I just watched the demonstration video for Linux MCE 0704, and it's pretty darn impressive. It is well produced and the set of features are very impressive. The low-resolution video is on Google Video:



There are higher resolution versions in WMV and OGM formats available via torrents from the Wiki downloads page. I downloaded the DVD ISO to play with it on my P4 linux box, but after the 2 and a half day download it failed the MD5 check. I burned it to a DVD+RW anyway, trying to be optimistic, but it failed a CRC check while untarring something. Oh well; I'll keep an eye on it and try downloading it again some other time. It's based on Kubuntu and integrated MythTV for PVR functionality. I've run a Myth box before but had some stability issues with it, so I'll be curious to see if things have gotten any better.

The new Fiire Chief gyroscopic remote control from Fiire that's featured in the video looks like a winner, but at $149 it's a bit out of my mad-money range for right now.