[mythtv-users] Dell Inspiron 537s?

[Brian Wood]

On Saturday 28 November 2009 12:33:36 pm j2u4 j2u4 wrote:
> I'm looking for a single slender box (maybe even mini-itx) that can serve
>  as a BE and dual FE (powering 2 tvs, dual tuners). One TV is HD 1080p, 
the
>  other is SD.
> 
> Does this look like it might have the goods, assuming I added an Nvidia
>  with PureVideo HD (or two - or maybe use the built-in intel GMA x4500 for
>  the SD, and an Nvidia for the HD)?
> http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/desktops/desktop-
inspiron-537s/pd.aspx?refid
> =desktop-inspiron-537s&s=dhs&cs=19&ref=dthp
> 
> Or, am I trying too hard? Should I just go with a Zotac ION N330? Or 
maybe
> two N230s, one for each TV?


Just my personal thought, but if it were me I'd go with a single beefy 
backend, and use a separate frontend machine for each TV. 

Since you have an HD and an SD TV set, do you plan to transcode HD 
recordings to SD for use with the SD set? Do you plan to transcode on the 
fly, or store two copies of each recording? or perhaps use a frontend that 
can accept HD files and display them as SD?

A lot of transcoding would require a fairly beefy B/E, or beefier than 
otherwise required frontends, if you plan to do the transcoding or scaling 
there.

For SD files, something as simple as a MediaMVP might suit you for the SD 
set's F/E.

It sounds to me like you are thinking of piling too much into one machine, 
but if you can make it work, more power to you.

Depending on your physical layout, I would think having a B/E and two F/Es 
in one machine would result in a lot of cabling around the house.