Why?

jeffehobbs · on Jan 9, 2012

• Lack of codec support without hoop jumping (Boxee has solved this)

• Lack of content (Apple and Amazon are in the process of fixing this, but Ubuntu won't have the weight to get Big Content on board)

• Linux hardware is a pain to hook up to HDTVs

• Unity interface is poorly suited for 10-ft interaction

• Existing players (Apple TV, XBox 360, Boxee, etc. -- even Google TV!) are more mature and have had time to strike content deals

In short, too little, too late. IMHO, they should concentrate in stopping the user bleed from their desktop distro.

mikeryan · on Jan 9, 2012

Lack of codec support without hoop jumping (Boxee has solved this)

- You don't think you can just run VLC and/or FFMpeg? Also this is for embedded systems on TV's most of them run hardware video decoders for the most popular codecs anyway.

Lack of content (Apple and Amazon are in the process of fixing this, but Ubuntu won't have the weight to get Big Content on board)

- Amazon could be a provider on this system. I doubt Ubuntu really wants to be doing content deals. Instead they want to be more of a Roku or boxee model and let content come to them.

Linux hardware is a pain to hook up to HDTVs

- Read the article again this is Ubuntu embedded into TVs no hookup necessary.

Unity interface is poorly suited for 10-ft interaction

- They seem to be addressing this.

Existing players (Apple TV, XBox 360, Boxee, etc. -- even Google TV!) are more mature and have had time to strike content deals

- This is really the only decent argument you've got.

microtonal · on Jan 9, 2012

Linux hardware is a pain to hook up to HDTVs

I would think this is oriented at device manufacturers. You would be surprised how many of them already use Linux in DVRs and media centers (e.g. our home DVR uses Linux, although it's not visible in any way).

bergie · on Jan 10, 2012

Yep, I'd imagine most TV manuals now include the GPL somewhere.

nodata · on Jan 9, 2012

> • Linux hardware is a pain to hook up to HDTVs

What? Why? I've not seen a problem.

ElliotH · on Jan 9, 2012

Same here, Linux laptop hardware direct into my HDTV, no clicks, just worked.

vetinari · on Jan 9, 2012

Me neither, Ubuntu with XBMC on Atom with ION was pretty much plug and play experience for me.

bilban · on Jan 9, 2012

I recently considered ditching my cheapo freeview hard disk recorder (UK - Brand Digihome) and replacing it with a media box. I tried out a few distros and open source solutions, but they all had their faults in one way or another. I tried XBMC, Boxee, Myth etc on various distros on moderate hardware, and in the end - I decided it just wasn't worth the headache.

So I see a need for something that's easy as pie to use with abundant features. But why not improve and contribute to existing projects?

You mention that the Unity interface is poorly suited for 10ft interaction - you couldn't be more right. Am I the only one left in the world without a cinema display? Just watch the interface demo over at Ubuntu to see how much it sucks. It helps to be able to read type on the screen for tux sake. It's so amateurish.

That's not to say that your list isn't surmountable, and that there isn't a better interface out there yet to be untapped.