Why do you ignore XBMC?

English Multimedia
1

Hi, just wanted to know if there is any good reason to leave XBMC outside your repos. As you might know it’s the peak of multimedia on Linux, a very reliable and feature reach media center, GPLed, with good relations and well respected in the industry. Dudes, companies build machines around this one! How can you just ignore this?

For years I used the Packman repo, but it seems it is no longer updated not with the latest vs. Now that XBMC 13 Gotham is out can you SUSE people pull some strings to get it into some repos?

I am trying not to mention VLC… Do you really do so well on the desktop that you just can live without those 2?

2

Hi
Because it needs to be build with patent encumbered packages, packman is the only (or you own private build instance) provider of the package. You need to follow up with the folks there via the mailing list or as a bug. Please note that an update may be in the process however there are some issues with packman especially on the multimedia building since the upgrade to OBS 2.5.

https://pmbs.links2linux.de/package/show/home:sagiben/XBMC-Gotham

3

Why should I put it in my repo?
I don’t use it and have no need for it… :wink:

For years I used the Packman repo, but it seems it is no longer updated not with the latest vs. Now that XBMC 13 Gotham is out can you SUSE people pull some strings to get it into some repos?

If you want to talk to the SUSE people, you are in the wrong forum. :wink:

And actually there is work being done already at the moment to update this to the latest version (13/Gotham) in Packman, although apparently this is not even really released yet.
See here: [packman] [PM] XBMC 12.3-2.26 (openSUSE 13.1/x86_64)

I am trying not to mention VLC… Do you really do so well on the desktop that you just can live without those 2?

What is wrong with VLC?
VLC is even included in the standard repos, although without full codec support. Which is available on Packman, in the latest version.

And it’s just not possible to include that patented/restricted stuff in the official repos.
That’s not ignoring anyone/-thing, that’s facing the (legal) facts.

And that’s one of the main reasons why Packman even exists.

4

On 2014-05-12 15:26, malcolmlewis wrote:

>> For years I used the Packman repo, but it seems it is no longer updated
>> not with the latest vs. Now that XBMC 13 Gotham is out can you SUSE
>> people pull some strings to get it into some repos?
>>
>> I am trying not to mention VLC… Do you really do so well on the
>> desktop that you just can live without those 2?

> Hi
> Because it needs to be build with patent encumbered packages, packman is
> the only (or you own private build instance) provider of the package.
> You need to follow up with the folks there via the mailing list or as a
> bug. Please note that an update may be in the process however there are
> some issues with packman especially on the multimedia building since the
> upgrade to OBS 2.5.

Packman has xbmc 12.3-2 and vlc 2.1.4 Rincewind. So both are provided.

I got intrigued by xbmc, so I installed it. I’m going to remove it
again, because it runs full screen, the mouse is badly handled, and on
exit suggests to poweroff the machine. This is oriented to standalone
multimedia centers, not for desktops.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.

(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Minas Tirith))

5

To toggle fullscreen/window just type a backslash ("").

IINM mouse works in windowed mode, but it’s obviously geared towards discrete input, as in a wireless mini-keyboard (what I use) or dedicated remote control.

And yes, the default exit is to shutdown the computer, but the option to exit XBMC to the desktop is there, as I’m sure you noticed.

My daughter uses it in her laptop to have a multimedia database, as it’s scraping capabilities are very good, but mostly I see her watching content in smplayer, so I think she agrees with you.

6

On 2014-05-13 05:26, brunomcl wrote:
>
> robin_listas;2642729 Wrote:
>> I’m going to remove it
>> again, because it runs full screen, the mouse is badly handled, and on
>> exit suggests to poweroff the machine. This is oriented to standalone
>> multimedia centers, not for desktops.
>
> To toggle fullscreen/window just type a backslash ("").

When I do that, I get a 1/4 size XBMC display on the top left, but the
border of the desktop window is still maximized. There is no resize
thing for the mouse to resize the window. It doesn’t integrate at all
with XFCE.

I tried the weather tab, it sits at “fetching data” for ever. I click on
locations, get none.

