[mythtv-users] a few newb questions

William Munson william_munson at bellsouth.net
Wed Jun 6 20:57:33 UTC 2007


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'm subscribed to Charter Cable. What kind of issues can I
>       expect to encounter regarding encryption of cable channels?
>     * Are there any other difficulties that I should be on guard for
>       as a new user?
>
> I'd appreciate any guidance that anyone can provide.
> Thanks.
>

The 256 Meg of ram is likely going to be an issue as your system will be 
forced into swapping pretty heavily. Not saying it will not work but you 
may want to limit it's use to a backend only system. My combined 
front/backend swaps about 200K with 512 Meg ram but once it finishes 
swapping its good to go. I cannot comment on the PVR-USB2 but suspect 
you will have to have a USB2 port on the laptop. I am sure someone who 
actually uses one can comment on it.

Good luck,
Bill



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