October 2011 - WLUG - wlug.mailman3.com

Re: [Wlug] Myth Box Resources and HD DVR Info?

by brad

On Thursday, October 20, 2011 06:11:29 PM Jeff Artz wrote: > > Then about a year ago I switched to FiOS HD. So I now have two HD STB's > from Verizon, feeding Hauppauge HD-PVR encoders (Component Video IN, USB Out > [H.264 encoded]). I use Firewire for channel changes on the FiOS boxes. > Can you explain this setup more clearly? You are running USB out from the FIOS STB into a PVR card? I also have FIOS, i just run the coax out from the STB a PVR/HVR card. I also use firewire for changing channels. I used to have comcast, but switched to FIOS and i was impressed with the number of ports in on the FIOS STB (comcast STB only had coax in/out and IR, nothing else). i was very happy to see firewire with FIOS, much easier than IR. > > For HD, the only current option is to feed Component Video from a STB into > an Hauppauge HD-PVR. > Just curious, do you notice any small glitches in the audio and video in HD recordings (or live TV)? Every so often spot glitches in the audio and video on HD, it's a bit annoying, sometimes it even crashes mythtv (or X). also curious to know what distro you used for the base install, mythbuntu, fedora, etc ? > Oh, and you'll need a bit of disk space too! OTA HD broadcasts are > 5-7GB/hour, and the HD-PVR's h.264 output is about the same size [maxed out > at 13Mbps max rate]. I currently have 6.5TB of space on my backend - a bit > overkill-- as I have over 1,000 programs recorded at any given time... ;-) > Yikes! > Note that MythTV is *not* the cheapest, nor the *easiest* to setup and > configure - actually, I'd consider it more of a 'hobby' and requires > occasional 'care & feeding'... But the flexibility that it gives you far > exceeds any other offerings -- Like commercial detection and auto-skipping > them during playback - just to name one! > Agreed. This is very well said. - brad

Oct. 21, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Myth Box Resources and HD DVR Info?

by Tim Keller

A 1,000 programs? Damn! So basically you've got entire seasons of shows cached up ready to watch? How do you have your disk space configured? Are you using a NAS or is it JBOD? On Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 6:11 PM, Jeff Artz <junk_inbox(a)verizon.net> wrote: > I know I'm chiming in very late... But I've been using MythTV for about 7 > years now and one of the previous replies isn't -entirely- true... > > Although it is true that you can't just plop a satellite receiver card in > your computer and pull in Sat TV directly to your computer [due to the > encryption], you *can* use Sat tv with MythTV by using the company's STB to > feed an analog tuner on your computer. > > I started out doing this exact thing - although with Dish Network - with > MythTV in 2004. I fed the S-Video and Sterio audio from the receivers into > Hauppauge tuners, and used IR blasters to change channels on the STBs. I > ran with that configuration for the first 6 years or so! > > Then about a year ago I switched to FiOS HD. So I now have two HD STB's > from Verizon, feeding Hauppauge HD-PVR encoders (Component Video IN, USB > Out > [H.264 encoded]). I use Firewire for channel changes on the FiOS boxes. > > I also have two Dual-tuner HD-HomeRun tuners for OTA HD [ATSC]. > > So you *CAN* use MythTV with Satellite TV, but you need to use their STB > (Set-Top-Box), and feed the output from that into a capture device to > record > with MythTV. > > For SD (Standard Definition), the best picture quality/easiest setup is > feeding S-Video and Analog audio into a Hauppauge PVR tuner (PVR-150, 250, > 350 or 500) (500 is a dual-tuner). > > For HD, the only current option is to feed Component Video from a STB into > an Hauppauge HD-PVR. > > Oh, and you'll need a bit of disk space too! OTA HD broadcasts are > 5-7GB/hour, and the HD-PVR's h.264 output is about the same size [maxed out > at 13Mbps max rate]. I currently have 6.5TB of space on my backend - a bit > overkill-- as I have over 1,000 programs recorded at any given time... ;-) > > Note that MythTV is *not* the cheapest, nor the *easiest* to setup and > configure - actually, I'd consider it more of a 'hobby' and requires > occasional 'care & feeding'... But the flexibility that it gives you far > exceeds any other offerings -- Like commercial detection and auto-skipping > them during playback - just to name one! > > Jeff Artz > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Clint Moyer" <cdmoyer(a)charter.net> > To: "Worcester Linux Users Group" <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> > Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2011 6:25 PM > Subject: Re: [Wlug] Myth Box Resources and HD DVR Info? > > > You're not going to get Myth or any HTPC to work with DirecTV because there > are no tuner cards that can unscramble the signal. Satellite TV requires a > receiver from the vendor. > > We dropped DirecTV for over-the-air and TiVo and saved nearly $100/mo in > the > process. > > If you choose OTA, you'll want to consider the money and time investment > for > at least two PCs for Myth. TiVo will allow you to view recordings among all > receivers on your LAN. Of course, there's a monthly fee for each TiVo... > > > On Sep 15, 2011, at 11:07 AM, joel d <joelgroup(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > Hi, > > > > I am re-working our TV to HDTV currently and trying to decide on a DVR. > > Currently I use Charter's DVR and not impressed with their DVR > > layout/features. > > > > Currently I am looking at either the DirectTV whole house DVR option > > or building a Myth DVR box(s). > > > > Not sure I want to bite off the Myth though due to needing 2 machines, > > tuner card, and chunks of my time (vs turnkey for an "appliance"). > > > > I have read the docs at MythTV website but am asking current Myth users: > > > > 1) Others are running for Myth hardware (front and back end specs) > > > > 2) Any estimates on install startup hours and monthly maintenance hours. > > > > 3) Any tips for a quick & smooth Myth install in late 2011 > > > > My current plans include a video source of HD via satellite from Dish > > or DirectTV and am leaning towards a Samsung 55" LCD/LED set. > > > > I got the impression around three years ago that Myth was a "techie > > time intensive" thing to setup and run. > > I could be all wet on that impression or it may have changed. > > > > Thank you, > > > > Joel > > _______________________________________________ > > Wlug mailing list > > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

