XBMC 9.11: Camelot

December 24th, 2009 Team XBMC

camelotIt’s been quite a while in the making (and maybe a bit late), but Camelot has arrived for Windows, OSX, Linux, and XBMC Live, and just in time for the holidays. Noteworthy changes include a revamped user interface via the new default skin “Confluence“, DirectX support by default for the Windows platform, a complete reorganization of the settings menus, automatic video information extraction, and smoother video playback. In addition, all scrapers have been updated, new remotes are supported out of the box, and codecs have been updated for more reliable playback. For a full changelog, see the end of this post.

Look to the download page for the good stuff. We wish to thank our community for helping to make XBMC what it is. Several new skins and plugins have been created since Babylon, be sure to check them out as well.

For the developers, this is where the fun starts. To quote the great Linus Torvalds, “A release is not so much of a birth of a new version, it’s more of a laying-to-rest of an old one. It’s also an end to a fairly quiet period.” It’s now open-season for us to start looking forward and begin merging in all those new features that have been brewing. Enjoy our latest offering as we get back to work!

As a brief aside, we’re looking to recruit a talented web developer as well as a graphics designer for a few future endeavors. If you’re interested in more detail and have serious skills (no weekend warriors please), drop us a line.

Update: It looks like there’s a problem with the live installer causing installation to fail. Please hold tight while we look into it.

Update #2: Turns out the live issue was brought on by a last-minute upstream change.  We’ll get this fixed ASAP, though due to the holidays, we ask for your patience.

Update #3: Download links updated for 9.11 repack. Installer should now work correctly.

Read on for the condensed changelog:

GUI:

Improved XBMC GUI Skinning Framework making it even more flexible and powerful
Powerbutton follows “shutdown function” in settings/system/power saving
Updated translations for most languages (help is always wanted with translation)
Skinnable Weather Plugin API enabling third-party Weather Plugins (Python Scripts)
Edit button for RSS feeds in settings, (needs RssTicker script installed, see SCRIPTS section below)
New screensaver option to turn off the screen (using VESA DPMS)
Always On Top option to advancedsettings.xml when XBMC runs in Windowed Mode
Better support for multi-monitor setups
Settings have been re-organized and cleaned up to sync with new features

Playback:

High Definition, Surround Sound, and Subtitle Flagging and Filtering in Video Library
Added support for SingStar and UltraStar Karaoke Lyrics Format
Updated FFmpeg (libavformat and libavcodec) audio/video codec and demux library
Speed up RAW image loading and handle more file extensions
Implemented better WAV/PCM handling on 64-bit operating-systems
Added support for additional tags in CUE sheets (Genre/Year)
Added support for MPL2 (Blu-ray) subtitles format
Added support forVPlayer subtitles format (which unfortunately is still in use)
Added support for RTMP (Flash) live video streams, plus skip, pause, and resume feature
Added proper MMS/MMSH streaming client (libmms) support
Added audio and subtitle delay pop-up to the GUI (similar to volume control)
Improved Commercial Skipping, EDL (Edit Decision List), and SceneMarker support
Options for smoother video playback (syncing the video to the refresh rate of the display)
Smart Playlists support for video resolution, aspect-ratio, codec, audio, and subtitles
Extension of ExternalPlayer enabling multiple external players based on file-extension
Added overlay renderer for dvd/vobsub/xsub

Library:

Performance improvements to SQLite (database) queries (help is always wanted here)
Support for movie sets and a sortorder tag in the Video Library
UPnP MediaServer compliant with DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) standards
Ability to view pictures over UPnP in XBMC, also loads of fixes to the UPnP library
Added scan for new content command to HTTP API, extended XBMC.updatelibrary call
Reorganized MythTV directory structure to separate TV Shows from Movies
Support importing MythTV movies into the Movies Library (including scraping)
Added support local actor thumbnails (store as actor_name.tbn under .actors directory)
Scrape studio info for TV Show/Season/Episode, info is available via studio field item
Changed handling in Scrapers and NFO replacing «thumbs» with multiple «thumb»
Added library update on resume if we are coming from suspend/hibernate
Ability to scrape and scan TV Shows into the video library by air-date via TheTVDB.com

