[mythtv-users] Cheap Possible Frontend

[dick at photoclerk.com]

> I know, we've all seen the posts:
>
> "I (found in a dumpster / was offered for $5) a computer. All I know
> about it is (It says "286" on the front / It says "Altair") and I was
> wondering if it will work With Myth. I plan to connect it to my
> network with (a 300-baud modem / my cell phone), and storage will be
> (punch cards / magnetic drum). I will need to drive 6 High-Definition
> displays simultaneously, each with a separate 1080i signal. Do you
> think it will work ??"
>
> Not to be outdone, I found this:
>
> http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=BB-U-BUDDIE-SYS&cat=BBK&cpc=JAD
>
> Since I have the RAM and the drives, I'm only risking $120.
>
> What I wonder about is the "64-bit 2D/3D graphics accelerator". Is
> this just a UniChrome variant? I don't know much about those, but I'd
> never heard they were 64-bit. What "acceleration" might it provide ?
>
> I'm wondering if it might do SD only, perhaps with XvMC or a
> Unichrome-only driver ? I'd really like to be able to playback MPEG-4
> streams, sort of a "Rich Man's MediaMVP that can do MPEG-4".
>
>
> Brian Wood
> beww at beww.org
>
>
>
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>
>


Looks like it MIGHT work, but then you need to buy a harddrive & RAM...

I put together a front end for $115 (in fact, I've built 5 now).

Very small & quiet.  I don't have pics or anything, but it's a Compaq
SFF Deskpro EN (PIII-866, but 733 will work too), you can get them on eBay
for $80 (+shipping, unless you find one w/in driving distance, like I
did).  And a eVGA GeForce MX 4000 / 64MB DDR / PCI / VGA / Video Card
(E145-5102) for $34.99.

Here's a link for the computer:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Compaq-Deskpro-ENS-SFF-P3-866-866Mhz-128-Linux_W0QQitemZ8805041735QQcategoryZ51119QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


About $10 more for remote - about $3 in parts for an IR receiver and
circuit (which can be mounted internally - I replace the HD light on the
front w/the IR sensor), and a $7 remote control from Target.

These boxes are super quiet as long as the HD you get with it doesn't make
much noise.  I just pawed through old 10GB hard-drives until I found
an old IBM that was noise-free.

-d