[mythtv-users] My Ultimate Mythtv?

[Joseph A. Caputo]

Comments inline...

>-----Original Message-----
>From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org]On Behalf Of
>Brad Sagowitz
>Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2003 12:46 PM
>To: Discussion about mythtv
>Subject: [mythtv-users] My Ultimate Mythtv?
>
>
>I'm trying to put together the best possible MythTV setup using existing
hardware and
>purchasing new stuff.
>
>I want (I think) the following:
>
>Backend: (headless)
>
>AMD 1.4 GHZ proc (1600+) (have already)
>512mb PC133 (have already)
>ECS k7s5a (have already)
>1 20gb drive for operating system (have already)
>3 160GB Seagate Drives LVM'd as /var/mythtv for storage (will buy)
>Case with 400w PSU (have already) but will upgrade to a Antec Sonata for
more drive mounts
>3Com 3c905c NIC (have already)
>2 PVR-250's (have already one will buy the other)

As far as specs go, this is fine for a backend.  You may be surprised at how
quickly your drive fills up with 2 PVR-250s, though.  Also, have you
considered allocating space on one of your drives for music or movie rips?
You'd have to NFS mount those directories to access them from a remote
frontend, but you may want to figure that into your setup...


>Front-end #1 (Bedroom)
>36" JVC TV (have already)
>1.2 GHZ Duron
>Athenatech MicroATX desktop case (have already)
>ECS k7sem (have already)
>256mb PC133 (have already)
>20gb IBM drive (have already)
>Linksys 10/100 NIC (have already)
>GF4 440 MX SE w/tv out (have already)
>Gyration Keyboard and Mouse suite (have already) but dog chewed mouse...
still works but ugly
>SoundBlaster Live! Value (have already)
>Hauppauge 401 WinTV (have already)
>
>Front-end #2 (Living Room)
>Sanyo PLV-70 Front Projector (on order) accepts SVGA input
>AMD 1700+ (will buy)
>Cooler Master ATC-610-GX1 micro atx case (will buy)
>380Watt Antec True PSU (will buy)
>Gigabyte GA-7VM400M motherboard
>40gb Maxtor HDD
>GF4 440 MX SE or ATI Radeon 9000 (don't need tv out and ATI now has Linux
drivers) (will buy)
>SoundBlaster Audigy 2 or M-Audio Revolution (will buy) I want optical to my
Pioneer 43TX
>Elite Receiver don't know yet how to get this
>3Com 3c905c NIC
>Hauppauge 401 WinTV (will buy)


Without delving into specifics (brands/models/etc), these specs look OK for
frontend/backend combos.  I assume you're using wired 100Mbit Ethernet?  One
thing, though... you're putting WinTV 401 cards in the frontends... do you
plan on integrating them into Myth (i.e., you'd then have 4 tuners)?  If so,
then what you're setting up is really a master backend plus 2 slave
backend/frontend combos.  The slave backends (WinTV tuners) could record
either to their local disks or to the master backend's disk via an NFS
mount.  Either way, all recordings will be available to both frontends.
It's just a question of how you want to manage your disk space.


>Next month I get Satellite (Direct TV's 4 room installation)
>
>I'll have two receivers at the backend feeding the 2 PVR-250's, so here is
a question #1:
>
>will MythTV be able to control two seperate receivers using lircd?

I don't know the specifics of DirecTV receivers, but you could run in to a
problem here.  Think of it this way:  if you have 2 receivers and aim a
remote control at them and press CH+, what happens?  Do both of them change
channels?  The answer, I think, is "yes", unless they have a device setting
that allows you to 'target' one or the other of them.  If they do have such
a capability, then you might get away with 1 IR transmitter, provided it has
a line-of-sight to both receivers.  Otherwise, you need 2 IR transmitters
and make sure that both the transmitters & receivers are positioned such
that their lines of sight (could be a pretty wide angle!) don't overlap.
There are also probably some LIRC issues with setting up 2 separate
transmitters.  If you have the option to control them via a serial cable
(like some models of digital cable box), that would be best.

>Question #2
>
>Can you guys/gals see anything wrong with the hardware I have/will buy?

I have no experience with the specific mobos or sound cards you mention.
The GF4MX 'just works' for TV-out, and I have an Athlon XP 1600+ in my
1-tuner backend/frontend combo with a single WinTV tuner, working just fine.
Other than that, I can't say.

>Question #3
>
>What soundcard is everyone using to get optical out to a receiver?

I dunno... I'm still getting by with my 10-yr-old Denon receiver w/Dolby Pro
Logic :-)


-JAC