[mythtv-users] Re: Need suggestion for Frontend only fanless solution

Brad mythtv at braddolman.com
Sat Oct 8 10:40:28 UTC 2005


Just as point of reference, I occasionally use my Mac (a powerbook g4  
1.25Ghz) as a wireless frontend for MythTV. I'd have to say that it  
works great. I guess it is pretty comparable to (perhaps a little  
better than) the Mac Mini in terms of performance, and I have  
absolutely no problems with the MythFrontend binary for Mac. I'm only  
running SD but it works really well. I *think* I could run HD, but I  
have no real basis for that assumption. I think its reasonable to  
assume that a Mac Mini would not be able to do HD. Apple did,  
however, increase the RAM included with the mini - which should be  
sufficient for a frontend and OSX, they have two models with built-in  
WiFi and Bluetooth as well. Finally, there is a rumour currently that  
Apple is silently upgrading the processor speed as well. The official  
Apple page is here:  http://www.apple.com/macmini/

I've considered many of the other options that have been mentioned  
here as well. For me the Roku, although great in terms of size,  
price, and quietness - its a no-starter for me because it doesn't  
support the full MythFrontend functionality. I don't think its  
possible to get it to play MPEG4, DiVX, .AVIs, etc. which is probably  
60% of my usage.

I do have a Pundit (original, not "-R") and am very happy with it --  
but I'm not sure if those are still available. I asked a local shop  
about getting another one and they said they've been discontinued  
(although I think it may still be possible to track some down). I  
have my Pundit sitting, literally, 18 inches from my ear right now  
and I can barely hear a whisper from it. Although it is a little too  
loud with a DVD in it cranking away at 16X, but that's to be expected.

I like the Mac as a frontend and, if I couldn't source another  
original Pundit (which would be cheaper) then I would seriously  
consider getting a Mac Mini for this purpose. Its a little more  
expensive, but I haven't seen anything else that can compare in terms  
of form factor and looks. Also, it would take me about 15 minutes -  
tops - from taking the Mac Mini out of the box to have it working  
with my backend.  Even with all my experience with the Pundit, I  
would set aside an afternoon to get that configured, tweaked, and  
running.

Hope this info is helpful to someone!


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