[mythtv-users] Minimizing a Distribution

[Ray Olszewski]

Is trying to move MythTV from a sophisticated app to a mini-distribution 
really a good idea? Personally, I doubt it. Consider some of the things 
that such a distro needs to deal with:

1. All the standard kernel-related issues regarding filesystem/partition 
types, NIC drivers, sound-card drivers, v4l drivers, and more.

2. All the usual X issues, including kernel framebuffers.

3. All the TV-out issues ... and remember that many TV-out systems (Matrox, 
ATI, nVidea) require specialized framebuffers, X drivers, &/or control apps 
(matroxset, atitvout, nvtv). The Matrox framebuffer patches for enabling 
TV-out are specific to kernel 2.4.19 (and 2.5.something_or_other) ... are 
we willing to live with that kernel restriction indefinitely, or will 
"MythOS" need to include multiple kernel choices?

4. All the 802.11 issues, some of which require modules outside the kernel 
(e.g., linux-wlan-ng for Prism-based cards).

5. All the lirc issues for people using remotes.

6. The usual distro-level issues involving updates, particularly 
security-related patches.

7. Incidentals like setting up networking, handling time sync'ing via ntp, 
and providing for remote-access options (ssh? smb mounts? nfs?).

I'm probably leaving some important questions out, but this list already 
seems big enough to give one pause.

Although I've only installed MythTV on a test basis up to now, that's 
because my work involves addressing these other issues in the context of 
developing a dedicated Linux-based video platform. My take on them is that 
getting it all worked out when you can select specific target hardware to 
develop for is bad enough. Trying to create -- AND maintain -- a distro 
that handles all possible (or at least all plausible) hardware combinations 
is a lot of work, and it would distract the developers here from improving 
the core functionality of MythTV as an app.

Perhaps some of those of you who have (below) described your own 
configurations would take a minute to consider, then discuss, how easy or 
hard it would be to generalize your approaches to handle the variety of 
sound cards, TV cards, video displays, NICs (including wireless), and other 
hardware that we see discussed here regularly.

I suspect a more modest initial goal -- a FAQ-like document describing 
approaches to setting up a host for running MythTV, as someone suggests 
below -- is a more realistic target, at least for the short term. Included 
here could be device-specific advice for, at a minimum, the various TV 
cards, sound cards, and TV-out display possibilities. This alone would 
eliminate a lot of the repeated Q&As and the "search the list archive" 
responses I see here on this list.


At 09:48 AM 2/28/2003 -0800, Larry Matter wrote:
>At one point, there was discussion on this list to create a MythTV+distro
>on a CD.   Not sure what happened to that.
>
>The idea was you could plunk a CD into a machine, reboot, and you have a
>MythBox.  Personally, I'm not that interested in this solution.
>
>My personal interest is to create a disk image that a small, quiet, and
>diskless frontend box could boot over the lan.  I'm sure everyone else has
>slightly different needs.
>
>But we could at least compare notes toward these ends; like trimming down
>the distro, best lightweight window manager, etc.  There is actually a lot
>of this information already scattered accross the archives, but it would
>be nice to gather it all together in a FAQ or somesuch.
>
>Larry
>
> > I am for this too.  I would love to have a small, light weight install
> > for my  media center.  I do not have a need for a desktop attacehd to my
> > 61 inch TV :-)
> >
> > My vote would be to base it on gentoo and create a "live cd" for the
> > install.   Nothing to compile.
> >
> > --Ken
> >
> >
> > Quoting Micah Morton <micah at oregontech.net>:
> >
> >> I'm voting we all get together and make a MythOS distro of linux. :)
> >> It would be everything we want, and nothing we dont. :) Who's with
> >> me!?
> >>
> >> --Micah
> >>
> >>
> >> > I am in the process of booting MythTV on a Mini-ITX with Compact
> >> Flash boot drive.
> >> >
> >> > I have Linux in about 20 MB (with ssh/nfs and a whole bunch of other
> >> stuff). I have X in about another 30 MB (probably much less with a
> >> cramfs).
> >> >
> >> > Boot time is really fast.
> >> >
> >> > The only problem I have had is minimizing QT and MySQL, they are
> >> both nasty disk size pigs.  QT does something funky stuff loading
> >> the MySQL libraries.
> >> >
> >> > The last error I am able to debug is a relocation error on a MySQL
> >> library (I assume from QT).
> >> >
> >> > Has anyone seen this error?  Or better yet has anyone tried to
> >> minimize a distribution, so I don't have to re-invent the wheel.
> >> >
> >> > Second question, is MySQL really necessary?  I really question the
> >> need for a database with today's processor.  The bloat of code vs
> >> the "time savings".  With work projects, I always wonder if a flat
> >> text file isn't sufficent (hell we aren't cataloging Walmart's
> >> inventory).
> >> >
> >> > Thanks for any pointers