PPC (PowerPC) developers wanted to port XBMC/Boxee to PowerPC based Mac

[Gamester17]

Development to port XBMC for Linux (the framework Boxee is based upon) to PPC (PowerPC) have begun and source code patches for that is available, however these developers are only focusing on XBMC for Linux, not XBMC for Mac (and no one on Team-XBMC even own a PowerPC based Mac), thus outside developers are needed to port XBMC to PPC so that is can be compiled and run on all PowerPC based Mac's out there.

For more information please see these threads in the XBMC forum:
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=34439
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32320
http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=35435

Any C++ programmers our there who owns a PPC Mac yourselves and might be interested in this? :confused:

PS! Once XBMC for Mac has been ported to PowerPC by third-party developers then I am sure Boxee will soon follow.

[loosy]

Hi!
The links provided in your site were very useful....
Thanks.....

[larrydavis]

I can understand your personal desire, but it's like fighting for a losing cause. PPC is, for all intents and purposes, dead in the PC space. Apple ditched it long ago (2006) and no one else uses it. Perhaps there is some usefullness to it as PS3 is essentially PPC and there is Linux support for that. That's the route I would pursue to push it along, not PPC Macs as that audience is small and dwindling.

[dave]

However - many of us have PPC boxes as a file server or "old system" lying around. This is the beauty of open source - cheap old hardware can do wonderful things with the right person on the project.

I've hung onto a PPC Cube and "iMac Lamp" because of the art value, and would love to have boxee running on that 20" iMac as a "TV." Slingplayer for video and the fireplace screen saver just ain't cutting it any longer!

[larrydavis]

I'd still pursue it from a Linux perspective, as that can apply to the PS3 as well. Then install a PPC Linux distro on your older Macs to run Boxee.

[DGMurdockIII]

i have a PPC mac and i may use boxee on it as a tv as it in my kitchen i can watch tv while i cook if you guys make it work

[deano65]

Im gutted. Ive been waiting to use Boxee for some time.

Installed it and got 'not supported on this architecture'.

Please dont forget about us!

[LloydBalshaw]

hi,
Im gutted. Ive been waiting to use Boxee for some time.

Installed it and got 'not supported on this architecture'.

Please dont forget about us! Do we earn from those linkstar.co.uk (http://www.nuansatour.com/linkstar-uk-advertiser.html) ads at the top or just adsense?
I'd still pursue it from a Linux perspective, as that can apply to the PS3 as well. Then install a PPC Linux distro on your older Macs to run Boxee.:cool:

[Gamester17]

However - many of us have PPC boxes as a file server or "old system" lying around.Dave is right, think of all the people who have the 'old' PowerPC G4 based Mac Mini (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Mini#Mac_Mini_G4) lying around just gathering dust somewhere in their home, or have them for sale cheap on Craigslist and eBay.

If Boxee for Mac OS X was available as a unified binary that worked on PPC Macs then all those people who have or can get their hands on a such PowerPC G4 based Mac Mini (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Mini#Mac_Mini_G4) could easily recycle it into a great little media center for the living-room, (it will probably be able to playback 720p videos and upscale to 1080p).

So the first-generation Mac Minis would be the primary target, and late model PowerPC G4/G5 based PowerBooks and iBooks secondary targets :cool:

Once Boxee (and XBMC) been ported to Mac OS X for PowerPC then it will be much simpler step to port to Linux for PowerPC, and after that it should in theory to make it run under Linux on PowerPC based game-consoles like PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii (yes all those game-consoles are PowerPC based and the generation of game-consoles after that is also rumored to be PowerPC based), ...try to take it one baby step at a time ;)

[leopod]

right on the spot! i have macmini powerpc g4 and use it as a media center. With tiger, an added ir receiver, an apple remote, and an an enabled front row, i thought i couldn't go further than that. But now, hope is back. Boxee may be coming its way :-) ... has anyone answered to the challenge?
(also i've been trying 720p on macmini powerpc and it's not so promising but let's say i can live without 720p for the moment!)

[DGMurdockIII]

i wish someone would

[UncleGeorge]

I've got a Dual 2.7 G5 Powermac that's still a workhorse. Would love to have Boxee on it.
Meanwhile I've got Boxee on a MacBook

[kansei]

I have 15 and 17" G4 powerbooks plus a dual 2.7 G5 powermac just itching to let me take my mac mini back to use as my personal PC in my bedroom ;)

Is this kinda just pushed off to the side because of a lack of demand, or because of a lack of developers having access to older Macs (easily remedied by a donation of one)?

[larrydavis]

So the first-generation Mac Minis would be the primary target, and late model PowerPC G4/G5 based PowerBooks and iBooks secondary targets :cool:

Once Boxee (and XBMC) been ported to Mac OS X for PowerPC then it will be much simpler step to port to Linux for PowerPC, and after that it should in theory to make it run under Linux on PowerPC based game-consoles like PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Wii (yes all those game-consoles are PowerPC based and the generation of game-consoles after that is also rumored to be PowerPC based), ...try to take it one baby step at a time ;)
A lost cause and a dying breed. First, I doubt those older PPCs would have the balsl to run Boxee. Boxee struggles on just about everything I've put it on (even my MBP). Second, PPC makes are becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of all Macs quite quickly. The decline is astounding, really.

I don't think it's a worthwhile way to spend resources unless some developer with free time and a PPC machine wants to do it for him or herself.

