[mythtv-users] Special needs dad with MythTV hardware questions

Eric Sharkey eric at lisaneric.org
Sat Nov 23 22:44:18 UTC 2013


On Sat, Nov 23, 2013 at 3:47 PM,  <mythtv-users.jim-j at mamber.net> wrote:
> I am technically adept.  I’m a Cisco network engineer, so the network
> aspects won’t be a problem for me.  I’m also comfortable working in a
> Redhat/CentOS/Fedora OS environment (I’m a RHCE on Redhat 8, but I
> haven’t used Linux a lot since Fedora 8).  I’m confident I can follow
> the http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Installing_MythTV_on_Fedora guide and
> get MythTV installed and working on Fedora 19 (I would actually prefer
> a CentOS based distro because of the longer support timeframe, but I
> imagine that good CentOS specific instructions are harder to find and
> that CentOS isn’t as well supported/popular with MythTV).  If using
> another distro (like Mythbuntu) is really the easiest and/or best way
> I’m open to that as well.

MythTV runs very well on many different distributions.  On this list
you'll find people running it on Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Mint,
Mythbuntu, Mythdora, and many many others.  I'm sure you could run it
on CentOS if you like.  The choice is really up to you and whatever
you're most comfortable with.


> [Which tuner(s) to buy]

I would definitely recommend one of the HD HomeRun tuners from Silicon
Dust.  There are two models which fit your needs, the HDHR3-US, which
you mentioned, supports over the air reception and provides two tuners
on one coaxial input.  (No pass-through though.)  The other one isn't
out yet, but will be soon.  The HDTC-2US will be available for sale
December 12th.

The advantage of the HDTC-2US is that it has an mpeg4 transcoding chip
so it can transparently receive an mpeg2 broadcast and record mpeg4
(h.264) output.  This results in a smaller file which is easier to
play on portable devices such as phones and tablets which have better
support for mpeg4 video than mpeg2 video.

> [Which video card to buy?]
> -I have a (cheap) 720P TV that I would like to connect to via a HDMI connection.
> -It sounds like I want a VDPAU card?
> -I really don’t need a lot of graphics power for any non-myth things.
> For example any retro gaming I’d do with this PC would be basic 2d
> graphics

I'd recommend something like an Nvidia GT220 or similar.  You don't
need to go nuts here.

> [Which remote to buy?]
> I’d prefer an infrared one so I could program a universal remote to control it
> Some sort of wireless keyboard mouse recommendation would also be nice

Most of us use some sort of Microsoft Media Center Edition compatible
remote.  They're cheap, common, and work well.  Most universal remotes
will have support for this protocol built in, so you don't even need
to program them.


> [Which case to buy?]
> -I’m 99.9999% sure I’ll just go with a single computer install for
> simplicity’s sake.
> -I already have a “AMD Phenom II X4 905e Deneb 2.5GHz 4 x 512KB L2
> Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 65W Quad-Core Processor” and a “GIGABYTE
> GA-790FXTA-UD5” motherboard laying around that I could use.  To use
> these I’d like a home theater type of case that can accept a normal
> sized motherboard.  I already have a quiet power supply as well, but
> if a good case required a special power supply type I’d be open to
> buying a new power supply.

I'm on my third case for my MythTV backend.  My first two were HTPC
cases.  Neither one ever seemed to have quite enough room.  Eventually
I got over it, got a $29 full size ATX case, and just shoved it in the
corner.  No regrets on that one.

The other piece of hardware I'd definitely recommend is an SSD for the
main OS and database drive.  You don't need to go super high end on
this either.  An entry level SSD is going to easily outperform a high
end enterprise hard disk.

Eric


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list