Oct. 21, 2011

Re: [Wlug] Myth Box Resources and HD DVR Info?

by Jeff Artz

I know I'm chiming in very late... But I've been using MythTV for about 7 years now and one of the previous replies isn't -entirely- true... Although it is true that you can't just plop a satellite receiver card in your computer and pull in Sat TV directly to your computer [due to the encryption], you *can* use Sat tv with MythTV by using the company's STB to feed an analog tuner on your computer. I started out doing this exact thing - although with Dish Network - with MythTV in 2004. I fed the S-Video and Sterio audio from the receivers into Hauppauge tuners, and used IR blasters to change channels on the STBs. I ran with that configuration for the first 6 years or so! Then about a year ago I switched to FiOS HD. So I now have two HD STB's from Verizon, feeding Hauppauge HD-PVR encoders (Component Video IN, USB Out [H.264 encoded]). I use Firewire for channel changes on the FiOS boxes. I also have two Dual-tuner HD-HomeRun tuners for OTA HD [ATSC]. So you *CAN* use MythTV with Satellite TV, but you need to use their STB (Set-Top-Box), and feed the output from that into a capture device to record with MythTV. For SD (Standard Definition), the best picture quality/easiest setup is feeding S-Video and Analog audio into a Hauppauge PVR tuner (PVR-150, 250, 350 or 500) (500 is a dual-tuner). For HD, the only current option is to feed Component Video from a STB into an Hauppauge HD-PVR. Oh, and you'll need a bit of disk space too! OTA HD broadcasts are 5-7GB/hour, and the HD-PVR's h.264 output is about the same size [maxed out at 13Mbps max rate]. I currently have 6.5TB of space on my backend - a bit overkill-- as I have over 1,000 programs recorded at any given time... ;-) Note that MythTV is *not* the cheapest, nor the *easiest* to setup and configure - actually, I'd consider it more of a 'hobby' and requires occasional 'care & feeding'... But the flexibility that it gives you far exceeds any other offerings -- Like commercial detection and auto-skipping them during playback - just to name one! Jeff Artz ----- Original Message ----- From: "Clint Moyer" <cdmoyer(a)charter.net> To: "Worcester Linux Users Group" <wlug(a)mail.wlug.org> Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2011 6:25 PM Subject: Re: [Wlug] Myth Box Resources and HD DVR Info? You're not going to get Myth or any HTPC to work with DirecTV because there are no tuner cards that can unscramble the signal. Satellite TV requires a receiver from the vendor. We dropped DirecTV for over-the-air and TiVo and saved nearly $100/mo in the process. If you choose OTA, you'll want to consider the money and time investment for at least two PCs for Myth. TiVo will allow you to view recordings among all receivers on your LAN. Of course, there's a monthly fee for each TiVo... On Sep 15, 2011, at 11:07 AM, joel d <joelgroup(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hi, > > I am re-working our TV to HDTV currently and trying to decide on a DVR. > Currently I use Charter's DVR and not impressed with their DVR > layout/features. > > Currently I am looking at either the DirectTV whole house DVR option > or building a Myth DVR box(s). > > Not sure I want to bite off the Myth though due to needing 2 machines, > tuner card, and chunks of my time (vs turnkey for an "appliance"). > > I have read the docs at MythTV website but am asking current Myth users: > > 1) Others are running for Myth hardware (front and back end specs) > > 2) Any estimates on install startup hours and monthly maintenance hours. > > 3) Any tips for a quick & smooth Myth install in late 2011 > > My current plans include a video source of HD via satellite from Dish > or DirectTV and am leaning towards a Samsung 55" LCD/LED set. > > I got the impression around three years ago that Myth was a "techie > time intensive" thing to setup and run. > I could be all wet on that impression or it may have changed. > > Thank you, > > Joel > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Oct. 20, 2011

Thanks everybody, Fedora it shall be

by Ken Jones

Originally I worked with SUNsparc work stations using Aurora. About 2003 I added Fedora Red Hat to a dual booted Windows machine. My two SUN's got reduced to one virtue of hardware issues. Then I turned it off. The Red Hat part of my big disk became sick in 2005. I've been Windows XP 2004 Professional ever since. Recently I rebuilt a Fedora machine and am appalled at how much I have forgotten.. Sigh...... Thanks, Ken

