[mythtv-users] 2nd try at a MythTV FE/BE design

[R. G. Newbury]

Chuck Rudolph wrote:
> After reading over the many welcome comments in my first attempt at designing my
> first MythTV box (http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/users/289526),
> I've put together my revised shopping list.
> 
> I'm tired of VHS tapes and multiple VCRs so I've decided to build a MythTV box.
> 
> The TV is not digital and wont be for a few years yet.
> I have 3 different inputs:
> * analog cable
> * cable converter box for scrambled channels - Motorola DCT2224/1662/ACDEG
>   - It has a 9 pin Female D connector labeled data
>   - It has what looks like a phono plug labeled IR
> * and the afore mentioned VCRs - I'd like to convert some of those tapes...
> 
> What about keyboards? Do the MCE ones, with all of the their special video 
> function keys, work with Linux? I'd like to go wireless. Probably not IR though;
> I suspect line-of-sight could be a problem.
> 
> I'm also thinking about wireless LAN. My wired switch is half way across the
> house. It's a Netgear WGT624v2. Any card/USB dongle recommendations?

Firstly, if you will not have high def playing capabilities for some 
time, it reduces your requirements. If you will not have digital input, 
it reduces your requirements. If those input-side questions will change 
in the next couple of years, then consider aiming for a system which can 
be a Bankend/Frontend system now, and become a backend (or frontend) 
only machine in future. If you aim for a machine which can be both now 
but BE only later, you might want to aim for a bigger case, with more 
card slots. Since you are in the US, however, you have to consider that 
ALL input it likely to change to digital in the near future: your PVR 
500 card could become a paperweight, depending on your cableco!.

If you get clear digital input, an HdHomeRun unit takes no slots, only a 
plug on your router.

 From what you say, you probably could be looking at a minimal case, 
with one PVR500 to start. You might as well go for SATA hard drives. 
They ARE easier to install and deal with. I am using a SilverstoneTek 
LC11M which comes with an IR receiver and remote, and VFD display, all 
supported by lirc and lcdproc. At present it has an ASUS P5L-MX mb, with 
SilverstoneTek Nitrogon 5 cpu cooler. (The Intel cooler which came with 
the core2 duo chip was too noisy.) The Silverstone line are very nice, 
and come with PSU, but are card limited and often require a flexible PCI 
extender depending on the motherboard and the riser card. My PVR500 
'mounts' to the third PCI slot, using a flexible extender and is the 
only PCI card in the case.

I strongly suggest that you get ONE drive, anything above 20G will do, 
and install the system to it. Your video storage disks are separate. 
This allows you to transplant the entire system without problems: from 
your old disk, you actually only need your mythconverg database, and 
your lircd.conf and lircrc files to rebuild on new hardware (yes, there 
are other bits which make it easier, but those are the myth bits which 
are hard to reproduce if not irreproducible.) My office fileserver ran 
for a year using an old 20G laptop drive as its system drive. The files 
were on a separate 80G drive. The mythbox presently has a 13G system 
driver and 120+250G video drives. On the system drive, make /home and 
/var their own partitions.


Regarding keyboards. Logitech has a dinovo line which is bluetooth 
based. A small dongle in the computer does it all. The keyboard is quite 
small and the mouse has no wires!. I bought one for the mythbox, but it 
ended up staying at work. I recently bought another on special from 
Staples, ended up at $30 with a major rebate from over $100. There is a 
more expensive version at around $180 but not worth the extra.

You can record VHS tapes using manual scheduling. In the wiki I think, 
or on the archive.

Wireless will not work well *for delivery of video*. If you are thinking 
about connecting the box to the net for mythfilldatabase, then that will 
work.
Geoff