What is GeeXboX ?
http://www.geexbox.org/
GeeXboX is a free embedded Linux distribution which aims at turning your computer into a so called HTPC (Home Theater PC) or Media Center. Being a standalone LiveCD-based distribution, it's a ready to boot operating system than works on any Pentium-class x86 computer or PowerPC Macintosh, implying no software requirement. You can even use it on a diskless computer, the whole system being loaded in RAM.
Despite his tiny ISO image size, the distribution comes with a complete and automatic hardware detection, not requiring any driver to be added. It supports playback of nearly any kind of audio/video and image files and all known codecs and containers are shipped in, allowing playing them through various physical supports, either being CD, DVD, HDD, LAN or Internet.
GeeXboX also comes with a complete toolchain that allows developers adding easily extra packages and features but that might also be used to give birth to many dedicated embedded Linux systems.
GeeXboX is a free embedded Linux distribution which aims at turning your computer into a so called HTPC (Home Theater PC) or Media Center. Being a standalone LiveCD-based distribution, it's a ready to boot operating system than works on any Pentium-class x86 computer or PowerPC Macintosh, implying no software requirement. You can even use it on a diskless computer, the whole system being loaded in RAM.
Despite his tiny ISO image size, the distribution comes with a complete and automatic hardware detection, not requiring any driver to be added. It supports playback of nearly any kind of audio/video and image files and all known codecs and containers are shipped in, allowing playing them through various physical supports, either being CD, DVD, HDD, LAN or Internet.
GeeXboX also comes with a complete toolchain that allows developers adding easily extra packages and features but that might also be used to give birth to many dedicated embedded Linux systems.
GeeXboX user survey: thanks for your (posted by Francesco) (03/04/2007)
The GeeXboX user survey is now closed. We have received many more responses than we would have ever hoped for, and this means that we have a great user base. We really wish to thank all of you for your help; now we have to get working and make good use of your responses: hopefully you'll be able to see the effects very soon!
GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 released: (re)call for test. (03/01/2007)
Thanks to your 1.1-rc1 testings, we've been able to fix out a lot of bugs from GeeXboX. It is now up to you to test this new release again. Once again, please test this version and report problems to the Forum . As usual, the more you'll be to test it, the faster we'll release 1.1.
Below are links to 1.1-rc2:
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 ISO for i386
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 ISO Generator for i386
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 ISO for PowerPC
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 ISO Generator for PowerPC
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 Light Sources
Below are links to 1.1-rc2:
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 ISO for i386
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 ISO Generator for i386
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 ISO for PowerPC
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 ISO Generator for PowerPC
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc2 Light Sources
GeeXboX user survey: make your voice heard (posted by Francesco) (02/22/2007)
Within the OpenUsability project, we are deploying a user survey in order to get to know our users better so that we can improve the user interface. We currently are in the process to restructure GeeXboX in order to render it more usable: that is, we want you to be able to use GeeXboX more easily, quickly and with more satisfaction and enjoyment. So, please spend five minutes of your time and answer the questions that you can find on this survey .
Thank you in advance for your involvement.
Thank you in advance for your involvement.
GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 released: call for test. (02/03/2007)
While the team is working on 2.x series achievement, the 1.x series has continued to evolve and here's the first release candidate of the upcoming 1.1 version. In order for us to discover the remaining nasty bugs and help us release 1.1 as soon as possible, please test this version and report problems to the Forum . As usual, the more you'll be to test it, the faster we'll release 1.1.
Below are links to 1.1-rc1:
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 ISO for i386
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 ISO Generator for i386
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 ISO for PowerPC
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 ISO Generator for PowerPC
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 Light Sources
Below are links to 1.1-rc1:
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 ISO for i386
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 ISO Generator for i386
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 ISO for PowerPC
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 ISO Generator for PowerPC
- GeeXboX 1.1-rc1 Light Sources
Open Usability Season '07 acceptance: sponsored student came in. (01/05/2007)
The GeeXboX project has been accepted to the OpenUsability , Season of Usability 2007 program. As a result, we are proud to welcome a student, Francesco De Rose, that will work with our team on usability concerns, especially dealing on GeeXboX 2.x interface. He will be mentored by Celeste Lyn Paul, an interaction architect, active contributor to the KDE Usability Project and OpenUsability. Francesco might start collecting user feedback in order to help us extend GeeXboX and make always the most easy and intuitive to use we can.