I tried viewing a video. It does work, yes… but I see no advantage to
vlc, xine, or mplayer. The volume started up at 100%, and I had to go
through two places before reaching the volume control. Maybe it has a
quick key, but you have to know about it.

I don’t see a reason to use this on a normal desktop machine, only on
dedicated multimedia things, kiosk type.

There is an “xbmc-noX” package that probably would work without having
X installed.

> IINM mouse works in windowed mode, but it’s obviously geared towards
> discrete input, as in a wireless mini-keyboard (what I use) or dedicated
> remote control.

Yes, that would make sense.

> And yes, the default exit is to shutdown the computer, but the option to
> exit XBMC to the desktop is there, as I’m sure you noticed.

Yes, I did. But I was dismayed.

> My daughter uses it in her laptop to have a multimedia database, as it’s
> scraping capabilities are very good, but mostly I see her watching
> content in smplayer, so I think she agrees with you.

:slight_smile:

Anyway, it is obvious that XBMC is not ignored, you can install it very
easily.

And now, my testing finished, I remove it again into oblivion :wink:

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.

(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Minas Tirith))

7

@robin_listas XBMC is intended (as stated) as a Home Cinema/Media Center. So after you run it it is supposed to be full screen, to use a remote for it, not your standard keyboard and mouse, to have an interface suitable for TVs etc etc. And your problems should be posted somewhere else, though I have 0 problems (there are known bugs but are pretty much insignificant in 12.3). It’s one of the greatest GPL entertainment software always developed, my 2 RON.

And not “ignored” by “people” as their stats clearly show around 500.000 new running instances per month (that’s running players verified by the add-on system, not downloads, which are huge!), but by the openSUSE project.

@wolfi323 was talking about Packman at the right people (SUSE) to get XBMC… well… in openSUSE official repos? As for the VLC player without codecs, and really no other proprietary stuff… take a look at fedora how well fared till Fedy (and the other, the first one, don’t remember the name). Though I don’t endorse proprietary software - there is no much use to a player without it’s codecs.

@malcolmlewis Thanks for the answer, this is I guess the main reason, will look for it then in another repos. Didn’t think there are licenses involved. This can be closed/marked as solved.

8

No, that’s not possible as explained already.
But it is available from Packman (as already mentioned), like all the other restricted multimedia stuff.

Packman is the repo for multimedia stuff on (open)SUSE, and is so since about 10 years already. Nothing new there really.

And my point about SUSE was meant as hint that these are the openSUSE forums.
SUSE is a company that provides a commercial distribution (SLES and SLED). The forums for SUSE are located elsewhere.
If you want to talk to the “SUSE people”, you probably won’t reach them here.

As for the VLC player without codecs, and really no other proprietary stuff… take a look at fedora how well fared till Fedy (and the other, the first one, don’t remember the name).

That’s irrelevant for openSUSE.

Though I don’t endorse proprietary software - there is no much use to a player without it’s codecs.

There is. First, you can compile/ship all other software that needs vlc/libvlc, like phonon-backend-vlc. They automatically get full codec support when you install vlc-codecs.

Second, as long as you use open formats (OGG Vorbis/Theora f.e.), the VLC from the standard repo is good enough for you.

And as I already wrote as well, it is just not possible to include vlc-codecs or XBMC in the standard repos. And that won’t changed by posting here, whatever good reasons you point out.
I guess most people here (including me) would be glad to have vlc-codecs and other multimedia stuff in the standard repo, but well…

9

On 2014-05-15 11:16, fakemoth wrote:
>
> @robin_listas XBMC is intended (as stated) as a Home Cinema/Media
> Center. So after you run it it is supposed to be full screen, to use a
> remote for it, not your standard keyboard and mouse, to have an
> interface suitable for TVs etc etc. And your problems should be posted
> somewhere else,

I will not. I do not want to use XBMC, that’s you :wink:

> And not “ignored” by “people” as their stats clearly show around 500.000
> new running instances per month (that’s running_players verified by
> the add-on system, not downloads, which are huge!), but by the openSUSE
> project.

openSUSE does not ignore it. We showed you where to install it from.

