[mythtv-users] Hello all.. i'm the lastest mythnewb looking for advice :D

[Michael T. Dean]

On 09/14/05 14:05, Nick wrote:

>On 14/09/05, Derek Meek <thekazan at gmail.com> wrote:
>  
>
>>I'm new to mythTV and the mailing list - just thought I'd say hello -
>>
>>and see what you think of the hardware I have in mind for my box.
>>
>>Here's what i have planned (based off today's prices - some hardware may
>>get beefier when i build the box in nov/dec/jan)
>>
>>MythTV box partslist:
>>
>>CPU+Mobo: Athlon XP 64 2800 + Mobo
>>Storage:  300GB SATA
>>Video: Radeon 9200 SE
>>RAM: 1GB PC3200
>>
>>Tv Capture:
>>* Hauppauge PVR-350
>>* Bt8*8 secondary framegrabber (already have) (audio via linein)
>>    
>>
>I'd seriously consider getting a PVR-150/500 card too (if you can
>stretch to it now, or later) and keep the BT card as a third recording
>device. Hardware cards just seem a much better investment both in
>terms of quality and ease of use.
>  
>
I agree that the Hauppauge PVR-x50/500's are a great buy.  And, 
fortunately, since BTTV cards are so cheap, it's not that painful to 
throw them away.

Also, I'd recommend against the PVR-350.  I'm a PVR-350 owner, but I'm 
not using it for decoding (so, I'm using it as a PVR-250/150).  The 
reason's I stopped using it include: a) it only does 720x480, so I can't 
do HDTV and b) no OpenGL support.  Note, also, that you can get very 
good quality output using a good video card with TV out.  With the 
PVR-350 and TV-out in general, NTSC/PAL is typically the limiting factor 
on the quality once you learn to configure it properly.

Basically, my recommendation would be to spend that extra $100+ (price 
difference between a PVR-150 and a PVR-350) on an extra PVR-150 or two 
(and throw away the BTTV card), on more storage (probably the best 
short-term use of the money), or on getting a better video card or CPU 
(if you ever plan to do HDTV--although, you'll do fine with an NVIDIA 
5200, which should be in the same price range as the Radeon).

For the video card, you should really consider NVIDIA (and, I'll admit, 
I'm an ATI fan-boy--not an NVIDIA fan-boy) because their drivers support 
XvMC--which is very nice for HDTV decoding--OpenGL 2.0, and many other 
features that ATI's Linux drivers don't provide.  Although rumors keep 
saying some of these features will be "in the next version," they're 
still not here...

Also, you really don't need 1GB of RAM--I'd go with 512MB.  It doesn't 
hurt to have the extra, but once again, more storage is probably a 
better short-term use of the money...

So, I'd recommend 512MB RAM, NVIDIA 5200, PVR-150 (or two), no PVR-350, 
and spend the rest of the money on hard drive space.

HTH,
Mike