[mythtv-users] install Myth on an off-the-shelf system

Brian Wood beww at beww.org
Fri Dec 10 18:37:07 UTC 2010


On Friday, December 10, 2010 11:30:39 am dargllun wrote:
> Am 10.12.2010 09:26, schrieb okcancel:
> > I need to *remotely* help a non-technical relative setup Myth.
> > He will follow basic instructions like point, click, type,
> > connect keyboard, mouse, network cable, coax cable, etc.
> 
> May I ask what exact added value your relative is looking for? I mean
> over a standard HD recorder / PVR box you can buy anywhere?
> 
> Don't get me wrong, I'm all pro MythTV (obviously) but I've been
> asking myself a couple of times why I still bother... The answer is
> of course that it's just one of my hobbies. I just like the tuning
> (no pun intended) and puzzling, upgrading, breaking and getting them
> up again. But these are technical, geeky reasons. I believe the main
> benefit of MythTV recognized by non-technical people would be the
> commercial skipping function. And maybe the fan-art. But all in all,
> I'd still wonder if it was worth it. How does the system perform
> over a longer uptime? How do you handle upgrades (system and
> mythtv)?
> 
> I'm sorry if this sounds too negative or even heretical to you or
> others. Also, I'm happy for all success stories we could read here,
> hats off to all of you. I also know that if you just leave a running
> system alone, it's probably pretty stable. (I know I shouldn't be
> upgrading constantly on all fronts.) I'm not saying it is
> impossible, but I somehow doubt it's worth the trouble and time.

I have to agree with you, trying to get a non-technical users up and 
running with Myth can be a real trial, especially if they have no prior 
experience with Linux and CLI interfaces.

I agree commercial skip is probably the most visible advantage for non-
geeks. There are others, but it takes a while to notice and get used to 
them.

But I've come close to losing friends by trying to get them to adopt my 
own personal hobby, which is what Myth is for a lot of us.

I did manage to set up an SD-only machine using an older version of 
Mythdora that is stable and robust enough to be used as an "appliance" 
for my friend, but it was not something I would do again.

The sort of person who learns how to use something by just pushing 
buttons will be in a lot of trouble even if you hand them a perfectly 
working Myth system.





More information about the mythtv-users mailing list