[mythtv-users] newbie setup questions
subscriptions
subscriptions at syntrix.net
Thu May 29 13:59:10 EDT 2003
Thanks guys for your advice.
I will get the measurements for the space, a bit hard because it's new home will be 800 miles away, so getting someone to do that for me! But I imagine it would be no bigger in height than a pioneer 5.1 AMP. I use a compaq EVO at work, a case that size would be great...
Basically it would be nice to know the specs for a great system AND a KIA, why not look at both options....
and Yes, the hard disk is 120GB!!!
As for the video card, I am a little confused here.... I went to http://tvtool.de/ and looked at cards that only had chips that started with NV** (cause I thought that meant they use the NVTV chipset?), are they the best performing cards?? I was thinking of buying a...
XFX Geforce2 MX400 64MB SDRAM Model PVT07G-DT With TV-out
but you said...
> Many work with TV out; my sense, both from my own experiments and from
> reading the list is that newer nVidea cards, using nVidea's nvidea X driver
> (not XFree86's nv driver) give the most satisfactory performance. Check
> www.compugeeks.com for some decent deals at least as of a few days ago).
>
> The Linux compatibility (actually, XFree86 compatibility) issue here is a
> big one. You need a card that has support for both TV-out and xVideo (the X
> counterpart to DirectX on Windows). This restricts your choices severely
> ... nVidea cards are the only ones I am *sure* support both TV-out and
> xVideo ... though I believe *some* Savage cards and some older Matrox cards
> (the ones that use the priprietary Matrox X driver) also do.
So to clarify I should look for a card that supports nividea's X DRIVER!? Can you give me some examples of NIVIDEA cards that support both TV-out AND XVideo?
-------Original Message-------
> From: Ray Olszewski
> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] newbie setup questions
> Sent: 29 May 2003 06:54:17
>
>
> I don't know if I can really say anything useful here, but since I saw no
> other responses, I thought I would say what I could.
>
> First, when asking for shopping info, it would help if you said something
> about where you are located. I infer from your having Comcast that you are
> in the USA ... but you aren't even explicit about that. Were you near me
> (Northern California), for example, I would suggest some offline shopping,
> like checking the Fry's specials this (every) Friday.
>
> Second, I don't offhand know how big "5 disc cd changer" normally is, or
> how big your "entertainment slots" are, making it hard to take that part
> into account. I did measure here and found that a standard desktop PC case
> (roughly 17.5" wide, 9" tall, and 17" deep) fits into one of my
> entertainment centers, but fails with the other one on depth (only). So you
> might want to describe your size constraints a bit more explicitly. Be sure
> to allow enough space for the stuff that sticks out the back of a pC; its
> connectors tend to be bulkier than typical A-V devices.
>
> Third, configuring a system is always, in the end, about tradeoffs between
> price and features/convenience. Do you want a Rolls-Royce or a KIA? It is
> hard to advise on choices without some sense of your willingness to spend.
>
> Some specifics follow.
>
> At 03:00 PM 5/28/2003 +0000, subscriptions wrote:
> >Hello all
> >
> >I want to start building a mythtv box for my entertainment system, as this
> >system looks kick ass, and if anyone has suggestions as to the rest of the
> >hardware i need that would be great, as i want to run into minimal
> >problems with linux compatibility as I haven't used linux much, but hoping
> >to learn more thru this process!
> >
> >I want a case size that will fit into one of my entertainment slots, so no
> >bigger than a 5 disc cd changer... and I want it to replace my video
> >recorder, so it had to has a tv out. My TV is a 40"+ sony trinitron with
> >s-video in. My cable provider is comcast.
> >
> >So far I have...
> >
> >Western Digital SE 120MB 8MB HD
>
> I trust you mean 120 GB, not MB.
>
> >Hauppauge PVR250 Card
>
> Should work fine with Linux. I've used the cheap Hauppauges (WinTV Go, from
> before they changed the chipset) for a long time and have been very happy
> with them.
>
> >I need...
> >
> >graphics card
>
> Many work with TV out; my sense, both from my own experiments and from
> reading the list is that newer nVidea cards, using nVidea's nvidea X driver
> (not XFree86's nv driver) give the most satisfactory performance. Check
> www.compugeeks.com for some decent deals at least as of a few days ago).
>
> The Linux compatibility (actually, XFree86 compatibility) issue here is a
> big one. You need a card that has support for both TV-out and xVideo (the X
> counterpart to DirectX on Windows). This restricts your choices severely
> ... nVidea cards are the only ones I am *sure* support both TV-out and
> xVideo ... though I believe *some* Savage cards and some older Matrox cards
> (the ones that use the priprietary Matrox X driver) also do.
>
> Another option is to run the computer itself with standard VGA out and use
> an external VGA-to-NTSC converter. Check the list archives for some
> discussion fo this approach; I haven't tried it myself.
>
> > cpu
> >case
> >motherboard (integrated sound/nic)
>
> I tend to buy my mobos and CPUs together. Usually, I find it cheaper to get
> a mobo either without sound and NIC, or with junky ones, and add in PCI
> cards for these functions. My current Myth boxes are Cel 1.7 GHz using a
> "Gigabyte P4 Titan" mobo ... nothing special about it, just what was cheap
> that week. This setup works OK (with an inexpensive AverTV vidcap card) but
> is starting to seem a little bit underpowered for "live" TV viewing (that
> is, for simultaneous recording and playback). But you are using a more
> powerful vidcap card than I use, so your CPU demands should be lighter than
> mine.
>
> You don't ask about RAM. There is some variation in views, but the
> consensus seems to be that *minimum* RAM is 256 MB of PC133 SDRAM. The
> higher speed of DDR RAM is preferred by many. I've seen no consensus about
> whether additional amounts of RAM help or not (I think they do not, in a
> 1-tuner integrated frontend/backend setup).
>
> > dvd rom
>
> I don't have a DVD drive in my MythTV system so cannot fofer specific
> recommendations. The only Linux compatibility issue is to make sure you get
> a drive that supports DMA under Linux. I've myself never encountered one
> that did not, but from reading this and other lists, I know people run into
> problems here.
>
> > keyboard/mouse separate/combo? suggestions?
>
> I find the lowest-end keyboards, the ones priced like Crackerjack prizes,
> perfectly satisfactory in most uses, especially light-duty ones like
> running a MythTV host (until I take the time to get a proper remote setup
> working). I use an expensive, heavy-duty Kensington trackball on my MythTV
> system, but only because it was an old one from my spares box ... MythTV
> makes so little use of a mouse/trackball that I'd use the cheapest thing I
> could buy if I needed to shop for this piece.
>
> I have wondered about controlling a MythTV box using an integrated
> keyboard/trackball over an IR interface (or maybe Bluetooth, if they are
> out yet and the Linux support is up to it), but I haven't looked into it
> ... converting to LIRC for the finished installation looks more sensible.
>
>
>
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-------Original Message-------
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