[mythtv-users] Minimum hardware recomendation

[jedi]

On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 10:27:51AM -0700, Jim Stichnoth wrote:
> On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 10:07 AM, Allen
> Edwards<allen.p.edwards at gmail.com> wrote:
> > My daughter told me my father's day gift was that she was moving out (have
> > you heard of boomerang kids?).  She was kidding but had heard that was a
> > recommended gift.  We went to her new place yesterday and got OTA broadcast
> > from her Menlo Park apartment with and old UHF antenna I have had for 50
> > years and a single dipole at Channel 7 taped to her balcony.  Everything
> > comes in very strong.  Now she needs her own MythTV system.  She also needs
> > something cheaper than buying cable w/DVR for a year.  Perhaps that cannot
> > be done...
> > I know with the Atom-ION systems things are changing fast so perhaps it is a
> > good time to ask this.  I looked at newegg and realized I don't know
> > anything about these solutions.  What kind of power supply, case, etc.   Can
> > you get a barebones or complete version of these systems?  Lots of
> > questions.  I looked on Tom's hardware and didn't find anything useful.
> >  Perhaps someone on this list can help.
> > Allen

   Since this is an MPEG2 based system for "someone else" perhaps a VDPAU
approach isn't the best idea. Anything with good xvmc support should be 
more than adequate for playback. If you aren't planning on transcoding,
requirements for the rest of the system should be pretty meagre.

   An i945 or nv7x00 based system might make more sense at this point.

   Without the HDPVR, which is driven by the fact that I have cable and 
would like to tune in to HD channels, I wouldn't personally see the need
for VDPAU myself.

   My i945 and nv7x00 systems do well enough for the OTA HD stuff.

[deltia]

   After the reviews of the early ION systems I would tend to be worried
about lack of CPU power should the need arise. You never know extra CPU
hungry sort of thing might present itself.