[mythtv-users] Group advice sought on setup please.

Mon Oct 4 14:30:04 EDT 2004

Since I got the PVR-250MCE which didn't come with a remote, I built a
serial IR reciever from the lirc web page.
http://www.lirc.org/receivers.html

I then got a programmable remote from radio shack for about $30. Right
now I have my TV and PVR working with the remote but I eventually plan
on programming it to be the one and only remote using the jp1
programming interface on the remote.
(http://www.hifi-remote.com/forums/)

Of course if you get a PVR-250 with the remote, I believe you can use
the IR cable that comes with it in lirc and just use a different
remote. There are a lot of programmable remotes and any one should
work with mythtv and lirc.

I was originally looking at the pronto remote but I've decided that I
don't really like the touchscreen and prefer real buttons. The jp1
programmable remotes looked like they would be fun to play with so
that's what I went for.

The hardest part in setting up the remote for me was building the IR
reciever. It turns out that the voltage regulator I had was backwards
from the one used in the diagram. That took me a little while to track
down but once I did I felt it was easier than getting the ivtv stuff
to compile. Again since I was using a 2.6 kernel I needed to use the
cvs version instead of a tarball.

You can download some remotes for lirc but I decided to just learn all
the different buttons and I felt it was fairly easy... just a little
time consuming.
-Chris

On Mon,  4 Oct 2004 11:19:14 -0600, mark at onnow.net <mark at onnow.net> wrote:
> Thank you for the answers!  Much appreciated.
> 
> Have you had much luck with remotes?  I think the 350 comes with one, but most
> do not seem to like them.  Is there a remote you would recommend?  Are they
> easy to setup as well?
> 
> Thanks again.
> 
> Mark
> 
> 
> 
> Quoting Christopher Flynn <flynnguy at gmail.com>:
> 
> > On Mon,  4 Oct 2004 09:59:44 -0600, mark at onnow.net <mark at onnow.net> wrote:
> > > I am starting from scratch and purchasing hardware just for this, so I am
> > > looking for the easiest, most standard, supported hardware.
> >
> > Good luck!
> >
> > > Hardware questions:
> > > 1) TV card.  I have seen allot on the PVR-350.  They are $250 here.  Is
> > this a
> > > good, fully supported, feature rich card?  Or should I be using a cheaper
> > card?
> >
> > The PVR-350 is popular because it has both hardware encoding and
> > decoding. Therefore you can use it to output directly to your TV. This
> > has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it uses very
> > little CPU. The disadvantage from what I understand is that watching
> > something other than an mpeg2 steam isn't the greatest. (Someone who
> > has one please correct me if I'm wrong) If you decide to get a video
> > card then I would opt for the PVR-250 which has the encoding. I went
> > for the PVR-250MCE and It was a bit of a headache to get working but I
> > went with a 2.6 kernel. I eventually got it working using the cvs
> > version of ivtv. (ivtv are the modules you will need for the PVR-X50
> > cards)
> >
> > > 2) How many TV cards?  Record and watch a different channel would be great.
> >  So
> > > two?  Two 350's?
> >
> > I've found I don't use the live-tv function much anymore. Instead I
> > just record a bunch of stuff so whenever I want to watch tv I have
> > something already recorded. I currently only have one but I plan on
> > getting a second at some point. I figure 2-3 cards should be nice. (It
> > all depends on your tv watching habits I guess)
> >
> > > 3) S-Video.  Should I use the S-Video on the PVR-350?  Or get a graphics
> > card
> > > with TV-OUT too? I want to be able to watch DVD's on this too if that makes
> > a
> > > difference.  Can I watch a DVD on this box using the S-Video out on a
> > PRV-350?
> > > I have read some that say not.
> >
> > I can't say because I don't have the PVR-350 but my svideo out on my
> > geforce card works well. I also have a DVI out on my video card for a
> > possible future HDTV.
> >
> > > 4) What processor speed do I need?  I want great performance.
> >
> > I'm running a 1.2Ghz Athlon because it was a computer that I was using
> > as a web server but decided I'd rather have a mythbox. Eventually I
> > will upgrade the motherboard/processor and get back my web server but
> > I'm currently buying a house so funds are slightly limited.
> >
> > > 5) Motherboard.  Built in sound / video?  Got any experience with a
> > specific
> > > board that works well?  Recommendations?
> >
> > I am using a Soundblaster AWE 64 for my sound output because I had
> > one. I've heard some bad things about onboard sound and some good
> > things. I would make sure it has S/PDIF output and 6 channel sound
> > rather than just a generic output. (Not as much of an issue if you are
> > just using it for TV but nice for watching DVDs)
> >
> > > Software/OS:
> > > 1) I am a RedHat fan.  However, I will use what ever works best.
> > KnoppMyth?
> > > Again, looking for ease of install/use, but still want full featured.
> > What
> > > RedHat version is most supported?  FC2?  I have also read some howto's on
> > SuSE
> > > 9.1.  That would be an easy install if MythTV was happy there too.
> >
> > Any version of linux *should* work. A lot of people use knopmyth,
> > FC1/2, gentoo or Debian. I myself use Debian. If you are used to FC,
> > then go with that. There is a nice tutorial over at:
> > http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/ which goes over the install on FC.
> >
> > > Once I am done, I am going to write up a how to and make sure that it is
> > > idiot-proof and includes an easy working method including hardware
> > etc......
> > > This product is looking great so I would like to promote it's use with a
> > how-to.
> >
> > Another source of good information is http://www.mythtv.info/ (mythtv
> > wiki) Whenever you get your tutorial done, you may want to post it
> > over there.
> >
> > One other point: Make sure you get the biggest hard drive you can
> > afford. The Seagate 200GB is a popular one because it is quiet. (If
> > you plan on putting this in the livingroom next to your TV, the
> > quieter the better.) There is also a lot of info in these threads,
> > http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/ is a good searchable
> > archive.
> > -Chris
> >
> > --
> > You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Gandhi
> >
> 
> 
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-- 
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Gandhi