MoviX
| MoviX | |
|---|---|
| developer | Roberto De Leo |
| License (s) | GPL and other licenses |
| Current version | eMoviX: 0.9 (June 28, 2005) MoviX²: 0.3.1rc1 (July 17, 2004) MoviX: 0.8.1 (March 2, 2004) |
| ancestry |
GNU / Linux ↳ SLS ↳ Slackware ↳ MoviX |
| Architecture (s) | IA-32 |
| Languages) | multilingual, including German |
| Others | Development stopped |
| movix.sf.net | |
MoviX is a collection of three minimalist Linux distributions which can be started as live systems directly from CD / DVD and, similar to a DVD player, are specialized in playing films and other multimedia content. All three variants rely on the multimedia software MPlayer and run in a RAM disk of the computer after starting , so that the boot medium can be removed and exchanged for a DVD-Video , for example. The actual MoviX is a small, optionally also installable, command line-based multimedia distribution. MoviX² is very similar to this, but has a graphical user interface . The variant called eMoviX is located on CD or DVD together with the content to be played and starts the playback process as soon as the computer is switched on.
history
In 2002 the MoviX developer Roberto De Leo was looking for a mini Linux distribution which is only designed to play multimedia content on any computer without prior software installation . There were already a number of feature-rich live distributions such as Knoppix , but he couldn't find a mini live distribution just for one purpose, which is why he decided to create one himself in the form of MoviX.
The first MoviX version with the number 0.2 was published by Roberto De Leo in September 2002. It was one of the first software packages of this kind in the free software sector . New, improved versions of the distribution were published in quick succession up to the previous version of the original MoviX distribution in March 2004 with version number 0.8.1.
MoviX² was developed to offer a graphical user interface for playback . The first version was released shortly after the command line variant on October 10, 2002. The current edition of MoviX² version 0.3.1rc1 was released on July 17th, 2004. The last version of the third variant, eMoviX, was released in June 2005 with version 0.9.
Structure and properties
MoviX is based in all of its variants on the Linux distribution Slackware , which has been reduced by all functions and software packages except for the playback of multimedia content and specially optimized for this purpose through its own adaptations. It can start as a live system directly from CD / DVD (so-called bootable medium ) and play films and other multimedia content directly. Its function is therefore similar to a DVD player and, like this, can also be controlled by remote control, provided the computer has an interface that can be addressed via LIRC .
After the start, the media can be played without the boot medium, so that another media data carrier can be inserted. This works because the entire operating system, including playback software, is already completely in the main memory on a RAM disk . The central application software for playing the multimedia files of the command line variant MoviX, which is around 28 MB in size, is the command line program MPlayer , which can play all common multimedia file formats . MoviX does not use a graphical user interface to play back films like the X Window System common under Linux , but outputs them directly to the screen via the so-called framebuffer . MoviX can also display images using the fbi program. Other important programs and libraries used are SYSLINUX as a boot loader , the Linux kernel in version 2.4, the sound card driver system ALSA , the remote control driver software LIRC and the command line programs from BusyBox .
In contrast to MoviX, the MoviX² variant starts a graphical X server and uses gmplayer , a graphical front end for the Mplayer, for playback, but otherwise uses the same software packages as MoviX. Due to the graphical user interface, MoviX² is slightly larger at around 50 MB.
The eMoviX variant, intended for direct installation on a multimedia CD / DVD, is only 8 MB in size and, with the help of MPlayer, automatically plays the files on the data carrier after the computer is started - regardless of the software otherwise installed on the computer, including the Operating system. With eMoviX, the CD / DVD can be ejected at any time and another one with the corresponding content can be played. However, as with MoviX, the contents of the PC hard drive cannot be played.
Further developments
By means of various external developments, it is possible to create specially adapted and configured MoviX distributions using simple graphical auxiliary programs under Linux or Unix . For example, eMovix data carriers can be burned directly with K3b , a burning software from KDE that is very often used under Linux and Unix derivatives . With the help of the Perl program MoviXMaker it is also possible to create an adapted MoviX distribution.
Also for Microsoft Windows there is the eMoviX win32 setup directly from the Movix project and the MovixISOCreator from a third party to easily create Movix data carriers.
In addition, projects such as Geexbox have further developed the MoviX idea. However, GeeXboX has slightly higher RAM requirements than the MoviX and eMoviX variants.
swell
- ↑ Although development was never officially discontinued, there has been no new version by Roberto De Leo since 2005. The project's website is still available and the distribution can also be downloaded from SourceForge ; Retrieved December 9, 2013
- ^ A b Roberto Leo: Self-Hosting Movies with MoviX . In: Linux Journal . April 7, 2004, accessed September 18, 2007
- ↑ LWN.net : MoviX . September 25, 2002, accessed September 18, 2007
- ↑ Movix: MoviX 0.8.1 is out ( Memento of the original from January 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . March 2, 2004, accessed September 18, 2007
- ↑ MoviX: MoviX2 released! ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . October 10, 2002, accessed September 18, 2007
- ↑ MoviX: MoviX2 0.3.1rc1 is out ( Memento of the original from January 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . July 17, 2004, accessed September 18, 2007
- ↑ Movix: eMoviX 0.9 is out ( memento of the original from January 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . June 28, 2007, accessed September 18, 2007
Web links
- MoviX project page (English)
- MoviXMaker project page (English)
- MovixISOCreator project page (English)