Large DVD Collections/Solutions (MythBox?)

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Im basicly thinking of replacing the pain in the ass TiVo with a Mythbox and add a few WD 1TB USB/Firewire drives and rip the movies to it cause i saw they have a plugin for that stuff.. Also thought maybe Id run my hardware past you guys and see if theres anything that might stick out as a potential linux problem for me? And if maybe you might know of a dual tuner PCI card that would work well? The HD Componet module uses a PCI slot bay so that would leave me with only one. Thanks guys!

Case: Antec Fusion
MB: Asus M2NPV-VM
CPU: Athlon 64 X2 4600+
CPU Cooler: Thermalright SI-128
Ram: Corsair 1GB PC2-6400 x2
DVD: DVD+-RW Drive
HD: WD Caviar RE2 400GB
Tuner: ???

For tuners, go with ones that have built-in encoders. No chance of dropping frames that way. Avoid the Hauppauge PVR-500 (nice dual-tuner board), unless you can get a full refund if necessary. There are two versions of this board, one with larger Phillips tuners, and one with smaller Samsung tuners. The Samsungs are absolute crap. The Phillips are great. (ditto for some models of the PVR-150 single-tuner card, too!)

Anyone want a Samsung Hauppauge PVR-500, cheap ?

Note that you will likely have only 2 (or maybe 3) PCI slots available since the Fusion case requires a mATX form factor mobo. So a dual tuner card is a Good Idea; just avoid the Samsung modules.

For HDTV, you'll probably be using component video cables from your cable/satellite box, and the PVR-500 does normally have a dual set of inputs for that.

For off-the-air HDTV, and unencrypted cable HDTV, the HDHomeRun external dual tuner is excellent, and won't take up a PCI slot.

I have the Antec Fusion case, and like it. There are only two normal internal hard disk bays, though -- plenty for me but maybe not enough for a massive DVD collection.

The front knob is kind of useless. Myth has plugins to use the display and knob.

But I didn't like their "busy" displays, so I wrote a nice standalone app to manage the display for me -- no drivers, no mythlibs, no chain of servers talking to servers; just my vfd_updater gizmo.

Cheers

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A nice thing about Myth is that it has a client/server model at the core, so distributing parts of it around a network is easy.

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An annoying thing about Myth is that it has a client/server model at the core, so figuring out how to run a simple single machine setup can be confusing.

But you only have to figure it out once..

Well, I guess this is why I am still using my Tivo. Another reason is I can't get any digital transmission where I live, I only get Sky Digital which is a nasty setup for DIY PVR's like Myth

Cheers

Cris.

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Having seen andym's Myth Box in action, I have to say it's quite impressive and well worth the effort.

One thing would worry me would be ripping all those DVD's without any form of backup. Have you thought about using some older PC bits you may have and use FreeNAS with several HD's in RAID 5 for max backup and storage space. 4 x 500Gb HD's would give you 1.5Tb of backed up storage on a very low spec machine capable of serving multiple clients.

Cheers

Cris.

Yeah backups isnt something I have thought too much of just yet.. hehe its gonna be expensive just getting the 1tb drives to hold it all let alone extras for backups.. but yeah i can see a big need for it especailly after reading how long it takes to rip one dvd.. I dont have too much experience with raid, is that something i could do with the WD USB/Firewire drives or would they have to be PATA/SATA?? since the case has limited space i was wanting to go with the external HD's also so I could just add a hub to keep adding more as needed, cause i dont see us stop buying dvds any time soon. Is there a backup method that would work in the setup im wanting to do? really dont want to be stuck with internal drives or having to setup a second machine, unless i could some how use my LAMP box somehow but its only amd 1g with 756mb ram so not a whole lot going on there..

I think I will be checking out that HDHomeRun tuner, thanks for the tip, looks like its even very compatible with myth so that will make life easier...

