Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
A lot of the time, I find on *nix lists/chatrooms, the only way to get a reasonable answer (That is, one that doesn't require 300 hours worth of digging through man pages and searching obscure keywords on old university sites) is to start your question with Linux sucks! In Windows I could insert what you want to do here easier than anything! Why should I bother with this back-bedroom OS anyways?, which will usually get you 30 people giving you a nice, simple walkthrough of what you wanted to do easily. I admit, it's not a nice way to ask, but sometimes it's the only way to work out what the hell's going on. I mean, whoever thought that ESCwq was an intuitive way of saving a file, and a text editor that doesn't edit 'til you put it into edit mode? Give me Nano/Pico anyday. On Sun, 13 Mar 2005 03:51:36 -0500, Maverick [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: The email from Maverick yesterday detailed what he bought, based on the Jarod's Standard Definition Slave Backend and Playback System says this: Chaintech 7NIF2 Athlon XP 2700+ 2x 256MB DRAM PC3200 Samsung 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model SP1614C SilverStone Lascala SST-LC11 HTPC Case PVR-350 I think I'm going to put the pictures of my install together and do a write up about it. Hardware seems to be a common question on this list, but there's not too many detailed lists of exactly what worked for people (well, there's the mythtv hardware database, but I found it less than helpful). I found Jarod's list of his hardware specifics very helpful, in fact, I got the same motherboard because I assumed if he has TVout working on it, then I could get it to work... If I did the above again, being a couple weeks later in the every changing computer hardware world, I'd get the Chaintech 7NIF4 (+SATA!!), and the SATA version of the Samsung 160gb drive. Mainly for the convenience of small cables. I might upgrade my board anyway and just sell the one I have on ebay for $50 or something, it's only 2 weeks old... ;) Another thing, the newer board supports Sempron too, which are ?cheaper? than XP's... What would be kick ass is a version of that board with DVI out! Now I'm dreaming. -Kenneth ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
On Mon, 2005-03-14 at 11:03 -0600, Robert Johnston wrote: A lot of the time, I find on *nix lists/chatrooms, the only way to get a reasonable answer (That is, one that doesn't require 300 hours worth of digging through man pages and searching obscure keywords on old university sites) is to start your question with Linux sucks! In Windows I could insert what you want to do here easier than anything! Why should I bother with this back-bedroom OS anyways?, which will usually get you 30 people giving you a nice, simple walkthrough of what you wanted to do easily. Snicker. True, though. I admit, it's not a nice way to ask, but sometimes it's the only way to work out what the hell's going on. I mean, whoever thought that ESCwq was an intuitive way of saving a file, and a text editor that doesn't edit 'til you put it into edit mode? Give me Nano/Pico anyday. People who used WordStar on CP/M machines. -- - Ron Johnson, Jr. Jefferson, LA USA PGP Key ID 8834C06B I prefer encrypted mail. Our computers and their computers are the same color. The conversion should be no problem! Unknown signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
I admit, it's not a nice way to ask, but sometimes it's the only way to work out what the hell's going on. I mean, whoever thought that ESCwq was an intuitive way of saving a file, and a text editor that doesn't edit 'til you put it into edit mode? Give me Nano/Pico anyday. ESCwq isn't intuitive, that's what Shift-ZZ is for!! :) Can't believe use editors without awesome built in macros!!! Nano and Pico blow my mind, they're to mught like DOS edit!! :-P -Kenneth ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
The email from Maverick yesterday detailed what he bought, based on the Jarod's Standard Definition Slave Backend and Playback System says this: Chaintech 7NIF2 Athlon XP 2700+ 2x 256MB DRAM PC3200 Samsung 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model SP1614C SilverStone Lascala SST-LC11 HTPC Case PVR-350 I think I'm going to put the pictures of my install together and do a write up about it. Hardware seems to be a common question on this list, but there's not too many detailed lists of exactly what worked for people (well, there's the mythtv hardware database, but I found it less than helpful). I found Jarod's list of his hardware specifics very helpful, in fact, I got the same motherboard because I assumed if he has TVout working on it, then I could get it to work... If I did the above again, being a couple weeks later in the every changing computer hardware world, I'd get the Chaintech 7NIF4 (+SATA!!), and the SATA version of the Samsung 160gb drive. Mainly for the convenience of small cables. I might upgrade my board anyway and just sell the one I have on ebay for $50 or something, it's only 2 weeks old... ;) Another thing, the newer board supports Sempron too, which are ?cheaper? than XP's... What would be kick ass is a version of that board with DVI out! Now I'm dreaming. -Kenneth ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
