freonchill

has anyone setup / configured mythtv (a linux based tivo htpc software)?

it has 2 parts
back end / tv recording
front end / playback on your tv/hdtv

i want something expandable / usable on multiple devices (e.g. my tv upstairs and another one downstairs)

i already have a network setup in my house, so its just a matter of how cheaply i can get some hardware that will run it.

i setup mythtv (on windows) on my wife's old laptop
testing the tuner i have (ati 600 usb) in win7 on her machine, its a slideshow - so i know i need new hardware. i want to keep these devices as low power as possible.

the question is, is the an atom+ion going to be enough (i know it should be for a front-end) or will i need to know if it will be fast enough for a back-end

im looking at the hauppauge 2250HD, a dual tuner card that goes for about $100. that way i can record 2 things at once.

i wonder if i am just spinning my wheels though
yea, the investment for 2 new boxes is going to be at least $500, probably closer to $700-800. would it just be worth it to get an HD tivo with lifetime subscription... which would be about $800 and i still need another machine (perhaps an atom+ion) for the other device since they have software and allow you to "download" the recorded shows from your tivo to your PC... the downside is this thought...
"Shows that cannot be transferred due to copy protection restrictions are marked with a red circle slash" though i would hope that they could not limit shows recorder OTA...

either way, it appears that its going to be about $1000 for a DVR/PVR (or tivo) and a front end.

thoughts, ideas?

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gapsta

i tryed myth tv a few years ago and it was way way above my head,
i dont know that much about this still but a good fast box with a tuner then share the files/folders to other machines in the house? hook that machine to ya living room display.

dont know if this is ideal but easy to setup none the less and win7 has great sharing features.

you gotta be able to cut costs by using win7 media centre on one and then putting xp media centre on others, unless you want to remain linux. wish i was that clever.

xp media centre runs on most any box, but then the money your on about spending wud buy you a spangly main pc

microsoft media centre is just easy and does what it says on the tin

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Golly Golly My Oh My

Beaker

I was standing on gapsta's shoulders and it flew over my head as well when i tried it

I use dvbviewer with a hauppauge dongle which does TCP and UDP-Multicast Network Streaming (Netstream Plugin, DVB Streamserver) but never tried it so don't know how that bit works

http://www.dvbviewer.com/en/index.php?page=features

only problem with software it doesn't have a trial version

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Tron

This is what I use. Works great and is really cheap..... You plug it into a USB and it is a TV tuner. Gets all the digital channels out of the air. Or you can hook it up to your cable and watch cable or SAT TV on any computer. Because it is a USB device you can move it from computer to computer with no issues. I like mine a lot............

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-023-_-Product

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freonchill

yea, ive got a tuner - though my current hardware is TOO slow and the tuner output is a "slideshow" if that, in windows 7 on a centrino 1.8ghz laptop thats plugged into my bedroom tv.

so the question is - should i spend $550 for a tivo ($250 hardware + 300 lifetime service for channel guide / recording over OTA) which would allow me to watch anything upstairs without a problem... but (and i havent looked into the details) either stream the tivo video to my downstairs machine, or download it (their software faq said that you can "download it" to your pc.

this would release me from having to configure and setup of the tuner, streaming, etc - but it does limit me and require that i transcode it for any other device (doubtful that i would use it on my 3rd party portable devices)

or should i go the high-end way and go completely PC based (either myth or win7/xpMCE) and by-pass the weaker consumer devices?

what is the speed of the hardware that you are running your tuners on?
ive got an amd 3000+ (about the same as a p4 3.2ghz?) if i get a replacement mobo (some of you will remember the burned-out mobo that i got from my wife's grandfather.) but i dont want to spend $50-60 on a new mobo if the 3000+ processor isnt enough hardware... e.g. i dont want to spend $60 just to waste it and have to spend another $400 on new hardware.

also, i am looking into power reduction - e.g. will an atom+ion be enough hardware to run a tuner / streaming? i would think / hope so, especially since puget systems (VAR here in the states) has an ATOM + ION that you can configure with a hauppauge 2250 (dual tuner / qam+ota), but whether that system can handle 2 steams on a laptop hd (it ships with a western digital scorpio 7200rpm laptop drive - http://www.pugetsystems.com/certified_sys.php?sys_id=28

my other concern, is that all the front-ends that i have used are quite slow...

e.g. xbmc on my xbox - it can take 5 seconds to switch between menus (and its not like there is anything running in the background (tuner, streaming to/from another other devices, etc) i tried boxee on my winxp p4 2.4ghz machine - and it locked-up 3 times when i was attempting to check-out all the menus / features. let alone when i played an mp3 and its visualization came on and hard-locked my machine. now i know its an older p4 2.4ghz, but i am able to watch dvds, hulu, and 720p quicktime trailers without a hitch

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Beaker

My setup is a P4 3.4 have to add that steaming to a XBox 360 works really well

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freonchill

does your tuner card have mpeg2 or 4 decoding in hardware?

that might be the issue for me, as the laptop doesnt have additional hardware support for anything. nor does my p4 2.4ghz tower...

tron's kworld has this note - Pentium IV 2.4GHz (3.0GHz above recommended for HDTV programs)
really wish they you update this for newer architectures... e.g. does it need a core 2 duo 5400 or 8700? what about i3 / i5, can it work on an i3 or does it need an i5 - not to mention, what about amd architectures...

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Beaker

I have a WinTV Nova TD

Minimum processor 1.7 GHz Intel® or equivalent.
Microsoft Windows Vista (32 & 64bit) or XP (32bit only) with Service Pack 2.
Graphics with 64 MB of memory (minimum).
Sound card or on board sound.
USB 2.0 port (will not work with USB 1.1).

Not sure but don't think it has onboard decoder

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