[mythtv-users] Easiest installation method far a non-guru?

[Ray Olszewski]

At 07:03 AM 6/23/2003 -0500, Brian Blalock wrote:
[...]
Ray,

>Here's a more specific statement of what I need to do.
>
>I've got a Kayak XU800 with a single 866Mhz PIII, a Matrox G400 dual head
>card, an ATI TVWonder VE, the onboard sound system, and a Linux compatable
>DVD.
>
>Mandrake 8.2 autodetects everything during installation so I don't expect any
>major hardware issues.

Dunno if these are major or minor, but autodetection still leaves you 
needing to:

1. Get the "onboard sound system" working in full duplex. This is why 
people usually install alsa, even though it is not *technically* needed to 
make Myth work.

2. Get the capture card set up properly. I have a hazy memory that bttv 
with this card  sometimes autodetects the wrong tuner type; if you run into 
bad reception with it, search the list archives for a suggested fix.

3. (Possibly) set up LIRC. You do not mention whether you want to use a 
remote control to operate the system. Although Myth can be operated with a 
keyboard and mouse (I do it this way), its UI is really designed to work 
with a remote (and a TV screen), and the keyboard method has a subtle 
clunkiness to its feel.

4. (Possibly) have to address DMA issues with IDE devices.

>I want to be able to record TV to watch it later, I'll be using a monitor as
>my display device.  I also want to be able to watch DVDs on this system.

A couple of comments here.

1. You do not mention wanting to watch "live" TV. This is good, because a 
P-III 888 MHz is a bit skimpy for simultaneous record and playback. So I 
would extend this to suggest you not expect to play *any* video -- 
captures, DVDs, or "live" TV -- while the system is also recording.

2. I assume you mean a VGA monitor. But you may later want to get TV out 
working on the Matrox card. Fortunately, you have one that is supported by 
the proprietary X driver from matrox (search the list for details ... I 
think the HowTo now has some helpful info as well). BTW, my observation is 
that VGA monitors are consistently worse at displaying TV captures than TV 
sets; bear that in mind if you find yourself later feeling disappointed 
about display quailty.

>I'm willing to go with any simple solution to accomplish this.

None of the things I have mentioned are real barriers to getting Myth 
working. They may take your installation out of the "easy" range, though, 
and require not just reading the HowTo, the FAQ, and the docs that Myth 
installs on your system, but doing a lot of list-archive searching as well.