[mythtv-users] Proof of Concept a success!

[Steven Adeff]

On 4/16/07, David Frascone <dave at frascone.com> wrote:
> One last question:
>
> I have two boxes -- one for FE one for BE -- both 2.4Ghz P4's -- one has
> 512Mb, other has a Gig -- which box needs the memory?  Diskless FE, or BE?
>
> -Dave
> David Frascone wrote:
> > So, this weekend I installed Ubuntu 6.10 on a spare box (P4-2.4Ghz, 1mb
> > Ram, 100Gb disk), and installed mythtv.  I found an old Geforce 4 card,
> > patched the kernel to make it work (card has wrong pci-id -- long
> > story), installed the nvidia drivers, and got things working.
> >
> > I tried Firewire to my STB (Dual Tuner Motorola Thingie), and it worked
> > -- *all* channels.  Even premium highdef.
> >
> > I eventually even managed to configure the music archive to see my
> > tunes, and mythvideo to see my movies -- all good.
> >
> > Highdef was taxing on the system -- there was some stuttering.  Also,
> > the firewire seemed flaky at times.  Sometimes I would have to press
> > watch TV a couple of times to get things to work.  But -- overall --
> > twas awesome!
> >
> > Given what I've now learned, I've modified my next approach.  My
> > first-cut system will have a backend.  I have two spare computers with
> > around 100Gb each.  (I think one has 80Gb).  So, I'm going to combine
> > both drives into one system and make it a dedicated back-end.  This
> > leaves some backend questions:
> >
> > 1) mythtv-setup seems like a FE program -- is there a lighter weight
> > version for dedicated backends?
> > 2) Firewire is a bit flaky when it comes to getting a channel tuned.
> >    a) I bought a new 10' cable -- too long?  It was rated to 400mbit
> >    b) Configuration:  What speed should I choose?
> >    c) I'm choosing a DCT Set Top Box in the configuration -- but my
> > number is different.  Does it matter?
> > 3) Soon I'll be receiving my dual tuner card, and a STB dedicated to my
> > myth setup.  Is there a way to have myth default to a tuner for most
> > recordings, and only use the STB for digital channels?
> > 4) This will be an initial setup, moving to a nicer rack mounted backend
> > in the future -- is there an easy way to move recordings / setup when I
> > do that?  Would it make it easier if I put the database on another
> > machine (my normal file-server -- always up)?
> >
> > And a couple of diskless frontend questions:
> >
> > 1) Geforce4 card
> >    a) I'm using the VGA input to my TV -- is that my best choice?
> >    b) My TV has a resolution of 1366x768, but currently I'm set at
> > 1024x768 -- should I just find a compatible modeline?
> > 2) NFS -vs- initramfs -vs- whatever . . . PXE Boot?  I'd rather save my
> > DVD to just play movies, and boot off of the network -- any HOWTO's?
> >
> > And, finally -- does anyone sell any pre-built diskless mythtv
> > frontends?  Might be cheaper / better than building my own.
> >
> > -Dave


firstly, please bottom post, its the way of this list (don't take this
as an attack, just some friendly advice).

I would suggest using the 1GB RAM on the frontend, especially for
HDTV, and as the backend doesn't require as much and can get along
fine with using swap space.


-- 
Steve
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