[mythtv-users] $500 Myth Box

Donoghue, Jay Jay.Donoghue at analog.com
Mon Dec 1 17:08:46 EST 2003


I put my box together for around that price ... everything from newegg,
except the PVR-350 which came from thenerds.net and the drive which came
from CompUSA:

Chaintech 7nif2 MB      - $85
Athlon XP 2500+         - $90
256MB RAM               - $42
Athenatech A100.SC case - $43
Lite ON DVD Player      - $31
120GB Western Digital   - $70 (after rebates)
PVR-350                 - $178
Total:               ---- $539

You could save some money and use the onboard graphics of the Chaintech
and get a software encoder, but I think the PVR-350 was worth the extra
$$.  I don't use this box for anything except Myth, so I didn't get a
keyboard/monitor/mouse etc.

Hope this helps.

 - J

-----Original Message-----
From: Daragh Fitzpatrick [mailto:daraghfi at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2003 4:51 PM
To: mythtv-users at mythtv.org
Subject: [mythtv-users] $500 Myth Box


Hi,

I'm trying to get a 'cheap' PVR setup before Christmas
(so I can record the TBS day's worth of 'A Christmas
Story'!).

I was hoping I could get a decent box set up for under
$500 - so I guess it's a challenge.

Does anyone know of a list of standard configurations,
such as
'cheap' (under $500), 
'good' (does the job well) and 
'dream' (money no object)? 

I've seen the PVR Hardware database, but there's no
indication of price. I have a home theater system, so
I don't need to play DVDs on this box.

So, can I do it for $500? I guess my config would have
to have the following:

Small, quiet case 
Motherboard (???)
Graphics (integrated?)
Sound (integrated?)
Network (integrated?)
CPU (P4-1Ghz?)
TV tuner card (encoder/decoder)
Hard disk (120Gb?)
Memory (512Mb?)
Wireless Mouse, Keyboard, Remote

Optional:
Digital media slots
CD/DVD-burner
Firewire/iLink/IEEE 1394
FM Transmitter

As well as the spec, the hardest part for me is
picking a manufacturer - Asus Pundit is worth a look,
I guess, or I could wait for the $500 DigiMatrix. Any
pointers on where I can buy this stuff would be
appreciated, too...

I know this is a lot, so thanks in advance for any
advice you can give.

Cheers,

Daragh


=====
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Daragh Fitzpatrick        daragh at i2i-Tech.com    http://www.i2i-Tech.com

        i2i-Technology Consulting: 'From idea 2 implementation'

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