[mythtv-users] A noob question regarding hardware req. and hardware codecs

[Isaac Richards]

On Tuesday 05 August 2003 12:32 pm, John Wells wrote:
> 1.  Will a 500 Mhz CPU suffice for what I'd like to do, or will I really
> have to go with the 2200?  I'd like at least regular TV quality video (but
> truthfully, it'll probably bug me if I don't have the best ;-))

A 500 Mhz machine will not give you 'regular TV quality' with software 
encoding.

> 2.  If I buy a hardware encoder like the Haupauge 250 or 350, what sort of
> effect will that have on CPU requirements?  Assuming a purchase of one of
> those cards, what CPU could I get buy with?

Lower, certainly.  All you're doing then is decoding -- if the system can play 
back, say, DVDs, it can handle playing back those recordings.

> 3.  Do I have to buy a second tuner card to be able to record one channel
> while watching live tv on another (See R.1 above)?

Yes.

> 4.  Can a MythTV system be used for other things (i.e., can I drop out to
> an X session), or does the software pretty much need a dedicated machine?

Of course.

> 5.  Is there any way to get MythTV to communicate with my Comcast digital
> cable box so that I can take advantage of the extra channels?

http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-8.html#ss8.7

Isaac