John M. Luker wrote: Ok, after lurking here for a day and seeing the great amount of interaction on this list, I'm ready to take the plunge. I'm going to build a new machine that will be dedicated to MythTV. What hardware would you recommend, and why? TIA, J. Well, it all seems to depend on what your needs are. Is HD a priority? Are you in the US? Do you want a single all in one machine, or separate backend/frontent machines? Do you want to use over the air, cable, digital cable, or satellite? It all depends on where you want to be. Tom ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
You could probably do a search on this list and find about 50 threads with this same question. Or you could look at the requirements on mythtv's website. There is an unlimited amount of possibilities for hardware. Aaron On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 10:18:25 -0500, Tom Lichti [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: John M. Luker wrote: Ok, after lurking here for a day and seeing the great amount of interaction on this list, I'm ready to take the plunge. I'm going to build a new machine that will be dedicated to MythTV. What hardware would you recommend, and why? TIA, J. Well, it all seems to depend on what your needs are. Is HD a priority? Are you in the US? Do you want a single all in one machine, or separate backend/frontent machines? Do you want to use over the air, cable, digital cable, or satellite? It all depends on where you want to be. Tom ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
Hello, Here's a more specific question for the learned masses. I try to be energy efficient by leaving my power-hungry PCs off as much as possible. I've been trying to use Wake-On-Lan scripts from my old Pentium 3 machine to wake my Myth box. My problem is that the motherboard on my Myth box has issues with waking successfully. (It also has issues with warm boots ... and sometimes cold boots ...) I've got a ABIT BE7-RAID that was a good value at the time but I've never been impressed with the booting reliability. Anybody here had good luck with remote power-on of a P4 motherboard? Specific recommendations? Thanks! Jean On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 10:32:20 -0500, Aaron Aguilar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: You could probably do a search on this list and find about 50 threads with this same question. Or you could look at the requirements on mythtv's website. There is an unlimited amount of possibilities for hardware. ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 10:32:20 -0500, Aaron Aguilar [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: You could probably do a search on this list and find about 50 threads with this same question. That's 50 threads for this month alone :P ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
John M. Luker wrote: Ok, after lurking here for a day and seeing the great amount of interaction on this list, I'm ready to take the plunge. I'm going to build a new machine that will be dedicated to MythTV. What hardware would you recommend, and why? TIA, J. I'd recommend an iPAQ or Zaurus PDA With a calendar!! It'll let you plan a week or so of lurking :) Then you'll get an idea about archives and searching !! David ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
On Sat, 2005-03-12 at 10:18 -0500, Tom Lichti wrote: John M. Luker wrote: Ok, after lurking here for a day and seeing the great amount of interaction on this list, I'm ready to take the plunge. I'm going to build a new machine that will be dedicated to MythTV. What hardware would you recommend, and why? TIA, J. Well, it all seems to depend on what your needs are. Is HD a priority? Are you in the US? Do you want a single all in one machine, or separate backend/frontent machines? Do you want to use over the air, cable, digital cable, or satellite? It all depends on where you want to be. In my case (pun intended...), it's US, NTSC cable (i.e., no HD), combined system. The email from Maverick yesterday detailed what he bought, based on the Jarod's Standard Definition Slave Backend and Playback System says this: Chaintech 7NIF2 Athlon XP 2700+ 2x 256MB DRAM PC3200 Samsung 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model SP1614C SilverStone Lascala SST-LC11 HTPC Case PVR-350 -- - Ron Johnson, Jr. Jefferson, LA USA PGP Key ID 8834C06B I prefer encrypted mail. If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score? Vince Lombardi signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 John M. Luker wrote: David wrote: I'd recommend an iPAQ or Zaurus PDA With a calendar!! It'll let you plan a week or so of lurking :) Then you'll get an idea about archives and searching !! David That's really helpful, David. Just think, an experienced member such as yourself just wasted as many resources with your [EMAIL PROTECTED] reply as I did with My [EMAIL PROTECTED] question. Way to go! J Pointing a new member to the correct place to research and find answers to simple questions that are asked on a daily if not weekly basis isnt dumb. Yes your questions were dumb, but not Davids nice reply. Get the stick outta yer ass and youll realize that. So here it is in baby words: SEARCH THE ARCHIVES. Tom -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.0 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFCMy4TA9pBYDp2SNERAsjSAJ0euBbM5r55gUCVpVCJjbpf+Qh6IQCfU3Ta XIhUwfwUJaErRcYGJULI6CA= =07Ql -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
Easy, tiger. Let's all try to be civil here, OK? The more specific you make your question, the easier it is for people to help you; the easier it is, the more people will be willing to help you. You're right, this is a very active list, and overall, a very friendly one. But people here do get rather snipey at times, particularly when asked questions that lack the proper information. If someone, for example, writes the list saying, My video card doesn't work. How do I fix it?, there's not much anyone can do. If the same person instead writes, I'm having trouble getting the TV-out on my nVidia GeForce 4 to overscan to an NTSC TV. I'm running 0.17 on FC3. I've tried using xvidtune and nvtv but I can't seem to adjust the picture size, only attributes like color, brightness, etc. Any suggestions? they are much more likely to get some help. The hardware possibilities for MythTV are quite extensive. For someone to recommend hardware for you, it would help to know things like: * Are you planning to display to a monitor or TV * Is the system primarily for recording TV? watching live TV? archiving videos? playing music? * Are you looking for a combined frontend/backend or a backend with separate frontends? * How much of an issue is case size and appearance? Or noise? * Do you need to have HDTV capability? * What's the source of your TV signals -- OTA? CATV? DirectTV? * How much do you want to spend? I have experience setting up low-budget machines and can give you plenty of suggestions on how to build a great box for under $500, but my suggestions will not give you HDTV or surround sound. Plenty of other people on the list could help you set up a full-throttle system with a four-tuner backend, separate frontends via 802.11x, HDTV-out, and remote channel switching to satellite recievers. This will cost a lot more than $500. As a general suggestion, include as much information as possible in your posts, and make sure to search the archives (http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/) first to see if your question has already been answered. Once you're up and running, make sure you include in your posts what distribution you're using, what build of MythTV, and any relevant log output that can help people reproduce and/or diagnose the problems you're having. Good luck, and welcome to MythTV. On Sat, 12 Mar 2005 12:47:53 -0500, John M. Luker [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: David wrote: I'd recommend an iPAQ or Zaurus PDA With a calendar!! It'll let you plan a week or so of lurking :) Then you'll get an idea about archives and searching !! David That's really helpful, David. Just think, an experienced member such as yourself just wasted as many resources with your [EMAIL PROTECTED] reply as I did with My [EMAIL PROTECTED] question. Way to go! J. ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
Pointing a new member to the correct place to research and find answers to simple questions that are asked on a daily if not weekly basis isnt dumb. Yes your questions were dumb, but not Davids nice reply. Get the stick outta yer ass and youll realize that. So here it is in baby words: SEARCH THE ARCHIVES. Tom That is absolutely correct, other than the stick outta yer ass part (I checked, there is no stick there, but thanks for reminding Me to check). Here's how a person with merely average social skills would accomplish that: Dear insert name here: Welcome to the MythTv mailing list. Many new members ask exactly the same question that you did. There is an abundance of information to be gleaned from the archives, which you can access at insert url here. I hope you have a pleasant experience and if you have any questions that aren't answered in the archives please feel free to post it here. Good luck! insert your name here Another option would be to ask the list owner to include a link to the archives in the initial confirmation email that all new members receive reminding them where the archives are. I'll send an email to the list owner suggesting that. Again, thanks for your insight, and for consuming additional resources. J. ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 John M. Luker wrote: That is absolutely correct, other than the stick outta yer ass part (I checked, there is no stick there, but thanks for reminding Me to check). Here's how a person with merely average social skills would accomplish that: Dear insert name here: Welcome to the MythTv mailing list. Many new members ask exactly the same question that you did. There is an abundance of information to be gleaned from the archives, which you can access at insert url here. I hope you have a pleasant experience and if you have any questions that aren't answered in the archives please feel free to post it here. Good luck! insert your name here OK, but ya see...you had to sign up for the mailing list. To do so you had to go to http://www.mythtv.org/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users/ that link. There is a link to the mailing list archives there, you already had access to it. So why should we have to point it out again? Isnt it commen sense to look in the archives? Wouldnt you think that any question dealing with hardware may have at least been touched on once? Why point out what youve already seen? Tom -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.0 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFCMzWpA9pBYDp2SNERAvH9AKCF234A6W3gm4hzqicZSdzao43iewCfXv5k UaNQymLQ3HoaU1tZEj7oU04= =CPeG -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
On Sat, 2005-03-12 at 12:59 -0500, Tom E. Craddock, Jr. wrote: -BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 John M. Luker wrote: David wrote: [snip] reply. Get the stick outta yer ass and youll realize that. So here it is in baby words: SEARCH THE ARCHIVES. Unfortunately, the archives are huge, and for a newbie, deciding which keywords to search on (and not get overwhelmed by not-what- I-want-stuff) is kinda difficult. Pointing people to a good HOWTO is the thing to do. Best would be for the postmaster to put this in the list signature: http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/fcmyth.php -- - Ron Johnson, Jr. Jefferson, LA USA PGP Key ID 8834C06B I prefer encrypted mail. Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world. Mother Teresa signature.asc Description: This is a digitally signed message part ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
Ron Johnson wrote: If you want real inversely proportional manners, you'll go to http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/ and say, I'm a Windows n00b fan boy. How do I install this Linux stuff, d00d? Yeah, it's the same on almost all the *nix sites that I've been on. Hence, most major universities have business schools that offer a BSBA in MIS in addition to having an engineering school that offers CS. J. ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
Ron Johnson wrote: On Sat, 2005-03-12 at 10:18 -0500, Tom Lichti wrote: John M. Luker wrote: Ok, after lurking here for a day and seeing the great amount of interaction on this list, I'm ready to take the plunge. I'm going to build a new machine that will be dedicated to MythTV. What hardware would you recommend, and why? TIA, J. Well, it all seems to depend on what your needs are. Is HD a priority? Are you in the US? Do you want a single all in one machine, or separate backend/frontent machines? Do you want to use over the air, cable, digital cable, or satellite? It all depends on where you want to be. In my case (pun intended...), it's US, NTSC cable (i.e., no HD), combined system. The email from Maverick yesterday detailed what he bought, based on the Jarod's Standard Definition Slave Backend and Playback System says this: Chaintech 7NIF2 Athlon XP 2700+ 2x 256MB DRAM PC3200 Samsung 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model SP1614C SilverStone Lascala SST-LC11 HTPC Case PVR-350 Sounds about right. The only thing to really consider is the case, if you want it to be a part of a home theater setup. Tom ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] New System Hardware Recommendations
John M. Luker wrote: Dewey Smolka wrote: Easy, tiger. Let's all try to be civil here, OK? The more specific you make your question, the easier it is for people to help you; the easier it is, the more people will be willing to help you. Dewey: Thanks for the considerate reply. Perhaps I should have lurked longer :) I'll try to be much more specific in the future. Thanks, J. eek - yep! Pay attention to smileys - they mean someone's not _trying_ to be an PITA! In this case I was throwing in a quick, pointed, and slightly humourous (I thought) newbie response to avoid you being hit by some of the blunter ones you could have gotten! So, try this page too - the wiki's got quite a bit of info: http://www.mythtv.info/moin.cgi/HardWare And, to show there's no bad, why don't you think about what you want to do, keep some notes and as you start to answer the questions you can populate a Real Beginners Guide to Myth on the wiki? If you contribute back like that then everyone will know that you weren't just being lazy and expecting other people to hand you the answers ;) David ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
