[mythtv-users] a few newb questions

David George david at thegeorges.us
Wed Jun 6 20:52:36 UTC 2007


On 06/06/2007 04:36 PM, Jake B wrote:
> Hello all, I'm just getting started with MythTV, and I have a few very 
> general questions. I'm basically trying to take an old Toshiba laptop 
> (256MB RAM, 2.0GHz Celeron Processor), and turn it into the mythical 
> convergence device. I'm most interested in recording and scheduling 
> live TV broadcasts, and utilizing the commercial skipping/detection 
> functionality. My questions are as follows:
>
>     * As I'm using an old Toshiba laptop, I believe I would need an
>       external capture card with a coaxial connector. Looking through
>       the MythTV wiki, I found this:
>       http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Hauppauge_WinTV-PVR-USB2 .
>       Is this a device that people would recommend for my above
>       requirements?
>
I have one running on Fedora Core 6 using mythtv .20-fixes from atrpms.  
It works very well.  I haven't used it to capture from cable though just 
using the s-video and stereo audio cables for input.  Make sure that 
your laptop supports USB 2.0.
>
>     * I'm subscribed to Charter Cable. What kind of issues can I
>       expect to encounter regarding encryption of cable channels?
>
If your channels are encrypted you will need to use Charter's set top 
box (STB) and capture from the audio/video connectors.  You will also 
need some kind of ir blaster to control the cable box.  The WinTV PVR 
USB2 includes this in the retail package (at least mine did).
>
>     * Are there any other difficulties that I should be on guard for
>       as a new user?
>
I personally recommend installing using Fedora Core 6, but everyone has 
their favorites.  Jarod's guide is very nice for first timers ( 
http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/fcmyth.php ).  Also I have been recently 
testing Mythdora 4 ( http://www.mythdora.com ) and it has worked very 
well for me also.

-- 
David



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