Archive for June 29th, 2009

Success! Now serving media… stage 1

June 29th, 2009 / / 2 comments

It didn’t work at all the last time I tried.

This time I mostly followed some online directions for installing a bare-bones Ubuntu media server running MediaTomb and modified things only slightly to get a result that more closely matched my requirements.

It worked (the third time I tried actually).

I celebrated my success by watching Without a Clue streamed to my PS3 directly from the new media server I had just finished configuring (plus I had time to kill while copying everything over – who knew 100gig took a while to copy).

Instructions are saved for posterity below the cut (more for my reference than yours).

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Kwasi-Lo-Tec Media Server?

June 27th, 2009 / / No comments

The most recent upgrade of my surveillance system was a surplused DVR unit which has rendered my home-built DVR largely superfluous, I’ve been considering using it as the basis for a home media distribution system but have been having some issues figuring out how I’ll be organizing this.

I’ve decided that I will install Mediatomb on the computer (once we’ve covered a period of time running both DVR systems to make sure the new one is reliable) allowing for streaming video for UPnP devices on our home network, but for the televisions NOT equipped with UPnP I’ll be adding a cludge to allow us to access a library of movies and music from any TV in the house.

The plan is to make use of remote desktop features of Ubuntu, playing movies or music on the “server” will allow me to pipe the monitor (and audio) feed along another custom channel (like our surveillance system feed) and thus any TV in the house can whatever media is selected.

Truly MeTV. It won’t be as user friendly as I would like and will rely heavily on laptops/desktops to get the movie/music started, but once it’s rolling it should be easy enough to enjoy, no?

Someone have a better idea? I’m all ears.

One last Monkey jumping on the bed…

June 3rd, 2009 / / 10 comments

A typical Monday, Lisa and I sorta dragging around the house while Jilly races around like her diet consists entirely of sugar. A few warnings from Mommy and Daddy to be careful go largely unheeded.

The adventure culminates in a loud crash from the second floor, followed by a particular sort of howl that indicates this owee may require more than a quick kiss to set right.

Jillians first cast

Initially we figured it for a sprain as there was no swelling or bruising, but a call from the school this morning suggested that the wrist had started to swell and Jilly was still favoring her right hand.

A quick departure from work followed by a trip to our GP, then to the General Hospital pretty much killed the day and resulted in a hot pink cast for poor Jilly.

She’s recovering well, as the photo indicates.

 
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