Also thanks Mark for the link to that app you wrote, I will probobly be installing that when it comes time to do this system

I havent looked too much into software other then what hardware would be compatible with linux, cause i figure I can deal with the software side after all hardware is built and just toy with it.. I have seen a little bit about myth being client/server but didnt know too much more then just that.. so its actually designed to be run on 2 differnt machines? Am I going to have more lag between channel changes then the tivo with myth? I expect some just hope its not rediculous..

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For off-the-air HDTV, and unencrypted cable HDTV, the HDHomeRun external dual tuner is excellent, and won't take up a PCI slot.

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only get Sky Digital which is a nasty setup for DIY PVR's like Myth

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In what way don't $ky and Myth get along?

Sky uses it's own encryption, they have never released the details, so the only thing you can watch it on is a Sky Digibox. There are some free to air stations, such as the BBC. But, ITV and C4 etc... require a valid viewing card (even if it's inactive) to view. This means all the Sat PCI cards can't pick them up.

So you have to feed the Myth box via analogue and control with IR or something. Nasty solution compared to free view I think.

I hate living in a blackspot

Cheers

Cris.

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unless i could some how use my LAMP box somehow but its only amd 1g with 756mb ram so not a whole lot going on there..

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I have seen a little bit about myth being client/server but didnt know too much more then just that.. so its actually designed to be run on 2 differnt machines?

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Am I going to have more lag between channel changes then the tivo with myth? I expect some just hope its not ridiculous..

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I'm fairly sure they do MPEG encoding too

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especailly after reading how long it takes to rip one dvd

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I have seen a little bit about myth being client/server but didnt know too much more then just that.. so its actually designed to be run on 2 differnt machines?

The client/server part of Myth is not the easiest thing to understand until you start to use it, but it is totally awesome and really worth taking advantage of. In MythTV terminology, the client is called a 'frontend' and the server is called a 'backend'.

A backend is the part that has the tuners and inputs attached to it. It receives the TV signal, schedules recordings and does the encoding.

A frontend is the GUI part. It has the menus that you can flick through, watch TV, watch recordings and schedule recordings here.

There is also a MySQL database at the heart of all of this. And this part also has an independent server part. Most people seem to run the MySQL server software on the same machine as the Myth-backend software. This is one of the more confusing aspects of every Myth installer I've seen -- you get prompted for all of these mysterious MySQL Server user/password/etc.. settings, and then prompted again for the Myth Server user/password/etc.. settings. No big deal now that you know about it.

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Am I going to have more lag between channel changes then the tivo with myth?

Probably. The software that is used for viewing ("myth frontend") is completely separate from the software used for managing the TV Tuner hardware ("myth backend"). So whenever you change channels, the two must switch gears, and the backend has to start recording to disk, and then finally the frontend has to begin reading/playing the file from disk. There's no direct connection between them (this is the most asked-for and most denied feature request for Myth, hands down). The channel change delay is typically about 3 seconds for analog, more for HD digital.

However.. once you have used it for a week or so, you'll find you no longer channel-surf at all, so channel-change times become totally non-important. Myth auto-nukes commercials, and is quite good at recording hundreds of hours of stuff in advance for you. I'm forever playing "catch up" with recordings it has captured months ago.

Cheers

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Takes about 15-minutes with a modern DVD reader that hasn't been crippled by the firmware.

Hmm i swear the plugin for myth I read said it took like almost as long as the movie it self.. if only about 15min then thats great wont take me as long as i had thought..

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When I encounter a difficult DVD, I fire-up RipIt4Me. Hasn't failed me yet and uses all the programs you're already familiar with.

Is this a standalone program, or some kind of under-the-hood enhancement for the other programs, or what? The FAQ really doesn't explain the obvious to me.

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Anyone want a Samsung Hauppauge PVR-500, cheap?

Do you still have that card?

I'm thinking about adding some tuners, and would have to pay extra per month for an extra smartcard if i wanted too add them digital. Is that card NTSC only? Or would it work overhere with PAL too?
If it can do PAL i'd like to have a go with it. How cheap? Would it be worth it with shipping added?