LinuxMCE

LinuxMCE (Linux Media Center Edition) is a free and open source software platform with a 10-foot user interface designed to allow a computer to act as a home theater PC (HTPC) for the living-room TV, personal video recorder, and home automation system. It allows control of everything in the home, from lighting and climate to surveillance cameras and home security. It also includes a full-featured VoIP-compatible phone system with support for video conferencing. LinuxMCE may be used as a standalone home theater PC (without any other home network connectivity), but it may also serve as a complete home LAN system in a server/thin client configuration. In such a configuration, a central core server (a standard PC running Kubuntu) does most of the storage and processing functions, while peripheral PCs (and other devices) provide input and output services. Thin client PCs can netboot over the LAN to serve as "Media Directors", which stream media content from the core to audiovisual devices which are connected to these thin clients. This home automation/multimedia LAN can be expanded to include home automation systems, surveillance cameras, high-tech remote controllers (called "Orbiters"), and telephone PBX systems. The core server co-ordinates the functions of all the devices on the home LAN. The advanced networking capabilities of the Linux OS allow this high level of network co-ordination. LinuxMCE was begun by Paul Webber as a fork of the PlutoHome home automation software project. It was adapted to run on top of a standard Linux distribution, Kubuntu, as its base OS, rather than to exist as a custom Linux distribution. Most of the core components, including the Orbiter (remote control) user interface, have undergone significant improvements, and are licensed under the GPL. A LinuxMCE setup consists of two parts – one Core and one or more Media Directors. The Core is the central server and provides services throughout the home. It acts as the central media storage and catalog, it routes home automation messages and commands, and it provides net boot images for the Media Directors.