[mythtv-users] Will a PcChips M789CLU C3 2000+ with WinPVR card suffice?

[Francesco Peeters]

Hello all,


I've been searching the web for info, but due to mixed, sometimes
conflicting, information I have decided to ask on the list as well...

I want to build a small, silent MythTV machine for the living room to
partially (?) replace the home theatre set we have in use now...

A friend pointed me to the PcChips M789CLU C3 2000+ MoBo, which has built
in everything, but runs on a VIA C3 at 900MHz.

(I think) I know how to get it connected to the TV screen despite lack of
a compisite/SVHS output, but am more concerned about performance...

What I'd need it to do is: (in order or importance and implementation <G>)
* Record 1 or 2 video sources from antenna or Video-IN (Dual Tuner
WinPVR500 for 2 simultaneous recordings, if possible)
* Playback audio and video streams and files (from DVD, HDD, network or
Internet)
* Simple Webaccess for things like extensive program information (add'l to
the TV guide, weather, traffic, quick email checks)
* Play games (simple emulator, maybe (S)NES, but most likely classic
(MAME) arced games)
* Integration with the X10 Home Automation system
* CallerID info from the Asterisk PABX

My preference would be to be able to do tasks 2-6 simultaneously with #1.
That is why I want a Hauppage WinPVR card, as the built-in MPEG Encoder
should leave the C3 mostly untaxed... (I know I could put the PVR card in
a backend machine, but my server would not be any faster than this one,
and much further away from the antenna connection...)

Also: what is the consensus on working with or without a HDD? I considered
using a diskless machine which uses NFS to store directly on the server,
but  am reconsidering because I am afraid that the network will become a
bottleneck due to either insufficient bandwidth or single point of failure
(server/switch/AP) Especially if I would opt for wireless connection, that
could add an extra point of failure (although I rarely have WiFi issues,
and when I do, it is usually a WinXP issue on my wife's laptop, fixed by a
reboot)

Any suggestions/comments/insights are welcome!

TIA & BRgds

-- 
Francesco Peeters
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