[mythtv-users] Building a Basic MythTV box

Kichigai Mentat kichigai at comcast.net
Fri Dec 9 02:43:14 EST 2005


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On Dec 8, 2005, at 23.38, Michael Weinbergs - Network Administrator  
wrote:

> >Well, I'm in America, so we don't have the advantage of those fancy
> >DVB cards you get. I'm working with a "dumb" capture card (Digital- 
> to-
> >analog card).
> Should still work.
> I have analogue card working too... Just get much better reception  
> with Digital..
> Comments from anyone?
Well, this part isn't too big of a concern for me.
> ..
> >Yeah, I should have realized that, but I wasn't sure if MythTV was
> >going to go all weird if I changed filesystems on it.
> Shouldn't affect where the files are saved - unless you have a VERY  
> Slow disk.. (read: swapfiles etc). Suck and SEE!
>
> >Ahh, well, then we *may* have a problem.
> Why is that? If you have a piece of copper cat-5 cable connecting  
> your backend to the XBOX.. Even at 10MB you should have *some*  
> bandwidth... I haven't tried a 10Mb cable connection - normally if  
> you can do 10Mb on your cable you should be able to squeeze 100Mb  
> down it.. Might need more information about your cabling config.
It's my hub. My hub only runs 10 Mb. Every computer connected to it  
confirms maximum speed of 10 Mbit. I've never managed to achieve 10  
Mbits, though. But something tells me that under the loads I usually  
run my systems, they couldn't manage to access the data internally at  
10 Mbits.
>
> >Now we DEFINITELY have a problem. We only have an 802.11b system, and
> >our wired network is only 10 Mbits anyway. Aside from completely
> >redoing out entire network, any suggestions?
> Don't even bother with 802.11b - it really doesn't work (I've tried  
> it).. Upgrade to 802.11G and you will be fine.. The problem is that  
> 11Mb is not reall 11Mb - it is MUCH less... Not enough bandwidth.
Well, here's the thing: I'm working on a tight budget, and I'm not  
sure I can afford to upgrade to 802.11g right now. However, using my  
iBook G4 as a reference, I can say I've never seen a noticeable  
change between wired and wireless speeds. Trying to transfer the same  
file from one machine to another, sending from the iBook, I got  
pretty much the same transfer times, whether the machine was wireless  
or on the wired network. Remember: my hub is only capable of 10 Mbits.

Also, I've managed to stream files at about 800 Kbits/sec from my  
iBook to my Xbox over the wireless network without any significant  
problems. Of course, something tells me I won't be looking at any 800  
Kb/s streams.

I was looking into PowerLine as an alternative to wireless  
networking, but at $80 per PowerLine dongle, this is way out of my  
budget (I'll spend more on networking than I will on PC hardware!).  
Wired doesn't seem to be a practical option (I live in a house made  
in 1901, and the network hub and the TV room are on different floors,  
and different ends of the house, in both dimensions, not to mention  
that the back end will, preferably, be at the other end of the house,  
but on the same floor as the hub). The rest of the family just might  
revolt against me if I run cables that far!

If you can come up with any other ideas, I'll keep an open mind.
> >Also, if my front-end
> >and back-end are different machines, is it still possible to do live
> >TV viewing?
> Absolutly - that's exactly what I have been doing for some time..  
> Works fine.
> (My backend system is in the garage, with a copper 100Mb 50ft run  
> to my hub/frontend)
ahh, perfect.
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