[mythtv-users] Difference between myth front end and back end?

[Bruce Markey]

Malcolm wrote:
> Can someone help me out with an explaination of the myth front end and
> backend?

The backend controls tuner cards and is used for recording.
It has no GUI and is needed on each machine that has one or
more TV cards but is not needed on any machine that does not
have a tuner.

There is exactly one master backend that runs the scheduler
and assigns recording tasks to other backends (if any) which
are called slave backends. Backend are normally running all
the time so they are ready to record and available to serve
any files they have recorded.

The frontend is the GUI that users use for playback. It can
run on a computer monitor or on a TV if the computer has a
graphics card that supports TV-out. A mythbackend may or may
not also run on the same machine depending on if the system
has a TV card. Any frontend can be stopped or started at any
time with no impact on the recording schedule.

There is no master or slave frontend but frontends are often
referred to as local or remote indicating whether or not they
are on the same machine that holds recorded files. Any frontend
can play files recorded by any of the backends.

--  bjm