[TriLUG] AppleTV as MythTV Frontend

[Ken Mink]

This is a front end only. Recording takes place on the backend. My
backend has about 300gb of disk space. Different HD streams use
different amounts of space per hour. Most seem to be around 6gb/h.

On Fri, Apr 25, 2008 at 1:09 PM, Kevin J. <mrkevinj at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Very cool. How many hours of HD TV signal can you record?
>
>
>
>
>  ----- Original Message ----
>  From: Ken Mink <ken.mink at gmail.com>
>  To: Triangle Linux Users Group General Discussion <trilug at trilug.org>
>  Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 11:35:42 AM
>  Subject: [TriLUG] AppleTV as MythTV Frontend
>
>  Since I know there are a number of MythTV users here, I thought I'd
>  post about the status of a project I've been working on for a while.
>
>  Not long ago, I saw a note somewhere on the net about using an AppleTV
>  as a Mythzt frontend. I've been using MythTV for a number of years and
>  wanted a small, quiet frontend box the my bedroom. The AppleTV seemed
>  perfect for this.
>
>  Well, it's basically complete. Here's what I've got;
>  Stock AppleTV hardware
>  Fedora 8 running native with a custom kernel
>  NVidia proprietary video drivers(using HDMI for video out)
>  Stock MythTV rpms from atrpms.net
>  Custom compile of lirc for IR remote
>
>  So, how well does it work? It works very well. My MythTV backend uses
>  a PVR-500 for analog content and a HDHomerun for HD content. The
>  AppleTV has no problem playing either SD or HD. When playing HD
>  content, cpu usage is about 70%. It does use XvMC for HD, so there is
>  some stuttering when there is any OSD info displayed. This is a
>  problem with MythTV and XvMC and not unique to the AppleTV. I am not
>  using the Apple remote, but the same Harmony I use on my main FE/BE in
>  the living room. I need to pick up another remote. The MythTV frontend
>  is full featured and allows for playback, scheduling, etc.
>
>  The AppleTV has digital audio capabilities. I didn't have any use for
>  this feature, so I don't know if it's working. It should be, but I
>  haven't looked into it. The AppleTV also had built-in wireless. I also
>  haven't put any effort into it.
>
>  The one thing I'm missing is DVD playback. The AppleTV doesn't have an
>  optical drive. Since it's now running a standard linux distro, it
>  should be fairly easy to use an external DVD drive for DVD playback.
>  This is the next thing on the list.
>
>  If you're interested in going this route, you need to be comfortable with:
>  Patching and compiling kernels
>  Editing xorg.conf files
>  Patching, compiling and installing non-package software
>  Voiding warranties :)
>
>  Interesting Links for Linux on AppleTV:
>  http://wiki.awkwardtv.org/wiki/Linux_on_Apple_TV
>  http://www.mythic-beasts.com/resources/appletv/
>  http://www.mactel-linux.org/wiki/AppleTV
>
>  I hope some one found this interesting. It was a real fun project that
>  has provided me with a real world benefit.
>
>  Cheers,
>  Ken
>
>  --
>  ---------------------------------------------
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>  safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."--Benjamin Franklin
>  " 'Necessity' is the plea for every infringement of human liberty; it
>  is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."--William Pitt
>  --
>
>
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>



-- 
---------------------------------------------
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."--Benjamin Franklin
" 'Necessity' is the plea for every infringement of human liberty; it
is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."--William Pitt