[mythtv-users] Going wireless/diskless, and some assorted hardware questions

[Joseph A. Caputo]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: mythtv-users-bounces at snowman.net
> [mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at snowman.net]On Behalf Of Latka
> Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 1:55 PM
> To: MythTV-Users List
> Subject: [mythtv-users] Going wireless/diskless, and some assorted
> hardware questions
>
>
> 1. Most of the setup docs suggest using two cards, one for
> display, one for
> capture. I just want a sanity check: The capture card can be PCI
> rather AGP,
> correct? (I've never seen a mobo with 2 AGP slots, and since you are only
> capturing with the PCI card, I assume this shouldn't be an issue.)

AFAIK, there aren't any AGP capture cards, unless maybe the ATI TV Wonder
series makes an AGP card (but see the archives for how/whether they can be
used under Linux).  For the video card (TV-out), you can have either PCI or
AGP.
>
> 2. Networking: The mini-itx case/mobo's I've looked at only have one PCI
> slot, which will probably be taken up by the capture card, so I'd be using
> the onboard lan to connect to an 802.11b/g converter. What transfer rate
> would I need if I wanted to go completely disklesss? (I'm trying to figure
> if it's feasable to store everything in one central place, and just boot
> this box, or even multiple boxes from that backend).

Some people report that they can eke sufficient performance out of an
802.11b network, but most recommend a wired 100Mbit setup.

If you want a small, quiet & diskless frontend, you don't really need to
have a tuner card in it... the tuner card(s) can be in the backend with the
disk.  The frontend only needs network + TVout + audio out.

>
> 3. Wireless kb/mice. Wondering if anybody has any luck with these under
> linux. This isn't really MythTV related, and I'll be looking in the usual
> haunts for info on this, but if you do care to share, I'm all ears.

I have a Gryation (http://www.gyration.com) RF keyboard & mouse.  Retail is
about $99 USD.  They work great under Linux as long as you configure your
kernel for USB HID support.  I wouldn't rely on them for gaming, though, as
it seems to sometimes miss a key.

>
> I currently have a headless linux box (an old AMD K6-2 350) and a
> newer dual
> boot (Abit NF7s-v2, XP2600), that I could set up DHCP and file server on.

You could put the tuner card(s) in the XP2600 box and just use the Mini-ITX
setup as a frontend.  In that case, 802.11b will just barely (if even) be
adequate... you'd probably want at least 802.11g or wired 100Mbit between
your frontend & backend.

-JAC