[mythtv-users] Sell mythtv "set-top" boxes

[Ray Olszewski]

We seem to get a thread like this about once a month. Three comments:

1. There is already a database of hardware/software configurations 
available. It's listed somewhere in the Myth HowTo, and a message here 
referenced it sometime in the past couple of days. Its format does not 
include everything I'd like to see, but is it were used more (that is, if 
more people put *in* their data), its usefulness would improve.

2. People regularly post descriptions of their configurations on this list, 
so searching the archive really is a practical choice. This can continue 
until someone builds something better; for example, I'd love to see Victor 
describe here the 4 Myth boxes he built, especially his "best (bang for 
your buck) system [for] around $350 retail".

3. I think the goal of developing a consensus on the "best" hardware 
configuration for Myth is a hopeless goal. Price/quality tradeoffs are 
central to real decisions, as are configuration details that vary with 
country, signal source (standard, tunable frequency sets versus external 
boxes that need IR-Blaster or serial-port control), intended use (mainly 
timeshifting versus mainly long-term storage), and physical integration 
with the rest of the user's home-media setup.

BTW, Jason, plenty of people know how to make custom distros, including 
(I've no doubt) many here. Part of what we know is that *creating* the 
distro is only the beginning ... after that comes *maintaining* it. We know 
how much work is involved in keeping any distro up to date, with respect to 
updates to its components from upstream sources, including bugfixes, 
security patches, updates to support new hardware (think v4l and X here, in 
the MythTV context) and the like, and figuring out a way to support the 
non-free software (e.g., the proprietary nVidia X driver) such a distro 
would need.

That's why relatively few Linux distros last for a long time ... only the 
ones that are either commercial successes (e.g. Red Hat) or that attract a 
big maintainer community (e.g., Debian) have the resources to stay current. 
Even they struggle at times.

So I think the people who periodically suggest doing this (or, as I'd put 
it, who ask someone else to do it) and the people who know how to do it 
(and are reluctant to take on the workload) are distinct groups of people.

At 07:56 AM 6/2/2003 -0700, Jason S wrote:
>Victor,
>
>I also think this is a good idea. I've already blown
>more hours then I can count researching appropriate
>OS, HW requirements, compatibility issues, reading the
>list, etc.
>
>If people who have "nailed" the right configuration
>can pool that information together we could come up
>with a fairly optimal configuration for the average
>(technically savvy) user. Of course, people are always
>going to want to customize or have their own
>requirements but many people just want an open source
>PVR (as cool as Myth) STB that's also quiet, supports
>two tuners, a big HD, and a way to archive stuff (like
>a DVD-RW).
>
>I think you forgot a big question:
>
>5) Best HTPC chassis
>
>This seriously affects your Mobo choice and maybe even
>your card solutions. Whatever solution should support
>2 tuners, meaning 2 PCI slots minimum (which would
>require onboard sound/btaudio!)
>
>Does anyone know how to make a custom distro? I've
>heard that idea suggested many times but nobody seemed
>interested/able to follow up on that with a standard
>distribution. Of course, if you are coupling it with
>hardware you could just ghost the HD, you don't need
>to make a distro at that point.
[old stuff deleted]