[mythtv-users] Back to mythtv-land

[Johnny Walker]

On Fri, Jun 18, 2010 at 8:17 AM, Justin Johnson
<justin.johnson3 at gmail.com> wrote:
> I recently moved from Illinois to the Atlanta area and during my move
> I was without myth for about a month. I just want to say that now that
> my myth system is back up I'm able to enjoy TV again. So a huge thanks
> to the devs and everyone who contributes to this project as it really
> makes my television experience so much better.

Yay - More Gratitude !!

> On another note, I want to mention that it seems like recently there's
> been a big push (at least on this list) to jump straight to using an
> HD-PVR when recording options are discussed for all-digital cable
> systems. I got comcast here in Atlanta and rather than rush out to get
> an HD-PVR right away I figured I'd wait until I got the cable box and
> was able to make sure it would have component out. Upon getting a pace
> RNG110 I saw the firewire port, and was suddenly reminded that myth
> can record over firewire. I figured I'd give it a shot as a cable is
> only 3 bucks and it might save me $300 (HD-PVR + VDPAU card). To my
> delight, after fiddling with the settings based on various posts on
> various wikis, I was able to record and control the cable box. All the
> non-premium channels are sent over firewire (I don't subscribe to HBO,
> etc. anyways so it's not a deal-breaker) and I get all the HD versions
> of extended basic. I've been using firewire for a week now and though
> it initially caused some stability issues with LiveTV, they seem to
> have disappeared.
> In summary, I would like to remind people going through the digital
> transition that firewire *is* an option and for $3 it's probably worth
> checking out. At the very least you could use it to change channels
> (possibly more reliably than an IR blaster?) in combination with an
> HD-PVR.
> --Justin Johnson

I'm glad it's working well for you - It doesn't work that well for
everyone and hence we've got a page on the wiki for tracking the
individual Set Top Box (STB) experience with FireWire recording.
Please feel free to add your info to the list.

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Firewire_Cable_Box_Compatibility

-Johnny