[mythtv-users] Very Low Cost Frontend

[Ken Mandelberg]

Jim

Thanks for all the info. I am interested in the RPi4 solution, but still 
concerned about no GPU support.

I notice that Newegg has a low end 7th generation NUC for $138 
(BOXNUC7CJYH1) thats with a
2.0 GHz - 2.7 GHz burst, Dual-Core Celeron J4005 and a UHD 600 Graphics. 
4GB of ram is $18 (although I would probably go for 8G at $36).

RPi4 with case +fan + power with 4GB, is about $85, so that comparison 
in cost is $85 vs $156.

I presume the UHD 600 GPU would make use of vaapi (with improvements 
under the new render).

Which solution would work better running as a frontend running the master?

Right now the 10 year old Macmini FE/BE is running Ubuntu without 
internal storage, root and media on a huge USB SATA disk. The mini is 
only USB 2 while the disk is USB 3, so either RPi or NUC would be a win.

(By the way, I run the HDHR-3 for US cable, waiting not so patiently for 
the HDHR Prime 6.)

Ken



Jim Abernathy wrote on 12/26/19 8:10 PM: Celeron j4005
>
> On 12/26/19 4:57 PM, Ken Mandelberg wrote:
>> My 10 year old Macmini/HDHR running Ubuntu Myth front/backend is 
>> having issues. I'm looking for a very low cost replacement. I build 
>> the trunk frequently, and want the standard frontend not Kodi. The 
>> Mac has an old Nvida GPU which worked well for years, and I really 
>> want something with a GPU that Myth supports.
>>
>> From what I read there is no GPU support on the PI4, which other than 
>> would be a nice price point.
>>
>> I know a NUC would work, but they start getting pricey once 
>> configured, and its not clear to me what the cheapest one without 
>> media format limitations is. I know there are other boxes in similar 
>> form factor, but don't know if there is a better value than a NUC.
>>
>> Storage is not an issue, I already use a large USB disk for both root 
>> and the media on the mini.
>>
>> It seems like even cheap phone/tablet SOCs have better GPUs than the 
>> old Nvidia.
>>
>>
> I've done a lot of testing recently. The RPi4 is an excellent backend 
> with HDHR Quatro as a networked tuner. That gives you 4 tuners and the 
> CPU horsepower to handle the recording using a USB3 SATA SSD or even 
> hard drive.
>
> The good news is the RPi4 can also handle 4 recordings and do the 
> mythtv-frontend at the same time. For me that's 4 OTA mpeg2 programs 
> while displaying a previously recorded program. The quality is quite 
> good for the video playback.
>
> However a separate FE is slightly better. I've tested a RP3B+ running 
> LibreELEC (KODI) with the kodi-pvr-mythtv addon. I've also tested the 
> FireTV Stick 4K running the Mythtv-frontend and the Mythtv-leanfront.  
> Both are excellent.
>
> So for cheapest do a Combo RPi4 FE/BE with a 1TB USB3 SATA SSD using 
> an adapter.  For best leave the RPi4 as a backend only and use the 
> FireTV stick 4K as the frontend.
>
> That's the cheapest I've found. Since storage is the same for any 
> solution, the comes down to $25 for the FireTV stick 4K and $100 for a 
> RPi4 4GB DRAM kit.
>
> I'm parallel testing both my Core i7 Sandybridge backend with hard 
> drives again the RPi4 backend. Using the FireTV stick 4K and a Shield 
> TV frontend on both. No difference in quality of recordings or playback.
>
> Jim A
>
>
>