[mythtv-users] Back to mythtv-land

[Justin Johnson]

I recently moved from Illinois to the Atlanta area and during my move
I was without myth for about a month. I just want to say that now that
my myth system is back up I'm able to enjoy TV again. So a huge thanks
to the devs and everyone who contributes to this project as it really
makes my television experience so much better.
On another note, I want to mention that it seems like recently there's
been a big push (at least on this list) to jump straight to using an
HD-PVR when recording options are discussed for all-digital cable
systems. I got comcast here in Atlanta and rather than rush out to get
an HD-PVR right away I figured I'd wait until I got the cable box and
was able to make sure it would have component out. Upon getting a pace
RNG110 I saw the firewire port, and was suddenly reminded that myth
can record over firewire. I figured I'd give it a shot as a cable is
only 3 bucks and it might save me $300 (HD-PVR + VDPAU card). To my
delight, after fiddling with the settings based on various posts on
various wikis, I was able to record and control the cable box. All the
non-premium channels are sent over firewire (I don't subscribe to HBO,
etc. anyways so it's not a deal-breaker) and I get all the HD versions
of extended basic. I've been using firewire for a week now and though
it initially caused some stability issues with LiveTV, they seem to
have disappeared.
In summary, I would like to remind people going through the digital
transition that firewire *is* an option and for $3 it's probably worth
checking out. At the very least you could use it to change channels
(possibly more reliably than an IR blaster?) in combination with an
HD-PVR.
--Justin Johnson