The KDE Plasma Linux desktop environment is already a feature-rich desktop for both productivity and gaming, but the KDE development team has been hard at work adding ever more features to the DE and polishing the experience. One of the newest additions to KDE, apparently coming in Plasma 6.7 and no...
  • mastod0n@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3 hours

    I’ve been waiting for Plasma Bigscreen for quite a while for my and eventually my family’s living room entertainment system.

    Add a DVB receiver and you can just a normal, dumb screen and never have to deal with shitty “smart” TVs again.

    Right now? Only buying Android TV because it’s the only OS whixh I can manipulate (using ADB).

  • PieMePlenty@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7 hours

    How useful is this in the grand scheme of things if the applications themselves don’t have a 10ft UI? I guess you’d need to limit yourself and find apps specifically made to be shown on a TV… within a repository that caters desktop apps. Blending TV’s and desktops is hard…

    • melfie@lemmy.zipEnglish
      14 minutes

      I have a Linux HTPC on Mint where I have the Pegasus frontend with Jellyfin, VacuumTube, and a bunch of games. The main usability issue is the need to exit each app differently to get back to Pegasus. There’s no notion of using a home button to go back to the home screen and pause the current process, which is what I’d be hoping to get with Bigscreen. Otherwise, Pegasus is fine for launching apps with a remote, and Jellyfin and VacuumTube work fine with a remote as well.

  • Pxtl@lemmy.caEnglish
    9 hours

    Reintroduces, really. Iirc it was originally made for plasma 5 and and was broken by changes in Plasma 6. This is “we fixed the stuff we broke”.

  • Bloefz@lemmy.worldEnglish
    13 hours

    Ohhhh it’s finally coming!

    Looking forward to trying it.

    • ShutUpWesley@piefed.zipEnglish
      12 hours

      I’m super pumped to finally have something better than Nvidia Sheild or Kodi

      • Bloefz@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1 hour

        Yeah this has been on the books for ages. It’s not being developed by KDE’s core team and it wasn’t making much progress for a while but I’m really happy yo see it come out.

        • Bloefz@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1 hour

          Same here. Kodi’s UI was nice back in the days when it was XBMC. These days we have different ideas on usability.

        • KryptonBlur@slrpnk.netEnglish
          4 hours

          Yeah I feel the same way. I feel like Kodi, unfortunately, makes it harder to use my HTPC rather than easier

    • dadarobot@lemmy.mlEnglish
      12 hours

      yeah i generally dont use kde, but ive been looking for something like this for a long time

      • Bloefz@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1 hour

        Oh I use KDE every day. I love it.

        But this would be a very different usecase I wouldn’t use on my main PC.

  • neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    12 hours

    How do streaming services like Disney, prime, Netflix, and hbo run on these? Is it possible?

    I need something dead simple for my wife.

    • qwestjest78@lemmy.caEnglish
      55 minutes

      I set up Jellyfin and my wife and kids love it. We have no streaming services now.

    • br14n@lemmy.zipEnglish
      4 hours

      Unsubscribe to all off them and sail the high seas

      • neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        43 minutes

        I should also add that I live in a third would country so all the streaming services are dirt cheap here.

        I think YouTube premium is like $3 a month or something like that.

    • gwheel@lemmy.zipEnglish
      11 hours

      Probably the same as on a Linux desktop now, the browser sites work fine but you won’t get 4k or HDR.

      • Xyphius@lemmy.caEnglish
        10 hours

        Worth it in my books. Might be my eyes going bad, but I can’t notice much difference beyond 720p

        • herrvogel@lemmy.worldEnglish
          26 minutes

          Either your eyes are bad or the files you’ve watched. There’s an absolutely enormous difference between 720p and proper 4k with a decent bitrate. Also a decent display with good HDR can add a lot as well.

          • Xyphius@lemmy.caEnglish
            16 minutes

            I blame it on my eyes. On the positive, I don’t know what I’m missing.

        • iamthetot@piefed.caEnglish
          7 hours

          With respect, if you cannot notice a difference between 720p and 4k on a 4k compatible screen, then you do indeed have something wrong with your eyes.

        • Telodzrum@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2 hours

          It’s not just resolution and colorspace. The providers also drop the nitrate *bitrate significantly. Which, in my opinion, is way more noticeable and jarring.

          • invalensname@piefed.socialEnglish
            6 hours

            I was really confused for a moment over why monitors would use nitrate and how it could affect the experience. Then I realized you meant bitrate lol

            • Telodzrum@lemmy.worldEnglish
              2 hours

              Man, I’ve really got to get better at proofing my comments before hitting submit, on mobile especially.

  • Bobby Turkalino@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    9 hours

    How’s HDMI-CEC support in Linux? I remember that being a sticking point last time I considered building an HTPC

    • Majestic@lemmy.mlEnglish
      1 hour

      Doesn’t work. Not a Linux issue. No graphics card or motherboard maker connects the hardware correctly to support CEC on PCs. It’s an industry-wide practice.

      There is the pulse eight injector which together with software can inject CEC with a USB connection with the caveat it can’t turn your computer on and it’s a hacky and imperfect solution for tinkerers rather than production ready equipment. Also it’s only HDMI 2.0 not 2.1.

      • Hezaethos@piefed.zipEnglish
        4 hours

        KDE Connect has literally only every once worked for me, via WiFi only.

        I don’t understand why they haven’t officially added the Bluetooth support into it by now.

    • wltr@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      6 hours

      I searched for what HDMI-CEC but it’s not very clear to me. Does it mean that, say, if I have an HTPC, and if I run Kodi, I can control it with a regular TV remote? Should this thing be on a TV too? Would appreciate someone with the supported devices to comment how it works and how you use it.

      • Bobby Turkalino@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        5 hours

        It means that multiple devices which are connected to the same TV can all control each other.

        For example, say you have a streaming device (e.g. Amazon Fire Stick) and an audio receiver both hooked up to the same TV on different HDMI ports. With CEC, you could use the volume buttons on the streaming device’s remote to control the volume on the audio receiver. You could also use the power button on the TV remote to turn all three devices on/off at the same time.

  • skankhunt42@lemmy.caEnglish
    12 hours

    This plus a Flirc USB would be amazing. I’m going to give it a go.