[mythtv-users] Newbie... Help Requested

[jazzman at exdomain.org]

Thanks for the info so far, guys. A few more questions if you don't 
mind...


> 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.

This might pose a problem. The machine I picked to be my PVR box is small 
and space is limited. 2 low profile PCI slots are all I get. One is for 
the PVR150 card, the other currently has the NIC in it. I suppose I could 
swap out the nic for a USB Nic, but i'd still be stuck with the onboard 
sound...

> 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.
> 
> >From what I understand the IR blasters that work with Myth are serial
> devices, not USB. You can build a simple one yourself or buy a premade
> one for $12 from here: http://www.irblaster.info/

This might be big strike #2 against my decision to use my small bookshelf 
PC... No serial ports...7 or 8 USB ports, 1 printer port, 1 VGA port, 1 
built in modem, onboard sound... that's about it... The reason I'm kind of 
hoping to use that box is because it's small and has a low power 
consumption, so it will sit neatly on a shelf near my tv... a bigger PC 
might be too big, and to build a PVR box from scratch (buy a small PC, 
etc...) puts me over the budget I was looking at.

Any thoughts?

Thanks
Marc