[gentoo-user] The next step in AV

[gentoo-user] The next step in AV

[Grant]

I currently have an HDTV hooked up to a desktop computer running
Gentoo and xfce4, all controlled by a wireless keyboard/mouse from the
couch.  It's awesome.  However, I think the next step is to control
everything from a laptop on the couch.  There would be a normal xfce4
desktop on the laptop, but you could issue certain commands to have
video or audio played through the desktop connected to the TV across
the room.

How would you set this up?  Maybe the actual xfce4 session is being
run on the desktop and the laptop uses VNC or NX to control that
session?  Is there a way to have certain audio or video launched on
the laptop via VNC or NX, but outputted by the desktop?

- Grant
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RE: [gentoo-user] The next step in AV

[Wayne Oliver]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Grant [mailto:emailgrant@gmail.com]
> Sent: 02 April 2007 05:50
> To: Gentoo mailing list
> Subject: [gentoo-user] The next step in AV
> 
> I currently have an HDTV hooked up to a desktop computer running
> Gentoo and xfce4, all controlled by a wireless keyboard/mouse from the
> couch.  It's awesome.  However, I think the next step is to control
> everything from a laptop on the couch.  There would be a normal xfce4
> desktop on the laptop, but you could issue certain commands to have
> video or audio played through the desktop connected to the TV across
> the room.
> 
> How would you set this up?  Maybe the actual xfce4 session is being
> run on the desktop and the laptop uses VNC or NX to control that
> session?  Is there a way to have certain audio or video launched on
> the laptop via VNC or NX, but outputted by the desktop?
> 
> - Grant

Short answer - yes :-)

Your idea sounds about right too. 

Some reading.

http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_X-forwarding

Wayn0
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Re: [gentoo-user] The next step in AV

[Grant]

> > I currently have an HDTV hooked up to a desktop computer running
> > Gentoo and xfce4, all controlled by a wireless keyboard/mouse from the
> > couch.  It's awesome.  However, I think the next step is to control
> > everything from a laptop on the couch.  There would be a normal xfce4
> > desktop on the laptop, but you could issue certain commands to have
> > video or audio played through the desktop connected to the TV across
> > the room.
> >
> > How would you set this up?  Maybe the actual xfce4 session is being
> > run on the desktop and the laptop uses VNC or NX to control that
> > session?  Is there a way to have certain audio or video launched on
> > the laptop via VNC or NX, but outputted by the desktop?
> >
> > - Grant
>
> Short answer - yes :-)
>
> Your idea sounds about right too.
>
> Some reading.
>
> http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_X-forwarding

Thanks, I'll check that out.

- Grant
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Re: [gentoo-user] The next step in AV

[Håkon Alstadheim]

Grant wrote:
> I currently have an HDTV hooked up to a desktop computer running
> Gentoo and xfce4, all controlled by a wireless keyboard/mouse from the
> couch.  It's awesome.  However, I think the next step is to control
> everything from a laptop on the couch.  There would be a normal xfce4
> desktop on the laptop, but you could issue certain commands to have
> video or audio played through the desktop connected to the TV across
> the room.
>
> How would you set this up?  Maybe the actual xfce4 session is being
> run on the desktop and the laptop uses VNC or NX to control that
> session?  Is there a way to have certain audio or video launched on
> the laptop via VNC or NX, but outputted by the desktop?
>
> - Grant
The easy way is to use a big cursor theme and just use your laptop as a
remote keyboard/mouse for your TV. (in addition to stuff like mythweb
and the like)

Do like so: (assuming tv runs on display ":0", which it most likely does )
Get mythtv or whatever running by auto-login and startup script. Assume
that your tv is running as user "tv", hostname "tv". From your laptop:
"ssh -Y tv@tv", then "x2x -to :0 -north". This makes the tv-screen look
like an extension of your laptop screen, situated above (north) of your
laptop. Now whenever you move your mouse up, out of the laptop screen,
your laptop keyboard and mouse controls the tv.

Some details:
You might need to run "emerge x2x" on your tv box first. Also look for
packages named something with "cursor". Kde allows you to select cursor
theme easily once you have the themes installed.

The crusial bit to get your head around:
An X session runs on a display, named like ":0" or "localhost:10.0". The
default for a standard X session starts at :0, so your tv will most
likely be :0. Ssh forwarded displays, xvnc displays etc. will have other
values. Check out the DISPLAY environment variable. To be allowed to
write to a display you use the xauth system, usually by way of a file
name ~/.Xauthority, check "man xauth". Just log in as the user owning
the display (as per the .Xauthority file) and issue "export DISPLAY=:0"
to make whatever apps you start show themselves on the tv rather than on
your laptop.

-- 
Håkon Alstadheim
spamtrap: finnesikke@alstadheim.priv.no -- 1 hit & you are out


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Re: [gentoo-user] The next step in AV

[Dan Farrell]

On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 08:47:13 -0700
Grant <emailgrant@gmail.com> wrote:

> > > I currently have an HDTV hooked up to a desktop computer running
> > > Gentoo and xfce4, all controlled by a wireless keyboard/mouse
> > > from the couch.  It's awesome.  However, I think the next step is
> > > to control everything from a laptop on the couch. 
> > > How would you set this up?  
> > > - Grant
> > The easy way is to use a big cursor theme and just use your laptop
> > as a remote keyboard/mouse for your TV. (in addition to stuff like
> > mythweb and the like)
> >
> > Do like so: (assuming tv runs on display ":0", which it most likely
> > does ) Get mythtv or whatever running by auto-login and startup
> > script. Assume that your tv is running as user "tv", hostname "tv".
> > From your laptop: "ssh -Y tv@tv", then "x2x -to :0 -north". This
> > makes the tv-screen look like an extension of your laptop screen,
> > situated above (north) of your laptop. Now whenever you move your
> > mouse up, out of the laptop screen, your laptop keyboard and mouse
> > controls the tv...
That sounds like a wonderful way to do this, but it certainly doesn't
count as the easiest way, easy as it is.  I think that prize goes to
simply logging into the tv box remotely ("ssh -Y
tv@tv", just like above) as the same user that has logged into X on the
tv box.  Then set the DISPLAY environment variable to point to the tv
screen (most likely ":0") and your ssh-session screen will be the TV.
It isn't as nice as the x2x solution, but it requires nothing special
to do.  That's how I usually do it.  
  -- Dan.  
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