[mythtv-users] New house - any advice?

R. G. Newbury newbury at mandamus.org
Fri Jan 19 15:01:05 UTC 2007


robin wrote:
> Thanks for all the comments. You are all a great help!
> 
> Is this possible: Have a frontend box with two or more sound cards, with
> each sound card hooked to a multi-source/multi-zone amp, so that you could,
> say, watch livetv using one audio channel and use mythmusic to play a cd on
> another audio channel sent to another room? This would require multiple
> instances of myth started on the box, each using a different sound card.
> 
> I have accidentally started the frontend multiple times on the same box, and
> it didn't seem to have any trouble, but I can't think of a way of pointing
> one instance to one sound card and another instance to another sound card.
> It seems to me they'd all share one config file/database so they would both
> try to use the same sound card.

ISTR  that this was mentioned on the list some time ago. The answer was 
to try setting up duplicate instances, so that instance 'one' uses 
database1, (and lircrc1 and asoundrc1) while instance 'two' uses the 
duplicate versions. These could even be called from a script which uses 
semaphore files to determine which instances are running, and reacts 
accordingly.
If you were in fact intending to use these for different purposes (one 
for TV and one for sound only) then the myth instances could be 
distinctly compiled and the mysql databases would be different. And you 
would not run mythfilldatabase against myth-sound.

But this would require a good backend machine too.

> I want to reduce the number of frontends required but also be able to feed
> the audio out of mythmusic/mythfm around the house. This is the only way I
> could think of doing it.
> 
> Maybe I'm overcomplicating things and should just install frontends wherever
> I have speakers installed, but I think a single multi-zone amp would be
> cheaper than installing a computer/monitor/amp in each room.

I guess it depends upon whether you really want *indivualized* sound 
outputs within each zone. If the idea is just to pipe the same audio 
feed throughout a couple of rooms, then its really just one zone, and 
the split-frontend box might do. But if you intend that little Johnny 
can listen to rap in the bedroom while little Janey is listening to 
something elase, and Mom has classical in the kitchen, you need 
individual front ends, with all of the cost and difficulties (including 
screens) that that entails.

Let us know how it goes..

Geoff


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