[mythtv] Complete MythTV Newbie Needs Some Clarification Please
Alex Davidson
alexd at synergycsi.com
Tue Jan 21 15:58:41 EST 2003
Many thanks - now I can think about getting started :)
----- Original Message -----
From: "tarek Lubani" <tarek at tarek.2y.net>
To: "Development of mythtv" <mythtv-dev at snowman.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 2:39 PM
Subject: Re: [mythtv] Complete MythTV Newbie Needs Some Clarification Please
> Hey!
>
> Most of these issues have been addressed throughout discussions on the
list
> spanning the past several months.. However, you have hit almost every
> single question, so I do believe there is merit in trying to answer this
> message for the sake of the future newbies..
>
> >I have some extra hardware lying around that I installed Red Hat 8.0 on
and
> >have an "ADS Channel Surfer TV+FM" video capture card that I no longer
use
> >and am ready to see how far I can go with MythTV.
>
> Far. I was shocked. you will be too..
>
> >I have some very basic concepts to understand first though:
> >1. Would my Myth box replace my AT&T Digital Cable box or sit in front of
it
> >and change channels using an IR box/cable?
>
> No. To put it most simply, Myth enslaves your AT&T Digital cable box. You
> control myth through a remote control (with lirc), and it in turn controls
> your digital cable box.
>
> >2. If I am replacing the Cable box:
> >a. How would I tell my capture card to use channels in a range higher
than
> >the 125(?) it supports? Presumably you can't which would lead me to
believe
> >I need to get a card that supports 999 channels or I am not in fact
> >replacing the box.
> >b. I can't get my head round how it could decode Premium Channels and
PPVs -
> >again I am leaning toward the idea that I am not replacing the box
>
> You should try to follow the Satellite (specifically DTV) threads, as they
> deal with these issues at large. Basically, you have your cable box
> outputting either in composite, or S-video or whatever. Since your cable
> box outputs, your video card actually only needs to receive on one channel
> (if in cable mode) or one input (Composite, for example). One warning here
> is that you are entering a relatively proprietary area. Those of us with
> satellite receivers are having a relatively hard time getting things like
> PPV ordering and various local channels working.. In fact, as it stands
> right now, I am not aware of PPV ordering working for any of the systems.
> If you are unwilling to support your AT&T digital cable dealie yourself,
> then you may wish to wait until somebody else does before delving in.
>
> >3. (Cough, deep breath) What are the "generally accepted" system
> >requirements for a *completely dedicated* MythTV PVR? I know this has
the
> >potential to generate a lot of opinions as there are so many possible
> >variations of the components so maybe the question needs to be what would
> >you NOT consider using? As I said, this is to be a dedicated PVR and I'd
> >like to be able to Record and Playback at the same time. Imagine a Tivo
or
> >Replay TV or Dish Network's Dish Pro 501.
>
> The hardware requirements are very dynamic, in my opinion.. As myth grows,
> it gets better at addressing these issues.. However, i think you want to
> look here:
>
> The HOWTO has this:
> "
> Mark Cooper has setup a hardware database at
> http://www.goldfish.org/~mcooper/pvrhw/
> <http://www.goldfish.org/~mcooper/pvrhw/>. The website will let you browse
> what other users have reported as their hardware configuration, and how
> happy they are with the results.
> "
>
>
> >3a. What, other than an extra capture card, would I need to get and do to
> >add the ability to watch a live broadcast while recording another? I've
> >seen this ability mentioned in previous posts but as I think I will be
> >sitting in front of a Digital Box (true?) and it can only send one
channel
> >at a time this scuttles the whole thing I'd suppose.
>
> You would in fact need two receivers if you want digital. However, many
> digital cable services have a variety of channels that don't need the box
> (first 60, say), so you should be OK with those.. You would, in that
> instance, need nothign more than an extra card, though I could be
mistaken,
> as I'm not considering the audio aspects..
>
> >4. At what point do better, faster versions of the components not give
any
> >more return on investment? There may be no point but I want to get my
head
> >around what affect the components have on encoding and decoding
>
> Well, consider what Myth has to do:
>
> 1) Receive signal
> 2) Encode signal --> data
> 3) Store Data
> 4) Retrieve Data
> 5) Display Data.
>
> So, any one of these can be a bottle neck in terms of quality and/or
> general efficacy. Because mythtv offers you options in terms of quality,
> size of file, codec, etc, you can always make full use of your equipment..
>
> >5. What kinds of storage are you seeing per GB for TV?
>
> Depends on codecs and such. I do recommend reading for this.. Personally,
I
> get about a gig an hour.
>
> >Also:
> >Can anyone point me to some sites that would walk me through the basics
of
> >installing apps, compiling apps, rebuilding kernels, finding device
drivers,
> >loading drivers and apps automatically at startup, etc etc to get me
going
> >rather than boring you all with really basic Linux questions?
>
> http://www.linuxnewbie.org/
>
> >(Does anyone know if my capture card is even supported? If not I can get
> >another, just thought I'd at least try to use it.)
>
> A google search will be your best bet. This may be a start, though:
> http://www.linux.org/hardware/
>
> >Thanks for any help at all,
> >Alex
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