> I need to keep the cost below $500 for both software and hardware (I already > have a few large hard drives so I will not have to include those in the cost > of building my new PVR) I also have a copy of Win200 Pro that I can use as > well. >
You could probably keep it under $500 either way but Myth is yours, in that neither the source nor the community are going anywhere. You could get Beyond, but then in a year or two when you want to update your hardware you find that Win2k is unsupported, plus you'll need to upgrade Beyond. All of the sudden that $150 HD card becomes $450, and you get a whole heap of DRM to go with it. And then when Beyond is crushed by MSMCE you'll be right back here where you started. If you want something that is quick and easy to set up but rather limited, get Beyond, by all means. If you want to have your system your way that is capable of doing just about anything, and are willing to spend time perfecting it, welcome to Myth. You can definitely keep it under $500 if you've already got storage. I'd recommend you look for a cheap used box at least P4 1G if you want live TV. Add as many PVR x50 cards as you want inputs -- the PVR 250 is very well supported and a good one to start with. The 150 is cheaper, and the 500 is 2x150 on one card. Pretty much any nvidia gf2 mmx + card with S-video will work. I saw a gf4 at Microcenter the other day for $30, and bought an fx5200 w/ DVI for $55. Sound will work off your mobo, but it's very easy to exand to 5.1 later on. I'd also recommend using a small HDD (20 G or so) for the OS and live buffer. This will let you play around with different OSs and even reformat the whole drive if you want without risking your library. Start with Knoppmyth -- http://www.mysettopbox.tv/. It's the OS (koppix-debian) and the complete MythTV package with a straightforward installer. Good luck _______________________________________________ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users