Re: [mythtv-users] Some Quick Questions about MythTV
On Wed, 2005-10-26 at 04:05, David Watkins wrote: > On 25/10/05, Scot L. Harris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > My main backend system had four 300GB drives with one LVM group setup as > > a 1TB file system which I use for recordings. At this point I did not > > bother with raid. If a drive fails I lose the recordings. > > Yes, and I've always assumed the whole group would be lost, or is > there a way to recover files from the disks that haven't failed? That is my assumption as well. Been working fine since February. Since this is not a critical business system if a drive fails it fails. I spend some time rebuilding things and moving on. If you are concerned about a hard drive failures then you need to setup RAID on your system or have a backup strategy that makes copies of your recordings directory. For a PVR I did not feel that was needed. Have not done this yet but I do plan on backing up the database so it can be restored. (need to get that scripted and in place this weekend :) ) ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] Some Quick Questions about MythTV
On 25/10/05, Scot L. Harris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Tue, 2005-10-25 at 16:25, Steve Adeff wrote: > > On Tuesday 25 October 2005 15:42, Scot L. Harris wrote: > > > On Tue, 2005-10-25 at 15:18, Joshua Lewis wrote: > > > > I am seriously considering the MythTV as an alternative to having 5 > > > > satellite receivers and DVD players and computers and stuff in my house. > > > > I want desperately to consolidate my house. > > > > > > Have read that many people utilize X-Box systems as frontend systems. > > > These connect to the backend system to pull recordings. Not sure if > > > there are any limitations on such an X-Box frontend. > > > > > > I've been looking at putting together a diskless frontend system using > > > small form factor motherboard but have not spent enough time to pick out > > > the right mother board yet. > > > > the Xbox can not handle raw HD MPEG-TS streams. But for standard definition > > TV > > I've found it to be perfect. It is also able to handle what are termed > > "hr.hdtv" XviD encodes. Which is a 1/2 res full AC3 audio encode of HDTV > > shows. They're popular in "the scene" and a great way to archive HDTV shows > > in a small file size with near equal quality. > > > > as for other options, there is a device called Roku, which can handle HDTV > > MPEG2 streams and standard def. TV. The MythTV build for it is still in > > inafancy though, but it promises to be a great, cheap frontend ($300). > > > > Been sorting through the options available using one of the EPIA > boards. Trying to find one that has s-video output and mpeg2 decoding > that can handle shows recorded using PVR cards. > > > > > > I'm also going to add that there are some recent posts concerning LVM's and > > RAID that you'll want to search gossamer for. You look to be building a > > rather large file server into your backend, and at this point these are your > > best bets. I'm trying to see if the dev's will entertain the idea of having > > more than one recordings directory that would allow for all this to be much > > easier. > > My main backend system had four 300GB drives with one LVM group setup as > a 1TB file system which I use for recordings. At this point I did not > bother with raid. If a drive fails I lose the recordings. Yes, and I've always assumed the whole group would be lost, or is there a way to recover files from the disks that haven't failed? ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] Some Quick Questions about MythTV
On Tue, 2005-10-25 at 16:25, Steve Adeff wrote: > On Tuesday 25 October 2005 15:42, Scot L. Harris wrote: > > On Tue, 2005-10-25 at 15:18, Joshua Lewis wrote: > > > I am seriously considering the MythTV as an alternative to having 5 > > > satellite receivers and DVD players and computers and stuff in my house. > > > I want desperately to consolidate my house. > > > > Have read that many people utilize X-Box systems as frontend systems. > > These connect to the backend system to pull recordings. Not sure if > > there are any limitations on such an X-Box frontend. > > > > I've been looking at putting together a diskless frontend system using > > small form factor motherboard but have not spent enough time to pick out > > the right mother board yet. > > the Xbox can not handle raw HD MPEG-TS streams. But for standard definition > TV > I've found it to be perfect. It is also able to handle what are termed > "hr.hdtv" XviD encodes. Which is a 1/2 res full AC3 audio encode of HDTV > shows. They're popular in "the scene" and a great way to archive HDTV shows > in a small file size with near equal quality. > > as for other options, there is a device called Roku, which can handle HDTV > MPEG2 streams and standard def. TV. The MythTV