GeeXboX 2.x technological preview: what a surprise ! (12/31/2006)
Xmas passed away and no new GeeXboX release came out this year. It's a bit sad but we were focusing on next generation architecture which delayed a bit the 1.x serie development. You may however expect some 1.1 release any time soon, with it's usual set of improvements. Time has come now to let you discover our very first technological preview of GeeXboX 2.x series.
Some of you may have heard about MPUI years ago, or OMC/libplayer a bit earlier this year but both approaches went down. The decision has been taken to make use of Freevo 2.0 (still work in progress, but so is GeeXboX 2.x) and Kaa, its multimedia framework as our new UI reference. As a consequence, many new packages had to be added (such as Python) to our distribution. In a near future, GeeXboX and Freevo projects will be more tighten than ever, and we should be the official Freevo LiveCD, still keeping in mind our embedded and easy-to-setup approach. Unfortunately, ISO grew up radically (it is now 20 MB) and so does RAM usage (at least 128MB is now mandatory). But, as a development version, don't take it too seriously, it'll still change 'till the final release. If you want to have a try at this technological preview, just grab the GeeXboX 2.x 2006-12-31 ISO and burn it to a CD or try it through VMware or so. Don't look for a generator or try to install it on disk, it is not yet meant for. Don't expect it either to be fully functional, it's still full of bugs and isn't meant to replace the official 1.x serie anytime soon. Right now, it can be controlled through keyboard only (arrow keys and Enter/Escape) but should already be able to let you watch some videos, play audio files or view various pictures. Well, that's said, here are some screenshots, just for you to know what to expect from 2007 ;-)
Happy new year from all the GeeXboX team members ...
Some of you may have heard about MPUI years ago, or OMC/libplayer a bit earlier this year but both approaches went down. The decision has been taken to make use of Freevo 2.0 (still work in progress, but so is GeeXboX 2.x) and Kaa, its multimedia framework as our new UI reference. As a consequence, many new packages had to be added (such as Python) to our distribution. In a near future, GeeXboX and Freevo projects will be more tighten than ever, and we should be the official Freevo LiveCD, still keeping in mind our embedded and easy-to-setup approach. Unfortunately, ISO grew up radically (it is now 20 MB) and so does RAM usage (at least 128MB is now mandatory). But, as a development version, don't take it too seriously, it'll still change 'till the final release. If you want to have a try at this technological preview, just grab the GeeXboX 2.x 2006-12-31 ISO and burn it to a CD or try it through VMware or so. Don't look for a generator or try to install it on disk, it is not yet meant for. Don't expect it either to be fully functional, it's still full of bugs and isn't meant to replace the official 1.x serie anytime soon. Right now, it can be controlled through keyboard only (arrow keys and Enter/Escape) but should already be able to let you watch some videos, play audio files or view various pictures. Well, that's said, here are some screenshots, just for you to know what to expect from 2007 ;-)
Happy new year from all the GeeXboX team members ...
GeeXboX 1.0: 'As foretold by Nostradamus' edition (posted by Ben) (06/22/2006)
Here we finally are ... after more than 3 years of perpetual development, GeeXboX finally reaches its so long awaited 1.0 release. Many of you were waiting for it and this is probably the best edition of GeeXboX that you've ever had. We've spent so much time in the last few months to fix all the bugs that we can, so that you'll be forced to enjoy it ;-) At the time Aurel and myself started working on GeeXboX, none of us would have expected our software to become that famous. I'm really glad that this version finally came out and I really really want to thank from the depths of my heart all the people of our development team who are getting involved in GeeXboX everyday. None of this would ever have been possible without the work you've all done on it. I'd also like to thank all users that trusted us and are now using our software in a daily manner. You are the ones who made it possible. So for now, I hope you'll all enjoy our 1.0 release, we all did our very best on it, and we're on the road to 2.0.
