[mythtv-users] Frontends all around the house

[cythraul]

Hi,

This is a neat suggestion, unfortunately, by looking at mediamvp'
screenshot, it does not seems a good WAF solution as the UI is quite
different from mythtv.

The alternative, the X-Box, is also tempting but requires a bit more
hacking then I prefer for the moment.

I think I've settled for a mini-itx solution. While more expensive, it
offers less tinkering then what I've seen.

What I'd really like is Via's EPIA N nano-itx board in a Silverstone'
SST-LC07 case. It's got the CN400 chipset for MPEG2 hardware decoding
and MPEG4 acceleration. Sound and S-Video output is onboard. Though,
with this solution, I would not be able to reuse much stuff. Beside,
the case is so damn expensive and I can't locate the board on any
retailer site to get an idea on price... Also, it's not clear to me if
anything but the board will fit in that case. Laptop HD, CF, Cardbus?

What I'm currently going for is a M(II?)1x000 board. Probably the
M10000 since it's cheap (~150$) and I can't find any advantages, for
Myth, to get either the MII10000 (+20 to 40$) or the MII12000 (~210$.)
The "ideal" case seems to be Casetronic' C137. Bulkier compared to the
LC07 but it allows for one PCI slots, with a standard HD or two PCI
slots with a laptop HD. I have an extra 256MB DDR and, while not
necessary, a slim cdrom laying around as well as a (totally silent)
40GB Seagate IV. It pains me to put that much storage space for that
box but I don't want to invest more the cost of this drive for a
laptop HD. The PCI slot will probably be used for a PCI Wi-Fi adapter
unless I get the MII12000 with its CardBus slot. In that case, I'd get
a PCMCIA Wi-Fi adapter.

While I like the CN400 chipset, it's currently offered only on EPIA N
boards. But, the CLE266 chipset has been around for some time and
people seems to be happy with it. The Unichrome drivers seem to have
matured enough for this project. Beside, if there were a mini-itx
board with a CN400 chipset, it would be as expensive as the EPIA N. :)

I still can't understand why mini-itx (or nano) cases are so damned
expensive. Are we paying for limited offering and/or R&D?

I pretty much dropped the idea of a CF or network boot as I can't
locate any useful information on the net. If someone has useful
information on network boot, please post. :)

Thanks!
cythraul

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 09:46:09 -0500, Adam Siegel <adam at sycamore.us> wrote:
> I use the hauppauge mediamvp.  Check out the mvpmc.sourceforge.net
> project.  It works great and the box is only $80.  If you want to go
> wireless you will probably need an ethernet to wireless bridge, say the
> linksys *WET54G, which can be had for around $110.  So for less than
> $200 you have a great solution.
> 
> *
> cythraul wrote:
> 
> >Hi,
> >
> >For sometime now, I've been running MythTV in the living room and the
> >experience has been great. Now, I'd like to add more frontends in the
> >house but I'm stuck with hardware decisions.
> >
> >Currently, my backend is also my main file server running on a used
> >PowerEdge 1400 server with p3/800 cpu witch is enough for my DVB card.
> >The (current) frontend is a clone p3/866 with an Nvidia MX440 and a
> >9gig HD.
> >
> >The only problem with this setup is the lack of remote control. I have
> >to use my wireless keyboard. While I never lost it like a regular
> >remote control, it's cumbersome. :)
> >
> >The backends holds my archived mp3, dvd and recordings as well as my
> >dvd writer when the HD capacity reaches a critical point. :)
> >
> >After much googling(tm), I found myself with more questions then
> >answers so I thought I'd ask this mailing list.
> >
> >I'm looking for something cheap with a as-small-as-possible footprint
> >(for example an openbrick or one of mini-itx.com's projects) while
> >getting enough CPU for mpeg4 processing.
> >
> >Living in an apartment, I'd rather not add more cabling to the place
> >so a Wi-Fi setup would be ideal _and_ portable. My Wi-Fi router is a
> >802.11g, I believe it's enough bandwidth even for LiveTV but I rarely
> >use this feature; I record everything and watch what I want when it's
> >TV time. Else, MythVideo is my friend.
> >
> >Just the thought of only plugging power and A/V cables is soothing. :)
> >
> >Eliminating the need for a hard drive would also be great. Booting
> >from LAN or from a CF (tho, expensive solution) would be great.
> >Optionally, for a frontend, KnoppMyth could boot on CD but cdroms can
> >be noisy.
> >
> >Speaking of KnoppMyth, I realise that this frontend box would also
> >need to be widely supported by the community, I've read that Epia 6000
> >boxes suffer a Unichrome driver issue (I have read as much as I'd like
> >on this issue.)
> >
> >So, in short, does a small, cheap, wi-fi (fanless?) box with enough cpu exist?
> >
> >Optionally, a pre-assembled box would be great. I've been building PCs
> >for years now and frankly, I'm tired of it. But if price is an issue,
> >I'm prepared for it. :)
> >
> >Thanks!
> >cythraul
> >
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
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> >
> >
> 
>