[mythtv-users] EPIA support questions

[Neil Davidson]

If you are interested in an EPIA based system as a front end only, then have
a look at MiniMyth from http://www.linpvr.org . It is a custom build
distribution that includes all you need to run MythFrontend with the correct
drivers etc. It is also tailored to be booted from a network allowing you to
run the front-end without a hard drive saving money on the system and
reducing power requirements and noise and heat generation.

Even if you decide to go with a more conventional EPIA based front-end,
there is a lot of information and knowledgeable people on the forums there.

-----Original Message-----
From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of Jim Kusznir
Sent: 10 April 2005 23:43
To: Discussion about mythtv
Subject: [mythtv-users] EPIA support questions

My curiosity was aroused by the SolarPC thread, so I went and checked out
SolarPC's line.  It looks quite impressive, but have some questions with
respect to video support under linux.  Since they use the EPIA boards, I
thought its more general and approprate for posting on the list.

I know the choice of the video card is quite important.  I also noticed that
the user who posted who is using a SolarPC (EPIA V-series board, I
believe) is using a PVR-350, so I would assume using the 350 as the output
card.

What about using the system as a frontend-only (i.e., using the onboard
video as the output video device)?  Do good drivers exist for these video
devices?

I noticed that there's an EPIA MII-series board that uses:
Integrated VIA Unichrome AGP graphics w/MPEG-2 Accelerator

Unfortunately, I don't know enough about video hardware to know how the
MPEG-2 accelerator is accessed and used.  Would a Myth frontend take
advantage of this?  If so, would one just set it up as a "normal" video
card, and the mpeg acceleration will kick in when mpeg is being played, and
ignored otherwise?

What about some of the other EPIA boards, such as the "V" series video
boards (it lists only "Integrated AGP 4X Graphics" as its video "card").  Is
it well supported?

Also, I'm curious what the minimum and recommended EPIA CPU configuration
would be for a frontend-only system.  I don't think I understand how these
VIA CPUs map power-wise to Pentimum and similar CPUs.

Thanks for your help!!

--Jim
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