[mythtv-users] frontend, what works?

Raymond Wagner raymond at wagnerrp.com
Fri Mar 4 23:36:45 UTC 2011


On 3/3/2011 09:50,jason at wkrp.com  wrote:

> My dedicated front end is a big old full tower box running MythBuntu
> and I'm just tired of it's size.  I've read a bit about the Nvida ION
> and it sounds like the way to go.  I just don't want to fall into
> buying the wrong thing and having a mess on my hands.  I'd like a
> recomendation on either what motherboard to buy or one of the
> barebones setup.  I'll probably use just a regular hard drive in it or
> maybe NFS boot.
>
> I use the front end solely for a front end - no encoding / other
> work.  No HD video yet but having that as an option would be ideal.  I
> do play various encoded videos on it H.264 mostly some divx (TV shows
> I've converted over the years).
>
> I just need to be pointed in the right direction with something that
> has had a good success rate.

Check out...http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Choosing_Frontend_Hardware

Note that while most of the responses in here tend to be centered around
the ION platform, there are several more of us who are a bit jaded of
hardware decoding.  VDPAU is great when it works, and it works most of
the time, however being an ASIC, it is limited to certain tasks.  Some
codecs cannot be used at all.  Some settings for supported codecs will
not work.  Stream errors may cause problems.  It's always preferable to
have a worthwhile CPU to fall back on should you need it.

If you don't mind spending some money, you can pick up a Mac Mini.  It's
basically a laptop without a screen, is no larger than the ION units,
has a vastly better processor, better graphics, and even a lower power
envelope.  Or you could build your own.  Mini-ITX boards are available
for Sockets AM3, 775, and 1156.  You can get small cases plenty small to
hide behind a TV.  You can get a slim, wide heatsink that will cool a
real processor nearly silently.  You may want to check out this site if
you're concerned with power consumption...
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/25w-performance-pc,2551.html

The other option would be to just keep your existing full size tower.
Relocate it on the opposite side of the wall, or in a closet, or in the
room below your TV.  Run audio, video, and IR up through the floor or
wall.  You can't get any more silent or unobtrusive than that.



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