Topic: HTPC Front-end Software: The XBMC Thread

[iiinas]

very nice application, specially when it can get all those info from the net automatically, amazing. looks good too! congrats sa mga gumagamit nito. hmmm..... htpc..... 

[docelmo]

Guys! Can anybody post a step-by-step guide on placing a thumbnail/cover art of movies etc...
Thanks!
 

[nerveblocker]

ganda naman nyan mga sir! Makagawa nga ng HTPC Server 

Doc, this is very nice... 

In XBMC, there are a lot of options to choose from and it is very customizable unlike the limited preferences of Windows Media Center.   

[nerveblocker]

Guys! Can anybody post a step-by-step guide on placing a thumbnail/cover art of movies etc...
Thanks!
 

If you want all of the contents, thumbnails, fanart, info about the movie, while using XBMC,  just put your mouse pointer to the desired title then right click. You can select Set Content or Information to download these from the net.  Select IMdB as your source. 

If you want individual thumbnails/cover art only on your folders without the other movie info, this is what you do:

Turn off XBMC then on Windows-->Start-->Right click My Computer-->Explore-->Tools-->Folder Options-->Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types-->OK

I download the cover arts from www.dvdempire.com.  Just look for the title that you want on Search then click until you get the full size of the front cover art then you can just download it.  Once you have downloaded the cover art jpg file, replace the .jpg file extension to .tbn.  Out will come a window that the file will be unusable.  Just check ok. 

Then put the .tbn file in the folder where your movie file is.  Example:  If your movie title is in Movies folder, open it and just place the .tbn file in the Movies folder.  Just make sure that the file name of your movie title is exactly the same as the file name of your .tbn file.  Example: Terminator.mkv (movie file), Terminator.tbn (thumbnail file).   

Do this with all of your movie titles.  Most probably your Movies folder would be composed of a mixture of .mkv or .avi and .tbn files.

Go back to XBMC, then go to your library, voila...hope this helps. 

[docelmo]

If you want all of the contents, thumbnails, fanart, info about the movie, while using XBMC,  just put your mouse pointer to the desired title then right click. You can select Set Content or Information to download these from the net.  Select IMdB as your source. 

If you want individual thumbnails/cover art only on your folders without the other movie info, this is what you do:

Turn off XBMC then on Windows-->Start-->Right click My Computer-->Explore-->Tools-->Folder Options-->Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types-->OK

I download the cover arts from www.dvdempire.com.  Just look for the title that you want on Search then click until you get the full size of the front cover art then you can just download it.  Once you have downloaded the cover art jpg file, replace the .jpg file extension to .tbn.  Out will come a window that the file will be unusable.  Just check ok. 

Then put the .tbn file in the folder where your movie file is.  Example:  If your movie title is in Movies folder, open it and just place the .tbn file in the Movies folder.  Just make sure that the file name of your movie title is exactly the same as the file name of your .tbn file.  Example: Terminator.mkv (movie file), Terminator.tbn (thumbnail file).   

Do this with all of your movie titles.  Most probably your Movies folder would be composed of a mixture of .mkv or .avi and .tbn files.

Go back to XBMC, then go to your library, voila...hope this helps. 

Woohoo!!! It worked bro!!!
Maraming salamat!!!
 

[Clondalkin]

Hi Nerveblocker .   Nakakanood ka pa ba?      I stopped getting all the movie info at 2TB.  Si Mrs. na bahala sa mga ibang hard drives.   I think my wife would love to do this.

The lack of slider during playback is really a pain ne.

[nerveblocker]

Woohoo!!! It worked bro!!!
Maraming salamat!!!
 

Be glad to help. Wohoo dumadami na tayong HTPC-XBMC tandem users!

[nerveblocker]

The lack of slider during playback is really a pain ne.

I agree.  It was fun for me using MPC because of the slider. You don't have to watch the whole movie and can just watch selective parts which is very convenient with my schedule. This is also essential for demo purposes. I missed this with XBMC.

We were spoiled with MPC when we were using it and wouldn't revert back to  DVD days when you have to fastforward or time search a particular scene.

The best that we can do with XBMC is use the bookmark function. Other than that functionality is as good as our DVD players sans the physical discs.

It's just a toss between form factor and function.  Hoping for a future Media Center program with the slider. Sarap nun!   

[jackryan]

sulit nga Doc Mel... if not for XBMC, mas masaya sa NMT's... so mas na-appreciate ko yung HTPC Acer ko... I also have an HP DV9000 laptop with 17" LCD screen on Visita with laptop-HDMI capability that I was thinking of selling off but may not anymore dispose of it because of this.

