Software mce extender (1 Viewer)

[mrg9999]

Happy New year eveyone

Is there an OS / CS media center extender available anywhere? Will windows 7 or 2008 have this functionality. I'm really a linux person, and have a lot of mythtv, that I've used successfully for a few years. Recently I've been using Vista MCE in my server rooms, and would like to control it from other locations, I don't want to use Xbox 360's (although cheap £99) for this , I would like their extender functionality, preferably running on a Linux machine, and not in the form of an appliance like the linksys or dlink offerings.

Are there any other solutions? Like a end user version of Pika?

If this has been answered elsewhere, please tell me the thread?


Mr.G

My Kit
4 x Mythtv - 90% reliable, need shell access occasionally, not GF friendly
2 x Vista ultimate - 80% reliable, crashes once a week
1 x linksys extender - awful
1 x Xbox 360 - never played a game on it !
2 x Thecus 4TB media servers
Various Blu-ray, dvd robots and other junk.

 

[GeorgeVC]

Are you sure you need a specialized extender? I use my old PCs and laptops on my wireless/wired LAN as extenders to my bigger screens and I find them pretty functional although I haven't pursued the luxury of remoter controls on them yet.
This ability is the chief reason for my preferring MP over MCE.

 

[mrg9999]

Extender

Are you sure you need a specialized extender? I use my old PCs and laptops on my wireless/wired LAN as extenders to my bigger screens and I find them pretty functional although I haven't pursued the luxury of remoter controls on them yet.
This ability is the chief reason for my preferring MP over MCE.

I specifically want to view and search the TV guide, select programs to record. In MythTV that I have, fro, a single front end I can select a number of MyTHTV backends in SF-CA, LA-CA, Canada, London,GB, Fredricton, Canada, and the 2 appliances in my home to select what to record from where.
I would like the ability to shcedule programs in the native interface from anywhere in the world, rather having to use say RDP or VNC to the desktop.
This week at short notice,I was in DC and wanted to schedule my box in London to record the inauguration on UK SKY, to see if I could see myself in the crowd

An Xbox seems a waste of $100 if I only use it to remote my main MCE.

A software only extender I could build into a portal that could control MCE, MyTHTV, SlingBox, ORB, SAGETV, ReciVA, GBPVR etc, cutting down on number of servers, heat and electrical usage.

 

[asd7000]

Windows 7 will be able to use the xBox360 as media center extender i´m sure there was an option. But i don´t have one so i couldn´t test that feature. But i didn´t like the Windows Media Center because it made my scaleo e sounds like a turbine. And the informations on the vfd display were very poor so switched to MediaPortal. For MediaPortal you can use nearly every old PC or Laptop as extender even for TV. Windows XP with .Net is needed and a DirectX 9 compatible Graphic Card. There is a plugin for the Windows Media Center so you can use the TV-Server of MediaPortal and use the Gui of the WMC. But i agree with you i would like to see a Linux Extender for MediaPortal and Windows Media Center, too. Windows is to big and slow for that job. Ok compact flash crads aren´t that expensive today but even the fast obe make windows feel like using an old pentium. For remote controling there is a webinterface for MediaPortal. You only need a browser to access that webinterface it has the epg and you are able to watch the TV-Servers status. Even you can schedule recordings or manage them.