[mythtv-users] Hardware

[Paul Bender]

Daniel Gradecak wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I am sorry for asking that question because I saw that there is a lot of 
> discussions about the hardware but cannot find something new about what 
> I need.
> 
> I have a NAS (network attached storage) and I would like to play audio 
> and video that are located on that NAS disk. Now the thing I need is the 
> same as everybody wants a silent PC with remote control.
> Is there any pages explaining somthing about that but with the newest 
> hardware because all I can find is somehow about old hardware. Of course 
> if using MythTV recording functionality is also not to throw away.
> Right now I think to use that as server and client. I would like to have 
> HD ability too.
> 
> So, my question is what graphics card are well suited for such a system 
> and what remote control system should be used. I guess that there is no 
> problem to have the media files from the NAS disk via mount or whatever.

There is no silent PC. Even the fanless, mini-ITX, VIA EPIA PCs make 
noise. In fact, my VIA EPIA SP8000E frontend makes more noise than my 
non-fanless frontend.

It would be helpful to know how you plan to connect it to your A/V 
equipment. If you need composite, s-video or component to connect the 
video, then you will be more limited.

Motherboards with NVIDIA chipsets (including on-board video) and AMD 
processors work well and tend to be the least expensive. However, the 
fact that Intel has Open Source video drivers and somewhat lower power 
CPUs may counter their higher price tag.

I have two different end-of-life NVIDIA + AMD motherboards with the 6150 
and they play HD just fine. I would suspect that any NVIDIA + AMD 
motherboard with better than 6100 video would be fine.

For a remote control receiver, I suggest a receiver that has good LIRC 
support and connects using USB. Personally, I use the following Media 
Center remote: 
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16880100851>. It 
works well and I like the button layout.

You are correct that about media files. You can mount them using CIFS or 
NFS, depending on what your NAS supports.