[nerveblocker]

sulit nga Doc Mel... if not for XBMC, mas masaya sa NMT's... so mas na-appreciate ko yung HTPC Acer ko... I also have an HP DV9000 laptop with 17" LCD screen on Visita with laptop-HDMI capability that I was thinking of selling off but may not anymore disposite because of this.

XBMC is manna from heaven given to HTPC users. With this new update, HTPC is becoming popular again specially now that PC parts are becoming so affordable. 

[Clondalkin]

XBMC is manna from heaven given to HTPC users. With this new update, HTPC is becoming popular again specially now that PC parts are becoming so affordable. 

Nerveblocker do you notice any slight stutter (it's almost no big deal really - except that MPC is very smooth) on 1080p contents with your Quad Core 6600?

If none, then that means my slight stutter issue can be solved by simply upgrading my C2D E6600.

If yes, then the CPU processing requirements are very high indeed.

Other than that, XBMC is truly fun to use.

[jojitb]

you can check if it is really your processor that's causing the stuttering by pressing o (the letter o)  while playing.  It should show you information like cpu usage, frames dropped etc.  If you are getting frame drops then your proc. may be the culprit. 

xbmc is still in beta so there are still a lot of work to be done in terms of processing efficiency.

You can also try out the latest SVN versions of XBMC as a lot of updates have been added to it.
The thread: http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=35452
The downloads:  http://www.mediafire.com/xbmc

for thumbnails, I name the file folder.jpg
for fan art: I name the file 'moviename'-fanart.jpg
for tv show fanart: fanart.jpg




EDIT:
Just found out that the latest official version has been released (ATLANTIS).  Check it out
http://xbmc.org/blog/2008/11/14/xbmc-atlantis-released/

[nerveblocker]

Nerveblocker do you notice any slight stutter (it's almost no big deal really - except that MPC is very smooth) on 1080p contents with your Quad Core 6600?

If none, then that means my slight stutter issue can be solved by simply upgrading my C2D E6600.

If yes, then the CPU processing requirements are very high indeed.

Other than that, XBMC is truly fun to use.

Slight stutters were evident but is not much of a bother when I was playing Aeon Flux 1080p on my Athon X2 5000.  I am not a fan of 1080p contents anyway coz my gears aren't really made for native 1080p files. If I was to download some files, I'd still choose 720p- faster to download, less hdd space consumption.

The Quad core is not the one connected to the AV room though. But I might try viewing a full hd video later just to check.

MPC still is the best for 1080p contents. A packaged Media Center still is no contest against a standalone player. Parang a 5MP cellphone lang yan compared to a 5MP digital camera.   

[Clondalkin]

you can check if it is really your processor that's causing the stuttering by pressing o (the letter o)  while playing.  It should show you information like cpu usage, frames dropped etc.  If you are getting frame drops then your proc. may be the culprit. 

Actually, the CPU resource usage is not really high even for MPC and KMP and XBMC.   My Pentium-D machine barely reaches 30% CPU usage, yet it can't handle high bitrate (higher than 10MB/sec) contents.  A C2D at the same CPU usage level is perrfectly fine with MPC but not necessarily with KMP or XBMC.   It seems that certain software players are more efficient in utilizing the available power of the hardware.  

[stick]

Thanks for sharing information on this media center... Very nice.... 2 Thumbs Up!!

[ninjababez®]

CDRKing remote mouse and CDRKing PS3 mini keyboard.    I tried using my PS3 remote but I find the functions limited.  And everytime I pair it with the PC, my PS3 gets turned on. Tama ba yun? Hehe!

i think ill settle with the cdrking presenter and cdrking ps3 mini keyboard...
magkano nga ulit yung ps3 keyboard? 

[ninjababez®]

Actually, the CPU resource usage is not really high even for MPC and KMP and XBMC.   My Pentium-D machine barely reaches 30% CPU usage, yet it can't handle high bitrate (higher than 10MB/sec) contents.  A C2D at the same CPU usage level is perrfectly fine with MPC but not necessarily with KMP or XBMC.   It seems that certain software players are more efficient in utilizing the available power of the hardware. 

i agree bro .. like my 1080p street kings doesnt play well on kmplayer .. but was silky smooth (zohan ) in MPC and WMP ..

[thesaint]

yung intel dualcore  2.53Ghz ko kayang mag play ng 1080p kahit using network pa ang source...
Bali yung isang 1 tera ko na ka share. dun ako nag play...MKV/ISO/AVI...etc...can play using this new XBMC..
hehehehehe...

[Philander]

Can I use this software to maximize my video playback using only PDC T2310 running at 1.46Ghz, with 2gig memory, GMA x3100 at VISTA Home Premium?

Can my system handle at least 720p sources?

Or just forget it.


