My Media Center is MMS

MMS, the whole picture

What is MMS?

MMS is a menu-driven media system for Linux and it's free. A short and good introduction can be found in the Wiki and on the author's web-site.

Basic functionalities

The basic functionalities of MMS are:

This two features are new in version 1.0.8:

MMS Main Menu
mms main menu

MMS doesn't really implement all the above features itself. It uses the capabilities and strength of already available applications like:

MMS takes the applications mentioned above and combines it under a simple, but fancy user interface, that can be controled by

At the moment it's not possible to mix the different input-methods. If you have choosen lirc for example as input-method, there is no other way to control MMS. If you want to use your keyboard as input again, then you have to launch MMS with the keyboard switch, or adjust the appropriate value in the config file itself. 
 ~/mms -i keyboard

MMS can use the following output devices:

The default configuration is sdl, which means it's ready to run on X11.


Download and Installation

You can download the latest stable MMS version from the author's homepage or from the wiki's download section. Uncompress it to a folder of your choise. Before your're going to compile MMS, you have to meet a few library requirements. An excellent documentation exists for Debian in the wiki. Installation-descriptions for other Linux distros are also available there.

The installation itself follows the typical UNIX configure style. If you e.g. want to enable the new game and tv module of MMS, and want to use lirc input too, invoke this command line: 

 ./configure --enable-lirc --enable-tv --enable-game
All configure switches can be retrieved with the "--help" option.

After a successful run you can start the compilation and installation as usual: 

 make && make install

Configuration and Starting MMS

A quick and basic description of how to configure MMS is also available in the wiki - config-file. A detailed description is available in other sections of the wiki too.

Basically you have to configure one file. In this file you tell MMS where your pictures, movies and audio content is located. Of course you can adjust a lot more. The central configuration file of MMS is called: 

 /etc/mms/config
If you want to use lirc, then you have to have an already installed and configured lirc, before you're going to adjust the key-mapping in the following file: 
/etc/mms/input-lirc
In /etc/mms is also a config file for keyboard, but this one can be left as is.

I use this init.d script to start mms. Usualy it is done like that: 

/etc/init.d/mms start
In the init script itself is a language variable. Adjust it to your language, but insure the UTF-8 code page is available. Do this the Debian-way by invoking: 
dpkg-reconfigure locales
MMS is capable to serve You in 9 languages, so possibility is high your language is available.

Usage keyboard

The Usage can only be explained, if we refer to keys on the keyboard, because the mapping of the keys on the remote control is up to you.

If we are talking about navigation in MMS now, one thing should always be kept in mind. MMS is fully playlist orientated, and the audio functionality is accessible from everywhere in MMS, no matter what menu you are in, audio is always controlled by the same keys.

That means, pressing "HOME" on the keyboard, lets you enter your playlist, wherever you are. Well - entering a empty playlist isn't possible, that's why you have to fill it first.

Use the Arrow keys and the "ENTER" button to navigate to your music on your HDD. Use the "END" key to manoeuvre backwards, also known as "EXIT" on remote controls.

Use "SPACE" to retrieve a context sensitive menu. This menu isn't available in the main menu, because the main menu is a menu itself.

OK, if you've counted together all keys, that are needed to navigate through MMS, you should come up with 7 keys. If you've got 8 keys, then you've also taken "HOME", but the playlist can also be retrieved by the context menu, so you can leave that out.

Navigation Keys Audio Control Keys All these commands can be accessed via the context menu also, but navigation with direct key entry is faster and more convenient.

If You want to know all key-mappings, then look into this file: 

/etc/mms/input-keyboard

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