[mythtv-users] Newbie... Help Requested

Dewey Smolka dsmolka at gmail.com
Fri Jul 21 05:01:13 UTC 2006


On 7/20/06, jazzman at exdomain.org <jazzman at exdomain.org> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I'm a total newb when it comes to PVR stuff, but I'm a computer guy by
> trade and by hobby, so I thought a PVR was something I could use. I was
> wondering if I could ask a few questions and get a few thoughts on my
> proposed setup and whether or not it's feasible to do it.
>
> I have a spare Gateway Essentials pc sitting around that would be ideal
> for this. It's a VERY small case (bookshelf, perhaps) that has an 800mhz
> P3 celeron, about 256mb (maybe more) of RAM,

This will do as long as you're using a PVR x50 card and have no
illusions or ambitions of doing anything with HD (at least not on this
gear). For SD, which is all the PVR x50s can do, you should be fine.
You might want to bump the RAM up to 512 though.

> and a 40GB hard drive (drives are cheap though, so a new drive is easy enough if I need).

You will need it. Considering the cost of drives, I wouldn't even
consider building a Myth system with an HDD smaller than 150 - 200 GB.
Keep your 40 GB drive for /, /home, and swap, and get a big drive for
storage. The bigger the better; you'll thank yourself later.

> It's got a
> built on Intel (8153 or something like that) video card and a generic
> sound card built on, along with 5 or 6 USB ports, a CDrom drive, and a
> floppy drive. I know for certain the hardware in the box is linux friendly
> because this machine used to be my mail server for a few years.

If you're planning to go out to a TV, it may be worth springing for a
cheap nvidia (gf4, fx5200) card. They're well supported under the
binary driver, and cheap. The onboard sound should work but my
experience has been that onboard sound is rather lacking, and can be
quite noisy. Turtle Beach Riviera cards run $30 or less and work out
of the box. Definitely worth it.

> I plan on adding a Hauppage PVR 150 MCE Low Profile card (since the case
> is not full size. It's basically the same card as the PVR 150 but it's low
> profile (so it has a few less fancy connectors), and no IR port for remote
> control interface and such. I know it's a Media Center Edition, but the
> Hauppage guys told me it should be linux compatible and that the WIN in
> the title (WinPVR) is just a name.  Since I saw MythTV is PVR150
> compatible, and Hauppage says the PVR150lp is the same as the PVR150, I
> thought this card should be ok.

Should be no problem.

> Then, I figured I could add a USB receiver/transmitter and buy a remote
> for it on ebay or something, install linux and MythTV (or Win and MythTV
> since I saw something about a windows version? Maybe I was mistaken), and
> basically make my own TIVO type device.

There was (is?) a Windows frontend but it was never fully developed.
Still, it won't work without the backend, which does not run on
Windows.

Dealing with the IR side can be a bit tricky, so let's make sure we
have our terms straight. You'll need an IR reciever to control the
Myth machine with a remote control. There are a number of USB remote
setups that work but you'll want to look through the archives to see
what people are using. Alternately, you can use just about any USB
wireless keyboard for control.

You need an IR transmitter if (and only if) you need to control an
external tuner. If your TV signal is from an antenna or from an analog
cable, then the PVR card does the tuning for you -- that is, if your
'cable-ready' TV can tune your cable channels then so can your PVR
card.

If you need the external set-top-box, then you will have to control it
with a serial cable (if you're lucky and your box supports it),
firewire (if you're lucky and your box supports it, and if you've got
a lot of patience to get it work and stay working), or with an IR
blaster -- probably the most common, and the only option in a number
of setups.



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