[mythtv-users] how bets to get from mythTV/ubuntu 0.20/7.10 to current?

[Tom]

Greets, 

I'm overdue on updating, necessitated by my wanting to build a
frontend and learning that current frontends won't talk to my now
ancient backend box.  For some reason, MythTV viewer on Windows
happily talks to my old back end but I can't seem to find an
equivalent for a Linux based machine.  My backend I need to upgrade
was built when MythTV 0.20 and Ubuntu 7.10 were current and that's
where it sits today.

While I have diddled with enough of myth to be very wary of upgrades,
I've not diddled enough to claim to have any idea of what all needs to
come over in an upgrade or migration.  Recordings, show titles
involved in those recordings, schedules/settings are the concepts, and
I suspect the MPG files and the database are the main portables, but I
won't pretend I even know how to backup the mysql database that's
involved let alone get it working or converted to whatever the current
mythTV uses. 

Thanks in advance for any insights! If it involves  a new mythbuntu
install, and pulling the recordings over somehow, that's great!  Or if
there's a better upgrade path, I'm all ears as well. 

Tom