[mythtv-users] Newbie to MythTV

[Dick Angus]

We are North Americans now living in Spain. Our native language is English and 
we are becoming fluent in Spanish, but slowly. However, we would really like 
to see some of our favourite English language TV from the US, Canada, and the 
UK in the original version.

Due to building restrictions we cannot mount a satellite dish to get BskyB. 
Also, due to building restrictions it is difficult to run cable. A rented 
apartment with masonry walls is the problem. I have contacted Telecable (our 
local cable company) who carry many of the shows we are interested in, but 
only in translated Spanish. They do not carry the VO signal for second 
language options.

I know that a lot of shows are available over the Internet and more are coming 
each day. Sites such as iTunes and others offer them for rent or sale. I 
would like to access some of this content and view it on our LCD TV set. I'm 
a real beginner and even though I've tried to read as much as I can I'm still 
a little stumped by all the technology and language used. I am computer 
literate and enjoy playing with my machines.

Recently I've been reading about MythTV and it's capabilities. It might be the 
solution I'm looking for. However, all the reading I've done still leaves me 
somewhat confused. Here is our current hardware situation:

TV - An LG RZ-30LZ13 LCD set, wide screen.
Sound - Yamaha NS-P106, surround sound with 5 speakers and a woofer.
DVD Playback - Samsung DVD-P240M.

These are all in the salon and close together.

Access – Telecable.es cable TV (basic), Internet high speed, telephone. The 
modem and connection are in the salon close to the TV.

Network – US Robotics – 8054 wireless/Ethernet router and hub in the salon 
close to the cable input.

Computers:
1. Intel based 2.8 Ghz, 1Gb ram, 160Gb disk, US Robotics wireless card, 
located about 5m from the router in another room. Kubuntu Linux 5.10 soon to 
be 6.06.
2. Original mini-Mac with extra memory and airport express located about 10m 
from the router in a third room. OS-X 10.4.

I am prepared to purchase a third computer for the salon that can be wireless 
or Ethernet cabled to the router if required.

My thought was to use a new Intel mini-Mac as a MythTV machine and connected 
to various Internet sources use it to store and send content to the LG LCD TV 
set. I don't know if this possible or not. Can any one share advice or 
experiences trying to do this? The purpose is to get legal access to our 
favorite English language TV. I don't mind subscribing to a service if it 
will deliver what we want. Any ideas on hardware/software configurations and 
possible alternatives would be appreciated.

TIA and I look forward hearing what people think about this.
-- 
A note from Dick in Spain