[mythtv-users] New to building computers and MythTV

Jon Sustar digitaldoodler at gmail.com
Wed Mar 21 19:25:42 UTC 2007


I'm glad you made that point.  So I should instead not worry about the
size/look of my box and instead focus on making sure I can fit all of the
components I need, and then later on get a separate frontend system that is
closer to what I want it to look like.

I think that's a good plan, and I think it will have a lower initial cost,
since I won't be buying any expensive cases.

I'm thinking about getting the 3.2 ghz Pentium 4... Anybody have any good
motherboard suggestions for this particular processor?

On 3/21/07, Rod Smith <mythtv at rodsbooks.com> wrote:
>
> On Wednesday 21 March 2007 14:56, Jon Sustar wrote:
> >
> > I like the idea of having a separate backend box, but I'm concerned
> about
> > the increase in cost.  I've never used MythTV, so maybe I should just
> have
> > it all on one system (in case for some reason I don't like it, which I
> > doubt), and then, if it's too loud or I need more space, I could expand
> to
> > have a backend too?
>
> For SD content, I think the better plan, if you decide your initial
> combined
> frontend/backend is too bulky/loud/whatever, would be to convert that
> system
> to a dedicated backend, move it someplace convenient, and add a
> less-capable
> frontend-only system to where your TV is. This would involve less
> disruption
> to both your hardware and your software configurations, and for SD
> content,
> the CPU power is probably better placed on the backend, where it can be
> used
> for transcoding and, if you decide to use them, framegrabber capture
> cards.
> The frontend only needs to be able to play back a single stream, which
> takes
> ~600-1,000MHz of CPU power -- very little by today's standards. Just be
> aware
> that the CPU needs change if/when you shift to HD.
>
> > What all would be involved with having a backend?  How does that connect
> to
> > the front end?  Anybody have any specs of their own?
>
> The backend and frontend have to be able to "talk" to each other on a
> network,
> so you'd either need some sort of network wiring (presumably Ethernet)
> between the two computers or you'd need to have wireless network adapters
> for
> both systems. Your initial system will need some sort of network
> connection
> from the start, so presumably half of this will be done by the time you
> get
> that initial system up and running. MythTV uses its own protocol for
> frontend/backend communication, but you don't need to worry too much about
> the specifics -- just provide the network connection, including either
> static
> IP addresses or some way to attach fixed hostnames to each machine (or at
> least the backend).
>
> --
> Rod Smith
> http://www.rodsbooks.com
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