NOTE: This only applies to Debian and other Debian-based Linux distros, including Ubuntu, Linux Mint, elementary OS and any other distros that use APT. Fedora, Arch Linux, Manjaro, OpenSUSE, etc. do
NOT use APT, so do not try to use this with those Linux distros!
Here we go again! As always, with the release of Media Center 26 onto the latest and beta repos, the APT Repository has been updated and changed for Media Center 26. What does this mean? Well, if you're installing and using Media Center for the first time just skip to
Step 1 right now! Otherwise, if you're already using an older Media Center version and you're going to install Media Center 26, you'll need to update your sources to install it so skip to the repository choice in
Step 1!
Step 1 - Adding the JRiver Media Center 26 APT Repository:The APT repository is required to install Media Center 26 and keep Media Center 26 updated with every new release. There's three available repositories; Latest, Stable and Beta. Decide for yourself which one you want to use - descriptions of each are below.
NOTE: You can run the beta repo alongside either the latest or stable repos if desired (for beta testing, etc.). Don't try to use both the latest and stable repos at the same time - only choose and use one of them!
First, open a Terminal (by either pressing CTRL+ALT+T or by searching for the Terminal in your Linux distro's search feature) and either type the following command or copy and paste the command in and press Enter (you *may* be prompted for your password);
wget -q "http://dist.jriver.com/mediacenter@jriver.com.gpg.key" -O- | sudo apt-key add -
Next, with the Terminal still open, we need to download and add the correct mediacenter.list file to the
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory. Also, you can pick which repository you want to use (Latest, Stable or Beta - choose only one!) so either type one the following commands or copy and paste the command in and press Enter;
Media Center 26 (Latest) Repository:This repository is using the latest up-to-date release of Media Center 26. There *may* be instability issues!
NOTE: I'd personally recommend using the latest repo
unless you're intending to run a "stable" system (e.g. HTPC or a Raspberry Pi).
sudo wget http://dist.jriver.com/latest/mediacenter/mediacenter26.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter26.list
Media Center 26 (Stable) Repository:This repository is using the latest stable release of Media Center 26. It may be out-of-date compared to the Latest repository and is updated every few months (so you might have to wait for bug fixes), however these builds have been thoroughly tested and are considered stable.
sudo wget http://dist.jriver.com/stable/mediacenter/mediacenter26.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter26.list
NOTE: Media Center 26 is still pretty new, so there's probably no stable versions yet. Use the Latest repo instead!Media Center 26 (Beta) Repository:This repository is for beta builds - not intended for users who prefer stability! These builds are likely buggy, may crash, etc. But this repo can be used alongside either the stable or latest repos!
sudo wget http://dist.jriver.com/beta/mediacenter/mediacenter26.list -O /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter26beta.list
That's it! Now we can install Media Center 26...
Step 2 - Installing Media Center 26:Finally, we need to reload the packages list, so with the Terminal still open either type the following command or copy and paste the command in and press Enter;
sudo apt-get update
You can now install Media Center 26 by opening a Terminal (by either pressing CTRL+ALT+T or by searching for the terminal in your desktop environment) or re-use the Terminal from the previous step. Next either type the following command or copy and paste the command in and press Enter (you *may* be prompted for your password);
sudo apt-get install mediacenter26
If during this process it should say something along the following;
The following extra packages will be installed:
lame libcue1 libreplaygain1 musepack-tools vorbis-tools
The following NEW packages will be installed:
lame libcue1 libreplaygain1 mediacenter26 musepack-tools vorbis-tools
0 upgraded, 6 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Just press Y (or Enter) when it asks this... however, if you receive an error like;
dependency problems prevent configuration of mediacenter26:
mediacenter26 depends on ....
This means all dependencies have not been met. Don't fret, this can usually be taken care of by using the following command in the Terminal by either typing the following command or copying and pasting the command in and press Enter;
sudo apt-get install -f
It'll show you the missing dependencies, after looking them over just press enter to install them. Now assuming all dependencies are met, you've been successful at installing Media Center 26! Enjoy!
