MythTV "Build-In" co-sponsored by EFF?

[Neil Joseph Schelly]

I can second KnoppMyth (http://mysettopbox.tv) as being a great resource - the 
developer is on his forums a ton and is very helpful.  It was perfect for me 
as I'm already a Debian guy (well established here I think) and it's based on 
Knoppix/Debian.  I also already had a box that I used for TV, just watching 
with xawtv and tvtime before I went with Myth.  The box itself was originally 
a TigerDirect PCCinema which was a line they sold back when Gateway 
originally released the Destinations with the big monitors way back when.  I 
have had that machine connected up to a 32" SVGA monitor for 7-8 years or so.

So essentially, I had the monitor and computer to make it happen and when I 
heard how far MythTV had come about a year and a half ago and that is was 
Debian based ( a feature as far as I am concerned for simplicity), I needed 
no extra prodding to start.  It's a budget box - certainly not top of the 
line as far as what's possible.  I'd love in the future to add another tuner 
or two, perhaps some of those Linux-specific pcHDTV cards pre-broadcast flag.  
I've also recently entertained the idea of a Myth frontend on a Mac Mini as 
the most recent MythTV version can work as a frontend on a Mac and that cute 
little box would be great in my entertainment center instead of the 
decade-old PCCinema case.

But it should be noted, I have invested very little money into this box, 
largely because I already had a lot of it.  And I don't really have the money 
to spare now to go further with it now.  But the box has been very reliable 
for about a year now, excepting one hardware failure with lots of blown 
capacitors on the motherboard.  And that's largely with the cheapest hardware 
I could find most of the time.

So that's my experience - if it's useful to someone, I'd be glad to help out.
-N

On Thursday 24 February 2005 01:12 pm, Ted Roche wrote:
> The posting about the broadcast flag reminded me...
>
> I'm sure at least a couple of the more adventurous on this list have
> already hacked together a MythTV. It's one of those things I've been
> meaning to do for a while, but, well, you know the story... exploding
> children and so forth. I've browsed the web site a few times, but
> haven't gotten past that. (http://www.mythtv.org/ and
> http://www.mysettopbox.tv/knoppmyth.html are interesting places to
> start).
>
> The EFF has just released a book and is sponsoring "Build-Ins" around
> the country (http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_02.php#003356) as a
> way to draw attention to the upcoming "Broadcast Flag" ban, which will
> require some really noxious Digital Restriction Management to be
> incorporated into all HDTV tuners, including those used as computer
> cards. Anyone interested in this technology should plan on buying a
> card before the flag is imposed. While there are some legal rumblings
> that the FCC may get shot down on this move, the track record of things
> like the DMCA and Patriot Act should raise worries.
>
> Are there folks here interested in building their own PVRs? Folks who
> have done this willing to lend some expertise? I'd welcome a group
> effort, with a few of us all attempting to build the same beasts for
> mutual support, comparison, etc. Of course, we might also have to deal
> with the variations of different machines and some wanting analog
> digitization and so forth. But, hey, the EFF will throw in some free
> T-shirts and GNHLUG publicity!
>
> Any interest?
>
> Ted Roche
> Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
> http://www.tedroche.com
>
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