[mythtv-users] Newbie

[Tim Draper]

On 2 December 2011 08:24, Simon Hobson <linux at thehobsons.co.uk> wrote:
> Jarl Friis wrote:
>
>>I am new on the list. New to MythTV
>
> Welcome - once you get it going, you'll wonder how you managed without it !
>
>>I need a backend. Is that just a plain PC with some of the capture
>>equipment mentioned on the wiki?
>
> Yes. Just a regular PC or server, loads of disk space, and some
> capture devices appropriate to your location/available services.
> It's worth having a good trawl through the archives as there've been
> some lengthy threads form time to time about "best" backend setups.
> To summarise :
> Ideally you want your storage on separate disk(s) to your OS and DB -
> though many of us manage without. I/O transfer rates are fairly
> meaningless, it is generally seek times that limit performance. If
> you are writing and reading multiple recording streams on one disk,
> eventually the seeks become the limiting factor and you start to get
> problems.
> Multiple recording disks will help with this, Myth will automatically
> attempt to spread recording load across multiple disks.
> Don't raid or stripe your recording disks together, you'll get better
> performance with individual disks.
>
if i didnt have spare kit around the house, i'd seriously looking at
40-60gb SSD for the boot/sql drive, and a large spindle drive for the
data. (i'm currently using a 2.5" 80gb spindle and a 3.5" spindle 1tb
drive). a laptop drive is nice, but im sure the performance of an SSD
is worth the small premium over a spindle for mythtv.

>>I need a front end. Any good recommendation? It is probably going to
>>be vissible in the TV room, so it would be nice with a reasonable
>>design and low power consumption and low noise here, right?
>
> That's as likely to get you a definitive answer as asking which is
> the "best" position for sex ! Everyone has their own ideas about it.
> One option is a low powered CPU with a capable (and supported) GPU.
> You'll find plenty of references to Atom based systems with nVidia
> graphics which are supported using VDPAU (an API for using the GPU).
> Alternatively, you need enough CPU horsepower to do everything.
>
if i were buying now, it'd be a core i3 (preferably the 'T' suffix, as
thats 35w TDP), ITX form factor and a VDPAU GPU.
core i3 backend would also suffice. my core2duo E6550 (2.33ghz) is
flawless as a BE which also handles FTP, cifs, and torrents.

i'm currently running an ion330 as a frontend, and it handles 1080i
BBC HD without issue. from what i've read, the atoms cant handle flash
playback or blu-ray (im on the understanding bluray doesnt have VDPAU
decoding?)

> Whether you plan to do HD has a big impact on performance required as well.
>
>>How are things supposed to be connected? Is video being transfered
>>from backend to frontend over LAN/ethernet or by HDMI or something
>>else?

ethernet and HDMI is preference, although you can use any method you wish.
54g wifi works fine for SD content, but being wifi it can obviously
drop out or have times of weak signal dropping speed too low to have
stutter-free playback.
my second FE is a laptop, and runs VGA, headphone port for sound, and
54g wifi on a SD TV which works fine.