[mythtv-users] Low end hardware/software recommendations

Tyler T tylernt at gmail.com
Tue Nov 15 16:00:53 UTC 2011


>  1. How stupid is it to use a standard-def TV through an S-Video
> converter box instead of blowing $350 on a new 32" TV? My parents
> really don't care about video quality, but readability could be an
> issue.

Buying the adapter is unnecessary. Assuming you get a mobo or video
card with S-Video out (not all do), that will work fine. S-Video is
what I use at home on an SDTV, menus are all plenty sharp though this
will depend on what theme you use (some of them have really tiny
fonts).

>  2. Is it worth spending a few extra bucks for two 1GB sticks instead
> of one 2GB stick? Is it worth spending a few more bucks for 4GB
> instead of 2GB?

>From what I understand, some ION boards use the main RAM as video RAM.
These boards need two 1GB sticks for VDPAU to perform. If you have a
separate video card, then it doesn't matter.

>  4. I guess Netflix streaming isn't currently supported on Linux. One
> solution I've seen is to run Windows/IE in VMware Player. Would the
> Windows VM be able to use the ION's hardware video decoding or would
> it fall back on doing everything on the CPU?

CPU.

> If the latter, is the CPU
> fast enough for that?

No. If you go the VM route, you'll need something capable of CPU
decoding, which probably rules out the Atom (I'm not sure how much CPU
Netflix requires). You'll also want to beef up the RAM (4GB).

>  5. What about MythTV (and IE) on Windows? Would it support the
> remote(s)?

Not sure, but I doubt it. For this to work you'd need a remote that
behaves like a HID keyboard, but fortunately there are plenty of those
to choose from. For Netflix on Windows, you'd probably want a wireless
mouse too -- I doubt their website is easy to navigate with cursor
keys.

>From what I recall of trying Myth FE on Windows, it had no provision
for scheduling shows, just watching. And it tended to crash a lot. And
it was 1 or 2 versions behind the main Myth distro, meaning you're
stuck with 0.23 or even 0.22 (maybe this has improved since I tried
it).


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list