So, what can you expect from this final 1.0 release ? Well, so many things have changed, been added or simply fixed. The most noticeable thing probably is the support for DVD menus, this feature that had been requested so many times by so many people and that was unfortunately missing from MPlayer is now part of GeeXboX. A lot of work also has been done for playing back network streams from SHOUTcast WebRadios, WebTVs or even RTP/RTSP streaming so that you should now be able to easily watch any kind of network or broadcasted stream from your GeeXboX media center. The overall hardware support for various DVB cards, sound cards and video display adapters has also been improved. You're now also able to see all metadata information and properties (like Codecs, resolution or ID3 tags) from your multimedia files. The easiest way to tell you the changes is probably for you to read the concise version of our changelog.
Detailed Changelog (relative to 0.98.7 release) :
System:
- Updated linux to version 2.6.16.17.
- Updated BusyBox to 1.1.3.
- Updated uClibc to 2006.05.05 snapshot.
- Updated udev to version 0.92.
Toolchain:
- Introduced GCC 4.1.1 as the new compiler.
- Support for C++ in the toolchain.
- All packages are now built with big files support flag.
- Added support for non-free binary firmwares at sources build.
Player:
- Updated MPlayer to 1.0pre8.
- DVD Navigation Menus support.
- SHOUTcast and Netstream support (with content filtering on adult/subscription-only streams).
- Support for LIVE555 library (RTP/RTSP/SIP streaming) which provides FreeboxTV support for French people using the Free ISP.
- Use mp3-lib instead of FFMpeg to avoid audible glitches while seeking.
- Fix MPlayer's bug which prevents AVI files with ODML index (99% of XviD files) to be read when idx=yes (default).
- Fix sound/subtitles issues while playing MPEG-TS streams.
- Support for multichannel AAC in MOV files.
- Playback of IFO files (DVD disc ripped on HDD for example) now works as expected.
- Set minimal cache size (5% of cache) to start playback of file very quickly.
- Fix TV channel OSD name generation with spaces in their name.
- Allows RTSP client's port forcing (for FreeboxTV users in router mode for example).
- Added support for DVD-RAM MPEG files.
Menu:
- Brand new menu item selection display (now with alpha layer).
- Added new menu that displays streams A/V properties.
- Allows metadata retrieval from MP3/OGG/FLAC audio files.
- Properties menu auto-opens and updates on audio-only media.
- Prevent user from browsing (and getting lost) in /
- Display NIC's MAC address into information menu.
- Display CDROM size.
- Fixed display of disks partition size and freespace.
- Added release number information.
Audio:
- Update ALSA library and utilities to version v1.0.11.
- Added a lot of fixes for audio playback.
Video:
- Added support for different resolutions to be used through generator.
- Support for VESA with Intel i865, i910 and i915 chipsets.
Drivers:
- Added support for Serial ATA CDROM drives.
- Added support for ATAPI/IDE ZIP/LS120 drives.
- Added support for PcCard (32bits CardBus only, not 16bits PCMCIA).
- Added LCD displays support through LCD4Linux.
- Added support for most of the Gigabit NICs.
- Fix support of Nova DVB-S+ card.
- Updated LIRC to v0.8.0.
- Updated rt2400/rt2500 drivers to CVS 05.09.2006.
- Fix em8300 driver and firmware loading issues.
Networking:
- Updated djmount to version 0.53 (files are no more represented as playlist).
- Fixed bftpd FTP server write access error.
- Updated bftpd to version 1.4, and included fix for file transfers greater than 2GB.
- Update wireless tools to version 28.
Generator:
- Updated generator tools for MacOS X (support for MacIntel x86 OSX 10.4).
- Allow you to choose between multiple themes.
- Option for DVD Navigation menus to select it as a default or not.
- Option for autoplay to select it as a default or not.
- Option for SHOUTcast (radio and tv netstreams).
- Tab for video settings configuration (resolution, color depth and boot splash)
- Tab for support of LCD displays.
Miscellaneous:
- Fixed zoomed scrolling in FBI image viewer.
- Support for Microsoft Media Center Edition USB, StreamZap, Twinhan DTV, Toshiba VT76F and ATI Remote Wonder II remotes.
- Implemented full Digimatrix hardware support (apart from panel buttons).
- Allow multiple resolutions in themes.
- Support for VMware and QEMU (usefull for test purpose).
GeeXboX 1.0 is available here and right now!
