[TriLUG] Myth TV - need some pointers

[Greg Brown]

Hey everybody.  I'd like to build a Myth TV box, two actually.  I'd like to
have one box at home in Raleigh and one on the outer banks.  Here's the
catch - I'd like the box in Raleigh to be able to send contact to the OBX
box via some kind of encrypted tunnel or so I can watch shows recorded here
out there.  And vice-versa.  I imagine this is possible with Myth but I'd
like to the definitive answer if anyone knows.

Other Myth questions:

1. What distro is "best"?  Debian?  Redhat?  By best I'm looking for the one
that "just works".  The Myth box will likely be a dedicated machine (perhaps
a ssh and squid host as well, but that's about it).  Thoughts?
2. I read somewhere that the TV listings were going away and this was going
to affect Myth boxes.  Has this been addressed?
3. What kind of hardware am I looking at?  Being a dedicated machine I'd
like something that looks like it belongs next to a television.  A fat disk
is a must, but I have no need to burn content so an included DVD burner
isn't necessary (besides I could hook one up via USB I suppose).  However if
the thing already comes with a DVD burner that's cool.

Any other info you can provide is great,  Thx.

Greg