[mythtv-users] Cost of MythTV Machines

[Michael T. Dean]

Yeechang Lee wrote:

>I know this is the cue for half the list to jump in with how they
>built a great MythTV box out of the parts sitting in the closet, or
>how they bought a $100 motherboard and a $25 case and a $100 CPU,
>etc., etc., and built a great MythTV box. Hey, more power to
>you. Guess what? Most of you aren't even trying to do HDTV, or if you
>are you're likely the ones trying to play 1080i with a low-end Celeron
>or two year-old AMD and finding that even XvMC doesn't help much.
>
Yep.  I spent $150 plus HDD's and PVR-x50's on my first Myth box (SD 
only).  I'm rebuilding for HDTV, now, and went waaaaayyyy too far to the 
other end of the spectrum (more than the $1500 the OP mentioned), but 
did so on purpose because I've learned that Myth is worth the money (to 
me) and I have a few ideas for some of that (excessive) hardware I just 
bought...

> Let
>me repeat: My time is worth money. Or, conversely, it can be
>worthwhile to pay someone else to do the heavy lifting in the whole
>parts procurement and assembly phase of MythTV. Heaven knows this list
>is living proof that the software phase is difficult enough!
>  
>
Definitely true.  IMHO, a TiVo is *much* cheaper than a Myth box and the 
$6/mo cable/satellite-company DVR is an unbelievable price.  However, I 
don't mind paying significantly more for the Myth box (primarily paying 
with my time) because I'm learning so much from it and about it.  And, 
although Myth has more capabilities than the commercial-off-the-shelf 
solutions (the proprietary ones), for many people, the added cost is 
significantly greater than the benefits.  However, I think Myth is a 
good match for me because it's a good hobby for me.

Mike