Fedora 14 and AMAHI + XBMC

[Anima]

Ok, so i'm really new to the linux world and got carried away once a friend of mine told me about AMAHI and linux. I am a regular user of the Windows OS and wanted to know more about using linux. So, now i've invested in a new system (Core i3, 3 x 1.5 Tb HDD, LG Blu ray drive) to make myself a really capable machine for use as a server, optical media ripper and media player.

I currently have F13 installed and finally got it up and running using Wine (for DVDfab), XBMC (For movies) and was just about to install Amahi when i read that 1. Amahi is installed during Fedora - not after and 2. Fedora 13 is not gonna be supported - ever.

So now i'm facing the new challenge of upgrading to F14 as Amahi will support F14. Now my questions are:

1: Will F14 be supported on releaseday or will Amahi be updated some weeks after?

2: Will there be another guide to install Amahi on F14? (if any steps are different)

3: Will there be any mediaplayers/ HTPC software supported like XBMC or Mythbuntu? *

4: Can anyone give me an explanation on how i setting up the DHCP will work? - i live in a appartment complex with shared internet connection (Which means we all have the same IP outwards from the complex. There is a server which administrate an internal ip on the network and a single port which is forwarded for each appartment. I then use a Dlink DIR-655 router to hook up my server, a PS3, a laptop, an STB and a desktop PC to the internet - it's setup so that only my equipment obtains an IP from the router. If my router gives out ip's to other appartments, empirically, the server will conflict and i will get billed for a technician to sort things out - which i want to avoid. I really have no clue about the configuration of the internet connection. I am hoping someone could help me understand the process. I hope the above is not too confusing and i apologize in advance.


* As a novice in linux, when i see all those guides for installing various programs, i get really nerveous. As a beginner i really depend on googling guides and tutorials to get a working machine. With Amahi's claimed user-friendlyness, i was hoping something like XBMC is supported/uncluded. Personally i think it could add to Amahi if it becomes capable of being a stand-alone media server AND player for home theatre - one less box to have sitting around.

[bigfoot65]

Hello,

As you noticed Amahi is not supported on Fedoa 13. We have begun working it for Fedora 14, but it will be some time before its ready. It will not be available when Fedora 14 is released.

You can use it with Fedora 12 and it will work just fine. Recommend you do so and you will not be disappointed. Fedora 12 is fairly stable and will work for you just as well as Fedora 13 or 14. Maybe better.

As for when it is installed. You can install after Fedora is installed, it's just not the preferred method. There is some guidance in the wiki at http://wiki.amahi.org that outlines the steps.

We have lots of different media streaming apps now and more coming (to include MythTV backend). See http://www.amahi.org/apps?category=soho for a list of apps and those upcoming. XBMC is not one of them at the moment, but could be in the future if its a web app. Amahi only supports web applications and not desktop ones. YOu can still install desktop apps if you choose, but you are on your own for that part.

As long as you have a router to serve your internet connection, you will be able to use Amahi. I will not go into the details but it's a pretty easy setup. I hope you will consider giving Amahi a try on Fedora 12.

[Anima]

Hi

Thanks for the reply! - I really appreciate it!

Ok, so if i install Fedora 12 it should all be as good..

..but now that F14 is in the making, will i then face problems in the future because older versions are not supported? - Am i expected to upgrade my OS every 6-12 months to be able to run it, or will the repositories and dependencies (still leaning the linux terms) be available for the forseeable future?

I will definitely give F12 a try if it can remain on the machine for a couple of years with no worries ! - only a friend of mine said there was a bug when using F12 and Amahi, which is why i installed F13..

[bigfoot65]

Ok, so if i install Fedora 12 it should all be as good..

It is the latest distro Amahi will run on at the moment. If you want to run a newer version of Fedora, you cannot use Amahi.

..but now that F14 is in the making, will i then face problems in the future because older versions are not supported? - Am i expected to upgrade my OS every 6-12 months to be able to run it, or will the repositories and dependencies (still leaning the linux terms) be available for the forseeable future?

At some point Fedora 12 will not be updated any longer, but we will have Amahi with Fedora 14 by then. Amahi updates within the OS automatically. The only update you will need to do is when you change Fedora versions. That is not mandatory unless you desire to have the latest and greatest.

I will definitely give F12 a try if it can remain on the machine for a couple of years with no worries ! - only a friend of mine said there was a bug when using F12 and Amahi, which is why i installed F13..

When we move to Fedora 14, you can upgrade from Fedora 12. That will also upgrade Amahi as well. We do still have some users running on Fedora 10 with Amahi and no reported issues. So that tells you something about the longevity of a system with Amahi.

Not sure what the bug is you were told about. There are always going to be some problems with Fedora and Amahi, but we quickly act on those that are critical. If you could elaborate more on what the reported issue is, we would be glad to tell you the status/criticality of it to the system.

[Anima]

Ok, it all seems to be fine.

You say upgrade from within F12 to F14.. is this easy and advisable? I only have experience with Windows, and that really is a PITA if it's not a fresh install - not upgraded.

Thank you so much for answering my stupid noob questions

[bigfoot65]

The upgrade to Fedora 14 should not be too bad. Understand you cannot do it now until Amahi is ready though. We are currently only positioned with Fedora 12, so upgrading to Fedora 14 before Amahi is released for it specifically will be catastrophic.

I have found the latest distro is not always the best. Fedora 12 is stable and Amahi plays quite nicely with it.