[mythtv-users] Looking for your experience

[Maarten]

On Friday 03 September 2004 23:23, Aaron Griffin wrote:
> apart from the flaming, you made a good point - I wasn't thinking
> about the fact that TV sound is, in fact, simple crappy stereo.  now
> it "clicked" so-to-speak

If it was a flame, it wasn't really directed at you but rather in general; you 
may have noticed that the question "What is the Best hardware for a Myth box" 
appears at least 4 times per week on this list, and at least one of those 
four gets spun into a 20+ post thread either going offtopic or drowning in 
details like how to fold or melt your PVR350 card to fit it inside yet 
another new smaller-than-small uber-casing...
So, don't take it personal; it really wasn't meant to be. 

Incidentally, if you search the mail archives you will find a plethora of 
posts and useful info on the exact question(s) you just posed.
If you don't want to search there, I understand; few do, and that is precisely 
why we're having this problem (and this conversation)...  :-(

> and to answer the first question, this is for a small apartment.  I'm
> doing a single box install, front/back ends combined.  noise is also a
> big issue.  the cost, however, is not.  so I'm planning on building up
> a decent box which can handle things on it's own, but also stay quiet
> (no I'm not going to water cool it... I don't care THAT much).

Okay, so now we are getting somewhere.  Because my complaint was nothing else 
than a -badly worded- plea for more details from posters, you understand. 
So, it is a front & backend and situated in the livingroom. Very good.  
Next question: Do you want it [fitting] together with your Hi-fi equipment or 
do you just plan to shove it in a corner where it's inconspicuous ?  
  Case 1: look at the Pundit, and Shuttle maybe, and some neat cases from 
Antec (and many many others). 
  Case 2: look at cases with BIG fans (120mm) since the bigger the fan is, the 
quieter it is [or at least, can be made].

Like I said, I can recommend the SLK370BQE from Antec.  Not expensive at all 
(by comparison), and reasonably quiet and with a superb finish (meaning 
craftsmanship, not outer look per se)

And well, about the sound and DVD issue... sorry, but you could have guessed 
that yourself. The "speed" of a DVD and / or CD are just that; they're 
relative speeds measured to the original equipment speed, i.e. the video / 
audio content they were meant for.  Higher speed can be useful for ripping / 
copying but thay mean nothing when just playing [video] content. And indeed, 
the faster, the louder.  You should hear my 52x speed CDrom.  It is louder 
than my 6-disk 5-fan server in the basement.  Really terrible. Really.
When spinning up it sometimes sounds like a helicopter is lifting off inside 
my computer. Well, it did.  I scrapped the bastard a while ago.

Please heed my advice on disk size.  I have a 160 GB drive that has been 99% 
full since last june and it gets more and more painful to delete shows to 
make room for newer stuff...  Or maybe that's just me.  But consider yourself 
warned about that.  There is _always_ stuff you will want to keep, even if it 
is only some CNN news item or MTV clip (or, heaven forbid, Oprah...)   

Good luck with the choices you make,
Maarten  :-)

> On Fri, 3 Sep 2004 23:00:33 +0200, Maarten <mythtv at ultratux.org> wrote:
> > On Friday 03 September 2004 21:45, James Pifer wrote:
> > > On Fri, 2004-09-03 at 14:31, Aaron Griffin wrote:
> > > > Hey all,
> > > > I must first admit, I am a newbie to MythTV, although that's not my
> > > > reason for this.  I'm going to use you all for your experience in
> > > > dealing with the hardware side of this...
> > > > Anyway, I'm looking for some advice on the *BEST* hardware setup...
> > > > the cost isn't that much of an issue....
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Current Plan->
> > > > TV-in: PVR-250
> > > > TV-out: No clue...I have an All-in-wonder so I need to buy a new one
> > > > Processor: Most likely AMD 2000-3000 or something
> > > > Case/Mobo/Form Factor: Anyone research this and find something really
> > > > cool that's not a Shuttle (too expensive for what you get)?
> >
> > Jeez.
> > The list gets drowned in these kind of (stupid) questions.  Why don't you
> > all try to be a bit more specific or 'verbose' about this ?  If you need
> > a (backend) machine for in the attic / basement, don't you think you'd
> > buy an entirely other machine than if it had to reside in the
> > livingroom...? (Hint: there is a HUGE difference between an old P-II 400
> > MHz equipped with a PVR350 and a brand-spankin' new P4-3200 with a btttv
> > card...  but the viewing pleasure is almost similar)
> >
> > In other words, what are it's "selling points" ?   Silence ? Price ? Size
> > ? Versatility ? CPU conservation ?  Disk conservation ?  What ?
> >
> > > > Hard Drives: How much, how snappy? I'll probably be recording about
> > > > 1-2hours a day and deleting it after I watch
> >
> > That is (probably) not realistic, even far from it.  But if you _really_
> > only record 1-2hours a day and delete it afterwards, all you'd need is a
> > 8 GB harddisk.  Mythtv uses between say 1 and 3 gigs per hour,
> > depending...
> >
> > Needless to say you'll surely want to keep some recordings, and needless
> > to say 8 GB harddisks are not for sale anymore either...
> >
> > But I'll give you a free advice from experience: buy the biggest harddisk
> > you can afford. You will not regret it. You will regret it if you
> > don't...
> >
> > I'm totally sure your girlfriend -which you mention below- will fill a
> > 80GB harddisk within a week (with reruns of the bold and the beautiful,
> > etc.)
> >
> > > > Sound Card: I'm assuming Audigy 2 Platinum, anything better?
> > > > DVD-ROM: How fast to emulate a store bought DVD player?
> >
> > If what you get off the air is "only" normal stereo sound, why do people
> > think that sound somehow magically "gets better" when you throw a hugely
> > expensive soundcard at it ??  I myself use a dirt-cheap SB and I
> > seriously doubt that a fiber-connected 24 bit ultrasound hyper audigy
> > ultra deluxe 7.1 will sound any better than that, since your regular TV
> > isn't broadcast with that quality to begin with. Worse; if you're REAL
> > lucky it will not be far worse than CD audio.  If you're unlucky, it will
> > be worse than badly received FM radio...
> >
> > Incidentally, in case you didn't know: "store-bought" (video-)DVD players
> > are always single speed (al-ways!!) as are audio CD players: single speed
> > only. You know, computers aren't race cars where you can impress your
> > girlfriend by the number of cylinders or the size of your engine.  A DVD
> > movie plays at speed==one and not a single snippet faster. You can
> > however buy a 4 speed drive, which comes in real useful if you someday
> > want to see the Godfather Part 1 in just under 55 minutes.  But apart
> > from that...  nope  ;-)
> >
> > > > I am building this for me and my girlfriend, and the total cost isn't
> > > > THAT big of a deal.... because I'm doing it for her (awwwwww, how
> > > > cute!)
> >
> > Gosh....  love is a splendid thing isn't it...   as long as it lasts that
> > is. ;-)
> >
> > Maarten
> >
> > --
> > Linux: Because rebooting is for adding hardware.
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

-- 
Linux: Because rebooting is for adding hardware.