[mythtv-users] Did I get this right? (Set-Up)

[Dewey Smolka]

On 9/3/05, Andrew Balmos <abalmos at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I just want to make sure that I got all this right before I go and buy
> all the components to make it work...
> 
> This is my set up:
> SA2100 Digital Cable Box (S-VIDEO out)
> Capture Card (need to buy, is there a cheap one that just does S-VIDEO
> would like hardware encoding)

Hauppage PVR x50 (500). It's not exactly cheap, but there is no cheap
card that does hardware encoding. The PVR cards, however, are the best
supported, so will take the least time to get running.

> Display Card (GeForce FX 5200 S-VIDEO or DVI out)

We'll come back to this, although it is a very good card. (I have one
-- look for the version with a heatsink rather than a fan if noise is
a factor. I haven't seen any higher-model Nvidia cards without a fan.

> IR Remote (need to get, the card will be behind me so I need one with
> a long cord I can run across the room)

The Hauppage cards (non-MCE flavors I believe) have included remotes
and IR dongles, though the cord is only about 1 meter long. We'll come
back to this in a bit.

> IR Transmitter (build on from lirc (will it go say 20 - 25ft?))
> 
> This is how it all comes together:
> I use a S-VIDEO Cable to connect my SA2100 to my capture card, MythTV
> comes in here and orchestrates it all, I connect my display card to my
> TV. 

Here's where you're going to have a problem with the box being behind
you. S-video cables are not cheap, and DVI cables are even more
expensive. I've never seen one long enough to do what you want to with
it -- they're usually only around a meter long, and I've never seen
one longer than about two meters. You're not going to be able to run
an out to the TV from your Myth box with one of these unless the Myth
machine is next to the TV.

This also ignores audio, since DVI and S-vid (AFAIK) only deliver the
video signal. You'll need another long cable to get the audio from the
soundcard to your TV (assuming it supports audio-in) or to another
amplification source. You'll also need a way to get the audio from the
converter box into the capture card.

 If you want to use coax, you'll need to look at the PVR 350 card,
which does hardware MPEG decoding and supports coax out. A caveat,
though: this card decodes MPEG 2, but not MPEG 4. You may have trouble
playing compressed video (divx, xvid, etc) out of this card, and, as I
understand, it is difficult to get X working properly. The 350
(reportedly, I've never used one) has very good quality for live and
recorded TV, but is problematic for playing back things that come from
outside MythTV.

Another possibility, though, is to put an old VCR next to your Mythbox
and connect the S-vid and audio cables to that, and then run a coax
(which carries both video and audio) to your TV. This is how I did my
original set up, since the TV I was using had only a coax-in.

This, however, doesn't solve the problem with the remote control --
you'd still need a really long USB cable to put the remote next to the
TV, and long USB cables are more expensive than you might think.

> The IR remote controls MythTV and when I change the channel the
> IR Transmitter changes my SA2100 box's channel. 

Yes, but you'll probably want the IR blaster as close to the decoder
box as you can get it, and even then there will be some delay when
changing channels in live TV. But Myth is not built for channel
surfing, and the ring buffer only contains the channel currently
selected -- you can't switch channels and then rewind the new channel
to a point before you switched.

> This all that correct? Also, the MythTV box will be running on my main
> system, so will I be able to use my desktop as it is and MythTV with
> the same graphics card?

The fx5200 supports dual-head operation, but it will take extra
configuration of xorg.conf to get running properly. But it still won't
solve the problem of how you are going to get an S-vid or DVI cable
long enough to do what you want.

>Also, with the DVR system I have (the other box) I am able to watch
>one channel and record a other.  Am I going to be able to have that
>functionality with MythTV with the box that is not a DVR? 

You'll need a separate capture input for each stream you want Myth to
work with. With one input you can watch live TV, OR watch something
currently recording, OR record something while watching something
previously recorded. If you want to record two things at one, or watch
live TV while recording a different program, you'll need a second
capture input. The PVR 500 has two capture inputs in one card.

>What if I add a MythTV box to the DVR?

Not sure what you mean by this. What is the DVR box, and how does it
deal with two streams simultaneously? If it's an MCE machine, you can
get it running Myth, but you'll have to make sure the hardware
(particulary the capture device) is comaptible. If it's a Tivo or a
cable-provided box, it won't do any good in Myth.

But if you have the machines, and really want to run the Myth backend
on your desktop, it would be far simpler to have a remote frontend
next to the TV -- meaning short DVI or S-vid cable, and short remote
cable (note: this means not using the remote that comes with the PVR
cards, since that plugs into the capture card, which is on the
backend). Everything else would be done over ethernet.

If you don't have an extra machine for a frontend, this will add
considerable expense to the project -- enough that it may be worth
your while to just build a dedicated FE/BE next to your TV. You can
still control the box from your desktop -- through Mythweb for
administering the recordings and ssh for accessing system
configuration.

This doesn't have to be ridiculously expensive, however. I am still
running my master BE/FE on a P3 700 that I bought used for $150
(although I've added at least $400 worth of parts to it).

> 
> Thank you!,
> Andrew

I really hope that this hasn't confused you too much, but it is
essential that you go into this with solid planning, otherwise you'll
end up spending more than you want it both time and money, and getting
frustrated when things don't work how you want them to.

That being said, it is definitely worth your time because there is
simply nothing else in existence right now that is as powerful and as
flexible as MythTV in dealing with media over a network.

Feel free to get to me if you have any more questions.

Good luck.

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