[mythtv-users] Frontend requirements

[gonzalo diethelm]

Hi Mitch,

> Is this decoder a set top box?

The SD digital decoder is a set top box. It is branded by the telco, but
when I reset the power it briefly shows a screen that says:

LiveWire
2.5.15 (C) 2006 Nagravision
a Kudelski Group Company

> If you connect your STB to your FE you have a slave backend. I would
> move the STB to your backend and have ur capture cards there. Then
> make ur Frontend a frontend.

Ok, I might end up doing this. I assume this would require some kind of
IR transmitter at the backend (and an IR receiver at the front-end), so
that I can fake a remote control to turn on/off the STB, change
channels, etc. Right? Or is there a more integrated way to control the
STB in case I want to hide it from view?

> A frontend is just a standard PC.  You have have a HDD install,
> network boot it, USB boot it etc.  You run mythfrontend and configure
> it to connect to the backend and it streams the video over the
> network.  Only requirement is you machine is capable of playing
> whatever video source you have, HD, SD, MPEG2 H.264 etc.

And, from what I have been able to gather, playing back those video
formats is not very taxing on the frontend's hardware, right? What CPU,
memory, video and sound hardware would you call appropriate for this
task?

Thanks for your answers and best regards. 

-- 
Gonzalo Diethelm
DCV - Chile