Freevo Installation HOWTO

Build your own media box with Freevo and Linux

Joseph Stump

How to create your own Freevo based Linux powered PVR/Media Box. This includes information on setting up the video card, packages required, compiling MPlayer and tweeking the base installation of Freevo to suite your needs. NOTE! This merely documents what has worked for me. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THIS WILL WORK FOR YOU!

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license can be obtained at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/fdl.html and is included as an appendix in this document.


Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Credits
1.3. Disclaimer
1.4. Contact / Feedback
1.5. Revision History
1.6. Obtaining This Document
2. Prerequisites
2.1. General
2.2. Hardware
2.2.1. CPU / Motherboard
2.2.2. Video Card
2.2.3. TV Tuner Card
2.2.4. Motherboard
2.2.5. CD/DVD/CDRW Drives
2.3. Software
2.3.1. Linux Kernel
2.3.2. XMLTV
2.3.3. tvtime
2.3.4. MPlayer
3. Installing / Configuring Freevo
3.1. Installing Freevo
3.2. Configuring Freevo
3.2.1. freevo.conf
3.2.2. freevo_config.py
3.2.3. local_config.py
4. DVD Playback
4.1. Enabling DMA for DVD Playback
4.2. Increasing MPlayer Cache
5. Skin Files
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Changing the Default Skin
5.3. Modifying Screen Layout
5.4. Changing Icons
6. Misc.
6.1. Changing TV Guide Time Format
6.2. Downloading TV Logos
6.3. Booting into Freevo
6.4. Automating Freevo with Cron
6.4.1. XMLTV
6.4.2. Freevo Recording Daemon
6.5. Related Documents / Websites
7. Frequently Asked Questions
8. Freevo User Manual
8.1. General
8.1.1. Navigation
8.1.2. Help
8.2. TV Guide
8.2.1. Changing Stations
8.2.2. Recording Shows
8.3. DVD Player
8.3.1. Fastforward / Rewind
8.4. Music Player
8.4.1. Selecting a Track
A. GNU Free Documentation License
A.1. PREAMBLE
A.2. APPLICABILITY AND DEFINITIONS
A.3. VERBATIM COPYING
A.4. COPYING IN QUANTITY
A.5. MODIFICATIONS
A.6. COMBINING DOCUMENTS
A.7. COLLECTIONS OF DOCUMENTS
A.8. AGGREGATION WITH INDEPENDENT WORKS
A.9. TRANSLATION
A.10. TERMINATION
A.11. FUTURE REVISIONS OF THIS LICENSE
A.12. ADDENDUM: How to use this License for your documents