[mythtv-users] Several General Questions

Garry Gibson garry.gibson at gmail.com
Fri Dec 3 14:59:50 UTC 2004


On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 04:48:10 -0500, Brian Pilnick <bpilnick at cmu.edu> wrote:
> I've been researching HTPC's for a while and I think I'm ready to build
> a dedicated box for my parents.  (It's this or buying a tivo.)  I have a
> few questions first though, just to make sure I'm not overlooking anything.
> 
> First off, I was thinking of using this barebones system to build off of
> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=56-110-024&depa=0
> All of the on-board hardware looks to be supported, but does the fact
> that the video card and sound card are built on matter?
> 
> Video quality is of course very important so will the on-board s-video
> out be good enough quality?  I've seen some reports of video card's
> s-video output being sub-par but nothing definite.  If this isn't good
> enough, I'd step up one of the two planned PVR250's to a PVR350 to use
> the output on that card if thats possible.
> 
> This may be a stupid question, but how stable and 'transparent' is
> mythTV?  Stability is big issue as I won't be around to fix it if
> something breaks.  What I mean by transparent is how intuitive it is I
> guess.  My mom (not a techie) will be the primary user and it needs to
> be usable for her.
> 
> Just for estimation purposes, about how big are the compressed files
> myth makes?  I'd like to be using 720x480 in DVD format (mpeg-2 correct?).
> 
> I can't remember what its called at the moment, but I've seen a DVD
> burning module for myth.  Has anyone used this?  How well does it work?
> How easy is it to use?
> 
> One thing I haven't really been able to find is how leaving it on
> works.  I'd assume the machine has to be on 24/7 in order to record
> shows and have the MythWeb client available etc, is this correct?
> 
> I think thats all my questions for now.  Thanks in advance for any answers.
> 
> -Brian
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> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
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> 

Just to add my experiences to the mix...

I've got Myth running on a combined front/backend machine in the
living room, next to the TV. We use an All-in-One remote to drive, and
it's been up and stable for months.

The key thing to remember is, don't mess with it if it's working ok.
And I mean working as an piece of AV kit, not a PC.

Mine is still on a 2.4 kernel, with KDE 3.1. No benefits to upgrading,
it all works quite well as it is. Now, from a geeky point of view, it
needs an upgrade. But, from my wifes point of view.. "leave it alone,
it works just fine".

My non techie wife uses it daily, and if there is a problem (normaly
due to an NFS share dropping when I reboot the machine with the xvids
on) then she just reboots it. It starts KDE, logs in and starts myth
automatically.

I may just be lucky, but myth in our house is simply treated as an AV
component, not a PC, that's how stable it is.

-Garry.


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