[mythtv-users] Need hardware advice

[Ogden Nefix]

Hi,

Firstly, I am a Linux user but do not know much about hardware. I 
usually ask friends to pick out hardware for me, however, this time I am 
stuck.

I love the idea of Tivo, but don't like the hassle of paying for it and 
want to build a decent box myself, if not better than the Tivo.

I am wondering if it is at all possible to build a very strong, 
excellant quality DVR for under $500. I know the TV Card (I'm thinking 
of the Win TV PVR250) is alone $150. Since the PVR250 comes with 
self-encoding capabilities, then I don't need the latest and greatest 
processor, right? Will an AMD Athlon XP 1.5Ghz be enough or should I go 
above that?

Will I also be able to use the remote for the PVR250 to record, play, 
etc, etc on the MythTV Box?

Also, out of curiosity, what does Tivo use for MPEG 
compression/playback? Does MythTV offer the same quality, or not?

Thank you very much.

Ogden