[TriLUG] mythtv ramblings

[Myrhillion]

gladiator warlord: "conan, what is best in life."

conan (please imagine dee accENT): "a simple to configure hauppauge 
WinTV PVR-250, with a linux ready graphics card with tv out on a strong 
yet versatile AMD athlon mainboard running mythtv"
                  correctly pronounced ------------------------------^
gladiator warlord: "mm, yes, that is best"

I'd give money to hear Arnie say "linux".
-------------

Ken, thanks for the advice, I think I'll take it to heart and build my 
first box with that in mind. 
I'm not even going to get fancy enclosure yet, I'll just go beige box 
(onhand).

I appreciate everyone's input and encouragement.

Doug Taggart

Ken Mink wrote:

>You seem to understand the features of the cards, so it's really your
>call on what you want to spend where.
>
>I have a single 250(older, w/remote wo/FM) and am using the built-in
>svideo out on my mother board.  The processor is a 2600 and has no
>problem with decoding the stream fast enough for watching. As was
>mentioned earlier, the 350s do have an onboard decoder, but they can
>be problematic to configure. There are a number of folks on the
>mythtv-users list that threw in the towel and don't use the output
>capabilities of the 350.
>
>The drivers that support the 150 and 500 are not production ready.
>There are some features that don't work yet. If you want to use one of
>those cards, you'll need to check the ivtv dev list and decide for
>yourself if they're features you can live without.
>
>As far as remote controls go. There are a number of add-on IR
>receivers you can get. I am currently using the remote & receiver that
>came with my 250. It took no time at all to get them working.
>
>My advice would be to remember KISS(keep it simple, stupid) for now.
>Get a 250 with a remote and a cheap video card with tv out that is
>supported under linux and build around them. The nice thing about
>MythTV, is that you can always upgrade the hardware later. Once you're
>comfortable with Myth, get a second 250 or get a 500 and sell the
>original 250. Or add more tuners and start deploying frontends.
>
>Good Luck,
>Ken
>
>
>On Tue, 22 Mar 2005 15:18:17 -0500, Myrhillion <lug at blackwizard.net> wrote:
>  
>
>>Hmm..
>>
>>http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/compare_pvr.html
>>
>>If you folks were just looking to get a basic mythtv setup going (with
>>an old cpu athlon duron 800), for tv card would you go for the Hauppauge
>>PVR-   150, 250 or 350?
>>Seems the main advantage (link above) of the 350 is the mpeg decoder.
>>
>>How much of an advantage is this?
>>
>>Seems odd that the PVR-500 is pretty much the same price as the PVR-350
>>retail.
>>Oh, I see, PVR-500 two encoders, PVR-350 one encoder, one decoder.
>>
>>I'm a bit confused about which part to get.  If I principally, want to
>>record and playback after, a 350(if I want hardware decoding) or 250?
>>If I want to record and watch tv at the same time, a 500?
>>If I want a remote control a non-MCE variety?
>>
>>    
>>
>
><SNIP>
>
>  
>