[mythtv-users] Hello after long absence - looking to build very small Myth setup.

Bert Haskins bhaskins at chartermi.net
Sat Jun 15 18:55:21 UTC 2013


On 06/15/2013 01:19 PM, Rob Davis wrote:
> On 6/7/2013 3:26 PM, Mark Knecht wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>     I've resubscribed to mythtv-users after a long (3 year?) absence. I
>> ran MythTV for years, then ended up on DirecTV with no real interest
>> in trying to make Myth do what their $5/month DVR did. However we sold
>> the house and I'm currently using a Mohu Leaf for OTA HDTV so I
>> thought I might check out what my options are for a low cost modest
>> front-end/back-end combo machine.
>>
>>     Please note at the outset: We're living in an apartment for the
>> next 6-8 months while we look for a house to buy in a more southern
>> portion of California. Space is at a premium here so I'm curious about
>> building a _very_ small machine that can record no more than 2
>> programs at a time and doesn't need to play back more than 1 at a
>> time. I'd like to find something _very_ small, like Roku sized if
>> possible, but reading through the MythTV site I seem to see a lot fo
>> recommendations there for using x86 & NVidia graphics which isn't what
>> I'm finding in this sized machine at Newegg or Amazon.
>>
>
> I used an old HP laptop as a frontend with a busted screen.  It had an 
> NVidia 8400 onboard which is good enough for VDPAU.  The form factor 
> is quiet and flat.  It's not too hard to remove a laptop screen and 
> bracket, but the wifi antenna and possibly webcam is also wired into 
> the screen back.  They can normally be disconnected from the main part 
> of the PC fairly easily.
>
> Finding a used/broken laptop on eBay is not easy as people who use 
> eBay tend to know they can fix it for about $50.
Another thing that should be mentioned:
Much of the power consumed  by a laptop is for the backlight so when 
this is disconnected,
the power, heat, and fan noise will all be less.
I have used Thinkpads for both backends and frontends with very good 
results.

Your biggest problem might be just getting around the overly paranoid 
protection schemes that
try to keep you from accessing your own network.
>
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