[mythtv-users] MythDevice?

[Brian Wood]

On May 30, 2006, at 7:12 AM, Anil Gupte wrote:

> I am looking for something that is mass manufactured specifically  
> to run Linux
> based PVR software, so the price can come down to say, $300 per  
> machine and it
> looks good next to my DVD player and Audio system.  Then all of us  
> can justify
> having a bunch of them - some to use, some to take apart, some to  
> play with,
> some to bring them all in and in the darkness... never mind... :-)
>
> Seriously, someday myth will be all growed up and it needs to have  
> a stable,
> reliable platform on which people can run it - perhaps even pay for  
> it.
>
> What "couple of outfits" are selling such boxes now?

As I said, you have described a TiVo perfectly (though some might  
argue about the "looks good" part). Standalone models can be had for  
around $50 US "after rebate".

The "couple of outfits" I referred to are selling pre-configured Myth  
machines, but these are not mass-produced and the prices are high.  
The Dragon was mentioned here, I think the MyTV online store has an  
offering as well. The Media Ready series from Video Without  
Boundaries is another possibility.

Be aware that if you are in the US I am not at all sure of the status  
of these machines using DataDirect to obtain their listings, it may  
or may not be a violation of the letter of their license, but it is  
almost certainly a violation of the spirit of it. Of course other  
arrangements could be made with DataDirect, as was done by TitanTV  
and others.

The current MCE offerings are so poor that there is certainly a  
market for "something better", but I think successfully running a  
Myth system will require better-than-average computer skills for the  
foreseeable future. Third-party software solutions that run on  
standard XP are better than MCE solutions, some are actually pretty  
decent, but quality video hardware will always be expensive unless  
subsidized, as with TiVo and the PVR offerings from Cable Operators,  
and with those you wind up paying in the end in monthly fees.