newbie to xbmc

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German Muscle

Supreme [H]ardness
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Ive installed xbmc and two repos. It really seems that im just barely getting into the software as it seems it will do alot more. Any tips, suggestions, etc?
 
Add the http://fusion.xbmchub.com to your repositories.
Here is a good youtube link to get you started with some of the better repositories.
Youtube
I just got into it the other day and I am still a newb also. I am still trying to figure out a better way to get my library to show like it did in MCE and also trying to figure out if I can get ac3filter to work. It is going to be some digging around since XBMC uses it's own codecs. I have to figure out a way to get a good directshow filter added.


*edit, I have just seen something on the XBMC site pertaining to the xbmchub link I gave and it should be noted that this is not a part of XBMC.org so it is completely up to you if you decide to use this. There have been talks from devs that it "could" break some things. XBMC is open source so it is not illegal to use this but it might be frowned upon by some but not all. It is kind of up in the air right now.
 
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German Muscle said:
Ive installed xbmc and two repos. It really seems that im just barely getting into the software as it seems it will do alot more. Any tips, suggestions, etc?
Click to expand...

Install Navi X as an add on and don't forget to increase buffer size through advancesettings.xml.
 
Thanks for the links for repos.

I also edited the advanced settings and the software is super fast now.
 
Check the Aeon Nox theme, it is my favorite, lots of customization as well....
 
You can use your android/iphone as a remote! really awesome when you can view your entire library from the phone (with cover art) and use it to play/pause/stop/volume etc. It will also display incoming calls/sms on the TV too if you want. I bought a cheap android wifi phone just for this purpose lol
 
I've had XBMX set up my way for so long now I'd have to think about the thousand things I've done to it...

1. Install the youtube-to-xbmc (i forget name) addon for Chrome for shooting youtube videos on your desktop to XBMC for instant watching, very helpful when guests are over.

2. I put a hack into advancedsettings that removes the 'all seasons' category when drilling down into tv shows. A lot of people don't like it and AFAIK still requires a declaration in advancedsettings.

3. Get a real tv remote like a Logitech Harmony. Nothing beats physical buttons for this application.

4. Get a skin. Personal preference. I use Aeon Nox customized with a white theme. I keep it very minimal and disable anything not used in the main menu. Nox and Aeon prob hit the CPU the most so play with dif skins to see which ones keep it running fast. Don't compromise on speed/performance.

5. If you have live tv, you can hook it into a back-end and get live tv in your XBMC. I use a monoprice antenna, plugged into an hd homerun, plugged into my router. My server has a NextPVR server running which XBMC connects to as a client to show networks in HD. Basically only use it for live sporting events/breaking news/state of the union as I DL everything else.

6. Use the XBMC scrapers as they are as good as the media management software now with less hassle. But replace the movie scraper with 'Universal Movie Scraper' and the music one with 'Universal Music Scraper'. They are just better.

7. Set up emulators on your XBMC machine, and use Advanced Launcher or Rom Collection Browser to launch them from within XBMC. This requires a lot of tweaking/testing each emu to get it running smoothly and preferably from a wireless xbox 360 controller or something similar. Requires time investment and set up depends on CPU horsepower (all emus) and GPU (ps1/2). I don't even ever really play them, but it's always useful in a dick-measuring contest among your male friends.


I'll add to this list later, I'm at work and it's easier once I'm home and using it.
 
I recently had my main HD die on my HTPC and it was a pain to get all the posters and fanart back agin since I have over 32GB of stuff. Totally sucked scraping all that info agin.So what I did with my new XBMC install is to export all the artwork, posters, banners and fanart back to the folders of each TV Show and Movie.

Really simple. Go to video settings and just click on the export tab. Now if I have to replace my HTPC drive again all the movies and such will already have the posters and stuff in each individual folder on whatever HD they are stored.
 
Your lucky you only had 32G. I might have to do this since I have around 2TB so far. I just installed a new 3TB drive over the weekend.
 
Everything's automated with regard to downloading new artwork so I've never given it much thought, even if it may take a bit of time to re-download.
 
I was going to put Aeon Nox theme on mine but it seems its not something they want to be easy. So i gave up.
 
In terms of customizing the skin using the skin menu, or actually installing it in the first place?
 
I have been using the Nox skin and I like it. It was pretty easy to set up.
 
Valaire said:
In terms of customizing the skin using the skin menu, or actually installing it in the first place?
Click to expand...

i cant even find the core skin to download. When i type in Aeon Nox download and get to a place to start downloading files there are about 20 with nothing telling you which one is which.
 
i use a current modified version of xbmc that includes ds player for playback. with the ds player, i get to use my own codecs and svp and avisynth for ffdshow decoder

this gives me frame interpolation/motion tweening from 24fps content up to 60fps and it also gives me an option for ambx style lighting in the letterboxing of ultrawide format movies.

i use a simple 12 dollar rosewill mce remote from newegg with an AlternateMceIrService service and Eventghost program to map the buttons and do more complicated things from the couch such as fullscreen, toggle screen, in addition to all the normal functions.

aeon nox skin, same as everyone else.
 
German Muscle said:
i cant even find the core skin to download. When i type in Aeon Nox download and get to a place to start downloading files there are about 20 with nothing telling you which one is which.
Click to expand...

You download/install the skin from within XBMC. Just go to system>appearance>skin and then hit Get More.
 
Yeah, Nox 4.0 is in the official repo, so all you have to do is install it from within XBMC.
 
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