Scrapers:

TheMovieDB.org (TMDB) movie scraper upgraded to version 2.1
Added Movie Trailer scraping from dtrailer.com to TheMovieDB.org scraper
TheTVDB.com TV Shows scraper scraper improvements and enhancements
MTV (Music Videos) scraper improvements and enhancements
New freebase music scraper (with Artist FanArt support via htbackdrops.com)
New Polish music scraper combining allmusic.com,merlin.pl, and lastfm.pl
New mymovies.dk (Multilanguage) movie scraper (*commercial)
New fdb.pl (Polish) movie scraper
New cinefacts.de (German) movie scraper
New filmdelta.se (Swedish) movie scraper
New world-art.ru (Russian) movie scraper
Updated imdb.cn (Chinese) movie scraper
New cine-passion (French/English) movie scraper
Fixes and additions for the mymovies.xml scraper

Skins:

Confluence is the new default
PM3.HD set to secondary
Removed legacy PM III (farewell old friend)

Windows-Specific:

Changed from Open GL to DirectX for GUI and video rendering.
Added Crash Dump for Windows
Support Milkdrop visualizations

Linux-Specific:

Added support for Debian building and packaging to the XBMC SVN
External libraries options when compiling XBMC for Linux making it more distro agnostic
Support for PPC (PowerPC) processors in XBMC for Linux (OpenGL support required)
Avahi Zeroconf (Zero Configuration Networking) for XBMC webserver
Added DeviceKit.Disks integration
Added DeviceKit.Power and ConsoleKit.Manager integration

OS X Specific:

Logitech Harmony Universal Remote support
Added support for CoreAudio API and removed the PortAudio API code
AC3 and DTS digital audio pass-through to SP/DIF on Apple TV (thanks to CoreAudio)
Support for running external Applescripts
Support for command-tab application switching
support for OS X Spaces (virtual desktops)

Live-Specific:

New installer with disk partitioning support, network setup and language selection
Uses Beatzeps08’s variation of duduke’s great “spinner black” usplash theme! Thanks Beatzeps08!!
Based on Ubuntu Karmic
NVIDIA drivers: 190.53 (VDPAU included on supported GPUs)
ATI/AMD drivers: Catalyst 9.11
Includes the magic tvheadend package, which brings live TV in XBMCLive
The plugin “SVN Repo Installer” is also included, thus installing new scripts/plugins/skins will be easier

  1. Joseph
    December 27th, 2009 at 22:17 | #1

    Are you stopping xbox development?

  2. cliusn
    December 27th, 2009 at 23:04 | #2

    @Fabian

    yes, XBMC-9.11-Camelot t3ch compiled XBOX version hasn’t been released. waiting …

  3. Bassist
    December 28th, 2009 at 00:03 | #3

    I surely hope they are releasing it for the original xbox, I spend more time watching and listening to stuff on that than I do on my laptop.

  4. egal
    December 28th, 2009 at 07:38 | #4

    can i use the windows version with an asrock ion 330ht??? cuda???

  5. mrlaga
    December 28th, 2009 at 07:44 | #5

    is gpu rendering with windows suporttet

  6. December 28th, 2009 at 09:13 | #6

    we stopped xbox development a year ago. only one dev works on it and he is on vacation. atlantis was the last official releaes for xbox.

  7. virility
    December 28th, 2009 at 13:39 | #7

    downloaded few minutes ago the newest release. installed xbmc live to my hard disk, but it doesn´t start! it just load grub, and if a write ” startx” the monitor turns off and that´s it. have to restart and nothing more happens.

    gpu ist an ati x1650pro

  8. rlrjupiter
    December 28th, 2009 at 13:42 | #8

    Camelot for Windows is a significant improvement and you should be proud of what you have all accomplished.

