On Thu, Oct 20, 2011 at 6:11 PM, Jeff Artz <junk_inbox@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@charter.net>
To: "Worcester Linux Users Group" <wlug@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@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@mail.wlug.org
> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

_______________________________________________
Wlug mailing list
Wlug@mail.wlug.org
http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

_______________________________________________
Wlug mailing list
Wlug@mail.wlug.org
http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug