[mythtv-users] Advice on making a convergence box

[Kichigai Mentat]

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On Mar 11, 2006, at 20.02, Nick wrote:

> On 11/03/06, Kichigai Mentat <kichigai at comcast.net> wrote:
>> I am planning to take my web-server/router box with me to school,  
>> and I'm
>> wondering if I can augment its purpose.
>>
>> Right now, it serves as an Apache, FTP, and IRC server. Usually  
>> the heaviest
>> load the thing pulls is the IRC server. I'm wondering if, using a  
>> hardware
>> MPEG encoder, like a PVR-150 (I'm thinking of a PVR-500 too), I  
>> could also
>> have it serve as a MythTV back-end.
>>
>> The CPU is a Pentium II (Deschutes) at 348.491 MHz. Linux claims  
>> it runs at
>> 694.68 Bogomips (doubt that'll be a useful number for you guys).  
>> It has an
>> FPU, VME, DE, PSE, TSC, MSR, PAE, MCE, CX8, APIC, SEP, MTRR, PGE,  
>> MCA, CMOV,
>> PAT, PSE36, FXSR, and MMX support, and a 512 KB cache.
>>
>> Given a large RAM and hard disk upgrade, could the machine support  
>> this kind
>> of job? For now, I'm thinking of buying a second XBox and using  
>> that as a
>> front-end. But as long as we're on the topic of hypothetical system
>> configurations, if I were to outfit the system with a new GPU (The  
>> computer
>> uses AGP by the looks of it, just not sure which generation)  
>> capable of
>> XVMC, could it also serve as a front-end? I mean running at  
>> 640x480 (I'm not
>> going High-Def yet), and outputting to a TV. I'd prefer to have some
>> deinterlacing going on (It's really noticeable in some  
>> recordings), and does
>> this seem feasible (I forgot if XVMC does deinterlacing)?
>
> I'd be sceptical about using such a slow CPU, but have you considered
> using a PVR-350 which has an onboard decoder which should not impact
> your system at all and provide a crisp 720x480 picture direct to your
> TV and may not require any deinterlacing (it outputs properly
> interlaced video)?
I've considered a PVR-350. I'm considering a PVR-500, also, though,  
because I've found one tuner to be too little.
Also, not all of my recordings are going to be at 720x480, at least  
early on. I'm thinking lower bit-rate and resolution (2 Mbit,  
480x480) to conserve disk space. Preparing to go to school is  
expensive stuff, so I'm trying to do all of this on a tight budget.
>
> Lots of RAM is not really the answer, unless other running services
> are taking up a large chunk of it, but I think you might _just_ be
> able to get this to run.
Well, MySQL isn't exactly a low-memory app. With the current memory  
configuration, the system is already having to dip into swap space. A  
RAM upgrade would be necessary for this one, I feel.
> If it works, it's not likely to be a terribly
> snappy system, and database queries/updates may take some time if
> disk/CPU usage is high.
Well, I suppose I would fare better if I used a dedicated front-end  
(like an XBox), but would it make that big an impact?
>
> If you do go this route, I'd be interested to hear how it turns out.
I'd be glad to let you know.
>
> Nick
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