[mythtv-users] Cheap Possible Frontend

[Brian Wood]

I know, we've all seen the posts:

"I (found in a dumpster / was offered for $5) a computer. All I know  
about it is (It says "286" on the front / It says "Altair") and I was  
wondering if it will work With Myth. I plan to connect it to my  
network with (a 300-baud modem / my cell phone), and storage will be  
(punch cards / magnetic drum). I will need to drive 6 High-Definition  
displays simultaneously, each with a separate 1080i signal. Do you  
think it will work ??"

Not to be outdone, I found this:

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=BB-U-BUDDIE-SYS&cat=BBK&cpc=JAD

Since I have the RAM and the drives, I'm only risking $120.

What I wonder about is the "64-bit 2D/3D graphics accelerator". Is  
this just a UniChrome variant? I don't know much about those, but I'd  
never heard they were 64-bit. What "acceleration" might it provide ?

I'm wondering if it might do SD only, perhaps with XvMC or a  
Unichrome-only driver ? I'd really like to be able to playback MPEG-4  
streams, sort of a "Rich Man's MediaMVP that can do MPEG-4".


Brian Wood
beww at beww.org