[mythtv-users] Goals and Aspirations of MythTV

MarcT myrdhn at gmail.com
Mon May 10 02:04:27 UTC 2010



-----Original Message-----
From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of Richard Morton
Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 1:46 PM
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Goals and Aspirations of MythTV

Thanks for the response.

I am trying to get at how the barrier to entering the mythtv world can
be lowered... I think to find the information you need to have a good
idea that mythtv is going to add value to your home the investment in
time is too high.

Considering the international audience & tv standards, complex
configurations, the rapid development and innovation (VDPAU) this is a
tough nut to crack; but I am willing to give it a go. Is it acceptable
to start adding pages to the wiki?

Also there have been several statements about developers doing this as
a hobby; so in that case their setups and motivations are important to
the direction of the project. A biography page for the devs (and other
key community members) including motivations, reason continuing to be
a dev on Myth, areas of interest, their current configuration and the
configuration they are striving for (that is possible in a reasonable
timeframe. Would you each be willing to put a bio page on the wiki;
with a photo?

It would also be good to indicate key software components that are
dependencies of Myth. LinuxTV is a good example for hardware support.

These pieces of information would allow users to work out if the
developers (and others) will have (a significant) inclination to help
them sort issues... I know and appreciate the developers huge
contributions (I would be happy to donate some cash in addition to my
time to help out where I can, but there isn't a donate button! - I am
sure some dosh for some kit or web-hosting would come in handy).

Hey, I'm not trying to moan, I'm trying to help, but I dont want to
step where help isn't wanted; which comes back to the vision of the
project. Your thoughts?

R
_______________________________________________

Most of this has been covered before, a search of the lists should have
brought up a lot of answers for you. Maybe not all in one place thou.

Regarding the ease of setting up a myth system $ and time investments:
As many people will tell you, MythTV can be setup fairly quickly. All you
need for a backend is an old desktop(possibly free if you didn't throw out
your old one), a capture device($100 to $250, depends on which model you
decide on), and access to Linux and an install guide(free). Some people use
the system on a disk method(novice, fastest to start from scratch), others
use JYA(moderate), and others forge their own path with their distro of
preference(expert). Not to knock anyone but the parentheses are my opinion
of the experience needed to install. The last two options can potentially
take the longest as you need to get a working Linux install before
installing MythTV, unless you already have a working system that you plan to
install on.

Frontend wise you need something with a halfway decent video card. I
recommend the equivalent of a GeForce 5700 or higher.
For a frontend you are not limited to Linux, as you can build for OSX and
Windows. The frontend can be run on the same machine as the backend or on
another dedicated system.
A combo server is the cheapest route. But I would recommend an Atom/Ion
system. A Revo, IONITX, or similar would suffice.

Note: To my knowledge the backend does not work on the other OS's, someone
correct me if I am wrong. I have always run a Linux backend. I have tried
out the Windows frontend a few times but I stick to Linux as my primary.

As for making myth run for your country of choice:
All you need is to configure the program for your language preference.
Capturing is done by the capture device you chose which also should have
been chosen for your specific needs, capture medium as well as broadcast
type.

Info about the developers: http://mythtv.org/wiki/Category:MythDevelopers
Some names have links to more details, but I think their work speaks for
itself. I wouldn't question the developers intentions. What they do they do
for the betterment of the project. Sometimes things get taken away, but
If you want them to focus more on Myth, offer to pay their salaries.
Otherwise, let them work their paying job and work on Myth in their free
time. I think they are doing a great job as it is.

Dependencies? Look at any of the distros that use a packaging type of
system. They all have information about what Myth depends on. If you want to
build from source,
http://mythtv.org/wiki/Dependencies_(Building_from_source) Or if you use
Gentoo which builds from source anyway I have an overlay,
http://wiki.github.com/MarcT/mt-mythtv/

MarcT
http://mythtv.org/wiki/User:MarcT



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