[mythtv-users] Group advice sought on setup please.

[mark at onnow.net]

Thank you for the answers!  Much appreciated.

Have you had much luck with remotes?  I think the 350 comes with one, but most
do not seem to like them.  Is there a remote you would recommend?  Are they
easy to setup as well?

Thanks again.

Mark

Quoting Christopher Flynn <flynnguy at gmail.com>:

> On Mon,  4 Oct 2004 09:59:44 -0600, mark at onnow.net <mark at onnow.net> wrote:
> > I am starting from scratch and purchasing hardware just for this, so I am
> > looking for the easiest, most standard, supported hardware.
> 
> Good luck!
>  
> > Hardware questions:
> > 1) TV card.  I have seen allot on the PVR-350.  They are $250 here.  Is
> this a
> > good, fully supported, feature rich card?  Or should I be using a cheaper
> card?
> 
> The PVR-350 is popular because it has both hardware encoding and
> decoding. Therefore you can use it to output directly to your TV. This
> has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it uses very
> little CPU. The disadvantage from what I understand is that watching
> something other than an mpeg2 steam isn't the greatest. (Someone who
> has one please correct me if I'm wrong) If you decide to get a video
> card then I would opt for the PVR-250 which has the encoding. I went
> for the PVR-250MCE and It was a bit of a headache to get working but I
> went with a 2.6 kernel. I eventually got it working using the cvs
> version of ivtv. (ivtv are the modules you will need for the PVR-X50
> cards)
> 
> > 2) How many TV cards?  Record and watch a different channel would be great.
>  So
> > two?  Two 350's?
> 
> I've found I don't use the live-tv function much anymore. Instead I
> just record a bunch of stuff so whenever I want to watch tv I have
> something already recorded. I currently only have one but I plan on
> getting a second at some point. I figure 2-3 cards should be nice. (It
> all depends on your tv watching habits I guess)
> 
> > 3) S-Video.  Should I use the S-Video on the PVR-350?  Or get a graphics
> card
> > with TV-OUT too? I want to be able to watch DVD's on this too if that makes
> a
> > difference.  Can I watch a DVD on this box using the S-Video out on a
> PRV-350?
> > I have read some that say not.
> 
> I can't say because I don't have the PVR-350 but my svideo out on my
> geforce card works well. I also have a DVI out on my video card for a
> possible future HDTV.
> 
> > 4) What processor speed do I need?  I want great performance.
> 
> I'm running a 1.2Ghz Athlon because it was a computer that I was using
> as a web server but decided I'd rather have a mythbox. Eventually I
> will upgrade the motherboard/processor and get back my web server but
> I'm currently buying a house so funds are slightly limited.
> 
> > 5) Motherboard.  Built in sound / video?  Got any experience with a
> specific
> > board that works well?  Recommendations?
> 
> I am using a Soundblaster AWE 64 for my sound output because I had
> one. I've heard some bad things about onboard sound and some good
> things. I would make sure it has S/PDIF output and 6 channel sound
> rather than just a generic output. (Not as much of an issue if you are
> just using it for TV but nice for watching DVDs)
> 
> > Software/OS:
> > 1) I am a RedHat fan.  However, I will use what ever works best. 
> KnoppMyth?
> > Again, looking for ease of install/use, but still want full featured. 
> What
> > RedHat version is most supported?  FC2?  I have also read some howto's on
> SuSE
> > 9.1.  That would be an easy install if MythTV was happy there too.
> 
> Any version of linux *should* work. A lot of people use knopmyth,
> FC1/2, gentoo or Debian. I myself use Debian. If you are used to FC,
> then go with that. There is a nice tutorial over at:
> http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/ which goes over the install on FC.
> 
> > Once I am done, I am going to write up a how to and make sure that it is
> > idiot-proof and includes an easy working method including hardware
> etc......
> > This product is looking great so I would like to promote it's use with a
> how-to.
> 
> Another source of good information is http://www.mythtv.info/ (mythtv
> wiki) Whenever you get your tutorial done, you may want to post it
> over there.
> 
> One other point: Make sure you get the biggest hard drive you can
> afford. The Seagate 200GB is a popular one because it is quiet. (If
> you plan on putting this in the livingroom next to your TV, the
> quieter the better.) There is also a lot of info in these threads,
> http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/ is a good searchable
> archive.
> -Chris
> 
> -- 
> You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Gandhi
> 




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