Uninstall/Remove Media Center (And All Files):Okay, first, you'll need to open a Terminal window (by either pressing CTRL+ALT+T or by searching for the Terminal in your Linux distro's search feature) and either type the following commands one-by-one or copy and paste the commands in one-by-one and press Enter (you *may* be prompted for your password);
Step 1 - Uninstall Media Center from the Terminal:
To Uninstall Media Center 23:sudo apt-get remove mediacenter23
To Uninstall Media Center 24:sudo apt-get remove mediacenter24
To Uninstall Media Center 25:sudo apt-get remove mediacenter25
To Uninstall Media Center 26:sudo apt-get remove mediacenter26
Of course if you're using a version older than Media Center 23, just substitute the version number in the command in the Terminal.
Step 2 - Remove The Media Center APT repository .list File(s):
Hopefully you didn't close the Terminal window, because you'll need it again for this next part! We need to remove the Media Center repo .list file(s) from the
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory. The easiest way to do this is from the Terminal, so with the Terminal open choose the command(s) below that you need...
To Remove Media Center 23's .list Latest/Stable Repository File:sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter23.list
To Remove Media Center 24's .list Latest/Stable Repository File:sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter24.list
To Remove Media Center 25's .list Latest/Stable Repository File:sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter25.list
To Remove Media Center 26's .list Latest/Stable Repository File:sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter26.list
Now, if you're using the beta repository for any installed Media Center versions, use these commands in the Terminal as well...
To Remove Media Center 23's .list Beta Repository File:sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter23beta.list
To Remove Media Center 24's .list Beta Repository File:sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter24beta.list
To Remove Media Center 25's .list Beta Repository File:sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter25beta.list
To Remove Media Center 26's .list Beta Repository File:sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mediacenter26beta.list
Again if you're using a version older than Media Center 23, just substitute the version number in the command in the Terminal.
Step 3 - Remove Media Center's Settings Folder(s):
You can leave them if you want, especially if you need to reinstall the older Media Center version, but if you want to remove the older Media Center folders you'll need the Terminal again, and use these command(s) for the older Media Center versions that were installed...
To Remove Media Center 23's Settings Folder:sudo rm -rf '/usr/lib/jriver/Media Center 23'
To Remove Media Center 24's Settings Folder:sudo rm -rf '/usr/lib/jriver/Media Center 24'
To Remove Media Center 25's Settings Folder:sudo rm -rf '/usr/lib/jriver/Media Center 25'
To Remove Media Center 26's Settings Folder:sudo rm -rf '/usr/lib/jriver/Media Center 26'
Yes, again, if you're using a version older than Media Center 23, just substitute the version number in the command in the Terminal.
And that should do it, removing all traces of previous Media Center versions. Easy peasy, right?
Q&A:Q: Do I need to remove older Media Center versions to install Media Center 26?
A: Nope! If you desire, you can keep older versions of Media Center installed alongside the current version. But if you're going to use only the newest version of Media Center with the Media Network feature, I'd recommend going into the older Media Center's Options > Media Network and
disabling Media Network, as it *could* clash with the newer Media Center version running. I'd also recommend if you run Media Center at startup of your Linux distro to go into the older Media Center's Options > Startup and making sure the startup option is set to Nothing. From there you can set the newer Media Center to start at your Linux distro's startup.
Q: Can I uninstall/remove older Media Center versions if I don't need them anymore?
A: Yes you can! Just follow the uninstall/remove portion of the tutorial above for the older Media Center version(s) you have and want to remove.
Q: How do I update Media Center 26?
A: That depends on your Linux distro. Your Linux distro's update manager or package manager should prompt when it checks for updates or you can check for updates manually (e.g. Synaptic). If using an update manager app in your Linux distro, I suggest hitting the Refresh button in it to make sure you're getting the latest and greatest updates. However, if all else fails, open a Terminal window and use this command...
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
And that should install any updates for your system, including Media Center!
Q: I'm running into an issue doing this, help!
A: Okay... take a deep breath and try going through the tutorial again, triple checking each step. However if you still have issues, please post a new topic in this forum section about your issue(s).