build for it is still in > inafancy though, but it promises to be a great, cheap frontend ($300). > Been sorting through the options available using one of the EPIA boards. Trying to find one that has s-video output and mpeg2 decoding that can handle shows recorded using PVR cards. > > I'm also going to add that there are some recent posts concerning LVM's and > RAID that you'll want to search gossamer for. You look to be building a > rather large file server into your backend, and at this point these are your > best bets. I'm trying to see if the dev's will entertain the idea of having > more than one recordings directory that would allow for all this to be much > easier. My main backend system had four 300GB drives with one LVM group setup as a 1TB file system which I use for recordings. At this point I did not bother with raid. If a drive fails I lose the recordings. ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] Some Quick Questions about MythTV
Joshua Lewis wrote: Two: Can I even do what I am trying to do? The Windows XP Media Center allows you to hook up an X-Box or media extender to TV's so you can watch your Prerecorded information from a TV not directly hooked to the Media Center PC. That is what I want to do with MythTV. You will need a MythTV frontend at every TV. One frontend per display, so for 5 TV's, you'll need 5 frontends. Options include computers In MCE terms, Microsoft Windows Media Center PC is like a combined MythTV frontend/backend. Media Center Extender is a MythTV frontend. TTBOMK, you cannot have multiple Media Center "backends," but MythTV allows you to use as many backends and as many frontends as desired and backends do not need to also be frontends. So, whereas a Media Center PC has to be pretty beefy (for playback), a MythTV backend--that's not serving as a frontend--typically can be a very low-end computer. Although it looks like MythTV can record my DVD's to disk drive where I can't get a confirmed yes on that ability for Windows MCPC. Definitely can with MythTV. Biggest problem is storage space. DVD's--especially if you do full menus, etc.--take up a lot of space. I would like to load all my families DVD's (If they are all loaded the way I want then I don't have to keep baying new DVD's when my kids scratch them. I got to get a new Harry Potter this weekend), MP3's and hook up like 5 TV tuners to the system so everyone can watch and record TV from there own room. Then I can watch Sci-Fi and Westwing until I am blue in the face in my bedroom while my wife watches Desperate House Wives and America's Next top Model downstairs (ok those two shows have enough hotties that I don't mind so much) but you get the picture. I got Barney in one room and GI Joe in another and so on and so fourth. If you stick with satellite (and are using DISH or DirecTV), you'll need to keep the 5 satellite receivers (because they encrypt the signals so only their equipment can decrypt it). If not (i.e. if you're using FTA), search the lists for more info. And, remember, you'll need a MythTV frontend for each TV... Three: I plan to get a truly beefy system to do all of this. I am looking into a SARA raid array to prevent data loss and if possible dual core system (do they make duel CPU Dual Core motherboards) I want to avoid any kind of Encoding in the main processors. So do I need a certain TV Tuner to do everything in the tuner and such? Let's pretend money is no object (unfortunately it is so this will be an ongoing project) how would you design your system. Go with Hauppauge PVR-150's (preferred) or PVR-250's (more expensive, older, take more power, and lower quality--bigger number doesn't mean better) for analog TV. If you're doing HDTV, you can get HD-x000's or Air2PC. See http://mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-3.html#ss3.1 for more info. Also, note that bigger is not necessarily better. Since you're going to have to have 5 frontends for 5 TV's, and since frontends need more power than backends (when using the PVR-x50's/HDTV capture cards), you could "parallelize" the system by making some of those additional frontends into combined frontends/backends. Mike ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] Some Quick Questions about MythTV
