[mythtv-users] Hardware configuration and capabilities of MythTV

[Reynolds, Brian]

Thanks Rob.  I checked out the HDPVR.  Only problem with it, besides having to keep the cable company's DVR, is that it wouldn't make very good use of both tuners in the DVR.

Supposedly there is a new product on the horizon called the HDHomeRun "Prime" from Silicondust.  Anyone know how long until this product will be available?  Will it be supported by MythTV?  It is supposed to have three tuners and will accept a cablecard.

So, basically, it looks like the hardest thing will be to get a cablecard tuner hooked up to make use of both (or all three) tuners.  I signed up on a mailing list at Silicondust's website so I will get notification when the new product is available.

This MythTV thing will be ultra-cool when I can watch/record more than two different HD cable channels from any room in the house.

It would be no big deal to install a 1Gb switch in front of my existing router so that I can get 1Gb to all the rooms in the house.

I guess I'll have to play with the software on my existing hardware to see if I can find anything else to ask questions about.  I have an old machine with an ATI All-In-Wonder card that I can play with.

-----Original Message-----
From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org [mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of Rob Smith
Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 5:29 PM
To: Discussion about MythTV
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Hardware configuration and capabilities of MythTV

On Fri, Feb 4, 2011 at 2:02 PM, Reynolds, Brian
<Brian.Reynolds at fiserv.com> wrote:
> My question is this... are there any tuner cards available that are
> compatible with MythTV and have the ability to receive the encrypted
> channels?  It’s OK if I have to pay the cable company to rent a Cable Card
> or something similar.  I’m not looking to steal cable (of course, I’m open
> to suggestions J ).  Hopefully these tuner cards could also receive the
> premium channels (like Showtime) and interactive content (dubbed “iControl”
> by Time Warner/Brighthouse).

Look into the Happauge HDPVR. It's the only option that will allow you
to get all your channels in HD. You'll need a cable box per HDPVR, but
it works great.

> It would be desirable if the MythTV server
> would be “smart” enough to select the ATSC tuners when a channel can be
> received without the use of the tuners that have a cable CARD, and use the
> ones with the cable CARD only when necessary.

Yes, myth understands how to do this.

> How much horsepower does a backend server need in order to handle 4 to 8
> tuners?

Typically very little. It's mostly IO.  Commercial flagging and other
jobs will be the ones that use the CPU on the backend, and playback on
the frontend requires CPU or a supported format that a GPU can handle.

> I would want one backend server and five frontend machines.  Will this work
> over a 100Mbps wired network, or will I need to upgrade to 1Gbps (or perhaps
> just 1Gbps from the backend server to a switch... and then 100Mbps to each
> frontend machine)?

1Gbps for the MBE should be fine. your HD streams max out at under 20
mbps and so streaming 5 of them + overhead is a bit much for a 100
mbps.


> How much horsepower does a frontend server need, if the backend server is on
> a separate piece of hardware?

Depends. If you're using a nvidia card with VDPAU and supported
content, not a lot, but it's best to plan ahead for being able to have
the CPU handle the content without the GPU. a core2duo in the 2ghz
range should be fine.

~Rob
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