[mythtv-users] Getting Started with MythTV
Ray Olszewski
ray at comarre.com
Sun Jul 6 22:50:40 EDT 2003
At 10:16 PM 7/6/2003 -0400, Robert Empfield wrote:
>Hi everyone. Just subscribed to this mailing list today and wanted to say
>hi to everyone.
>
>A couple of days ago, I discovered MythTV and everything that it can
>do. I am highly interested in using MythTV but have a view questions
>before I get too involved. I know there are a lot of questions listed and
>I am sorry for this. Being new to this all, I wanted to get my questions
>out there so I can decide whether this is for me or not.
>
>1.) I am a Linux newbie. I am currently learning how to use Red Hat Linux
>9. Is MythTV to complex to install and configure for someone who is new
>to Linux or could I manage with my limited knowledge?
Probably not, but really, who knows? It depends on how quickly you learn
things and how hard you are willing to work.
>2.) I have an extra computer here that I would like to use for
>MythTV. Here are its specs:
>
>Pentium III 800 MHz Processor
>384 MB DIMM Memory
>4.2 GB Hard Drive (OS is located on this drive)
>30 GB Hard Drive (Used as storage)
>Sound Blaster Live! PCI Sound Card
>64MB TNT AGP Video Card
>10/100 Ethernet Card
>56K Modem
>Red Hat Linux 9
>
>Would this hardware be able to handle to use MythTV? I would like to
>connect this computer to my entertainment center and use it just like a TIVO.
With a standard capture card, this hardware will be OK for recording TV for
later viewing, but marginal for watching "live" TV (which actually uses a
buffer to provide TiVo-like pause capability), in that you may have to use
a video resolution lower than the default MythTV provides.
One caveat: you don't identify your video card exactly, and I am assuming
it supports XVideo (a capability of XFree86 that makes video playback
possible with low CPU load). If you need to use a CPU-intenvise method
(like xShm) instead, this CPU will not be good enough for any part of Myth
that involves simultaneous recording and playback.
>3.) In the hardware list above, there was no TV capture card listed. I
>know that a video capture card is needed to run MythTV. I am currently
>looking at the Hauppauge Win PVR 350. I know that this card has a
>hardware encoder. If this system were unable to handle MythTV because of
>the processor speed, would this card help? Is this card capable of
>working with Linux/MythTV.
This card would reduce the CPU load by a lot. The XV concern still applies,
though.
The relatively large size of the MPEG-2 files this card captures may press
the capacity of a 30 GB hard disk fairly quickly. So you may want to adjust
capture quality down from the card's default.
>4.) Is there a distribution of Linux that is recommended for using with
>MythTV? Right now I have Red Hat Linux 9 installed on this
>computer. Since I mainly want to use this computer like a TIVO, do I
>really need this Linux version installed with a GUI? Being that I am a
>Linux newbie, could I get away with a text-based version of Linux?
The commonly used distros for myth include RH9, Devbian-Woody, DEbian-Sid,
Mandrake, and Gentoo. If you are comfortable with RH9, your comfort is
worth more than find the "best" choice.
>5.) I know that for some Linux distributions that someone must log in
>because Linux was designed to be a multi-user OS. Is there a way to
>automatically log on, when the computer is booted, and also load MythTV?
Yes. You do not say how you start X11, but you can set up a script
connected with X to start Myth.
>6.) Can MythTV be used with a remote control like the one from Streamzap?
It can be used with any remote that the LIRC package supports (see its Web
site), or with any device that can emulate t keyboard/mouse combination
(like a wireless IR keyboard interfac, which some remotes can be taught to
operate). I don't know what "Streamzap" is so don't konw if controls "like"
it are among the ones that work.
>Thanks for any help that is given and, again, sorry for the length.
You might find it useful to look in the list archives for the Draft
Beginner's FAQ I posted here a week or so back. I'd be interested to know
the extent to which it addresses your initial curiosity.
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