten.

I hear you.. linux is cool... but it apparently doesn't lend to easy use or development of HTPC apps.

Cheers!

PS - I'm keeping my eye on Freevo in the meantime. I hope MS doesn't put a price on my head for this.

[CoolHammer]

EvilDreamer ... then you should get familiar with MyPrograms plugin.
I use it to launc emulators like espxe and project 64, both exelent emulators.

CoolHammer

PS: From wiki pages you will find good explanation how to configure those emulators on MP

[smokeman]

Originally Posted by EvilDreamer

<snip>While MP on Linux would be cool, a port is a lot of work. MP is based on proprietary MS technologies such as DirectX and .NET. The core of MP would have to be gutted and rewritten.

I hear you.. linux is cool... but it apparently doesn't lend to easy use or development of HTPC apps.
</snip>

Well, I have a couple of ideas that might make it the way to go.
First of all, since MP is .net compatible, has anyone looked at http://www.mono-project.com
That is .net for linux.
and the directx calls being made should be basic enough to use winex if necessary.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/winex

I would also like to point out, that this may bring about the best of both worlds, linux stability, access to other opensource linux dvb work, possible mythTV inter-operation, and vdr type plug-in support(softcam).
I would be very interested in some comments on this.
the best forum I have found for dvb linux discussions is http://dvbn.net