Linuxmce Hacks and Tips

As you may know to have possibility to use the modern LinuxMCE user interface with transparency and 3D effects the right video card should be chosen. As variant I can recommend nVidia 6XXX which works excellent from the box. However, there is a way to use some more modern models such nVidia 7600. Just follow by recommendations from that post on the LinuxMCE forum.

To change LinuxMCE GUI you have to install and properly configure HADesigner - Windows-based tool to create skins for Orbiter. This is not ordinary task. So, that brief howto will be very useful for all who decide to create a new theme for LinuxMCE. It needs Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1, Microsoft .NET ODBC Data Provider and MyODBC Adaptor. HADesigner can be downloaded here.

To access a phone directory items stored in the LinuxMCE server from Cisco 7970 you need to do small modifications:

• Download the patch and unpack it into /var/www/pluto-admin/.

• Modify the default XML configuration file /tftpboot/SEPDefault7970.cnf.xml:
  <directoryURL> http://192.168.80.1/pluto-admin/directory.php </directoryURL>

• Reboot your phone

[via LinuxMCE wiki]

As you may know a new UI2 is developed to use special wireless mouse Gyration. It’s good and useful to have that one but you can use any cheapest wireless mouse. To do that just follow by this brief howto. You need just install and properly configure xautomation (xte) and xbindkeys. Have a fun!

LinuxMCE Core (hybrid or dedicated) needs two network interfaces - one for external connection and another one - for internal. If by some reason you have only one during installation the system creates a virtual internal interface - eth0:0. To modify the network configuration when you decided to add a second Ethernet card you have to make simple changes in the pluto_main database. To see a current network configuration run following select command in the mysql shell:

SELECT IK_DeviceData FROM Device_DeviceData WHERE FK_DeviceData=32;

The result should be similar to this:

eth0,dhcp|eth0:0,192.168.80.1,255.255.255.0

Just replace eth0:0 to eth1

UPDATE Device_DeviceData SET IK_DeviceData="eth0,dhcp|eth1,192.168.80.1,255.255.255.0" WHERE FK_DeviceData=32;

and reboot your core. After that will should see two interfaces.

To activate a function ‘Follow-Me’ to transfer media from one room to another usually is used mobile phone via Bluetooth or geek remote FiireChief. But you can avail oneself of that feature without those equipment. Start playing some movie in the room where you’re now. Then go to media floorplan page and click by letter ‘F’. It should change its color to red. After that on the Orbiter choose desired room where you’re going to move. Note, that room should have a configured media director (MD)! The media will be transferred to that room immediately. So, when you rich it you continue watch your favorite show.

To be able to add Cisco7970 IP Phones as plug-n-play devices in the LinuxMCE system you have to define a range of MAC addresses on the Cisco7970 device template. There is an utility to do that - /usr/pluto/bin/convert_mac.

MAC address is six groups of two hexadecimal digits, separated by hyphens (-) or colon (:). The first three groups identify a maker. You leave them and fill the rest by 0 and F. For example, if MAC is 00:16:78:CD:01:D8 its range will be 00:16:78:00:00:00 - 00:14:69:FF:FF:F. Now using convert_mac we can get correct data for the device template:

/usr/pluto/bin/convert_mac 00:16:78:00:00:00
/usr/pluto/bin/convert_mac 00:14:69:FF:FF:FF

Finally, put those values into text fields on the device template. Find more info and pictures here.

Generally LinuxMCE allows to create many diskless media clients - Media Directors (MD). They shouldn’t have HDD and they are boot from the core. That approach lets you possibility to have non powerful PC as Media Director. But if you don’t satisfy a boot speed or by some other reason would like to have MD with HDD it’s also possible. Just install Kubuntu 0704 on that PC and run there LinuxMCE installator. It’ll detect the core and offer you install just MD. Be sure that your core and MD are in the same network!

Orbiter for LinuxMCE doesn’t contain button ‘Exit’. Instead of that it provide a way to switch between KDE and On-Screen Orbiter. But for Nokia770/N800 Orbiter that button is useless. To use it for finish the Orbiter just add following row to hte end of /usr/pluto/bin/Start_KDE.sh:


/usr/pluto/bin/MessageSend dcerouter 0 <orbiter_dev_id> 7 0


If your sound card has SPDIF output you can connect your media director to the receiver via coaxial or optical cables. But first you should activate SPDIF output because by default it’s muted. Run alsamixer utility, find IEC958 mixer and unmute it by pressing ‘m’. If you don’t do it first and try to configure sound using AVWizard your media director will freeze on the DTS sound test.

There is one trick with Plutohome 2.0.0.44. It has ALSA version 1.0.12 for the ordinary kernel and 1.0.11rc2 for SMP. So, my sound card built-in to the motherboard Asus M2N was recognized with ALSA 1.0.12 but with 1.0.11rc2 alsamixer showed analog output only. LinuxMCE uses modern Ubuntu packages. So, there is not any problems with SPDIF recognizing.