Building a Linux PVR Part I - MythTV Setup and Install

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• NullSpin - Saturday, September 4, 2004 - link

  I can't tell you how long I have been waiting for this article. I have been waiting to buy components for almost a year but did not want to wade into this project with no idea of what hardware was reccomended. I'm also really interested in seeing the process of adding an nfs server into the mix for additional storage.
  Maybe you could price out a 'quiet' system and the various form factors for htpc's.
  Can't wait for part deux.
  NS

• sisyphus - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link

  I have just one thing to say about MythTV:
  
  http://www.mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html
  
  Save yourself some time and grief!
  
  
  Use KnoppMyth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Nnyan - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link

  Just had another thought, how does MythTV compare to other applications like Freevo?

• griffy - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link

  Great job, thanks.
  In your next article, could you let us know a little more why you chose the hardware you did, and maybe what you think the minimum might be?
  Thanks

• archcommus87 - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link

  Wow, goes to show me that there are still topics out there I know NOTHING about. Most of this article was over my head. Is that because I'm not familiar with Linux or something else?
  
  Just the whole part about getting the card setup, the commands to run, the Myth database, etc. WHOOSH.

• Resh - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link

  Thanks for replying Kris, but your reply makes me cry. My Hitachi doesn't have a DVI or VGA-in so unless I can get the TV-out on the vid card to work under Linux, I'm dead in the water.
  
  If anyone has seen any good directions on making Suse, Fedora, or Mandrake work with the TV-out on currently available nVidia card or Radeon 8500, please let me know! llama at rogers dot com
  
  Kris, if you can cover this in the next, or a third, I'd have your children (although my wife might object). ;-)
  
  Thanks!

• Nnyan - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link

  Cool article. My only complaint is that I would have liked to have read which distros DID work well with MythTV and perphaps the PVR-250. Perphaps in part 2?
  
  Thanks to skeptic for the mention of KnoppMyth distro.

• JoeNiner - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link

  Please please please include a KnoppMyth install in a follow up!

• KristopherKubicki - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link

  Resh: We only used a PVR-250, so there is no passthrough. We just hooked the DVI out on our GeForce card up to the TV :)
  
  Kristopher

• meksta - Friday, September 3, 2004 - link

  mythTV is perhaps the most versatile piece of software I have come across. You can build a system for cheaper if you want. I am running myth on a XP2500+ cpu and Chaintech 7nif2 mobo (built-in s-video out). I also run two el-cheapo tv tuner cards for some simultaneous recordings.
  
  With a PVR250, that does hardware encoding, you really don't need a kick ass cpu at all.
  
  I agree it takes a while to set up. But once I had it up and running...it's been happily stable since.