Mythbuntu is a discontinued media center

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based on

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed primarily of free and open-source software. Developed by the British company Canonical (company), Canonical and a community of contributors under a Meritocracy, meritocratic gover ...

, which integrated the

MythTV MythTV is a free and open-source home entertainment application with a simplified "10-foot user interface" design for the living room TV. It turns a computer with the necessary hardware into a network streaming digital video recorder, a digital ...

media center software as its main function, and did not install with all of the programs included with Ubuntu. Following the principles of fellow

Linux distribution A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribution per se, a distro—if distributed on its own—is oft ...

s LinHES and MythDora, Mythbuntu was designed to simplify the installation of MythTV on a

home theater PC A home theater PC (HTPC) or media center computer is a technological convergence, convergent device that combines some or all the capabilities of a personal computer with a software application that focuses on video, photo, audio playback, and ...

. After Mythbuntu had been installed the MythTV setup program begins in which it can be configured as a frontend (a media viewer), backend (a

media server A media server is a computer appliance or an application software that stores digital media (video, audio or images) and makes it available over a network. Media servers range from servers that provide video on demand to smaller personal compu ...

), or combination of the two. Mythbuntu aimed to keep close ties with Ubuntu thus allowing changes to be moved upstream for the greater benefit of the Ubuntu Community. Due to the close link with Ubuntu, easy conversions between desktop and standalone Mythbuntu installations are possible. The development cycle of Mythbuntu originally followed that of Ubuntu, with releases occurring every six months. Starting with 12.04, Mythbuntu releases tracked Ubuntu's LTS (

long-term support Long-term support (LTS) is a product lifecycle management policy in which a stable release of computer software is maintained for a longer period of time than the standard edition. The term is typically reserved for open-source software, where it ...

) releases, which release approximately every two years. On 4 November 2016 the development team announced the end of Mythbuntu as a separate distribution, citing insufficient developers. The team will continue to maintain the Mythbuntu

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; the announcement advised new users to install another Ubuntu distribution, then install MythTV from the repository.

Desktop

Mythbuntu uses the

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desktop interface by default, but users can install ubuntu-desktop, kubuntu-desktop, or xubuntu-desktop through the Mythbuntu Control Centre, allowing users to get the default interfaces from those flavors of Ubuntu. The only software that is included in this release is media-related software such as VLC, Amunix, and

Rhythmbox Rhythmbox is a free and open-source audio player software, tag editor and music organizer for digital audio files on Linux and Unix-like systems. Rhythmbox is designed to work well under GNOME, but can function on other desktop environments. ...

Mythbuntu Control Centre

The Mythbuntu Control Centre provides a GUI which can be used to configure the system. The user can select what kind of system (Backend, Frontend, Both) they wish to have installed. Inside the Control Centre, the user can perform common actions such as installing plugins for MythTV, configuring the

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database, setting passwords, and installing drivers and

codec A codec is a computer hardware or software component that encodes or decodes a data stream or signal. ''Codec'' is a portmanteau of coder/decoder. In electronic communications, an endec is a device that acts as both an encoder and a decoder o ...

s. MythTV updates can be enabled here as well as switching to the latest release version or development branch of MythTV. Configuration of

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s and a range of other utilities and small programs are performed all from within this program.

Different applications of Mythbuntu

Complete installation (front-end and back-end)

Mythbuntu can be used to install a full MythTV system on a single device (acting as both a client and a server). The front-end is the software required for the visual elements (or the GUI) and is utilised by the common user to find, play, and manipulate media files. The back end is the server where the media files, tuners, and database are actually stored. A combined front-and-back-end system may have an advantage in that it has ''portability'': it is a standalone device that is not dependent on a separate server, such as a

gaming console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connect ...

Front-end-only installations

Alternatively, Mythbuntu can be used to install a MythTV client: a front-end-only system. This might be useful where users already have a central storage server in their home. The central storage device can act as a MythTV server, and the MythTV front-end client software can be installed on devices with low-power hardware. Mythbuntu can also run directly from a

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

(without installation), provided that there is a network connection to a PC with a MythTV back-end server. Using a server separate from one or more front-end units offers the ability to use multiple clients with simultaneous access to a single repository of shared media files. The server used would generally have hardware of a relatively high specification and can be kept outside of the main living room or other entertainment area of the home. Another advantage is the ability to move some of the potentially noisy hardware out of the living room, as low-noise, high-performance hardware can be expensive.

Adding Mythbuntu to Ubuntu

Mythbuntu is an Ubuntu derivative that offers an easy single-click conversion from Ubuntu to Mythbuntu. This means a user no longer needs to type in command line, which can be daunting to new users, or hunt for packages in the various package managers.

Version history

References

External links

* {{Home theater PC (application software) Free television software Multimedia software Discontinued Ubuntu derivatives Discontinued Linux distributions Linux distributions