[mythtv] Via EPIA M as a frontend, seperating the databases

[Zagaroth]

Hello's Everyone.

Right i just though i would post here what i am trying to do with mythtv and my EPIA M10000 Ezra-T Core. Basicly i'm setting up a seperate frontend and backend systems.
The backend will be somewhere of the order of a PIII 500 if i can get it to work (its wot i have till i upgrade) with a Leadtek Winfast TV2000 XP Deluxe card in it. I plan to make it encode the streams to MPEG2 so the hardware decoder on my VIA board can use them. It will have the databases for myth setup on this box as well.
Heres where life gets fun. The frontend will have a hard drive with the smallist system image i can get on it. Plus lots of space for MP3's, Videos and photos. Now i want to also have the database on this frontend just storing the info needed to make the frontend work. So that i can unplug the box from the network and use it as a mp3, video and so on box. I'm going to order a nice big LCD screen to go on the front of the box so i can use it without a TV if i just want music. I'm hoping that i can get this all to work without tooooo much problums. i'm in the prosess of looking at MiniMyth to see how its all done there. But i will end up using the Redhat 9 2.4.20-8 kernel as it supports the CLE266 via drivers. With any luck this frontend should end up being a small image that will work with any via EPIA M which has a homebrew lirc receiver on com1 and a dvd drive.

The stuff i would like to add:
-LCD support (so it can work without a TV)
-LIRC support
-ALSA (the digital outputs for sound) 
-HW decoding on the CLE266
-Work with any standend mythtv backend on the network (autofind and use them??)
-can be used without a backend
-maby if the image is small enoth load it to a ramdisk at boot from the hd so the hd only needs work if playing mp3s or videos from it (can powerdown the hd for watching liveTV)
-make some nice plugs on the front so u can use XBOX/PS/USB (which everone i deside on) gamepads for ROM's and controling the box.

Is anyone insterested in this?? or has any comments??
Thanx in advance
-Laurence
zagaroth at wave.co.nz
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