Thanks

[ninjababez®]

Can I use this software to maximize my video playback using only PDC T2310 running at 1.46Ghz, with 2gig memory, GMA x3100 at VISTA Home Premium?

Can my system handle at least 720p sources?

Or just forget it.


Thanks

it should be able to handle 720p with small hiccups now and then, use vga btw 

[jojitv]

You can do multiple bookmarks on any part of the movie 

This is nice. Makes me wanna upgrade my PC to be able to handle HD stuff.

[jojitb]

i think ill settle with the cdrking presenter and cdrking ps3 mini keyboard...
magkano nga ulit yung ps3 keyboard? 

even though nobody showed interest in my suggestion (Cdrking PC remote),
I will still suggest that you try it out.  It is only 450 pesos anyway.



sa mga gusto i-try, I'll try to help you configure yours.

[momay]

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.14380

here's the remote that i got for my XBMC HT-Laptop.

also tried the GPU acceleration in MPC. 1080p (transformers 12gb) performance was not good. lots of stuttering and audio-video out of sync.no problems with 720p though. disabled multiple H.264 codecs (ffdshow and cyberlink).my suspected culprit for this i think was the outdated video drivers.

laptop spec was.
Dell Inspiron 1720
Core2Duo T7250 @ 2ghz
2gb DDR2
8600m GT 256mb DDR2
5400rpm 1TB samsung thru e-sata

reverted back to CPU accelerated video and everything came back to normal.

[choit]

Customizable ba yung Video player ng XBMC?  Mediaportal kasi has an option of using an external player so you have option kung KM or MPC or internal player lang.

[nerveblocker]

even though nobody showed interest in my suggestion (Cdrking PC remote),
I will still suggest that you try it out.  It is only 450 pesos anyway.



sa mga gusto i-try, I'll try to help you configure yours.

Bro, is this remote IR or RF? What is the range?  Is it fully functional with XBMC without the need of a mouse anymore? I am interested. TIA 

[nerveblocker]

Customizable ba yung Video player ng XBMC?  Mediaportal kasi has an option of using an external player so you have option kung KM or MPC or internal player lang.

XBMC has its own media player. I don't think you can toggle with different players.

[jojitb]

Customizable ba yung Video player ng XBMC?  Mediaportal kasi has an option of using an external player so you have option kung KM or MPC or internal player lang.

Standard builds/version of XBMC only supports its built-in player (Mplayer) but there is a user-hack available to do what you want. Although I haven't tried it yet.

http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40136

feel free to try and give us an update.

[jojitb]

Bro, is this remote IR or RF? What is the range?  Is it fully functional with XBMC without the need of a mouse anymore? I am interested. TIA 

this is IR

I can do "almost" anything with this remote.  Although there are things that would be faster if you use a mouse, like setting up video sources.

But for basic movie playing, ff, rewind, pause stop, go to music, got to videos, pictures, etc.  this is great. Isang pindot, ayos!

the left/right arrow keys will skip backward/forward by 30 sec (estimate ko lang) and the up/down by 10 minutes. This will minimize your need for a slider.

the green button will even shut down the pc.  I've also mapped one of the unused keys to start/shutdown XBMC itself.



Basically I have mapped it similar to the keys in the XBOX remote


These functions were done through eventghost.  http://www.eventghost.org/wiki/EventGhost:About
This program is great.  You can automate almost anything you want in your PC.

Momay's remote looks to be even better.  But it is not available here locally, I think.

[nerveblocker]

this is IR

I can do "almost" anything with this remote.  Although there are things that would be faster if you use a mouse, like setting up video sources.

But for basic movie playing, ff, rewind, pause stop, go to music, got to videos, pictures, e<textarea class="editor" name="message" rows="12" cols="60" onselect="storeCaret(this);" onclick="storeCaret(this);" onkeyup="storeCaret(this);" onchange="storeCaret(this);" tabindex="2">

this is IR

I can do "almost" anything with this remote.  Although there are things that would be faster if you use a mouse, like setting up video sources.

But for basic movie playing, ff, rewind, pause stop, go to music, got to videos, pictures, etc.  this is great. Isang pindot, ayos!

the left/right arrow keys will skip backward/forward by 3 sec and the up/down by 10 minutes. This will minimize your need for a slider.

the green button will even shut down the pc.  I've also mapped one of the unused keys to start/shutdown XBMC itself.



Basically I have mapped it similar to the keys in the XBOX remote


These functions were done through eventghost.  http://www.eventghost.org/wiki/EventGhost:About
This program is great.  You can automate almost anything you want in your PC.

Momay's remote looks to be even better.  But it is not available here locally, I think.

Ok bro!  Thanks for the enlightenment. I'll test it out.

[otepsy]

any updates?