[mythtv-users] MythTV/HTPC Linux Distribution?

[darco]

This is an idea that has been floating in my head over the past week. 
I'm not sure if I should post this to the mythtv-dev list, but I figure 
it's ambiguous enough, so I'll just post it here.  For all I know, 
someone is already working on this. It just seems like the logical 
next-step in the search for the mythical digital convergence box.

I am fairly new to MythTV, as I just set my box up last weekend. I 
consider my knowledge of Linux to be that of a competent 
sysadmin--perhaps a bit more. I am an experienced software developer, 
and over the past year I have been developing on Linux exclusively.

In setting up my Asus Pundit last weekend to be my new MythTV box, I 
came to the following conclusion: None of the current distributions are 
really "ideal" for a MythTV/HTPC "Appliance".

Being a long-time RedHat user (and a recent tinkerer with Gentoo), I 
decided that RedHat would NOT be a good choice, and I chose Gentoo. But 
even Gentoo is not really ideal. There are still countless "useless" 
packages that have been installed. I have spend hours fidgeting with 
settings trying to get everything working "just-right", only to watch 
everything grind to a halt as I change the hostname from "localhost" to 
"pvr".

I was wondering what interest there was out there for a "MythTV 
Appliance" Linux Distribution. This distribution would not be suitable 
for general-purpose computing, but would aim toward being a sleek, 
small, and fast fully-featured MythTV/HTPC Linux distribution.

ie:
1) Boot up the disc
2) Select your options, features, and software
3) Watch the software install
4) Reboot and Configure hardware
5) Watch TV!

Here are a few potential out-of-the-box features of a MythTV/HTPC 
Distribution:

1) MythTV, MythMusic, MythWeather, MythDVD(which would probably be out 
by the time a distribution could be put together), etc...
2) Out-of-the-box web configuration interface (MythWeb, and more)
3) File Sharing (Samba, NTFS, ftp, http)
4) Universal Plug-N-Play support (I've only seen this in routers, but 
it could be useful for making configuration even easier on windows 
boxes)
5) Rendezvous Support (Handy for macintosh computers, and really easy 
to implement)
6) LIRC Support (Duh....)
7) LCD Support (For displaying the channel, the current video, the 
current song, the news, the weather, who knows)
8) Package-Based system for upgrades and enhancements
9) Parental controls (ie: passwords, ratings, viewing quotas, user 
logins, etc.)
10) Anything else that would be suitable for an HTPC appliance.

Having such a system would save hours of configuration time, as well as 
hours of maintenance/upgrades -- especially if you have multiple MythTV 
Boxes.

If there are enough people interested, I wouldn't mind helping setting 
something like this up. Feedback would be much appreciated.

--- darco
http://www.deepdarc.com/

PS: Just in case, HTPC=Home Theater Personal Computer

PPS: Hell, now that I think about it, Rendezvous could be useful for 
more than just Macintosh computers... Imagine building and adding 
another MythTV/HTPC Linux box onto the network, plugging it in, turning 
it on, and be automatically recognized by the other MythTV Boxes. 
Adding Rendezvous support isn't that hard either... Argh, I'm 
digressing again...