[mythtv-users] Re: Idea for the most common installs

[Jarod C. Wilson]

On Wednesday, Tom Howard wrote:

> It seems that the most common installs here are the Pundit, the Xbox
> frontend, and the EPIA M10k.   By 'common' I mean that when someone 
> uses the
> pundit, Xbox or EPIA, they tend to also have installed a PVR
> 250/350/freestyle.  The Xbox frontend group has already started putting
> together an install CD to make the process easier (an outstanding 
> idea).
> This works especially well with the Xbox since the hardware is 
> identical on
> all Xbox's.  What would be the biggest challenge in putting together a 
> CD
> for the Pundit and the EPIA (separate CD's of course), assuming 1 PVR 
> card
> and hosting both front and backend on the same machine?  In my own mind
> (children singing, puppies and kittens frolicking in the spring 
> flowers) it
> would make installing much easier.

I'v actually been contemplating embarking upon the creation of a custom 
Red Hat Linux 9 CD, with all sorts of rpms from ATrpms, including 
drivers for the most popular capture cards, apt, and of course, the 
mythtv rpms. All the necessities would easily make it onto a single 
disc. You'd use Anaconda to install, be able to set up your partitions, 
your network card(s), video card, etc. with the installer (okay, so 
you'd still have work to do for TV out)...

> Basically it would be something like
>
> Mondo Archive (
> http://www.microwerks.net/%7Ehugo/download/mondoarchive.1.html ) where 
> you
> pop it in, and let it do its thing.  When it boots up after the image, 
> it
> would go through the install script like now, only all the drivers and 
> what
> not would already be installed so a LOT less 'doh' and killings of 
> otherwise
> harmless machines.  Obviously a flavor of linux would have to be 
> settled on
> for each system, etc... but we all know that what matters is 
> performance not
> loyalty to a flavor.

That would be the other route I've considered. (Mondo is VERY cool, 
excellent backup software, just to let anyone who hasn't used it know). 
The only problem I see with this method is that it isn't anywhere near 
as flexible as creating a custom Red Hat CD, though you're probably 
going to have a whole lot more work to do post-install (capture card & 
lirc related, mostly) with the custom Red Hat CD route. But you'd only 
need a single CD for the Pundit, EPIA, and just about any other system 
(except the X-Box). I'm partially more inclined to go the custom Red 
Hat CD route because I don't have either a Pundit or EPIA myself. :)

-jcw