Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
N It is not also possible to use anonymous logins from the mount.cifs command within MediaMVP, so create a
separate Linux account on the computer running the file server (192.168.1.110 in this example). Because this username/
password is visible in the configuration file and this configuration file is visible to anyone with TFTP access, you should
make doubly sure that it's not visible outside your network.
Note
Weather Reports
This data is downloaded from the Yahoo! weather service and is rendered, with graphics, from one of the menu
options onscreen. It needs to know where in the world you are located and that you have access to the Internet.
For me, in London, this requires the following alternative line:
mvpmc --weather-location UKXX0085 &
You can determine this code by visiting http://weather.yahoo.com , searching for your town or city, and
grabbing the RSS feed. This will direct you to a URL such as the following:
http://weather.yahooapis.com/forecastrss?p=UKXX0085&u=c
where you will notice the city code ( p=UKXX0085 ) and the units ( u=c ), allowing you to present the data in either Celsius
or Fahrenheit.
Video Transcoding
The biggest problem with hardware solutions is their lack of upgrade path. Although MediaMVP provided a means
of changing the firmware, the MVP hardware didn't use a powerful enough processor to allow firmware that
could decompress video in real time. Instead of converting all of your past DVD rips into a suitable format, it is
instead possible to convert the format on the fly (known as transcoding ) while you're watching them. This requires
configuration of the MediaMVPMC and a transcoding server running VLC.
In the first instance, you need to add the appropriate arguments that tell MVPMC the address of the
transcoding server.
mvpmc --vlc 192.168.1.110 --vlc-vopts dvd &
Naturally, as with every other server we've seen, the server involves only software and can exist on the same
physical machine as the DHCP or TFTP server. However, because of the increased processing power necessary, you
might want to run the transcoding software on a separate machine or your desktop. This allows you to have a small,
low-power server running the main systems in your house, with the “big iron” being used only when necessary.
N The transcoding server only needs a CPU with reasonable specs, meaning that an old stripped-down P3 or P4
can be fast enough. Making use of your desktop is often a good idea, because the transcoding won't slow your work
down as you'll be watching a film at that time!
Tip
Depending on the speed of your transcoding server, you might not be able to manage the highest-quality images.
By amending the -vlc-vopts to either SVCD or VCD, you can reduce the resultant quality to that of the Super Video
CD format, or standard Video CD format, respectively.
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search