[mythtv-users] recommendations for a media box

[Dr NoName]

Hi everybody,

I am trying to spec out a pvr system. I want to be
able to record tv, play back, do live pause, watch
dvds, etc. and use the remote to  operate  it. The box
will be connected to TV only, with no monitor
attached;  hopefully no keyboard & mouse either.
Ideally it should be a tivo on  steroids.

Here are the specs I have to work with:

AMD Athlon XP 2400+
512MB RAM
40GB HD (plus possibly a second 120GB HD)
DVD-ROM
DVR+/-RW
10/100 NIC
on-board 5.1 sound card & speakers
running Debian or Mandrake -- not sure yet

TBD: video card, tv capture card.

Here are my questions:

1. What codec should I use? I want it to be fairly
high quality and  compatible with everything, so I'm
thinking either mpeg2 or divx. I am  willing to spend
more CPU cycles to get better quality (after all, it 
will be a dedicated media box). I have never heard of
rtjpeg, so I don't think I'll use that.

2. What is the CPU utilization when encoding in that
format? What about decoding?

3. Is it worth getting a hardware encoder
(specifically Hauppauge PVR-250)? What's the CPU
utilization then? If not, which card do you recommend?

4. There are two options for tv-out:

  - TV capture card with TV out (such as Hauppauge
PVR-350) with no video card (I'm assuming I don't need
a video card then)
OR
  - plain TV capture card + video card with TV out
(Nvidia GeForce MX  or  an old ATI Rage II).

I am leaning towards the second option since this
would allow me to  connect a monitor for debugging and
what not. Which one would you recommend?


5. Where does the sound go? The TV out outputs only
video, so I'm  assuming I still need speakers when
playing back a recording. But what about live tv? My
tv has only RCA inputs and no outputs.


6. How well does the remote work? It's quite important
for a dedicated  media box.

any other suggestions are welcome.

thanks in advance,

Eugene


	
		
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