Using MythTV

Using A Myth Box From Day To Day

Ah, yes; the part you've all been waiting for.  :-)

This section identifies all the things you can do with a MythTV unit, and explains how they work and how to control them. Hopefully, it will also identify things which can be done more than one way, and point out the most effective choice (and why you might want to do it another way anyway).

MythTV is, as we've said, a very capable, powerful, and most of all expandable system. The practical effect of this is that as we go along, we will describe things which can only be done with more than the basic configuration, or which work differently if you have more than the basic configuration.

Conventions and notes

Screenshots will vary depending on the Theme you have chosen.

The remote button Icons refer to common names for remote control keys. In reality these map to physical keyboard keys.

Remote Control Name	Keyboard Key	Remote Control Name	Keyboard Key	Remote Control Name	Keyboard Key
Pause	p	Exit	ESC	Fast Reverse	Page Up
Left Cursor	Left Arrow	Vol Down	[or F10	Fast Forward	Page Down
Right Cursor	Right Arrow	Vol Up	] or F11
Up Cursor	Up Arrow	Start	Home or Q
Down Cursor	Down Arrow	End	End or Z
Select	CR	Record	CR
Info	i	Power
Menu	m	Stop

Watching Live TV

Changing channels

While watching live tv you can change channels with the and Keys. There is a pause of several seconds while MythTV buffers the new channel. People often find this pause disconcerting as they are typically coming from a normal TV where they are used to "Channel Surfing".

The way to overcome this is to put MythTV into "Browse Mode", instead of changing channels with the Cursor keys, you just display information on the next/previous programme in the OSD. Then when you see the programme you want press the Select key and Myth will then jump to that channel. You can set this behaviour by checking the box "Always use browse mode when changing channels in LiveTV" under TV settings ->Playback-On Screen Display

Changing Volume

Press the to increase the Vol

Press the to increase the Vol

The OSD will show the Vol provided you have set MythTV to use its internal volume controls. It is possible to set MythTV to bypass its internal volume controls and send the audio directly to your soundcards SPDIF output. In this case you should programme your remote's volume up and volume down keys to control the volume on your AV amplifier.

MythTV offers some of the most sought after features of modern Media Centres.

1. Pause Live TV

Pausing live tv is great when the phone rings during a show or your little ones need a comfort break during a movie.

By Pressing Key on your remote the picture will freez, and MythTv will start to buffer live TV to the hard drive. An On Screen Display (OSD) will appear showing seconds behind realtime TV as well as how much live TV has been buffered

Press the Key a second time to unpause live tv, you will now be watching behind live TV. This is referred to as Chase TV Playback for obvious reasons.

Press the Key to move forwards in the stream

Press the Key to move backwards in the stream

2. Chase TV Playback

With Chase TV Playback the system can be recording live tv while you are watching the same programme behind realtime.

3. Electronic Programme Guide (EPG)

The Electronic programme guide will allow you to get more detailed information on what is being broadcast currently as well as programmes schedules that are coming up.

Press the Key , and the OSD will show information on what you are currently watching. The OSD will stay up for a default of 3 seconds and then fade out. You can set the duration in the TV settings ->Playback Settings->OSD

Press the key and the On Screen Menu will show.

Select Programme Guide and the Full EPG will show.

4. Concurrent Channel Watching