[TriLUG] mythtv ramblings and a questions about december mythtv presentation

[Ken Mink]

On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:28:14 -0500, Myrhillion <lug at blackwizard.net> wrote:
> Hmm, I hadn't realized how "cheap" relatively the athlon xp's have
> become (haven't built a rig in a while).   I might just have to build
> a whole new computer for this project  (*laughs maniacally*).

My setup came in at around $550. The biggest cost was the Lascalia
HTPC case and quiet power supply. They were ~$200 alone. However, the
shiny black case looks great in the entertainment center. I also
bought all quiet components(hd,fans,etc) and they also pushed up the
price a little.

The cheap way of doing MythTV would be a standard white box backend
with the tuners and plenty of storage and a used XBox for the
frontend. From what I've read the XBoxes can be tough to get going,
but they are small, quiet and come with all the necessary hardware and
connectors minus an ethernet card. People are also having a lot of
success with the new Mac Mini as a frontend. It's a little pricey for
just a frontend. But again, it's quiet small and comes with all the
necessary hardware.

> 
> However, I'm wondering if the duron 800 I have will do with a hauppauge
> PVR-250.
> Do you have any problems recording and watching a totally different show
> with your setup, even when it's like
> timeshifted to skip commercials?

I have no problem watching an old recording while a second program is
being recorded. With a PVR-250, recording a show uses very little cpu
power. The mpeg encoder on the card is doing all the work. I am
looking around for another PVR-250 to allow PIP and dual recording. I
don't anticipate any issues with watching a recording and recording
two new ones. That's why I said the 2600 Barton was overkill.

> 
> Anyway, I'm getting more excited about actually doing this from the
> feedback I've received from the list.
> I had actually read up on the FC3 mythtv howto you mentioned.  It seems
> a bit complicated but doable.
> 
> I may still stick with gentoo for the distro.  I'll have to sign-up to
> that myth user list next.
> Thanks for info Ken, it's appreciated seeing what other folks are using.
> 
> Doug Taggart
> 
<SNIP>

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