    I can now finally get rid of the two old Xbox units I used in the house. They were still in use because I could never get the Windows versions to display properly (tearing, jumping, and 24fps sync issues) when using clone mode on my nvidia 9600gt. My goal of a general purpose server, for both the office and as a HTPC in the living room is now a reality thanks to Camelot 9.11 and Windows 7. Syncing the output to the display and now I get flawless 1080p output via my 9600gt in both the Living room via hdmi (Samsung 52″) and in the office via VGA (Westy 32″). No more fighting with Beyond TV, ultramon and who gets a display at the right frequency. No more playing with all those video settings in the old versions of XBMC. It plays movies back with no stuttering, no tearing, no need to adjust the audio offset. Oh Oh and now it does it with much less compute power. You will not see those huge CPU utilization spikes while sitting in menus.

    XBMC Camelot 9.11 is truly a big jump forward in stability and video quality. Thanks for keeping PM3.HD skin. I checked out Boxee and others and XBMC still rocks as being the most user friendly and capable. Keep up the good work and a big thank you to all of the dedicated developers who support this endeavor. Camelot 9.11 is on the verge of perfection…
    RR

  9. vic
    December 28th, 2009 at 13:53 | #9

    @Joseph
    i just installed this great program but its telling me that my computer is missing d3dx9 42 dll. can any one help me get this file?

  10. George
    December 28th, 2009 at 17:02 | #10

    No matter how many times I re-download and install, the installer freezes when it gets to the point of downloading components. It lets me click next and supposedly completes the installation; however when I try to run it, I get an error message stating that I am missing d3dx942.dll.

  11. Jezz_X
    December 28th, 2009 at 17:36 | #11

    @vic
    @George

    Are you guys actually installing the directx installer that comes with the xbmc installer or just cancelling it.
    But if you are having these sorts of problems you need to go to the forum and post a proper bug report with all the stuff like what version of windows you are running and so on

  12. Home Wrecka
    December 29th, 2009 at 01:27 | #12

    I have the same problem as Vic & George “d3dx942dll is missing”…. I have checked the forums.. and I dont see the solution.. can some-1 please point me in the right direction

  13. Direct X Fix
    December 29th, 2009 at 05:28 | #13

    @Home Wrecka
    @George

    Below file should work for 64 bit version of Windows 7 & Vista

    Copy the file where xbmc.exe is located.

    [link removed]

    For 32 bit version search for the same file name (d3dx9_42.dll) in windows Xp

  14. theuni
    December 29th, 2009 at 05:33 | #14

    @Direct X Fix
    No, don’t do that at all. Really. Don’t do that.

    We include the necessary runtimes in our installer. If they don’t work correctly for some reason, use the correct _runtime installers_ from microsoft.com, not some random files you find on the net.

  15. Direct X Fix
    December 29th, 2009 at 06:08 | #15

    Yes Uni you are correct but how to get this to work under windows 7 64 bit.
    Microsoft doesn’t provide direct X 9 runtime for 7.

  16. Home Wrecka
    December 29th, 2009 at 09:03 | #16

    OK…. I am running 7ultimate 64bit on my HTPC… so your saying there is a runtime installer that I’m missing?

    p.s. I had a older version of XBMC that worked beautiful on my HTPC, but I un-installed to upgrade to this one… I’m paying for it now

  17. Jezz_X
    December 29th, 2009 at 09:43 | #17

    @Direct X Fix
    It works perfectly fine for me on win7 64bit Its my main dev machine. I even installed it on a fresh install and the installer (which launched the directx installer) downloaded and got everything it needed to run

    If you having issues you need to go to the forum and post exactly your system specs so we can work it out properly

  18. December 29th, 2009 at 09:54 | #18

    Revo :IMHO all that is missing now is Spotify support via despotify for us XBMC users with Spotify premium accounts

    lonelycoder.com’s HTS Showtime integrates to Spotify music service via libspotify, could this be added to XBMC too?

    libspotify is the official C API library to allows third-party developers to write applications that utilize Spotify services.
    http://developer.spotify.com/en/libspotify/overview/

    You still need a Spotify premium account, and XBMC team developers need to apply for an application key for XBMC.

