How Close is the Open Entertainment Center? 332
why-not-now asks: "Recently there's been a lot of talk about open source/free software that enables your PC to act as a DVR, all-purpose media player, DVD player, CD player, MP3 player, etc... not to mention the ability to play all sorts of video games (if you know where to look). The idea of the set top MAME console is nice, but with a little TV/Audio out, a little know how and the right software, are we currently able to put together a free version of the big convergence media center others are trying to do?"
The short answer is: NO! (Score:4, Insightful)
Buy a VCR
Buy a DVD player
Buy a Gaming Console or two
and then filter all of these through your receiver and/or high-er end video card, but notice that not once is the word 'free'mentioned.
And that is why Microsoft is aiming its marketing muscle in this general direction. I'minterested to see how well it does. I get to play with a Media Center box from HP here in the near future.
I'm interested to see how well the new toy from Bill works.
Hardware vs. Software (Score:5, Insightful)
There's still items like the Audiotron and Compaq Music Centers for audio, and of course you can use a pc for these, but the fact remains that the effort required to build such a device is outmatched by the lower cost of one or more components. Why would I spend even as little as $200 plus 5-10 hours work when I can spend $250 with no-hours work?
Many of the solutions out there are still not very hardy and quite fragile. To reduce time in building these, there really should be a PVR/HTPC Distro.
Why does openness matter? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why does it matter that you're running on a free platform when you're playing non-free movies using illegal technology, pirated video game ROMs and MP3s?
In order for this to be real, we'd also need a collection of free movies and video games to add to the admittedly significant cache of free music. (There are also plenty of free video games, but since you are talking about MAME I don't think this is what you had in mind.) Otherwise, why does it matter if your media center uses pirated software, too?
Don't get me wrong -- I love the idea of disconnecting ourselves from the corporation-controlled content and software, but I don't think it helps us much if we develop a lot of free software in order to continue to consume the proprietary stuff.
On the other hand, I'm not saying that using pirated everything is all bad -- maybe a generation kids who grew up sharing things on Napster and clones will result in a less conservative congress, where things like the Copyright Term Extension Act won't be so common. (Which is what has me feeling so cynical right now...)
Where's the hardware..? (Score:4, Insightful)
For example: Where are the slim-line style cases similar in style to current VCRs and DVD players ? Where are the low-profile good quality video capture cards? or the motherboards with good video capture capability built in ?
And what about price. For the digital media center to really take off... it needs to be priced within the range of current DVD-players etc.
The ideal box would have a sleek case design, be very quiet, yet be powerfull enough to handle playing demanding media formats. Not to mention be able to burn captured shows off to cd... or for the very rich DVDs...
Softwares there... now we just need a company to put a hardware package together and get the price down below $1000 bucks..
already done? (Score:3, Insightful)
My question is, according to the article we want an open source program that does it all. I have several programs that do this but are from microsoft (WMP etc) and not a one can do all that I want. This leads to a fundamental question about computer design: we don't want to know how to do it we just want it done. Like a telephone, we want the computer to do what it is supposed to do without any question. To use a telephone, you pick it up and dial, but we have become so used to it that we don't even realize that this piece of technology hasn't been around for centurys.
The goal of creating an open source all in one PVR program is to make computers less like a computer and more like a tool that everyone knows how to use. I love open source, but I don't mind not knowing how it works if it works. We pay for phones, so why shouldn't we pay for software that provides an entertainment package for us.
Re:Why does openness matter? (Score:4, Insightful)
Or, possibly, that generation will grow up realizing that their time and effort is worth something, and learn to despise people who are ripping them off of even their 1% royalty from the music companies, and then push for even stronger legislation to keep it from happening.
Somehow I dont see Corporate America getting any weaker.. but the current trend towards opressing the employee and empowering the corporation will lead to much more agressive employees and/or fed up people starting their own businesses. Once that happens, they will start attempting to make some money doing what they are doing. And face it, no-one cares WHAT record company they are ripping off when they copy MP3's or ogg-vorbis files around. Whether its the biggest music conglomerate, or some teeny tiny band who has their own label, they dont give a crap.
So no, I dont think you will see a "less conservative congress".. I think you might, however, see the teeth of some of the copyright and control acts that are happening now be actually used on something other than another corporation.
(And no, I'm not a troll, at least, not intentionally, But I recently found out it is going to cost on the order of 6K$ for my little band to record and produce 100 cd's.. and that doesnt count the cost of studio time, but _does_ count the cost of making sure we have applicable rights to all the songs we want to do.)
Maeryk
No you're not (Score:2, Insightful)
Not as long as you don't care about usability. Right now it's all about how smart we are because we figured out how to use Linux and how we need to get the best and the brightest and filter out the rest by having every potential open source user go through the same ordeal.