So, what can you expect from this final 1.0 release ? Well, so many things have changed, been added or simply fixed. The most noticeable thing probably is the support for DVD menus, this feature that had been requested so many times by so many people and that was unfortunately missing from MPlayer is now part of GeeXboX. A lot of work also has been done for playing back network streams from SHOUTcast WebRadios, WebTVs or even RTP/RTSP streaming so that you should now be able to easily watch any kind of network or broadcasted stream from your GeeXboX media center. The overall hardware support for various DVB cards, sound cards and video display adapters has also been improved. You're now also able to see all metadata information and properties (like Codecs, resolution or ID3 tags) from your multimedia files. The easiest way to tell you the changes is probably for you to read the concise version of our changelog.
Detailed Changelog (relative to 0.98.7 release) :
System:
- Updated linux to version 2.6.16.17.
- Updated BusyBox to 1.1.3.
- Updated uClibc to 2006.05.05 snapshot.
- Updated udev to version 0.92.
Toolchain:
- Introduced GCC 4.1.1 as the new compiler.
- Support for C++ in the toolchain.
- All packages are now built with big files support flag.
- Added support for non-free binary firmwares at sources build.
Player:
- Updated MPlayer to 1.0pre8.
- DVD Navigation Menus support.
- SHOUTcast and Netstream support (with content filtering on adult/subscription-only streams).
- Support for LIVE555 library (RTP/RTSP/SIP streaming) which provides FreeboxTV support for French people using the Free ISP.
- Use mp3-lib instead of FFMpeg to avoid audible glitches while seeking.
- Fix MPlayer's bug which prevents AVI files with ODML index (99% of XviD files) to be read when idx=yes (default).
- Fix sound/subtitles issues while playing MPEG-TS streams.
- Support for multichannel AAC in MOV files.
- Playback of IFO files (DVD disc ripped on HDD for example) now works as expected.
- Set minimal cache size (5% of cache) to start playback of file very quickly.
- Fix TV channel OSD name generation with spaces in their name.
- Allows RTSP client's port forcing (for FreeboxTV users in router mode for example).
- Added support for DVD-RAM MPEG files.
Menu:
- Brand new menu item selection display (now with alpha layer).
- Added new menu that displays streams A/V properties.
- Allows metadata retrieval from MP3/OGG/FLAC audio files.
- Properties menu auto-opens and updates on audio-only media.
- Prevent user from browsing (and getting lost) in /
- Display NIC's MAC address into information menu.
- Display CDROM size.
- Fixed display of disks partition size and freespace.
- Added release number information.
Audio:
- Update ALSA library and utilities to version v1.0.11.
- Added a lot of fixes for audio playback.
Video:
- Added support for different resolutions to be used through generator.
- Support for VESA with Intel i865, i910 and i915 chipsets.
Drivers:
- Added support for Serial ATA CDROM drives.
- Added support for ATAPI/IDE ZIP/LS120 drives.
- Added support for PcCard (32bits CardBus only, not 16bits PCMCIA).
- Added LCD displays support through LCD4Linux.
- Added support for most of the Gigabit NICs.
- Fix support of Nova DVB-S+ card.
- Updated LIRC to v0.8.0.
- Updated rt2400/rt2500 drivers to CVS 05.09.2006.
- Fix em8300 driver and firmware loading issues.
Networking:
- Updated djmount to version 0.53 (files are no more represented as playlist).
- Fixed bftpd FTP server write access error.
- Updated bftpd to version 1.4, and included fix for file transfers greater than 2GB.
- Update wireless tools to version 28.
Generator:
- Updated generator tools for MacOS X (support for MacIntel x86 OSX 10.4).
- Allow you to choose between multiple themes.
- Option for DVD Navigation menus to select it as a default or not.
- Option for autoplay to select it as a default or not.
- Option for SHOUTcast (radio and tv netstreams).
- Tab for video settings configuration (resolution, color depth and boot splash)
- Tab for support of LCD displays.
Miscellaneous:
- Fixed zoomed scrolling in FBI image viewer.
- Support for Microsoft Media Center Edition USB, StreamZap, Twinhan DTV, Toshiba VT76F and ATI Remote Wonder II remotes.
- Implemented full Digimatrix hardware support (apart from panel buttons).
- Allow multiple resolutions in themes.
- Support for VMware and QEMU (usefull for test purpose).
GeeXboX 1.0 is available here and right now!
