Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with mythtv

Cheap ATSC tuner card for Mythbuntu?

middleclasstool — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 14:46:58 -0800

Recommended HDTV tuner cards for Linux? Preferably inexpensive? And where to find them? I just recently obtained an old work pc on the cheap and am wanting to configure it to be an HD DVR. It's a Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz with 2GB of RAM -- I haven't cracked the case open or installed an OS yet, so I have no idea what the graphics card is. I'm planning to make this into a Mythbuntu DVR, and the only hardware I'm hoping to need is an HD tuner card.

What can I get that will work well, on a budget? MythTV's site recommends a pcHDTV HD-5500 ($115 US, I'd prefer much cheaper if I can get it), and a Technisat Airstar HD-5000 (which I can't find for sale anywhere, not even on ebay).

I just need this for ATSC -- I don't have cable. Are there thrifty options out there that will work well?

Need appletv, have windows :(

NekulturnY — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:29:08 -0800

Appletv for Windows Media Center? I have a media pc in my home office, where I record a lot of television using Windows Media Center. I want to play this in my living room, one story up from the office and about 30 feet further.

Something like AppleTV seems to do the job nicely for Mac owners, but is not compatible obviously with Windows Media Center. I need to record the television, because it's stuff that will not be on pirate bay or any other torrents (it's domestically produced dross that I need to see for professional reasons). So apple tv + torrents are out.

I tried burning a dvd with the recorded stuff, but windows won't let me (file type not supported or something).

So basically: what device will let me browse my tv library in the living room (remotely controlled) and play my recorded stuff on my tv (it's HD ready or full HD, forgot which, but it does have this new connector type). Wireless would be optimal, but I could wire up if needed. Even better would be the ability to upload certain files to the device in the living room (like apple tv, sigh), so as not to be dependent on the wireless connection.

One last thing: I'm aware of myth tv and other dvr options that might be compatible with apple tv, but I'm currently not looking at those. So it's Windows Media Center compatible hardware I'm looking for. Go rabbits, kill, kill!

HDTV dashboard?

phritosan — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:21:28 -0800

I'm moving to a new place next week and now that my nice HDTV will be in the livingroom and getting a lot of foot traffic, I would like some ideas on how to put it to good use both visually and audibly. The easiest option would be to set it to one of the Sirius music channels but thats not good enough.

Do you know of any good digital screen savers or plasma windows? I've not managed to find any that catch my eye.

An interesting idea I just came across is the Ybox, described as an Atari2600-era Konfabulator for the TV. This is too primative.

Is mythTV my best/only option for widgets/dashboard, music jukebox, visualizations, etc? If so I want to know before I put money into a DVR.

n00b-Friendly Ubuntu Media Player for HTPC?

mamessner — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 02:30:12 -0800

Is there a n00b-friendly media player for Ubuntu that would work well on a set-top-box set up for broadcatching? I have Ubuntu set up to broadcatch using Miro, and I'm looking for a GUI or media player that can easily be controlled with a remote. I don't need to be able to record live TV. MythTV is very intimidating and I can't seem to get it to work. Ditto Freevo. I'd like something that can play movies, view photos, and play music ideally. The closest I've found is Oxine. Anything that can be installed via the package manager or add/remove applications would be best.

Thanks!

Is MythTV any good? Is TiVo worth the crazy costs?

chrisamiller — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:30:07 -0800

I'm getting cable for the first time in 5 years soon, and I'd like to get one of these new-fangled PVRs. I've found plenty of info on TiVos, but I'm having trouble finding recent information on alternatives, like MythTV. Does anyone have first-hand experience or quality links? I'm a tech-savvy Linux user at home, so installing something like MythTV isn't going to be a problem. I also love the idea of having all of my recordings freely accessible, so that I can load them on my iPod, watch them on my computer, burn them to DVD, etc.

I'm a bit worried about the details of MythTV though. The old reviews I can find were all kind of halfhearted, and I haven't found anything that reviews the latest and greatest versions.

What particularly worries me (and my non-techie fiancee) is the usability of the system:

- Are the menus as easy to navigate?
- Is scheduling shows as easy?
- Are there advanced features of TiVo that I'll regret not having?
- Is the maintenance relatively pain-free?

If I do go the TiVo route, how difficult is it to get my recordings off of a PVR like that? I read something about hacking the TiVo, but I'd prefer a simpler solution. (bonus points if that solution is linux-friendly)

Help me configure an HTPC with multiple audio outputs.

Embryo — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:40:14 -0800

What's the best way to configure an HTPC to easily manage and control 3 separate audio outputs and then flexibly route those outputs to 3 separate locations? I'm working on an HTPC setup for my co-operative household. We have three main common music-listening areas: the porch outside (where I've mounted two speakers in a weather-safe place), the dining/living rooms (4 speakers on an A/B switch), and the kitchen.

Ideally, each space could have its own individual music setup. The house is big enough that the sounds are isolated, and someone washing dishes in the kitchen area might not want to listen to the same thing as someone in the living/dining room area or on the porch. However, at the same time, sometimes we might want to have one channel playing in all three places.

