MP over XBMC? (1 Viewer)

k0000kies

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April 25, 2009
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Assuming I don't want to record TV on my HTPC, is there any other reason to use MP? I understand there's the hardware-decoding issue too, which I'm sure XBMC will overcome soon. I've been playing with MP extensively now but anything I do with it seems just a little worse than XBMC. Are there any clear benefits besides the ones I've already mentioned?? This is not a troll, I'm genuinely interested in your experiences, especially those who have switched from XBMC to MP. No fanboy bashing please.
 

Omen

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i use mp over xbmc primarily for tv, but also how much easier and faster it is to set up separate, tv series, and movie directories within mp.

moving pictures and tv series is a much faster and simpler method for gathering fan art and data than setting up libraries then scanning within the xbmc gui.

it's a matter of taste, and probably isn't helped by the fact that i found mp before i came across xbmc, but tv (especially tv server) will always keep me here, but i am also closely watching the xbmc python script.
 

magao

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December 22, 2008
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I've been playing with XBMC 9.04 beta on Ubuntu 9.04 yesterday on my main machine (thank you Wubi). I also tried out XBMC on Windows, but it is still (and I'm sure will remain) the neglected stepchild. There are both positives and negatives.

1. (Positive) For the first time ever, everything I've tried is still working after a day of fiddling. Every other time I've broken something to the point that I can't recover this far along.

2. (Positive) XBMC with VDPAU (hardware offloading of H.264/VC-1) is working excellently with my 9600GT.

2a. (Negative) I find the XBMC devs to have a real double standard at times. They've stated for years that they won't intoduce platform-specific code to support DirectShow codecs/filters or DxVA. Then VDPAU is introduced, and they immediately introduce platform-specific code to support hardware-offloading on nVidia cards under Linux.

3. (Positive) The interface is considerably faster than it used to be, using the default HD PM3.0 skin.

4. (Positive) The default interface is very usable.

5. (Negative) Severe tearing on horizontal pans with vsync on (largely fixed by turning vsync off - the opposite to what you would expect). This was my original deal-breaker, causing me to look for something other than XBMC when I was using my laptop (before I built my HTPC). The tearing was independent of renderer - software, VDPAU, ARB, GLSL.

6. (Negative) XBMC won't use embedded fonts for subtitles. This is deal-breaker #1.

7. (Negative) XBMC sometimes doesn't display subtitles, even on the same video. The settings all appear to be right, it says subtitles should be displayed ... I can't work out why they're not showing right now. This is deal-breaker #2.

8. (Negative) I can't work out when the "high-quality" upscaling takes effect, and when the scaling set while playing the movie take effect. As far as I can see, it's always the latter - but the options set there don't always hold, even when you've chosen "apply these as default to all videos". I don't understand why the quality settings are split up this way.

9. (Negative) A few crashes while testing resolutions.

10. (Positive and Negative) Settting up LIRC is now very simple if you have a supported remote. My spare remote is one of those crappy "MCE-compatible" ones that registers as both a keyboard and mouse. I was able to set things up so I was capturing all the events, but have no idea how I'd get it to do that at boot time. It should be very simple to set up to capture events from multiple devices.

In summary - I'm sticking with MP, because I want the ability to use the entire DirectShow filter chain, and it handles subtitles properly, and I'm willing to put up with occasional Windows problems. If I were setting up a new HTPC for a family member who didn't need TV tuning, there's a good chance I'd go with XBMC on Ubuntu - apart from anything else, I think it's more likely to be working exactly the same way in a years time as when it was first set up. Can't say that for a Windows machine.
 

ixian

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    They are almost different products filling different needs. They both happen to do a good job of playing ripped movies, tv shows, and music. XBMC is simplier to get going, has an awesome skinning engine, and runs on a huge variety of platforms (although as someone else pointed out, every OS port other than Linux is more or less an afterthought, even the original Xbox it started on).

    Beyond that it depends on how you define a HTPC, which is different for everyone. If you just want a simple media box you can hook up to your TV, control with a remote, and play movies you torrented off the Internet, XBMC is for you. If you are a dedicated Open-source supporter and want a 100% free system (ironically, to run on expensive computer hardware you paid for and more likely than not to play media you didn't) XBMC is about your only choice.

    If you want a total Media Center that can work out of the box yet be customized to the ninth degree, completely replace every source including Blu-Ray and live TV/Tivo, and look good doing it - Media Portal is it.

