[mythtv-users] first time HTPCer - double check me

[Jarod C. Wilson]

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On Friday 19 March 2004 10:59, Daniel Walton wrote:
> Any feedback anyone, Bueller? :)

Patience, grasshopper. 'Tis a busy list...

> On Thu, 18 Mar 2004, Daniel Walton wrote:
> > I own two ReplayTVs but I'm tired of waiting for HD capabilities so my
> > wife and I decided to build a MythTV box!  We are completely hooked on
> > automatic commercial advance so that is one of the big reason we are
> > going with myth vs a HD Direct Tivo or something like that.
> >
> > I'd like to give you guys a rundown of what hardware we are buying, let
> > me know what you think.  Our goals are:
> >
> > - record OTA HD and be able to watch a previously recorded HD show at the
> > same time

Can be done. Requires a lot of CPU (3.0GHz HT P4 recommended).

> > - play MP3s that are stored on a networked windows XP machine

Not a problem.

> > - view pictures in HD, these are stored on the same XP machine

Not a problem.

> > - if the picture quality will be better then record cable with myth
> > instead of replayTV

Depends on your capture settings, but should be possible. In my experience, 
the picture quality of (standard-def) captures done by my PVR-250, fed to my 
HDTV through a VGA->Component Video adapter are a little bit cleaner than 
(standard-def) signals fed from my Motorola DCT5100 cable box to my HDTV via 
component video.

> > - play DVDs and archive recorded shows to DVD

Not a problem.

> > Hardware
> > --------
> > - 65 inch Mitsubishi HDTV with component input (no DVI)

You might want to visit:

http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/mythhd.php

> > - Athlon Barton XP 2800

Should be okay for HDTV, not positive... The rest of the hardware looks fine 
(though I'm slightly leery of a USB2 connected hard drive under Linux).

> > Questions
> > ---------
> > - I own a nice MX-500 remote, what do I need for the HTPC so I can
> > control myth?

An IR receiver of some kind and the appropriate lirc config files. I use a 
RadioShack universal remote myself.

> > Any problems having a hardrive connected via USB 2.0? 

Maybe. Not sure.

> > - What is the recommended VGA->component cable?  Is this the optimal way
> > for me to get component video out of my HTPC?

In your case, yes. And it isn't just a cable, unless your set can accept RGB 
component video. YPbPr component video requires a signal transcoder (see the 
link I provided above).

> > - Has myth considered implementing any show sharing features like
> > ReplayTV has? MPAA/RIAA was all over this at first, they shutdown
> > planetreplay.com and SonicBlue had to pull the feature from new units
> > (there is a hack to turn it on though).  Ever since then though things
> > have been ~peaceful, there is a new website for sharing shows
> > (www.poopli.com) and shows are being shared all the time.  Just curious
> > as this is one feature of replay that I would really miss :)

Its been discussed, and dismissed as a Very Bad Idea.

> > - I've read that it is possible for a HTPC to play DVDs at higher quality
> > than a standalone DVD player.  Is this true and if so what is the trick
> > to unlocking this potential?

I'm dubious of that claim. Better than a crappy DVD player, yes, but better 
than a good progressive-scan DVD play, I think not.

> > - If I record a show off a HD channel but the show really isn't in HD,
> > will the program still take up 9G an hour or will it take up as much as a
> > regular digital recording?

HD streams can vary a ton in how much bandwidth is actually used... If the 
not-really-HD stuff is broadcast at a lower bandwidth, it'll use less 
space...

> > - Can I get better cablevision quality by recording with myth vs my
> > ReplayTV?

I believe so.

> > - I'm planning on using KnoppMyth R4V2, will that work ok with all this
> > hardware?

It should. You may have to find kernel source matching the kernel (or get new 
source and recompile a kernel), because you need the kernel source to be able 
to compile the pcHDTV's drivers, unless I'm mistaken.

Oh, and I'm not sure if it is still an issue or not, but in the past, a 
PVR-x50 and pcHDTV in the same system often didn't play nice together...

> > - Any hardware that I'm missing or any of it that you would not
> > recommend?

My main concern would be the hard drive, but I haven't tried USB any time 
recently, so maybe someone else with recent experience in this area will 
recommend one way or the other.

- -- 
Jarod C. Wilson, RHCE

Got a question? Read this first...
     http://catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
MythTV, Fedora Core & ATrpms documentation:
     http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/
MythTV Searchable Mailing List Archive
     http://www.gossamer-threads.com/archive/MythTV_C2/
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