[mythtv-users] Hardware Suggestions/Sanity Check

[John Patrick Hoke]

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Hi,

So after having a standard def mythbox running for a year or two, and  
my wife and daughter "buying in" and liking it (I think the selling  
point was making DVDs of the lil' one's cartoons that she could watch  
on her iBook...) I have been granted permission from on high (read:  
wife) to build a better system...

I will be converting my current FE/BE into a dedicated Master BE:
	P4 3.0ghz CPU
	1 GB RAM
	1x PVR150
	1x PVR250
	4x 250gb SATA HD RAID 5 for DVD storage (/video/dvd) (New -- Adding  
to system)
	2x 250gb PATA for video storage and music
	1x 100gb PATA HD for OS and assorted crap (web server, MySQL, mail  
server, home dirs, etc)
	1x DVD-RW+/-

Question for the BE:
  1) What would be the recommendation for RAID Card. I have seen HW  
based raid cards > $300. Could I get away with a SW RAID with this  
config for the video storage? I have a large digitized collection and  
I do not want to lose it (again...)
  2) I prefer FC, and noticed that there were issues with FC5 and  
0.19 reported to the list. Have these started to shake themselves out  
as both FC5 and Myth 19 "mature" (wrong term for versions so new,  
but ... anyway). I can go either the compile myself or use ATRpms  
route... and my current system is a hybrid (Used Axel's stuff to get  
started, then started compiling myth myself so I can use SVN and  
check it out...)

I will also be creating a BE/FE system for my living room. This will  
be for capturing (unencrypted) HD content from cable company and  
displaying it and other content on the master BE on a Samsung 5078W  
DLP HDTV over a gigabit ethernet connection in the house. For the  
record, I have tried via FireWire on my 3250 and cannot get it to  
work. Blue Ridge Cable said they do not support this (firewire) at  
this time, and told me the FCC does not require that they do so. (I  
still have issues with that statement).

What I am thinking is:
	AMD64 3000+
	KN1 Extreme MoBo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp? 
Item=N82E16813135175)
	2GB RAM
	2x500 GB SATA Drives (via LVM)
	HD Capture Card:
		Either an AirStar-HD5000AV (http://www.cyberestore.com/ 
product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=103)
         	or an Dvico FusionHDTV Lite w/Remote (http:// 
www.cyberestore.com/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=192)
	Sound output via SPDIF on MoBo to my home theater system
	Video Card: some NVIDIA 6600 card (PCI Express)
	1x DVD-RW
	Case: Silverstone LC20M ... or possibly LC16M
         PSU: Silverstone ST40F

The HDTV I am using has Component In, SVGA In, HMDI In, and others.

Questions for FE
	1) Is there a preference between the two HD Cards for the FE? I am  
leaning to the Dvico as it seems to support both HD and SD recording  
- - - if I am reading the literature correctly.
	2) As I have always had combined FE/BE I am not sure about this...  
the recordings from the HD card, do they get recorded locally on the  
FE/BE box in the Living room, or can they be pushed over the network  
to the BE in the basement? If I can push the recordings over the wire  
to the BE, then I can have less HD in living room, less heat, and  
less fan noise :)
	3) Are there any recommendations for a PCI Express video card that  
can push HDTV to this set?
	4) Has anyone had good/bad experiences with this mobo for MythTV  
use? Is the CPU powerful enough?

Thank you for your help, and to the Dev's for such a great product! I  
hope the above was not too incoherent ;)

- - -John

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