Sony and Matsushita are happy to help... (Score:3, Insightful)
Here's the key quote for those who don't want to register:
"Matsushita and Sony have agreed to jointly develop the Linux operating system for digital consumer electronic products, in a highly unusual and cooperative deal between two of the fiercest rivals in the industry... Sony and Matsushita will continue to use the existing operating systems for specific products - such as Windows for Vaio - but expect the newly developed version of Linux to be increasingly used in home electronic devices, such as portable and home AV products."
The reason this trend will go places is quite simple: The much-bandied-about "Microsoft Tax" is real, and the major CE manufacturers don't want to pay it. This combined with the strong likelihood (--> certainty) that MS will attempt to commoditized them ensures that they will fight back. These guys are not only smart, they are bigger than Microsoft (Sony: $60bn revenues) and they are determined to not get cut out of the market, or turned into Compaq/HP style failures. Who benefits? The Linux community is going to get a huge boost, because the single best weapon these firms have against MS is Linux, and they are going to use it with a vengeance.
Re:Hopefully... (Score:3, Insightful)
Signed,
Some Luddite A Generation Ago
Re:Why does openness matter? (Score:3, Insightful)
So the ENTIRE GENERATION is going to be made of up musicians who are willing to bend over and agree to a contract with an RIAA-member record company? Intriguing.
The reason unknown bands sign on the dotted line is because the record labels can provide publicity. Another way to get publicity, one that doesn't cost anything, is to allow copies of your music to be freely redistributed through P2P channels and similar -- even inject your music directly into this distribution system.
There are plenty of talented and well-known artists RIGHT now that support free distribution of their art. Stop ignoring their existence because they don't fit in with the point you're trying to make.
making sure we have applicable rights to all the songs we want to do.
Hmm... maybe you should record ORIGINAL songs instead of 'ripping off the hard work of talented underpaid artists'.
Convergence? Maybe in the office or den (Score:3, Insightful)
If you have to ask "why".... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Convergence? Maybe in the office or den (Score:1, Insightful)
You can buy a computer system, and a seperate entertainment system (DVD+VCR+cd+whatever), and have one system where you can only watch media, and another where you can only do computer "work".
Or build two media capable pc systems so that you now have twice the resources available for computing or tv watching. Now when nobody needs a computer for work, bob+jane don't need to fight, they each get their own media station for tv or games, and when someone is doing computer work there is still a left over media system.
Of course in your situation where you only have one tv and a completely seperate computer system, so there's no way for billy to play nintendo while janey watches gunsmoke. If you had two "media center" pc's then this is possible.
Of course even if you've only got one screen, you've still got a dual purpose device. You didn't need to go buy a computer system as well as an entertainment sytstem...
Personally when I look at the cost of a DVD player+ VCR I'm quite happy to go get a low spec machine, throw some software onto it and have a device that does the same job as the DVD+vcr for around the same price. Of course the computer can also play ogg media etc etc...... Plus all the content can be networked.... Shows recorded on one pc can be played on another....
Maybe I'll find out I'm wrong down the track, but I don't think I'll ever have any entertainment that doesn't run through pcs.
Re:We have a winner! (Score:3, Insightful)
Certain artists, I'll always buy their CDs/DVDs, out of respect and a desire to see that work continue. Independent artists in particular need this.
Counterexample: I wouldn't buy the soundtrack to "Battlestar Galactica" in a record store even if I won the lottery. I wouldn't take it if it was in the free box. But I'd download it for free, cause it's kinda goofy and nostalgic to have around. And if it were available to download in MP3 for a nickel a track, I'd buy it. Go figure.
Same goes for bootleg/OOP material. If I can't buy it anyway, but would/will if/when it becomes available, then it's no harm, no foul.
Is it legal? Is it ethical? Doesn't seem like a clear-cut issue either way, but I sleep just fine at night.
As far as the renting DVDs thing, as far as I'm concerned, it falls under timeshifting. Crappy or even average DVDs are too big to keep around on a hard drive frivolously, and the good ones I buy anyway. If it is technically illegal, it's very much a victimless crime, and anyone who would whine about it is a sanctimonious prick who deserves to be ruthlessly ignored.
Re:Very Close (Score:1, Insightful)
But I would also love to see a web page that says, buy this list of hardware for $400, put pieces together, burn this ISO, put cd in computer, CD installs, system reboots, enjoy your new home made digital VCR, DVD player, CD Player, ogg vorbis juke box, and game system.
I wish I had time to play with apps like this, but it seems that working for a startup is sucking down all my time.
I paid $200 for a Tivo, but it died and I didn't want to pay another $99 for a repaired version of the same thing. I may try replacing the hard drive and see if that fixes it. If nothing else it is a cool toy.
Re:Why does this crap get modded up? (Score:1, Insightful)
Maybe there are some of us that have legitimate uses even for things like MAME. Maybe there are some of us who rip our entire TAPE collection down to MP3. Maybe there are some of us who burn family videos to DVD. Maybe if we're not tied to the corporate "standards" and controls there will be more independent content, free content, etc. But maybe as long as cynical jackasses like you continue to put everyone who mentions MP3 and DVD in the same sentence, into a "pirate" outfit, then we won't get anywhere.