Jump to My Media System section
MMS (My Media System) is easy to implement in Puppy Linux - and give a lot of flexibility in terms of using programs already present. The pets are mainly created from Debian Sid repository.
Quick guide to install MMS on P412:
But no guaranty - works on my hardware but might not on yours. Getting TV work on Gxine first is a good idea.
mplayer for P412 (not tested yet....) - install the following files (search fo:

I have been struggling with getting VDR running on Puppy. The normal way through Ubuntu or Debian packages did not work. Found at last a Slackware script (very elegant!) and managed to compile VDR on P412.
The pet install a script in /root/Startup that starts VDR server when X starts. Delete/modify it for your needs. After install you should run /usr/bin/w_scan to generate a channels.conf for VDR. Use #./w_scan --help to view the options.
After install (and restart of X) you should have a new menu option in Gxine: XVDR and if VDR is running as it should clicking on this menu should bring up the VDR interface. You can also run /usr/bin/vdr-sxfe instead of Gxine.
You need to have a working DVB or other TV-setup (Gxine able to show TV)...
Quick Start Guide:
And run command needed for your system/country to create a channels.conf for gxine. Ex.: /usr/bin/w_scan -f t -c DK -X > /root/.xine/channels.conf. After this you should be able to view TV via gxine.
Again use w_scan to create a channels.conf for VDR - ex.: /usr/bin/w_scan -f t -c DK > /vdr/1.6.0/config/vdr/channels.conf. And you are done.
If you chose VDR-1.6.0-full and want to enable the additional functionality edit /root/Startup/runvdr-server.sh.: Add a "-P"name_of_lib" in the end of the file. Ex.: -P"femon" -P"osdteletext" -P"epgsearch" to enable femon (Signal Information), osdteletext and epgsearch. Remember to restart VDR.
If you have a IR-receiver and remote-control you can navigate VDR with the remote. First lirc needs to be setup and running - view how to.
To implement IR-remote-control you need to edit /root/runvdr_server.sh. After "--device=0" add "--no-kbd --lirc". Stop any running VDR by running "killall vdr" at a terminal. Start VDR again by running /root/runvdr_server.sh. Start vdr-sxfe (/usr/bin/vdr-sxfe) and follow the on screen guide to map your remote. Example of VDR remote.conf with lirc-keys.
If you have odd time setting in VDR - try to follow guide here to get timings right.
If you get a lot of "???" instead of text in the menus in VDR you have to set language to get rid of them...
Screen shot of running VDR:

You can download pre-compiled NVIDIA drivers for Puppy - for references search the Puppy Linux Forum. But it is not so difficult to compile and install your-self.
Quick guide to install NVIDIA driver on P412:
Hope I did not forget anything.
What is a media center without remote-control? I have a Hauppauge WinTV NOVA-T card with a remote control. Some of the remote works out of the box (up/down/left/right/OK) but all other buttons do not. Guess the kernel recognize the remote as a keyboard and I haven't been able to use lirc through the WinTV ir. So I bought a low cost Allin1 USB2 card reader with IR receiver and plugged out the Hauppauge ir. Now I can use the ir-remote. XBMC-default configuration worked out of the box with the Vista MCE remote - but I do not like the shape of it. The Hauppauge remote is much more in my taste. Judge your-self:
Well..taste differs - but I wonder if the Vista control are build for an other purpose than being a remote-control.
You might be lucky to get a configuration file for your remote here but making your own is FUN! My lircd.conf for inspiration...
Quick guide getting lirc running on P412: