[mythtv] PVR 250 & Linux vs Windows PVRs

Boyd II, Willy wboyd at fulbright.com
Wed Nov 12 12:27:31 EST 2003



>-----Original Message-----
>From: George & Kim Lopez [mailto:gklopez at metacrawler.com] 
>Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 10:45 AM
>To: mythtv-dev at mythtv.org
>Subject: [mythtv] PVR 250 & Linux vs Windows PVRs
>
>
>I have seen, with mixed results, Linux PVR 
>solutions using Hauppauge PVR 250 tuner cards on 
>different systems.  I am in the research phase 
>(reading the web, subscribing to mail-lists, 
>downloading How-to Manuals, etc) of converting 
>one of my computers (P4, 2.4 GHz), currently in 
>a closet, into a Linux PVR.  I am curious if 
>anyone has actually gotten the system up and 
>running to a satisfactory condition.  I am not 
>necessarily an audio-phile.  I just want to be 
>able to record and archive different TV shows or 
>music off of my Direct TV.  
>   I am about to buy my TV tuner card (the only 
>piece of equipment I think I am missing) and was 
>considering the Hauppauge PVR 250 or 350 or the 
>Pinnacle Pro.  From the Hauppauge and Pinnacle 
>web-site, it looks like I could set up a Windows 
>PVR solution instead of Linux.  Any thoughts on 
>this?  Why would this NOT be a good solution 
>other than the fact that it would be M$. 

IMHO, the main reason (other than $) to go with Linux, and in this case,
Mythtv,
is feature set.  I haven't looked lately, but I'm almost positive there are
many more
available features in Mythtv than anything I've seen on the other side of
the fence.  Of course if your needs are minimal that this is a moot point.
Next thing to look at then
is stability.  A PVR is a focused box that does only a few things, and you
want it to do those things well and efficiently.  Unless you really hope to
use the rest of the Windows OS on your tv, I'd stick with Linux just because
of this.  Why waste the extra memory and cpu cycles on a bloated gui that
you really don't need?  Or worry about the good 'ole Blue-Screen-of-Death
right in the middle of Friends?  Just my $.02

- Willy

> Please 
>accept my apologies as I realize I have 
>bombarded you with a ton of questions.  I would 
>appreciate any info you could provide.  I will 
>do my best to document my results and post my 
>learnings or travails.  Admittedly, I am a bit 
>of a Linux newbie as I have not messed with it 
>since RH 6.2 came out. 
>
>
>Thanks,
>George
>
>
>Searching for the best free email?  Try MetaCrawler Mail, from 
>the #1 metasearch service on the Web, 
>http://www.metacrawler.com 
>_______________________________________________
>mythtv-dev mailing list
>mythtv-dev at mythtv.org 
>http://mythtv.org/cgi->bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-dev
>



More information about the mythtv-dev mailing list