[agentlame]

A lost cause and a dying breed. First, I doubt those older PPCs would have the balsl to run Boxee. Boxee struggles on just about everything I've put it on (even my MBP). Second, PPC makes are becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of all Macs quite quickly. The decline is astounding, really.

I don't think it's a worthwhile way to spend resources unless some developer with free time and a PPC machine wants to do it for him or herself.

you're forgetting about the xbox360 and ps3.

[DGMurdockIII]

and the wii use one too

[larrydavis]

Didn't forget, put it in my first post. I said pursuing the PS3 route (example I used) would be better than trying to pursue the Mac route. I think you'd get mroe people behind game consoles than depricated Macs that likely don't have the power to run Boxee anyway.

[mozza]

I think it would be good for boxee to be available on a PPC... I have a G5 imac still going strong and it would be useful to have it on there.

[wjcstp]

Didn't forget, put it in my first post. I said pursuing the PS3 route (example I used) would be better than trying to pursue the Mac route. I think you'd get mroe people behind game consoles than depricated Macs that likely don't have the power to run Boxee anyway.

What are the system requirements for running Boxee? I haven't been able to find anything, other than the Intel processor.

The thing about Mac users is (at least among the ones i know) they tend to keep and reuse their hardware longer that a lot of PC users. The intel boxes came out in 2006, and 2 years is on the short side of the average replacement schedules i've worked with. I also think that the percentage of people who would reuse an old Mac for Boxee is larger than the percentage of game console owners who would do the same.

[larrydavis]

I still have my G4 Mini and G4 iBook, but I don't pretend they can run Boxee. They struggle with Flash content as it is. It would only be worse with Boxee.

[kansei]

Didn't forget, put it in my first post. I said pursuing the PS3 route (example I used) would be better than trying to pursue the Mac route. I think you'd get mroe people behind game consoles than depricated Macs that likely don't have the power to run Boxee anyway.

you make my Quad 2.5GHz G5 sad :(

it sucks.. it has power, sure it's not the fastest thing on the planet, but it has power. Since most people think ppc and think powerbook G4 1.5ghz, of course it doesn't seem fast enough. I play 1080p stuff no issue on it, though the fans do often become a bit of a roar.

now if I could find someone to trade the quad G5 for a PS3, I'd be in business :)

[ding]

Just an update for sad powerpc owners like me if things work out, the next alpha/beta release of xbmc 9.04 will include a ppc dmg.

[Gamester17]

FYI; XBMC Media Center 9.04 (Babylon) Beta 1 has now been released!

Hot on the heals of the XBMC 9.04 Alpha 1 release, and some 350 code fixes later, the first (and only?) Beta release of XBMC Media Center 9.04 (codename: Babylon) is now available.

New in this release is support for PPC (PowerPC) processors under Mac OS X, thanks to Team-XBMC’s new developer Beenje.

Full story found here: http://xbmc.org/blog/2009/04/23/xbmc-904-babylon-beta-1-released/

Now I just hope that Boxee follow this example?

[vertig0gitrev]

FYI; XBMC Media Center 9.04 (Babylon) Beta 1 has now been released!

Now I just hope that Boxee follow this example?

OUTSTANDING!! Any words on if/when Boxee might get an update to include PPC support?

[DGMurdockIII]

bing bong bing

[mesostinky]

I know the audience isn't huge. But if you got boxee working on PPC, say the last gen Mac mini as the target(ton of those out there), you could definitely sell it for a premium to help support development of the free versions.

Why not experiment? If xbmc ppc really gets going get a build that has feature parity(where possible) with the Intel Mac version and then charge $29 a pop. I'll happily pay.

[dtakeshi]

What's actually needed to port things over to PPC? I'm not a software developer, but I got time on my hands. I've also got 2 Dual G5's at home that still going strong. I wouldn't mind experimenting and getting it working.

Also is Xcode enough to get going with this?

Cheers,
D

[agentlame]

What's actually needed to port things over to PPC? I'm not a software developer, but I got time on my hands. I've also got 2 Dual G5's at home that still going strong. I wouldn't mind experimenting and getting it working.

Also is Xcode enough to get going with this?

Cheers,
D

boxee for os x is developed using xcode. the real issue is wrapping the flash binary for ppc in bxflplayer.

also, there is the matter of converting the more low-level c/c++ code to compile correctly on ppc. really, starting with xbmc for ppc is best; then, adapting boxee-specific features/functionality.

still, flash/silverlight will be a real issue... silverlight will most likely never happen, though.

[fgjordan]

Sorry to bring back an old post, but I searched the forums and this was the most recent I could find.

I was going to inquiry as to the status of creating a version of boxee for PPC with Linux, specifically Ubuntu.

The other day I installed Ubuntu on my PS3 and was heartbroken when I discovered I couldn't install boxee on it. I thought about compiling from source from the mac code for ppc, but didn't think I would have the coding experience to do it. I know C/C++ and several other languages, but have never done serious coding like this in C/C++.

Anyway, is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

[badmoviesandbeer]

ps3 doesn't support the required version of opengl currently needed for boxee to run.

[x40sw0n]

Since Sony intentionally disabled access to the video hardware for the 'other PS'. However tech demos did show them doing realtime 3d renders using linux with no video card support at all so who knows?

[libertyforall]

XBMC for PowerPC Macs has been out for a while, now a 2nd PPC release:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/xbmc/files/

(Boxee is based on XBMC)