[mythtv] PVR 250 & Linux vs Windows PVRs

[George & Kim Lopez]

Great info.  I really appreciate the editorial
review w/regard to MythTV.  So the bozo question
of the day, what do you mean by an external
tuner?  Are you talking antenae vs cable TV vs
Satellite dish or are you talking about the
receiver for the tuner card?
   Also, regarding the PVR 350 vs PVR 250, you
mention issues with TV out on the 350.  Does
anyone know if the same issues exist with the PVR
250?

Thanks,
GML
---- Begin Original Message ----

From: "Desmond Rivet" <desmond_rivet at hotmail.com>
Sent: Thu, 13 Nov 2003 01:56:57 +0000
To: mythtv-dev at mythtv.org
Subject: Re: [mythtv] PVR 250 & Linux vs Windows PVRs


I currently use a PVR-350 in a 2.4GHz P4 box. For
the most part things work 
great. And the scheduling is rather intelligent -
MythTV it won't record a 
program if you already have it, and it can
sometimes even resolve schduling 
conflicts on its own (i.e. if program A and
program B are on at the same 
time C, and you've set both to record, but
program A is on later at time D, 
MythTV will record program B at time C and
program A at time D without 
intervention).

Things get complicated if you have an external
tuner. I had to build my own 
transmitter - solder and all.  Wasn't very hard,
but it's something to 
consider. Instructions are on the LIRC site. Your
external tuner (if you 
have one) may be controllable via a serial cable.
Mine was not.

MPEG2's are a bit difficult to edit (it's not
just a simple matter of 
cutting out the frames you don't want). As far as
I'm aware, MythTV does not 
let you edit MPEG2 files via the onscreen GUI. On
the other hand, the files 
are ready to be burned on a DVD.

TV out is another issue - support for TV out on
the PVR-350 is in the 
development stage. I've done brief experiments
with the driver and the 
quality is great. Almost indistiguishable from
actual TV. You won't get that 
if you simply use the TV out on your video card.

Mythmusic is great, so is Mythvideo. This is one
of the main reasons I use 
MythTV - the add-ons. When I first started this
project, I was lookiing to 
build a complete "media center". Something that
would not only record TV and 
archive the shows, but play music, DVDs, etc.
MythTV is a great project in 
this regard - and I don't think any other piece
of free software, on any 
platform, Windows included, comes close.

>From: "George & Kim Lopez" <gklopez at metacrawler.com>
>Reply-To: gklopez at metacrawler.com,      
 Development of mythtv 
><mythtv-dev at mythtv.org>
>To: mythtv-dev at mythtv.org
>Subject: [mythtv] PVR 250 & Linux vs Windows PVRs
>Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 08:45:24 -0800
>
>I have seen, with mixed results, Linux PVR
>solutions using Hauppauge PVR 250 tuner cards on
>different systems.  I am in the research phase
>(reading the web, subscribing to mail-lists,
>downloading How-to Manuals, etc) of converting
>one of my computers (P4, 2.4 GHz), currently in
>a closet, into a Linux PVR.  I am curious if
>anyone has actually gotten the system up and
>running to a satisfactory condition.  I am not
>necessarily an audio-phile.  I just want to be
>able to record and archive different TV shows or
>music off of my Direct TV.
>    I am about to buy my TV tuner card (the only
>piece of equipment I think I am missing) and was
>considering the Hauppauge PVR 250 or 350 or the
>Pinnacle Pro.  From the Hauppauge and Pinnacle
>web-site, it looks like I could set up a Windows
>PVR solution instead of Linux.  Any thoughts on
>this?  Why would this NOT be a good solution
>other than the fact that it would be M$.  Please
>accept my apologies as I realize I have
>bombarded you with a ton of questions.  I would
>appreciate any info you could provide.  I will
>do my best to document my results and post my
>learnings or travails.  Admittedly, I am a bit
>of a Linux newbie as I have not messed with it
>since RH 6.2 came out.
>
>
>Thanks,
>George
>
>
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