Oct. 14, 2011

Re: [Wlug] New computer - dual boot - question

by Eric J. Martin

As a user of both Gentoo and Fedora/CentOS, I have to agree with Jared and Randall. Fedora is great because it has a nice, simple GUI installer and you can be up and running in under an hour. It's binary packages allow you to update the machine quickly with minimal problems. On the other hand, Gentoo is great at being agile. Basically you download a liveCD, get a tarball of a 90% working machine, and follow their excellent documentation to get your machine installed. There are no versions per se with Gentoo as they do rolling updates. Gentoo is how I learned about the nuts and bolts of GNU/Linux and I still love / use it to this day. Also, I find it very useful for tackling problems in the mainstream binary distributions such as, "Why won't $PROGRAM_X run with $FUNCTION_Y?" Luckily for you, both distributions are highly represented on this list, so I'm sure no matter what you choose somebody will be able to help you out. On 10/12/11 12:54, Jared Greenwald wrote: > Ken, > > Can you be more specific about what you mean when you say you want to > be more familiar with X? > > If you want to learn all about X, I'd suggest Gentoo as it's DIY > nature allows you to learn a lot about the underlying components of > the OS. > > If you just want Linux, then Fedora or Ubuntu work well. > > Depends on what exactly you are looking to achieve... > > -Jared > > On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 12:36 PM, Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> wrote: >> WLUGers, >> >> I have purchased a new DELL desktop. I want to refamiliarize myself with X. >> I intend to dual boot the machine. Would my best selection for Linux be >> Fedora 16 (or whatever they are up to now)? If not, which do you suggest? >> >> Ken Jones >> -- Eric Martin Key fingerprint = D1C4 086E DBB5 C18E 6FDA B215 6A25 7174 A941 3B9F

Oct. 12, 2011

Re: [Wlug] New computer - dual boot - question

by Jared Greenwald

Ken, Can you be more specific about what you mean when you say you want to be more familiar with X? If you want to learn all about X, I'd suggest Gentoo as it's DIY nature allows you to learn a lot about the underlying components of the OS. If you just want Linux, then Fedora or Ubuntu work well. Depends on what exactly you are looking to achieve... -Jared On Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 12:36 PM, Ken Jones <kjones(a)ziplink.net> wrote: > WLUGers, > > I have purchased a new DELL desktop. I want to refamiliarize myself with X. > I intend to dual boot the machine. Would my best selection for Linux be > Fedora 16 (or whatever they are up to now)? If not, which do you suggest? > > Ken Jones > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > >

Oct. 12, 2011

Re: [Wlug] New computer - dual boot - question

by Randall Mason

If you need to learn everything about X, go for a do it yourself distro like gentoo. If you need to relearn how to use X, Fedora or Ubuntu would work fine, or even cygwin x on Windows would do that. On Oct 12, 2011 7:38 PM, "Ken Jones" <kjones(a)ziplink.net> wrote: > ** > WLUGers, > > I have purchased a new DELL desktop. I want to refamiliarize myself with > X. I intend to dual boot the machine. Would my best selection for Linux be > Fedora 16 (or whatever they are up to now)? If not, which do you suggest? > > Ken Jones > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > >

Oct. 12, 2011

New computer - dual boot - question

by Ken Jones

WLUGers, I have purchased a new DELL desktop. I want to refamiliarize myself with X. I intend to dual boot the machine. Would my best selection for Linux be Fedora 16 (or whatever they are up to now)? If not, which do you suggest? Ken Jones

Oct. 12, 2011

wlug/MeeGo tonite wed oct12

by Doug Mildram

doug> all confirmed and the oct5 quote below still accurate!...I'll be hosting: cra> ..WLUG meeting is Wednesday, October 12 at 7:00 PM at the WPI campus in Worcester, MA USA. The meeting room is in WPI's Morgan Hall (building 'H' on the campus map [1]), down the hallway to the right of the dining hall entrance. [1] http://www.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/WPI/walkingmap.pdf This month, Andy Stewart will be giving a talk & demo of MeeGo, a Linux distribution designed for Netbooks, Tablets, and other smaller devices. After the meeting, we'll go out for pizza. ---- doug> bring $1,$5's! for cash pizza/drinks..usually ~$6.

Oct. 12, 2011

Announce: WLUG Meeting Wednesday 10/12 7PM: MeeGo

by Chuck Anderson

Hi folks, Our next WLUG meeting is Wednesday, October 12 at 7:00 PM at the WPI campus in Worcester, MA USA. The meeting room is in WPI's Morgan Hall (building 'H' on the campus map [1]), down the hallway to the right of the dining hall entrance. [1] http://www.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/WPI/walkingmap.pdf This month, Andy Stewart will be giving a talk & demo of MeeGo, a Linux distribution designed for Netbooks, Tablets, and other smaller devices. After the meeting, we'll go out for pizza. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it to the October meeting. Doug Mildram has agreed to run the meeting for us this month--thanks Doug! Chuck President, Worcester Linux Users' Group

Oct. 5, 2011