Setting up Media PC

Got Windows 7 going and Media Center. Installed Cyberlink PowerDVD 10 OEM Blu Ray edition.

Now installing DVD Decrypter and HandBrake.

Ripped successfully, and converted to MP4/AC3 using HandBrake.

After installing AC3Filter, Media Player plays the file. Media Player Classic Home Theatre installed, and confirms that audio is AC3. But still won't play in Media Center - just flickers screen and comes back to the menu.

Media Player Classic Home Theatre wants very latest DirectX 10 End User Runtime - so installed from Microsoft. Still no difference in Media Center, but MPCHT runs without an error dialog now.

Should install Media Player Vis's from Microsoft, or Twisted Pixel gets good reviews.

Used HandBrake to encode an mp4 with (downmixed) AAC and AC3 sound - original one I did was AC3 only, maybe that's it. Yup, now that mp4 plays using "Normal" preset in HandBrake. Shouldn't have removed the AAC audio track!

Installed 'ffdshow tryout', a free codec package. Interestingly it allows to set the priority of its codec for DirectShow, and to see stats of its operation. But no stats appear in video OR sound sections when trying to or actually playing videos.

Can apparently use DirectShow Filter Manager to set the 'merit' of each codec, a problem which is well described here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectShow#Codec_hell. Also GSpot for identifying what is actually in a file, and thus what codecs are required.

Joggler sound crackling

C patch for kernel, claimed to fix it
http://adq.livejournal.com/102923.html

Instructions to change grub settings
http://www.listshow.net/201004/ubuntu-uk/24117-ubuntu-uk-joggler-crackling-idlehalt-in-grubcfg.html

Copy iTunes music to SMB drive

Using rsync it is possible to copy only changed files to the BT Home Hub, once it's mounted using Finder->Connect To Server...

This command does it:

rsync -v -a -h --progress --delete --size-only --no-times /Users/Shared/iTunes\ Music/ /Volumes/Disk_a1/Music/

However, there is a problem in that the Home Hub, like all SMB servers I think, thinks you've made a typo when you use all capitals, but rsync is case sensitive.

This command line should do a fuzzy match (not clear from man file what that is precisely, but it looks for similar file names and sizes I gather), and delete files only after the transfer.

rsync -v -a -h --progress --delete-after --fuzzy --size-only --no-times /Users/Shared/iTunes\ Music/ /Volumes/Disk_a1/Music/

Finder in OS 10.5.7 doesn't copy to SAMBA!!!

Found this forum discussion, scroll to bottom and it turns out that others had the same problem I have - that I can't copy to a SAMBA network drive using finder. But I can save files there and I can edit files there.

It turns out that the problem probably lies with the .DSStore files that OS X is trying to create, being vetoed by the BT Home Hub.

Install Squeezebox Server on Joggler

Followed instructions from here., putting the "stable beta" repo in to the Software Sources: deb http://debian.slimdevices.com.

In the end had to get the deb http://debian.slimdevices.com stable main package as it couldn't find anything to download.

Ran Synaptic Package Manager and after a fashion it showed Squeezeboxserver as a package. Installed, required many other things too (mysql and perl linkages in particular).

Then navigate to /192.168.1.69:9000/ and configured it! All going!

Now sudo apt-get install smbfs.
sudo mkdir /mnt/hub

Then edit /etc/fstab to have //192.168.1.253/Disk_a1 /mnt/hub smbfs guest 0 0.

Seems bthub as name doesn't work, and IP address of the disk is at 253, not the gateway address of 254.

Happily indexing the hub's drive!

Squeezebox Server not indexing

Found that in scanner.log (get from http://localhost:9000/settings/index.html), it was always stopping at a song from an album called Golden Gate Breaks. When I moved it out of the way (delete it in iTunes), which is being indexed (though I had turned off iTunes indexing and was only pointing it at the iTunes folder), it indexed much further.

Suggested on Forum that I could upload a file or two.

Update 21 Oct: I uninstalled it cos it's now running on the Joggler. Used these instructions.

Forcing a re-index of Adventure in Spotlight

For some time now I've not had any new Applications appearing in Spotlight, and I think other things too. Found this advice from Apple:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2409?viewlocale=en_US

on a forum. Tried adding the Adventure HDD, and it seems to have worked.