    Is XBMC prettier? Sure. It has a more advanced skinning engine, and highly developed skins like Aeon Stark to show it off. But Media Portal is no slouch either, and frankly when it comes to actually showing the video, it has the edge in my book. Each to their own.
     

    spuck

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    Until XBMC has something similar to reclock and MPs refreshrate switcher I'm not able to switch to XBMC. :)
    Don't see that happening though so I'll wait for MP2 instead. :D
     

    ryan20021982

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    If XBMC cant figure out how to use Direct Show Filters by now then I dont want it, that should be a top priority and apparently isnt.
     

    Gamester17

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    Comparing Apples and Oranges...

    Until XBMC has something similar to reclock and MPs refreshrate switcher I'm not able to switch to XBMC.
    FYI; XBMC 9.04 already has a refreshrate switcher ("Adjust Refresh Rate" in settings), and something similar to reclock is coming soon, see:
    Smoothvideo branch - XBMC Community Forum

    ;)


    I find the XBMC devs to have a real double standard at times. They've stated for years that they won't intoduce platform-specific code to support DirectShow codecs/filters or DxVA. Then VDPAU is introduced, and they immediately introduce platform-specific code to support hardware-offloading on nVidia cards under Linux.
    Not true, Team-XBMC only said that we do not have a developer who is personally interested in coding a DxVA render for XBMC, however if someone else does it and submits a patch then it will surly be more than welcomed and accepted, as well if someone volunteer to code a such renderer then Team-XBMC for sure assist that person in any way we can. Just as support for Direct Show Filters in XBMC is not planned, though patches would be welcomed, (and it is by the way now also possible to use an external player such as MPC-HC and PowerDVD from XBMC). You have to understand and respect that nothing gets developed without a personal interest in non-profit open source projects, as no one pays you you most likely only want to spend your time and skills on something that is important to yourself.

    Still, if you also want to tune and playback/record Live TV on a Windows HTPC then MediaPortal is currently the only open source choice.
     

    spuck

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    April 6, 2007
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    Until XBMC has something similar to reclock and MPs refreshrate switcher I'm not able to switch to XBMC.
    FYI; XBMC 9.04 already has a refreshrate switcher ("Adjust Refresh Rate" in settings), and something similar to reclock is coming soon, see:
    Smoothvideo branch - XBMC Community Forum

    ;)
    Haha, yeah I found that when I searched after "xbmc reclock". :p
    gonna have get some time and try out xbmc again. :D
     

    magao

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    December 22, 2008
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    I find the XBMC devs to have a real double standard at times. They've stated for years that they won't intoduce platform-specific code to support DirectShow codecs/filters or DxVA. Then VDPAU is introduced, and they immediately introduce platform-specific code to support hardware-offloading on nVidia cards under Linux.

    Not true, Team-XBMC only said that we do not have a developer who is personally interested in coding a DxVA render for XBMC, however if someone else does it and submits a patch then it will surly be more than welcomed and accepted, as well if someone volunteer to code a such renderer then Team-XBMC for sure assist that person in any way we can. Just as support for Direct Show Filters in XBMC is not planned, though patches would be welcomed

    That is excellent news - and contradicts this post of yours on the XBMC forums ...

    XBMC Community Forum - View Single Post - Does XBMC for Windows use internal or external codecs?

    From what you've said now, it sounds likely that the wording of that post does not convey what was meant.

    (and it is by the way now also possible to use an external player such as MPC-HC and PowerDVD from XBMC)

    Yes - I'm aware of this, and in fact used it for a while before I set up my proper HTPC, but it kind of defeats the purpose of XBMC or MediaPortal (IMO) to just use it as a launcher.

    You have to understand and respect that nothing gets developed without a personal interest in non-profit open source projects, as no one pays you you most likely only want to spend your time and skills on something that is important to yourself.

    I'm a developer involved (peripherally) in several open source projects. I have no problems with the fact that you and the other current developers have no interest in developing the capability of using DxVA or DirectShow filters. My problem was with the attitude I saw every time (before now) when someone asked about them - the response was always an immediate "not going to happen" with the justification given (if any) being "we have to stay entirely cross-platform". And then VDPAU support (which I entirely agree with) got added without any apparent controversy.

    I'd strongly suggest adding somewhere prominent that DxVA and DirectShow patches would be welcome, but that they must be optional (preferably at runtime being able to choose between DirectShow and ffmpeg).
     

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