[mythtv-users] Hardware Selection

Darren Vincent Hart dvhart at byu.edu
Thu Nov 6 10:29:09 EST 2003


I have been contracted to set up a MythTV network for a Parade-of-Homes
model home, this should prove to be some great publicity for MythTV!  I
was originally going to do a custom system, but using Myth cuts costs in
half for my client, so we are going this route.  Besides, MythTV already
rocks!

I am working to define requirements and select hardware for the network
now.  I have been reviewing the mailing list for a while now, and this
is what I have gathered from all the posts.

If I need to output to HDTV, I have two real choices:
     1) VGA to component (gets higher resolutions, but has some
        interlacing artifacts)
     2) PVR-350 (great image, but limited to 540p, is that right?)

If I need to capture live HDTV broadcasts, I will need to get the HDTV
card everyone is talking about (which one is that btw and how well
supported is it?) and use VGA to component for output.  It sounds like
most people are using nvidia gf4 based hardware for vga to component
output, is that accurate?

The system to be installed is planned to have one server with several
capture boards (if we don't go the pvr-350 route) and ridiculous amounts
of storage space and gigabit ethernet.  Each client will then do a
network boot and stream all content from the server (with exception of
DVD's which they can either watch from their drive or stream a ripped
one from the server).  The client machines  (as many as ten of them)
will be as small as possible and all connect to either LCD panels or
plasma TVs.

I would welcome motherboard recommendations.  Something with a gigabit
phy and a gf4mx onboard would be great.  With all the content being
streamed from the server and no hardware decoder, what kind of
processing power are we likely to need to decode HDTV streams?  Also, is
there a way to have the server rip a DVD from a drive in one of the
clients?  I'd just assume the clients didn't do any transcoding.

Many thanks in advance!


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