[mythtv-users] Adding a new frontend to an old mythtv system

[Hika van den Hoven]

I resend to the list what was blocked by your provider
Please put the list as answer adres.

Hoi Andrew,

Tuesday, April 25, 2017, 2:12:46 AM, you wrote:

> I have a suspicion that I know how this is going to go from the google
> searches that I've made, but I'm going to ask anyway because I find the
> expected answer hard to believe.

> I have a MythTV system that has been running for 6 or 7 years.  It 
> consists of an x86 Debian backend server, with three HDHomeRuns, and a
> 9TB RAID5 fileserver, and one fanless SFF x86 Debian frontend tied to a
> big plasma.  The frontend tells me that it is release 0.23.1, so I 
> assume the backend is the same vintage.  I happily use this as my ONLY
> HDTV viewing method, and have done so since 2010.  It works great.

> I am trying to add a new frontend box to the system, so I dutifully 
> downloaded all the source (0.28), compiled (it took much longer than 30
> minutes, thank you very much) and ran through the wickets to install 
> it.  Of course, it refuses to work with the old back end because, well,
> actually I can't think of a good "why".

> So that was a waste of time.  How does one get a new frontend 
> forward/backward compatible with an older backend.  Please don't lecture
> me on the semantics of what is forward and what is backward because it
> is pointless and both apply depending if one is viewing the problem from
> the frontend or backend - I see that is the standard non-answer from the
> google searches I have made.

> My constraints: no, I'm not deleting 9 TB of stored programs, nor am I
> interested in risking losing the database for over 1200 recorded 
> programs.  No, I'm not interested in a solution that requires an entire
> system upgrade of every component simply to add a new one later.  In 
> particular when any Linux upgrade means that you're likely to lose 
> hardware graphics support because, well, fuck you, that's why.  Years of
> experience have taught me to never upgrade anything in a working Linux
> system because the result is a trail of tears until eventually the 
> hardware is thrown out.  Not every Linux user is a college kid with a 
> low end laptop, leaching free wifi at a coffee shop, with the attention
> span of a goldfish.

> How does the rest of the world work as expected when new frontend 
> devices, let's call them "TV's", continue to be introduced supporting 
> new features (NTSC, ATSC, QAM, IPTV, RS170, S Video, component, VGA RGB,
> HDMI) and yet they still work with older program sources?  It seems like
> an inherently reasonable model.

> My skills: 35 years software developer, three electrical and computer 
> engineering degrees from a first tier engineering school, have 
> used/developed on BSD Unix for 35 years and Linux for 10, and a dozen 
> years writing drivers and firmware in the Silicon Valley.  So I'm not a
> noob, and yes I checked the FAQ, it was useless for me.

> How how can I add an new frontend to my current MythTV system?

> Thanks,

> Andrew


Unless you can find the 0.23.1 source-code and compile yourself....

I doubt Kodi will work with such an old version.

If you do not want to risk your running system, you can also build a
new one on another system, test it, try/test importing/upgrading your
database. And ones you are satisfied move your disks etc. to the new
system and do a definitive database import/upgrade. Be sure to check
the userids on the old disks, as, unless you manually force the UID on
the new system to be the same the new Mythtv user will have another
UID. 


Tot mails,
  Hika                            mailto:hikavdh at gmail.com

"Zonder hoop kun je niet leven
Zonder leven is er geen hoop
Het eeuwige dilemma
Zeker als je hoop moet vernietigen om te kunnen overleven!"

De lerende Mens