[mythtv-users] Recommendations

Tue Dec 28 14:24:36 UTC 2004

I first tried setting it up with Mandrake 10, but ran into some
problems. I can't remember what exactly the problems were, but I
wasn't sure at the time if it had to do with my hardware or with the
configuration.

I put on Knoppmyth to for testing, and when it was so easy to get the
whole system working, I just kept it. Since the box is only running
Myth, there's no need for any of the extras that come with Mandrake or
FC, or other distros.

Everything you need is included, and the whole thing can be set up
with only minor tweaking.

If you do end up with an nvidia card, you'll probably need to get an
updated driver. I know when I installed Knoppmyth R4V4, there were
issues with the included nv driver. Still it was easy to find and
install. This may have been addressed in the latest release, but I
don't know. I haven't upgraded to R4V5 yet.

The other thing you'll need with an nvidia card is xvatttr to get rid
of a blue border at the top and left of the picture. You can find it
at sourceforge or by googling.

Good luck.

On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 20:38:41 -0500, Dennis B. Hopp <dhopp at coreps.com> wrote:
> I'm actually doing some rearranging of machines (basically moving my
> mail/web/developing server to a laptop that the LCD doesn't work any
> more..well the LCD works, but the hinges are broke so it doesn't make for a
> good laptop, but that's another story) and in the process will free up a
> Athlon XP 2000+, 768MB RAM so the machine is there now, but thanks for the
> feed back...I may end up using the slower machine for a mythfrontend
> somewhere in my house.
> 
> I picked up a PVR-250 (could have gotten it for less but I like newegg and I
> had to order some other parts for my in-laws machine) and a Chaintech
> FX-5200 card (seemed to be the card of choice for people on this list).
> Haven't picked up a hard drive yet, but I will use a 40GB to test with and
> if all goes well will definetly pick up a bigger drive (I didn't realize how
> cheap they have gotten!, best buy had a deal on Seagate 200GB for $99.99
> with a $50 rebate over the weekend, not sure if it's still going).
> 
> Just have to wait for the parts to get here so I can start tinkering :)
> 
> What distribution are you using?  I'm thinking either Fedora Core or
> Mandrake (I love gentoo, but I think it may be too much for this)...
> 
> --Dennis
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
> [mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of Dewey Smolka
> Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 7:50 PM
> To: Discussion about mythtv
> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Recommendations
> 
> I built mine for about $500.
> 
> I tried it first with an old K6-2 450 (512 RAM) and found it way to
> slow. I ended up getting a used P3 700, for $150 and that works fine.
> You could probably get it running on a slower machine, but it might
> not be worth the effort.
> 
> Hardware encoding will definitely be necessary with a pokey machine,
> and the PVR-250 is well worth the price. I got mine for around $120,
> but I've seen them for less. They include a remote control and IR
> dongle, and are completely painless to set up for Myth.
> 
> For TV-out, you really don't need the latest and greatest card. You
> can save a lot of money here, as I suspect with this kind of processor
> you're not looking for gameplay. I use an Nvidia Geforce 2 with
> S-Video out. I had this card lying around but you can pick one up for
> a song, I'm sure. I run an S-Video to RCA cinch adatper and use the
> RCA to connect to the TV's aux in port. It's not HD by any means, but
> neither is the TV. If you don't have an RCA-in on your TV, you can
> easily run this through a VCR, which will definitely have the port.
> The video quality is much better than VHS, but not quite DVD. Still,
> good enough for me.
> 
> The on-board audio is also good enough for me, though I run the audio
> out through a stereo system. Again, not 5.1 Dolby, but I don't have a
> sound system that supports 5.1 anyway, and the sound really is good
> enough.
> 
> Keep you eye out for hard drive deals. I got a 200 GB Maxtor at Office
> Depot back in September for around $120, no mail-in rebate crap. I
> think I saw Staples selling a 160 GB drive for around $100, plus a $40
> rebate. You may think 60 GB is a lot now, but just wait till it starts
> filling up. Get a big drive from the beginning.
> 
> On Sun, 26 Dec 2004 09:50:56 -0500, Dennis B. Hopp <dhopp at coreps.com> wrote:
> > I'm toying with the idea of building a mythtv box.  Budget is not as big
> > as I would like, but what can ya do...
> >
> > Anyway, I was thinking of getting the PVR-250 (the PVR-350 seems to have
> > too many problems with the TV-OUT to justify the extra $40-50).  What
> > card do you guys recommend for doing TV-OUT?  Also do you think a K6-2
> > 500 Mhz proc is enough (will have 384MB of RAM, maybe 512, not sure what
> > I have laying around)?   The only thing this box will do is act as a
> > media center (with it's primary objective to be a TV-Recorder, and live
> > tv).  It will connect to a DirecTV receiver (which has a low speed data
> > port).
> >
> > Total budget is probably around $500...included in that I need to get
> > the PVR-250, a card to do TV-OUT and a decent sized hard drive (probably
> > 60 or 80 GB to start with).
> >
> > --Dennis
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> > http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
> >
> 
> 
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