>
> @wolfi323 was talking about Packman at the right people (SUSE) to get
> XBMC… well… in openSUSE official repos?

That will NEVER happen. Not XBMC, nor many others, no matter how much
you complain. The reasons have been explained thousands of times, argued
about thousands of times… it is pointless to argue about it once more.

Have a look here: https://en.opensuse.org/Restricted_formats
for an explanation.

For instance, VLC is currently distributed in the official repos, with a
matching codecs package you have to download from packman instead. If
you can easily separate other packages (like xbmc) in the same manner,
then the same thing can be done for them.

But having the packages with legal issues inside openSUSE official
distribution is totally out of the question. Don’t even ask. You can do
it on your own premises; SUSE can not.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.

(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” (Minas Tirith))

10

Other problems with XBMC are;

It only seems to support one screen, my other laptop is connected to my TV with HDMI and I cannot get it to run full screen
to the external hdmi monitor/tv.

Some files seem to be decoded by software even thou they work fine in kafiene and vlc, it plays at about 1:20th the speed with
one mkv file. I gave up after playing three movies.

I’m using KDE 4 Current.

It does have some nice configurability, but it also has these issues i have not been able to work around. I’ve finally got media playing reasonable well sorted out, but not sure I can repeat it again.

11

Seems like Pacman repo really takes its time.
Not just XBMC, looked at some other packages and they are pretty outdated.

btw is there a way to install XBMC v13 rpm from Fedora, is it doable ?

12

On Wed, 21 May 2014 19:56:01 +0000, gzenum wrote:

> btw is there a way to install XBMC v13 rpm from Fedora, is it doable ?

I wouldn’t recommend it - and it probably wouldn’t work because Fedora
uses a different package/dependency naming scheme.

Jim

–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C

13

Thanks, I guess renaming those dependencies and then rebuilding the rpm would fix that.
I understand what you’re saying, it can be a pain to look for the right names in the opensuse, but if there’s no other option I guess it’s worth a shot.

Anyway XBMC v13 is in the repo now :slight_smile:

14

On Thu, 22 May 2014 12:06:01 +0000, gzenum wrote:

> hendersj;2644672 Wrote:
>> On Wed, 21 May 2014 19:56:01 +0000, gzenum wrote:
>>
>> > btw is there a way to install XBMC v13 rpm from Fedora, is it doable
>> > ?
>>
>> I wouldn’t recommend it - and it probably wouldn’t work because Fedora
>> uses a different package/dependency naming scheme.
>>
>>
> Thanks, I guess renaming those dependencies and then rebuilding the rpm
> would fix that.

Some dependencies aren’t based on library names or on package names, but
based on names embedded in the spec files. Doing that can be very
messy. You can install with --nodeps, but that can leave your system in
a state where updating packages is very difficult because dependencies
cannot be resolved.

That’s why it’s generally not recommended to use RPMs from other
distributions, or even other versions of openSUSE for that matter.

> I understand what you’re saying, it can be a pain to look for the right
> names in the opensuse, but if there’s no other option I guess it’s worth
> a shot.

Worst that happens is it doesn’t work, or you end up with broken
dependencies. You can resolve that by uninstalling the package.

> Anyway XBMC v13 is in the repo now :slight_smile:

Yep, I saw that earlier today. :slight_smile:

Jim

–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C

15

Yes it is in the repo now, installing.

offtopic: OMG can’t believe that after years of not getting notifications (wrong email address, and not being able to change it) the admins solved this for me. TKS!

16

On 2014-05-22 14:06, gzenum wrote:
>
> hendersj;2644672 Wrote:
>> On Wed, 21 May 2014 19:56:01 +0000, gzenum wrote:
>>
>>> btw is there a way to install XBMC v13 rpm from Fedora, is it doable ?
>>
>> I wouldn’t recommend it - and it probably wouldn’t work because Fedora
>> uses a different package/dependency naming scheme.
>>
>
> Thanks, I guess renaming those dependencies and then rebuilding the rpm
> would fix that.

No.

You would have to build the package from sources yourself.

–
Cheers / Saludos,

Carlos E. R.
(from 13.1 x86_64 “Bottle” at Telcontar)