[mythtv-users] New user - low level hardware and software seem to work, but...

A. F. Cano afc at shibaya.lonestar.org
Mon Jan 12 02:29:23 UTC 2009


On Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 05:13:52PM -0800, Brad DerManouelian wrote:
> On Jan 11, 2009, at 5:00 PM, A. F. Cano wrote:
> 
> > Hi,
> 
> <snipped a bunch of stuff I'm not going to answer>
> 
> > I propose a startup test: if mythtv-setup, mythtv or any other  
> > mythtv program
> > for that matter is started from a console the current way is fine,  
> > but if it
> > is started from an xterm/kterm/konsole/etc... or from a menu in kde/ 
> > gnome/X
> > it should start in a small window (not take over the whole screen).
> 
> bderman at mythtv:~$ mythtv-setup --help

Well, yes, that's how I found out about the geometry option.

> Valid options are:
> -display X-server              Create GUI on X-server, not localhost
> -geometry or --geometry WxH    Override window size settings
> -geometry WxH+X+Y              Override window size and position
> 
> Why guess at what "small window" is appropriate when you can just pass  
> it the exact size you want?

My point was that, as a newbie, it was confusing to have the whole screen
taken over and to have no apparent way to resize the window (no borders) or
any way to use any other part of the window system.  What you propose is
fine, assuming you know beforehand that you must pass the geometry parameters
in order not to lose the whole desktop.  Plus, no other X/kde/gnome program
that I've used takes over the screen without warning.  Of course, it might
help to know that I'm not installing mythtv on a dedicated HTPC, it's on
a laptop that I use for other things, so keeping the desktop available is
valuable.  Yes, I know I can create a script that calls mythtv-setup with
the proper geometry options.  As to what a "small" window is, all other
programs I use start with some default size (usually sufficient for what they
need to display) and location, and if they're desktop-friendly, they can
also have those parameters saved and receive start/restore and end messages
from the desktop, but that might be beyond the scope of mythtv.  Mplayer
for instance uses the f key to toggle between full-screen and regular-size
window that suits the resolution of what's displayed.  But of course, I've
just barely started using mythtv, so maybe I'm being naive.  I only offer
these suggestions so that others unfamiliar with the peculiarities of this
program might have an easier time in the future.

A.



More information about the mythtv-users mailing list