DVRs: Opinion on MythTV?
 

@Kwag (or anyone who has one)

What was your hardware for the MythTV PVR?
CPU, HD, RAM?

What is your opinion when compared to the Replay or Tivo?

I'm thinking about building one but I would like your opinions first. Specifically, should I invest in a Wintv-pvr or spend my money on a CPU, HD and RAM upgrade?

Re: Opinion on MythTV...
 

Believe it or not, my test bed machine is a Pentium II @500Mhz :mrgreen:
It works flawlessly, but the response when changing menus is a little slow. So I suggest a P4 1.5Ghz or better, for instant response. However, if you have a WinTV PVR-250, because the encoding is done in hardware, there are no dropped frames, even at 704x480 on my 500Mhz machine :!: I had a ReplayTV. So I can say that the options that you get with MythTV are FAR beyond the features you get with ReplayTV. It just blows it away :D Spend your money on the WinTV PVR-250. It's a jewel :D
But consider a fast processor too. You'll need it for quick response, and also because you'll be decoding your mpeg is software ( for playback ), get a good nVidia based graphics card with TV-Out.
I suggest you install KnoppMyth instead of trying to install MythTV manually on any Linux distro. KnoppMyth has already been tailored specifically for MythTV, and their site has a great forum with excelent support.
Check their forum, and read their hardware recommendations: http://mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/

-kwag

I took your advice and got a Wintv PVR. I also picked up an 64 mb AGP TV card with hardware Mpeg1/2 decoder. Now it's showtime!

Anyone want a Maxtor G400 TV?

:mrgreen:
Let me know when you install it.
Just a note: The default card location for the WinTV PVR-250 ( PCI slot config ) is the first PCI slot. If you put it in any other slot, you have to change some values in a config file.
That's the way KnoppMyth is set up. This drove me up the walls for hours, because I couldn't make it work. So just remember that before you start :wink:

On my board, I have:
PCI #1 -> PVR-250
PCI #2 -> SoundBlaster LIVE
PCI #3 -> Ethernet card

Works like a charm :D
-kwag

hey MrTibs,

Have you installed your MythTV yet? How do you like it?

I'm going to pick up a PVR-250 and an nVidia w tv-out next week :D
I have downloaded the KnoppMyth r5 iso. Once I install this, is it pretty straightforward to establishing the internet connection (ethernet card and dsl)? I've never used Linux before so I'll need to stay connected to the internet for help :wink:

Thanks,
ren

I'm getting me a PVR-250 next week.

I got this link from the D9 forum:

http://www.cask-of-amontillado.com/htpc.html

WinTVCap seems to be a good capture program for the card (and free as well :D )

Hey Boulder,

a good resource is http://www.shspvr.com. These guys certainly know there way around the PVR 250/350.

I use wintvcap and it is very good. check out ctsched (link of the above site) as this can be configure to use wintvcap to schedule recordings,

Cheers,

@rendalunit

Sorry about the delay. I haven't built my MythTV box but I did install my PVR into my main machine for a test. What surpised me is that the card does quite a bit of noise reduction. Of course everyone's experience is different but my local [non-digital] cable is pretty bad and the PVR cleans it up so much that some stations don't need any further filtering at all. Other nominal stations are brought to near DVD quality just with Deen or Pixiedust. Of course the card captures at 720x480 (or around that) without a hick up and without using much of the CPU. I'm so impressed with this card I don't know if I can part with it to put in my PVR

My assessment: Get the PVR 250 or 350. I wish I hadn't wasted my time and money with the other cards. (I have three other capture cards and none of them come close to the PVR 250.)

PS. Initial tests with one station that is REALY noisy actually looks pretty bad when captured by the card. I think the problem is not with the card but with my lack of knowlage about how to configure the software.

Has anyone had any luck with using an ATI AIW with MythTV ..

I have an AIW 128 Pro (1 PCI & 1 AGP), an AIW Pro Raden (AGP) and an AIW 9600 AGP that I can use.

My preference would be to use the older RADEON AIW as it also has DVI out and my HDTV has DVI in ........

Thanks