Comparing Windows and Linux as a Media center

[SenorDingDong]

My views so far are as follows.

For ease of use Windows is surely better. To install drivers in linux is hard (well easy with yast but not so on other distros). I still have'nt gotten my surround sound working so this is another such problem. Configuring/setting up hardware for the user is harder in linux then in Windows, so in terms of user friendliness Windows wins.

Gaming is another aspect that Windows wins in. Not all games are supported on Linux, and Programs like Wine and Cadega don't ncessairly run everything properly and from what ive Heard performance can be severaly reduced when compared to Windows. Also of course if you wish to use a joystick it can be very difficult to setup.

Heres a fairly recent article on the state of gaming in linux
http://www.cooltechzone.com/index.ph...d=984&Itemid=0

In terms of video playback and audio playback id say there about equal. Linux can play everything Windows can, in some cases Linux makes it easier because instead of having to use a bunch of different programs to play different files, Programs such as Xine and Amarok (with the W32 codecs installed) can play almost every video file in one program.

Once you get more highup into video editing im not so sure. I dont think Linux is as good yet, because it doesnt have support of products like Adobe Premiere and such.

[oldcpu]

Gaming is another aspect that Windows wins in. Not all games are supported on Linux, and Programs like Wine and Cadega don't ncessairly run everything properly and from what ive Heard performance can be severaly reduced when compared to Windows. Also of course if you wish to use a joystick it can be very difficult to setup.

Interesting the different perspectives every one brings to a board like this. I myself would never consider gaming a part of multimedia, although I do concede multimedia is needed to support gaming. While I don't play games with Linux (nor did I ever play games with windows back in the late 1990's when I last used Windows) I would not be surprised to read Windows games are far superior to that of Linux. But is that a reflection on the multimedia, or is that a reflection on the games themselves?

Heres a fairly recent article on the state of gaming in linux
http://www.cooltechzone.com/index.ph...d=984&Itemid=0

Thanks.

Once you get more highup into video editing im not so sure. I dont think Linux is as good yet, because it doesnt have support of products like Adobe Premiere and such.

Agreed, from a non-production house/amateur view point. Windows is superior.

However if one gets into professional/expensive movie studio production video editing, I believe Linux is superior.

[Dude500]

There is is a media player for windows called DivX(I think that's what its called) anyways it can play lot of media file formats

[Schrödenberg]

Really, its up to you to define the level that you are looking for. IMHO Linux excells in the professional $$ level (better than MS-Windows packages) for professional film studios and such. Those Linux packages are also far beyond the limited free open source Linux multimedia, that people who hang out in forums like linuxforms.org tend to use.

Linux has some pretty nice high-end commercial apps, like IFX Piranha Cinema, but Mac and Windows have a huge selection of comparable (if not better) solutions. I'd say they're about equal in that regard.

There is is a media player for windows called DivX(I think that's what its called) anyways it can play lot of media file formats

DivX is a codec based on MPEG-4. There's a DivX video player that plays DivX, MPEG-4, and WMV videos, but that's about it. Winamp, Windows Media Player, and Zoom Player are the the kings when it comes to file compatibility. The former two also have excellent interfaces, with Zoom not too far behind.

[tsairox]

Hi,

I am a Suse 9.3 Linux newbie. I love linux so far, but am trying to figure out how to play dvds, quiktime, and wmvs etc.

So i downloaded MPlayer-1.0pre7.tar.bz2
I extracted it
did an ls
downloaded a C compiler
then ./config
then make
then make install

now I can't find the MPlayer icon anywhere

I went into the Konsole and typed mplayer and this is what i got:


Usage: mplayer [options] [url|path/]filename

Basic options: (complete list in the man page)
-vo <drv[:dev]> select video output driver & device ('-vo help' for a list)
-ao <drv[:dev]> select audio output driver & device ('-ao help' for a list)
vcd://<trackno> play (S)VCD (Super Video CD) track (raw device, no mount)
dvd://<titleno> play DVD title from device instead of plain file
-alang/-slang select DVD audio/subtitle language (by 2-char country code)
-ss <timepos> seek to given (seconds or hh:mm:ss) position
-nosound do not play sound
-fs fullscreen playback (or -vm, -zoom, details in the man page)
-x <x> -y <y> set display resolution (for use with -vm or -zoom)
-sub <file> specify subtitle file to use (also see -subfps, -subdelay)
-playlist <file> specify playlist file
-vid x -aid y select video (x) and audio (y) stream to play
-fps x -srate y change video (x fps) and audio (y Hz) rate
-pp <quality> enable postprocessing filter (details in the man page)
-framedrop enable frame dropping (for slow machines)

Basic keys: (complete list in the man page, also check input.conf)
<- or -> seek backward/forward 10 seconds
up or down seek backward/forward 1 minute
pgup or pgdown seek backward/forward 10 minutes
< or > step backward/forward in playlist
p or SPACE pause movie (press any key to continue)
q or ESC stop playing and quit program
+ or - adjust audio delay by +/- 0.1 second
o cycle OSD mode: none / seekbar / seekbar + timer
* or / increase or decrease PCM volume
z or x adjust subtitle delay by +/- 0.1 second
r or t adjust subtitle position up/down, also see -vf expand

* * * SEE THE MAN PAGE FOR DETAILS, FURTHER (ADVANCED) OPTIONS AND KEYS * *

I don't know how to start playing dvds from Konsole. What commands do I use? Also how would I play wmvs from Konsole?
Any idea what I should do now?

Thanks,

Tsai

I am running Suse 9.3, AMD Athlon 64 3800+, 200gb WD, 2g of ram.

[oldcpu]

Wow! ... I don't know where to start. .... Too much to say .... Too many areas where you could have done things different and easier.

First, let me say C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S on getting this far! I'm impressed.

Second, for a post like this, you really should start a separate thread. ...

Third, mplayer is a very popular package. I think almost every distribution will have a pre-compiled rpm, or whatever, available, either as part of the distribution, or available from some 3rd party site. In the case of SuSE, get an mplayer rpm from Packman:
http://packman.links2linux.org/?action=128
"rpms" are MUCH easier to install than tarballs.

Compiling can be hard. And compiling from source, when there is a good rpm available, is either a mark of masochism , or a mark of pure keeness to get the absolute best possible video performance.

Fourth, as for running mplayer, ... to get help, simple type "man mplayer", and you will get all sorts of instructions on how to use it. If you re-read what you posted, you will see those text messages were actually instructions, telling you what to do.

Fifth, If you are still struggling after this, how about starting a new thread? A new thread, with the right SUBJECT (very important to pick a relevant subject), and the right people will see and hopefully respond to your post.

[khinch]

In case you haven't seen it, check out:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Linux_in_film_production

That link is dynamite!

And for anyone else who stumbles across this thread, it has moved to here.