  19. Verde
    December 29th, 2009 at 13:03 | #19

    Bassist :
    I surely hope they are releasing it for the original xbox, I spend more time watching and listening to stuff on that than I do on my laptop.

    Me too, its to much better watch something on my sofa and on BigScreen than alone on my computer

  20. Verde
    December 29th, 2009 at 13:05 | #20

    Verde :

    Bassist :
    I surely hope they are releasing it for the original xbox, I spend more time watching and listening to stuff on that than I do on my laptop.

    Me too, its to much better watch something on my sofa and on BigScreen than alone on my computer

    Srsly.. I’ll damn u all if there’s no Xbox’s XBMC Camelot at all !

  21. Michael
    December 29th, 2009 at 14:02 | #21

    What I like the xbox version is that it loads the video faster and play very smoothly in the wireless mode. But in apple TV’s version, it take 10 times longer to load, and play not smooth as the xbox version. Apple TV has a better cpu, and should be better than the xbox and I didn’t expect that. Looks like the software designing issue. Hope this version fix that.

  22. Predatorftp
    December 31st, 2009 at 06:54 | #22

    Does it support Microsoft Media center remote control, now ?

  23. truant
    January 1st, 2010 at 08:59 | #23

    XBMC devs – you guys frackin rock. Thanks very, very much for all your hard work. My life is better because XBMC exists.

  24. January 1st, 2010 at 13:46 | #24

    Hiho, why u ask for stopping development ?
    Is there something I haven´t read ?

  25. Robert
    January 2nd, 2010 at 04:52 | #25

    DON’T DUMP THE XBOX!

    It’s cheap, fast, boots fast, works, and did I mention it is fast? A movie starts within seconds, the windows version doesn’t.
    And all the different hardware. The xbox is just a xbox, simple. For the PC you do not specify any basic configuration and stick with it.

  26. ghost
    January 2nd, 2010 at 19:48 | #26

    Guys is there a link to this problem I’m having ?

    1. I rip my own dvd

    2. it created a bunch of VOB,INFO ECT… the usual dvd files

    3.when I load the video_ts folder in XBMC and do a search for fan art and movie info etc .It reads all the VOB as a seperate movie… thus I have lots of movie clips in my library of the same movie and poster ? what gives

    I don’t expect a full info here but can you guys link me to a specific forum thread ..or solution ..thx

  27. January 3rd, 2010 at 14:41 | #27

    No more official development for XBOX? Let’s hope T3CH never goes away. All us original XBMC users and followers will be tossed in the trash. :-/

  28. January 3rd, 2010 at 16:35 | #28

    @Pyrofallout
    If it wasn’t for us XBOX guys there would be no XBMC. All of a sudden XBMC changes its name and leaves us XBOX guys to rot on its old throne we built. Is that selling out? I am so disappointed.

    Jae.

    P.S. Lov’n the new version, even tho i cannot install it onto my xbox.

  29. January 4th, 2010 at 05:52 | #29

    Jae :
    @Pyrofallout
    If it wasn’t for us XBOX guys there would be no XBMC.

    Actually, I’m pretty sure it was the XBMC developers who created XBMC, not the users…

    I’m sad to see it go too; but it’s not like keeping the software up to date will ever bring the xbox up to modern media center standards, since the hardware is old and un-upgradable. As long as the old builds still run on the old hardware and play old videos, there’s not really much else that can be done~

  30. GeXX (earlier XBMP-DEV)
    January 4th, 2010 at 06:09 | #30

    spiff :
    we stopped xbox development a year ago. only one dev works on it and he is on vacation. atlantis was the last official releaes for xbox.

    THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!

    Latest stable Version for the old XBOX was “Babylon” not “Atlantis”!!!