The setup I came up with (hardware-wise -- software is another part of this question) was to have one HTPC setup with 3 audio cards (or maybe a 7.1 card, with each output routed separately, provided playback could be performed simultaneously), one for each listening sector. This would provide the possibility of 3 different things playing back at once. To provide the option of playing the same thing in each place, each output would be split 3 times (or 4, to provide for small monitors next to the HTPC itself) and routed to each of the 3 (or 4) listening sectors. In each of the three (or four) locations, there'd be a 3-way switch (to choose which audio output to playback) and a hi-fi tuner/amplifier to drive the speakers and play the music. This way, you could listen to one channel in all three rooms, one channel in each of the rooms, or two in one and one in the other, etc.

Can anyone suggest a better/more efficient method? I'll have to purchase splitters (expensive if audio degradation is an issue, which it may be) and switchers, as well as wire the same audio channels to many different places (using RCA cable). It occurs to me that there might be a more sophisticated solution using coaxial or fiber optic cable that could carry more than one audio stream, but I have no idea where to start figuring out the hardware neccessary to do that, as I've never tried to move sound between a coaxial and RCA/stereo cable and back, and the same is true for fiber optics.

Software-wise, I'll need a way to control 3 different audio players at the same time in an elegant and user-friendly way, so that the HTPC will be easily operated by people with a wide range of technological ability. I've been reading about MythTV and Windows XP MCE is an option as well, as far as I'm concerned. Does anyone have any experience using these or other interfaces to easily control more than one pair of audio outputs at once?

I'm also considering the option of buying near-obsolete (needabecheap) Tablet PCs to use as local control interfaces in each of the 3 areas, but that's some next-level ish. (The co-op is a non-profit, so I'm looking to improve the house a bit while also getting some of my investment written off of my taxes.)

Thanks for any help y'all can offer, MeFites.

Remotely starting local X application?

Kadin2048 — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 21:16:09 -0800

How do I restart an X Windows application running on a remote machine, and have it display on that computer's locally-attached display? (I do not want to forward/tunnel it to the machine I'm sitting at.) Two computers, foo and bar. Foo is a machine connected to a big display, but lacking any local controls (keyboard or mouse). Bar is a laptop. Foo normally runs an X Windows application, but sometimes this application crashes.

How can I, by connecting to foo from bar via SSH, restart an X app running on foo, and have it come back up on foo's display? All the resources I can find on the net deal with forwarding X connections so that I could display them remotely on bar (which I can do fine), but that's not what I want. I want to issue the command via SSH, but have the application display itself on the local display. (And once I get it running, I want to close down the SSH connection.)

I'm sure it has something to do with the DISPLAY variable, but I can't figure out what to set it as. (I've tried setting it to "localhost:0" and "127.0.0.1:0" as well as ":1" on both, but both give "can't open display" errors.)

It seems like this ought to be a lot easier than tunneling an X connection, but I'm stumped.

This is all using Knoppmyth, which is Debian/X11.org-based, with Bash.

Mythtv recording with low volume

h2 — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 22:36:28 -0800

Mythtv records shows with low volume. How can I increase the recording volume? I'm running Ubuntu Server 6.06 LTS 2.6.15-26-server with mythtv backend only version 0.20 utilizing a WinTV PVR-350 and recording from a regular, not digital, cable tv signal. The sound card is a good old Intel Corporation 82801AA AC'97 Audio (rev 02). Every show is recorded with a low volume. How do I increase the recording volume. Would I be advised to install a better sound card?

Watching TiVo shows on another computer

shinynewnick — Sat, 26 May 2007 08:50:42 -0800

Is there one of the PVR software systems (MythTV, SageTV, etc) I can use to access my TiVo shows over my network? I currently have a networked Series2 TiVo in the living room, and a spare Via Epia-M computer sitting around that I'd like to use for media viewing in another room. Ideally, I'm looking for any of these media center front end programs that can transfer TiVo files and play them on the second computer. While I have a TV tuner card to install, that's a secondary concern, I really want to use this unit for watching shows from my TiVo or from the TiVo shared files on my desktop computer (these are normally unencrypted MPEG2 files). While I realize I can just run Windows and the TivoDesktop software, I'm looking for a setup that allows me to do the transfer and watching in an easy-to-use interface (preferably to watch while streaming - like I can do on the TiVo when transferring from my computer). Any suggestions?

What would be my best source for HD Content and the best PVR to capture that content?

willnot — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 11:02:06 -0800

What would be my best source for HD content and the best PVR to capture that content? I just purchased a new HDTV. I have a Direct TV Tivo box that is only standard def. I figure as long as I have an HDTV though, I should try to get the most out of it. It seems my options are Direct TV with their HD PVR, a Direct TV HD receiver and an HD TiVo or MythTV set up, cable and one of their PVRs or cable and a Tivo or MythTV set up. I live in Los Angeles (Torrance), and if I were to switch to cable, my provider would be Time Warner. They provide my high speed internet, so there is some bundling that I could take advantage of there. I think the pricing might be a wash or might still slightly favor satellite after whatever introductory specials I could get, but I haven't put it all in a spreadsheet to make sure yet.

