[mythtv-users] recommendations for a media box

[Jarod C. Wilson]

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On Thursday 22 April 2004 10:37, Dr NoName wrote:
> I am trying to spec out a pvr system. I want to be
> able to record tv, play back, do live pause, watch
> dvds, etc. and use the remote to  operate  it. The box
> will be connected to TV only, with no monitor
> attached;  hopefully no keyboard & mouse either.
> Ideally it should be a tivo on  steroids.
>
> Here are the specs I have to work with:
>
> AMD Athlon XP 2400+
> 512MB RAM
> 40GB HD (plus possibly a second 120GB HD)
> DVD-ROM
> DVR+/-RW

DVD-ROM and RW? Why?

> 10/100 NIC
> on-board 5.1 sound card & speakers
> running Debian or Mandrake -- not sure yet
>
> TBD: video card, tv capture card.
>
> Here are my questions:
>
> 1. What codec should I use? I want it to be fairly
> high quality and  compatible with everything, so I'm
> thinking either mpeg2 or divx. I am  willing to spend
> more CPU cycles to get better quality (after all, it
> will be a dedicated media box). I have never heard of
> rtjpeg, so I don't think I'll use that.

In my experience, the hardware mpeg2 encoder cards generally have a better 
picture than any of the dumb cards that require software encoding. But ymmv.

> 2. What is the CPU utilization when encoding in that
> format? What about decoding?

Depends greatly on your bitrate, quality settings, output device, etc. The 
MythTV docs have some info on this subject that you should look over.

> 3. Is it worth getting a hardware encoder
> (specifically Hauppauge PVR-250)?

Yes. I have four. They kick the crap out of my software-only cards.

> What's the CPU utilization then?

Damn near zero for capture.

> If not, which card do you recommend? 

The only non-hardware encoder card I'd recommend is the pcHDTV, but that's a 
bit different situation...

> 4. There are two options for tv-out:
>
>   - TV capture card with TV out (such as Hauppauge
> PVR-350) with no video card (I'm assuming I don't need
> a video card then)

You'll probably still need a video card on occasion. The 350 isn't 100% solid 
yet (though perhaps you can get by with just ssh)...

> OR
>   - plain TV capture card + video card with TV out
> (Nvidia GeForce MX  or  an old ATI Rage II).

I'd definitely go with the nVidia card, if you don't go PVR-350.

> I am leaning towards the second option since this
> would allow me to  connect a monitor for debugging and
> what not. Which one would you recommend?

Depends on what all you're going to do with your system, and what sort of 
display you'll be connected to. An nVidia card is better for movies and 
games, displays much better to a High-Def TV, etc., but for SVideo, the 350's 
image quality is better (the driver is less stable, but getting better).

> 5. Where does the sound go? The TV out outputs only
> video, so I'm  assuming I still need speakers when
> playing back a recording. But what about live tv? My
> tv has only RCA inputs and no outputs.

If you're using a PVR-350, it also has audio outputs (though they won't output 
sound for MythVideo/Music/etc, so you have to route through a sound card). 
For a video card, you use the sound card for all audio output. The only 
"outputs" your TV has to have are its internal speakers (though I bypass my 
TV entirely, feeding audio to an amp -- well, actually, my TV is the 
front-rear channel in my 6.1 surround-sound setup).

> 6. How well does the remote work? It's quite important
> for a dedicated  media box.

Works great for me. http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/remotes.php

- -- 
Jarod C. Wilson, RHCE
jcw at wilsonet.com

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