    T3CH XBMC 2009-06-01 9.04.1-FIXED-Babylon

    Latest XBMC-Build 4 the XBOX is
    T3CH XBMC 2010-01-03 SVN rev2631
    compiled by T3CH

  31. January 4th, 2010 at 06:09 | #31

    Jae :
    @Pyrofallout
    If it wasn’t for us XBOX guys there would be no XBMC. All of a sudden XBMC changes its name and leaves us XBOX guys to rot on its old throne we built. Is that selling out? I am so disappointed.

    if it wasn’t for us xbmc devs there would be no xbmc. we haven’t sold out to anyone, we just moved on from ancient hw. are free to take the code and do whatever you want with it as long as you respect the license.

    finally, a reality check. exactly what makes the old versions useless all of a sudden?

  32. MDavid
    January 4th, 2010 at 08:37 | #32

    Hi,
    thanks for the new version, it rocks!
    But when will it be release for ubuntu jaunty? Karmic version is already on the repo, the there is no jaunty version since beta 2.

  33. MDavid
    January 4th, 2010 at 11:28 | #33

    @spiff
    Well, for one new scripts/plugins won’t work on the older versions…

  34. January 4th, 2010 at 15:06 | #34

    @spiff

    Agreed, without the devs, we would never have had XBMC in the first place. But I wouldn’t call the XBOX “ancient” hardware. People still mod them regularly and use them for media players. Sure it can’t stream HD video without taking a dump, but even considering that it can’t do HD, where else can you get a standalone media player anywhere near as rich as XBMC on the XBOX for the price? You can pickup original XBOXs for less than $50 all day long. Sure I would love to have a modded Apple TV (which seems to the next cheapest standalone solution with XBMC) on every TV in my home, but at over $200 each, I can put in 4-6 XBOXS for the cost of 1 Apple TV. I don’t forsee myself ditching the original XBOX platform for a media player, unless XBMC ever comes to the 360.

  35. SteveH
    January 4th, 2010 at 15:24 | #35

    My question is when will WMC Extender properly work with VIDEO_TS folders to my Xbox 360? I just ripped my collection hoping to use my 360 and found out the extender doesn’t work with VIDEO_TS folders properly.

  36. andy
    January 4th, 2010 at 18:30 | #36

    GeXX (earlier XBMP-DEV) :

    spiff :we stopped xbox development a year ago. only one dev works on it and he is on vacation. atlantis was the last official releaes for xbox.

    THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!
    Latest stable Version for the old XBOX was “Babylon” not “Atlantis”!!!
    T3CH XBMC 2009-06-01 9.04.1-FIXED-Babylon
    Latest XBMC-Build 4 the XBOX isT3CH XBMC 2010-01-03 SVN rev2631compiled by T3CH

    Where is a list of T3CH’s builds?

  37. dny
    January 4th, 2010 at 22:28 | #37

    livecd does not boot with grub2 loopback
    (it can boot other livecd)

  38. January 5th, 2010 at 06:16 | #38

    please friggan read what i write! i repeat; atlantis was the last official release for xbox. with stress on OFFICIAL. anything after that is all arnova. capiche?

  39. johhny
    January 6th, 2010 at 03:28 | #39

    any chance of compiling x64 native windows version?

  40. cyber7
    January 6th, 2010 at 07:06 | #40

    Problems I am experiencing with this release includes:
    1. “iwconfig” gives a kernel-panic.
    2. “SMB” browsing is not supported.
    3. Missing Network Setup.
    4. wpasupplicant update crashes machine.

    I have tried this on various machines and all of them gives roughly the same problems.

    My question(s):
    * Why is the SMB file-sharing not working as in previous releases where I could browse to the share, set the content?
    * Why is the Network in such a broken state? Previously I could set IP’s et-kie…
    * Why would wpasupplicant update crash machines when doing a iwconfig?

    Just my 10c – See as comments, not slag as I realy like the release… (Busy writing customization around the problems :) )

  41. jas1984
    January 7th, 2010 at 06:30 | #41

    Great work on the latest release guys (and gals if any) – install went perfect without a hitch (well after I realised there was a repack)

    Confluence is a great skin, and a wise alternative default to PM3 – the library views look great, I can actually see what my media files are encoded with h264/vc-1/dts etc… etc…

    My only issue as mentioned by cyber7 – there is no network setup from the skin.

    Apart from that its all good!

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