[mythtv-users] Output to h.264

[Brian Wood]

On Thursday, August 05, 2010 01:31:49 pm mike at grounded.net wrote:
> > AFAIK none of the remote desktop protocols allow for viewing video in
> >real time, they are just not fast enough, especially
> > for HD. You could use VNC if you just want to access the machine's
> >desktop, but video playback is not VNC's (or anything
> > similar's) forte.
> 
> I would not need HD over PC's. HD would only be to an HD TV so probably via
> a set top box. 
> 
> > It sounds like you want to use UPnP, with a client on the PCs, using the
> > built-in server on the Myth backend.
> 
> Is UPnP a local only protocol? In order words, UPnP isn't an Internet
> protocol, it cannot be viewed by a client over the Internet? Every now and
> then, I have a need to show someone a piece of video. I either encode it
> and put it on a server and they use a browser or I set up an encoder which
> allows the remote to connect and view the video. Just another thing that
> would add flexibility in my life. Not a requirement however. 

UPnP is not what you want for over-the-internet, but you could have people connect to your backend with MythWeb, which 
would allow them to watch any recordings, schedule recordings, and do whatever they want. You can password protect your 
MythWeb (in fact you had better do that, search for "A Visit from the Googlebot" in this list's archives, basically the 
Google Robot hit a MythWeb site and "visited" each "delete this file" link, with predictable results).

> 
> > But you would be far better off running a Myth frontend on the PCs, you
> >get features like commercial skipping which a basic
> > UPnP client can't do, recording scheduling and a lot more.
> 
> Yes, definitely am interested in live video pausing, forward/rewind and
> record. Can't live without the Tivo's for very long :).
> 

> 
> > Have you tried a standard Ubuntu install? Have you tried any of the live
> > CDs?
> 
> Not sure if they were considered live or not but installable, I tried
> mythbuntu, mythdora, and only knoppmyth installs.

"Live" means running from the optical media, without having to install anything to your hard drive(s).

Mythbuntu, Mythdora and Knoppmyth are "all in one" distributions that include MythTV. If you can't install the basic OS 
that underlies an "all in one" you are likely to have problems, I'd try and solve the "won't install" problem, by going to 
the appropriate forum for the underlying OS.


> 
> > Are you building a combo backend/frontend? The 5200 card would require
> > software decoding, which might be a problem for
> > h264 HD with that CPU, if you want to use that machine as a frontend, I'd
> > consider a VDPAU-capable video card.
> 
> So far, a combo is what I've tried building, so I could get some hands on
> with mythtv. I like your idea of building separate front and back end to
> learn from if you don't think that would add to my confusion. 

It shouldn't be too confusing, Myth is better documented than most open source projects, the WiKi is very helpful and 
chock full of useful information.

> 
> > Depending on the age of your mobo, you may have problems with the PCI
> >bus, early VIA chipsets were notorious for that.
> 
> Everything seems to run at least, it's just the S-Video that I can't seem
> to get working. I am able to hear the audio of the stream as I listen to
> NASA for example. There is a 1/4 screen sized box which shows up on the
> mythtv main display when I play video streams, I wondered if that was
> supposed to be displaying the video as well.

I'm not sure what's causing that, check your mythsetup settings for TV and playback parameters.

> 
> I can try another mobo I suppose but believe it's to do with nvidia drivers
> or along those lines.

Most users are using the nVidia "binary blob" drivers, which might not satisfy open source purists but they generally work 
fairly well.

Myth is a complex set of components, setting up a learning system and playing for a while is probably the best next for 
you at this point.