[mythtv-users] Seeking advice on transition to Ceton InfiniTV

Craig Huff huffcslists at gmail.com
Mon Dec 31 21:52:35 UTC 2012


On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 3:37 PM, Craig Huff <huffcslists at gmail.com> wrote:
> In short, I'm wondering how much additional grief/work will be
> involved in converting to the InfiniTV from my current setup beyond
> the already planned upgrade to a newer MythTV/Ubuntu combination?
>
> Currently, I am running Mythbuntu 10.04 LTS with MythTV 0.23.  Once I
> had it working, I never invested any more time figuring out how to get
> updates, so it's basically straight off the original iso.  I am
> currently running a pair of PVR-500s drawing video feeds from a
> three-pack of Comcast DTAs and a STB, but Comcast has just changed
> their pricing so I now have to pay $2/mo for each of the DTAs.  I have
> a fourth DTA in use on a TV that my wife uses because she doesn't want
> to be bothered with the MythTV when she just wants some noise to keep
> her company.  The fourth DTA could just as easily be put on the
> backend, but it was acquired after I got the system set up and I
> didn't feel like messing with a working solution.  The new monthly
> charges for the DTAs combined with the sale notice I received today
> from NewEgg offering the Ceton InfiniTV 4 for $170 got me thinking
> maybe it was time to get around to updating Mythbuntu and make some
> bigger changes, as well.  I have been meaning to get MythTV updated to
> at least the 12.04 LTS based version of Mythbuntu and I see that I'd
> need to do that at a minimum if I'm going to move to the InfiniTV with
> a Comcast cablecard.
>
> More about my current configuration that may bear on the answer:
>     I still don't own a digital TV, but the current CRT-based units
> won't last forever... :)
>
>     Most of my video library is recorded, but I have a few DVDs that I
> added to the library using Handbrake so I didn't have to go find the
> media and put them in the DVD tray to play them.
>
>     The current backend is running in a mid-tower case with an ASUS
> A8N-SLI Premium ATX mobo with a Socket 939 Athlon X2 3800+ processor
> and 1GB DDR RAM (no, that's no typo, that's DDR, not DDR-2 or DDR-3)
> which could be upgraded to 4GB max.  The O/S is on a WD 40GB IDE drive
> with partitions for /, /boot, and /var all formatted EXT3, and a swap
> partition.  Videos are stored on a WD 250GB IDE, a Seagate 500GB
> SATA-II, and a pair of WD 1TB SATA-II drives, all of which are
> formatted JFS.  I have several spare IDE and SATA-II drives I can use
> to build a new environment on so I can test things out before
> committing to a switch-over.
>
>     Probably not critical is the video output on the backend (which I
> sometimes use to watch shows) which is an LCD monitor connected by DVI
> output from a fanless older Nvidia GeForce 7300GS adapter card.
> Likewise, I currently drive the DTAs using an IguanaIR four-port IR
> controller and a serial port controls the STB (a Motorola DCT2000 or
> compatible), which I guess would all go away if I switched to the
> InfiniTV.   :)
>
>     I have visually confirmed that there is a PCI Express slot, and if
> necessary, I can juggle cards around to get up to an X16 slot for the
> InfiniTV to use (it may even be already open, but since a recording
> was in progress I didn't want to move enough gear around to open the
> case right now).
>
> I know it will take almost two years to recoup the cost of the
> InfiniTV in savings on rental costs for the four DTAs, but then it may
> be longer than that before I'm ready to think about upgrading my
> system software again. :)
>
> Can anyone tell me if:
>     A) There's a rental cost from Comcast for the cablecard,
>     B) The rental cost for the cablecard would change if I upgrade to
> HD recording,
>     C) Comcast has finally learned how to provision the cablecard for
> us "wierdos" that don't use it "right"
>     D) I might need to upgrade my motherboard to support concurrently
> recording four HD streams
>
> Craig.

Oh, and another thing...
Does the situation get turned on its head (everything changes) if I
someday switch to Dish or DirectTV?

Craig.


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