[Kazan]

Please check it for compatability faux pas as it's been a while since I designed a box so i'm not familiar with a lot of newer stuff

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/WishShareShow.asp?ID=1672646&WishListTitle=KAZAN%27S+MYTHTV+BOX

Case: nMEDIAPC HTCP 100
Motherboard: Sis760GX based mobo includes with case
Processor: AMD Sempron 64 2500+
RAM: 512MB PC 3200
Video: Geforce FX5200 (insisted upon by the people, even the other ATI fanboys, on the mythTV-users mailing list.. it's a driver support thing)
Capture Cards:
* Hauppage PVR-500
* Kworld VS-TV878RF w/ remote, FM radio (already have)

[MatthewPapa]

well i have that very same tv tuner and it works great...just remember to 'liberate' sagetv along with it.

[Kazan]

SageTV... dude

mythTV is a program for linux that turns your box into a supertivo: http://www.mythtv.org/

[WMCoolmon]

I gotta get me an external TV tunner that works with Linux.

[Kazan]

get an internal - probability of getting a working external is 500:1

http://cgi.ebay.com/HAUPPAUGE-WinTV-PVR-500-MCE-for-Media-Center-2005-NEW_W0QQitemZ5241147520QQcategoryZ3761QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

supported, recommended, single board dual-tuner - has onboard audio capture so you don't have to pass analogue cables to sound boards.

[mikhael]

Originally posted by Kazan
SageTV... dude

mythTV is a program for linux that turns your box into a supertivo: http://www.mythtv.org/

Heh. The MythTV guy is from the city I'm moving to.

[WMCoolmon]

Originally posted by Kazan
get an internal - probability of getting a working external is 500:1

http://cgi.ebay.com/HAUPPAUGE-WinTV-PVR-500-MCE-for-Media-Center-2005-NEW_W0QQitemZ5241147520QQcategoryZ3761QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

supported, recommended, single board dual-tuner - has onboard audio capture so you don't have to pass analogue cables to sound boards.

I have a very cramped case; it may simply not be practically possible to fit a TV card in, now that I've installed a PCI slot cooler.

Auction isn't working right now anyway.

[Kazan]

if you have an open PCI slot you should have plenty of room

[WMCoolmon]

I was forced to buy an extension cable for the power supply b/c the ATX connector wasn't long enough to reach the mobo, and some genius placed the LED/power button/etc connectors between a PCI slot and the back of the case, so I have to keep those in mind.

Plus I like keeping the system as minimalist as possible so there's less to restrict airflow, and it's not like I'll have much chance to use a tuner at a LAN party.

[Kazan]

build a dedicated box like i'm going to (probably not going to build mine until new years)

[vyper]

The last time I bought a WinTv card it nuked, quite literally, my old graphics card. Any suggestions on a safe one?

[Kazan]

look at my design the PVR-500 is recommended by a lot of mythTV users

[Stealth]

dude, Kazan, that's badass...

i remember having a Hauppauge winTV card waaay back in the day, we're talking like 6 years ago almost.  setting up a dedicated box like this is genius though.  

soooooo what all do i need to get this working.  cable box, graphics card, etc.

[Kazan]

Basically you need a computer with enough beef in the processor to do the MPEG2 encodes and decodes you're going to do simultaneously - Hauppage PVR-500s (and a lot of the other PVR-XXXs) have onboard MPEG2 encode/decode which lowers your CPU requirement

you need a lot of harddrive space

a decent video card with TV out capability

a linux distro you're familiar with, and mythTV

[Col. Fishguts]

That's pretty badass and I would build me one of those myself..... but then again, there's nothing worth watching on TV here these days.

[Stealth]

how does "mythtv" get the signal?  do i need to get a special card that leads from the cable box to the linux box?

[Grey Wolf]

That's what the PVR-500 is for. It's basically the same as the cable boxes you had to put on top of old TVs, but fits in a PCI slot. The PVR line also features, as its name suggests, video recording features.

[WMCoolmon]

Originally posted by Kazan
build a dedicated box like i'm going to (probably not going to build mine until new years)

I can't even get my DVDs to play smoothly on an Athlon64 2800+ with my new install of Kubuntu. Why on earth would I want to shell out ~$500 and the extra floor space for a new computer just to watch TV?

I would be better off buying an LCD TV + DVR box for that much; I could bring up tvguide.com for the scheduling part.

[Grey Wolf]

Kubuntu can't even play DVDs properly on your computer? You sure you have it set up right?

[WMCoolmon]

Probably not. I had them working fine under Ubuntu with xine (which Kaffeine uses).

I just have to figure out where it isn't set up right.