Plex?

[jimeney]

OK, here's my step by step of what I did to get Plex running on the XBMC image floating around.

1. On first boot, let it into XBMC, go into programs, then Network Manager and set up your networking as appropriate
2. SSH onto the device, logging in as root, password joggler
3. edit /etc/resolv.conf to point to the DNS server you use (or leave along where your router is 192.168.1.1)

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nano /etc/resolv.conf

3. Reboot so the joggler picks up the current date / time or use ntpdate xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx where the X's represent your time server (or public one) - missing this step will give you issues with SSL certificates moving
forwards (not yet valid because date will be some when in 2005)

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reboot now

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ntpdate 192.168.1.1

4. apt-get update, apt-get upgrade and apt-get dist-upgrade - be patient, these will take a couple of hours to run through

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apt-get update && apt-get upgrade && apt-get dist-upgrade

5. Install python software properties (so we can use apt-add-repository)

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apt-get install python-software-properties

6. Add the pre-requisite repositories for Plex to install (do these one at a time, pressing enter to confirm each):

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apt-add-repository ppa:plexapp/plexht
apt-add-repository ppa:jon-severinsson/ffmpeg
apt-add-repository ppa:pulse-eight/libcec
apt-add-repository ppa:team-xbmc/xbmc-nightly

7. Update the repositories using apt-get

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apt-get update

DO NOT DO AN APT-GET UPGRADE AFTER THIS POINT - YOU'LL REPLACE XBMC WITH A NIGHTLY VERSION (POTENTIALLY BROKEN)

8. Install Plex

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apt-get install plexhometheater

9. Run it on boot.

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nano /etc/rc.local

Replace with the following:

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#!/bin/sh -e
#
# rc.local
#
# This script is executed at the end of each multiuser runlevel.
# Make sure that the script will "exit 0" on success or any other
# value on error.
#
# In order to enable or disable this script just change the execution
# bits.
#
# By default this script does nothing.

if [ ! -f /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key ]; then
  dpkg-reconfigure openssh-server
fi
ifconfig wlan0 up
dhclient eth0 > /dev/null 2>&1 &
export XBMC_HOME=/opt/plexhometheater/share/XBMC
xinit /opt/plexhometheater/bin/plexhometheater --standalone
clear                          
exit 0

10. Reboot and fingers crossed

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reboot now

With a bit of luck, this will get you to the 'Welcome to Plex' screen. From here, I'm stumped, but you should be able to control PLEX via a physical keyboard (if attached), or the Plex app on Android / iOS.

[marctwo]

Thank you, I shall try this as soon as I can and report back.

[marctwo]

4. apt-get update, apt-get upgrade and apt-get dist-upgrade - be patient, these will take a couple of hours to run through

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apt-get update && apt-get upgrade && apt-get dist-upgrade

I get this:

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W: Failed to fetch http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/maverick/main/binary-i386/Packages  404  Not Found [IP: 91.189.92.200 80]

[jimeney]

run these one at a time, the error you posted isn't an issue as such, just a missing / broken repo, but as you've chained some commands, it has likely exited it all.

[jimeney]

Given roobarb has just posted sqpOS version 2, based on Ubuntu 12.04, we should be able to get this running from EMMC!

Running on boot will be different however, as rc.local is not the way to kick off things on that build. Anyone want me to give this a go?

[marctwo]

EMMC being internal storage? Sure, sounds good! PlexOS

[jimeney]

Once we figure our way around the lack of keyboard, this could be pretty awesome. Equally though, embedded XBMC with PlexBMC and PlexHelper will also be possible to run from internal memory (and this is what I'm currently swaying towards because of the keyboard issue). Either way, I'll likely try both.

[marctwo]

I use plexbmc on a raspberry pi and, while it works, it not as nice as PHT. It also does not show up as a client in the plex app.

[marctwo]

After 3 days I finally have it up and running! I stepped through the setup using a usb keyboard and after that I can control it using the iPhone app. Now all we need is a way to switch off the backlight when the screensaver kicks in and we are in business!

[marctwo]

There is a power saving option to switch the screen off. You need to touch it again to wake it up but otherwise it works very well.

[marctwo]

OK, after running it for a few days, here are some observations:

• The main interface does not take up the full screen. However, if you start a video it plays full screen.
• It can be very slow to respond to remote control from the Plex app.
• It seems to be constantly accessing the USB stick, even when idle. I would image this is what is causing the sluggishness.
• Sometimes the video will stop and the sound will continue. When the video resumes, it will play faster to the point that it catches back up with the sound. I don't know if this is just my network. I tried increasing the buffer size from 5% to 10% but it made no difference.
• The iPlayer channel seems to work quite nicely.

I think this could be really good if we were able to produce a dedicated image (PlexOS) optimised to run Plex.

[jimeney]

OK, after running it for a few days, here are some observations:

• The main interface does not take up the full screen. However, if you start a video it plays full screen.
• It can be very slow to respond to remote control from the Plex app.
• It seems to be constantly accessing the USB stick, even when idle. I would image this is what is causing the sluggishness.
• Sometimes the video will stop and the sound will continue. When the video resumes, it will play faster to the point that it catches back up with the sound. I don't know if this is just my network. I tried increasing the buffer size from 5% to 10% but it made no difference.
• The iPlayer channel seems to work quite nicely.

I think this could be really good if we were able to produce a dedicated image (PlexOS) optimised to run Plex.

I still intend on building this, it's just finding the time! I can't explain the constant disk activity, although I'd be worried that there would be undue wear and tear on the eMMC if we went with an internal build.

I know there is a potential known issue with the WiFi driver causing low, but reliable throughput - are you connecting via WiFi?

Also, what content are you streaming? if it's 720p or 1080p for example, the joggler may be struggling.

[marctwo]

It's ethernet through 500Mbps Homeplugs.

I've tried everything from SD to full uncompressed BluRay 1080p.

I tried forcing everything to transcode to 3Mbps but it didn't help.