I've been reasonably happy with DirectTV up to this point, and I generally like the Tivo interface pretty well. It's just that the old DirectTivo box isn't capable of anything other than standard def.

I have an OTA antenna plugged into the set, and I don't seem to receive a number of local channels in high def. The antenna may need to be tuned a bit better, but I only seem to have digital equivalents for about half of the stations I should.

I've been looking a little at the Mythtv Dragon 2.0 system. That looks pretty sweet. I've heard that Myth is a pain to set up and maintain though. I'm not really a Linux guy. I can CD and LS, but not much beyond that. I can follow instructions pretty well though if somebody lays it out for me.

Does anybody here have a Dragon or has anybody used one? How does that compare to Tivo? Would it be better to use a system like that with cable or with DirectTV? I know the Tivo HD receiver says that it won't work with a satellite receiver. I find that hard to believe, but I guess it's smarter to trust them on that. Would that be true of the Dragon as well?

I don't currently have an upscaling DVD player either. I assume if I got a Dragon, it could serve as that device as well. Is that correct?

Is there even enough HD content out there to make this worthwhile? I know a lot of shows/channels are still broadcast in standard def. I don't know if standard def shows over component or HDMI look any better than standard def shows over s-video (which is the highest quality I have available to me now).

Pre-built MythTV boxes?

jewzilla — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 22:27:04 -0800

I'd like to buy a pre-built MythTV box. Any recommendations? I'm not particular about features. Single or dual tuner is fine. HD is nice to have but not necessary. I would, however, like to be able to record and play back DVDs. It is important to me that most of the code is open source so I can hack it. I am NOT interested in building one from scratch because I don't have the time and I need something that actually works right away. Also, I want something that isn't too big or too ugly. I prefer a minimalist design. My budget could go as high as $1000. From doing some Googling, it looks like a lot of companies outside the US make them but I'd rather not deal with shipping from overseas. Also, having not found any decent reviews, I hope the hivemind can provide some personal experiences.

I don't want to pay for bloody TiVo!

evariste — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:30:08 -0800

I know about MythTV and Freevo. My question to the hive mind is I have a useless whitebox PC with a 2400 "PR Rating" Athlon processor, a gigabyte of RAM, and a 200 gigabyte hard drive. I'm comfortable with Debian and a bit less so with Fedora. I'm willing to buy whatever expansion card it is I need to hook the computer up to my tv/cable.

I don't ask a whole lot, just that I can set it up to record shows so I can skip commercials and cut my TV time by a third. Is my best move to buy a TiVo already, or can I jigger up something with no monthly fees by using this useless spare PC of mine, a distro like Debian/Ubuntu or Fedora, and a minor investment (under the price of a TiVo box) in an expansion card? Are this PC's specs underpowered for the task or will it suffice for my purpose?

I really want a TiVo, but man, I hate to add yet another damn monthly bill to all my other monthly bills. I don't even really need the whole TV listings business, I don't care. I don't need my PVR to suggest shows to me; I already know what I like and want to watch. I know when the things I want to watch are on (mostly [adult swim] and the Simpsons and South Park, plus some stuff from the Annenberg/CPB channel, History Channel, and Animal Planet).

Bonus points for anyone who can suggest a way of having a remote control for the whitebox PC contraption. I would not mind paying a hundred bucks extra for a remote and receiver to install into the PC so I can control the Freevo/MythTV from across the room, although if consumer-level hardware for this doesn't exist, then I guess it doesn't exist.

All advice, comments, persuasion and dissuasion welcomed. If the answer is "get a fucking TiVo already and shut up", I can accept that. But if there's a way to get a reasonably tolerable experience with open source software, my currently useless extra PC, and maybe a few hardware upgrades, I'd be delighted to put a little elbow grease and IRC begging-for-help-time into the effort.

MythTV + DirecTV..anyone?

spifl — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 15:15:07 -0800

I would like to build a MythTV system to work with DirecTV. My questions are around the interface to the DTV receivers. Has anyone here done this? (Questions inside) 1) I want to record at least two things at once so I assume that means two receivers. Which receivers work best for this? I'd like them to be controlled (channel changes) serially and not to use any sort of IR blaster.

2) With two receivers, I assume you need two satellite access cards from DTV. This just means paying for a receiver in 'an extra room' I'm guessing?

3) Processor requirements for recording two things at a time and watching a third thing?

4) Best video out to display on a 50" plasma with component in?

Thanks!

spifl

KnoppMyth+Satellite TV=yes?

stevyb — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 09:00:43 -0800

So I saw the second episode by Kevin Rose on www.systm.org but they only seem to mention setting up your linux box with your "cable provider" without any mention of Dish or Direct TV....does anyone know whether Myth TV or specifically KnoppMyth will work with dish TV type providers?

MythTV or TiVo?

eschatfische — Tue, 04 Jan 2005 19:52:18 -0800

My long-out-of-warranty TiVo just died. Do I go MythTV or TiVo? [mi]