On Tuesday 25 October 2005 15:42, Scot L. Harris wrote: > On Tue, 2005-10-25 at 15:18, Joshua Lewis wrote: > > I am seriously considering the MythTV as an alternative to having 5 > > satellite receivers and DVD players and computers and stuff in my house. > > I want desperately to consolidate my house. > > > > I questions is three fold. > > > > One is the MythTV documentation on PDF somewhere or available to download > > so I can read it on my way home on the train? > > > > Two: Can I even do what I am trying to do? The Windows XP Media Center > > allows you to hook up an X-Box or media extender to TV's so you can watch > > your Prerecorded information from a TV not directly hooked to the Media > > Center PC. That is what I want to do with MythTV. Although it looks like > > MythTV can record my DVD's to disk drive where I can't get a confirmed > > yes on that ability for Windows MCPC. > > Have read that many people utilize X-Box systems as frontend systems. > These connect to the backend system to pull recordings. Not sure if > there are any limitations on such an X-Box frontend. > > I've been looking at putting together a diskless frontend system using > small form factor motherboard but have not spent enough time to pick out > the right mother board yet. the Xbox can not handle raw HD MPEG-TS streams. But for standard definition TV I've found it to be perfect. It is also able to handle what are termed "hr.hdtv" XviD encodes. Which is a 1/2 res full AC3 audio encode of HDTV shows. They're popular in "the scene" and a great way to archive HDTV shows in a small file size with near equal quality. as for other options, there is a device called Roku, which can handle HDTV MPEG2 streams and standard def. TV. The MythTV build for it is still in inafancy though, but it promises to be a great, cheap frontend ($300). > > I would like to load all my families DVD's (If they are all loaded the > > way I want then I don't have to keep baying new DVD's when my kids > > scratch them. I got to get a new Harry Potter this weekend), MP3's and > > hook up like 5 TV tuners to the system so everyone can watch and record > > TV from there own room. Then I can watch Sci-Fi and Westwing until I am > > blue in the face in my bedroom while my wife watches Desperate House > > Wives and America's Next top Model downstairs (ok those two shows have > > enough hotties that I don't mind so much) but you get the picture. I got > > Barney in one room and GI Joe in another and so on and so fourth. > > You can do that, just build a big server with lots of disk drives and > encoder cards and deploy diskless front ends to each TV. Have not > played around much with the DVD options in mythtv. But it appears that > it can be done. You will want to make sure the frontends you use > support the right protocols so xine can be used on your TVs. I > understand that allows you to get the full menus from the DVDs. Others > should have better comments on this feature. > > > Three: I plan to get a truly beefy system to do all of this. I am looking > > into a SARA raid array to prevent data loss and if possible dual core > > system (do they make duel CPU Dual Core motherboards) I want to avoid any > > kind of Encoding in the main processors. So do I need a certain TV Tuner > > to do everything in the tuner and such? Let's pretend money is no object > > (unfortunately it is so this will be an ongoing project) how would you > > design your system. I know a lot of these questions can be answered by > > the documentation but I only have time to read it offline and have not > > been able to find a way to print or view it offline. > > The big decision is going to be based around the signal input. If you > just want/need the analog channels off most cable services (all I use) > it is fairly easy. Get a big tower system with lots of drives and > plenty of cooling, install several PVR-500's (two tuners per card), > setup as many diskless front end systems as you need. The PVR-500's are > not that expensive. I'm also going to add that there are some recent posts concerning LVM's and RAID that you'll want to search gossamer for. You look to be building a rather large file server into your backend, and at this point these are your best bets. I'm trying to see if the dev's will entertain the idea of having more than one recordings directory that would allow for all this to be much easier. > > I have found that watching live tv is not done much anymore. I setup > recording rules to capture all the shows I am interested in. Then you > can watch them when ever you want. > > If you are using PVR-500 tuners you won't require that much CPU. The > CPU will mostly be needed for commercial flagging jobs. > > Check out Jarod's guide for building the system. It will help a lot. as well, HDTV capture and using the PVR are not cpu intensive at all, where the cpu for the backend stuff comes in is in commercial flagging, transcoding (re-encoding from
Re: [mythtv-users] Some Quick Questions about MythTV
Hi Josh, On 10/25/05, Joshua Lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I am seriously considering the MythTV as an alternative to having 5 > satellite receivers and DVD players and computers and stuff in my house. I > want desperately to consolidate my house. > > I questions is three fold. > > One is the MythTV documentation on PDF somewhere or available to download > so I can read it on my way home on the train? :) i don't really know if the MythTv docs are consolidated enough to print out and read in dead tree form. although i really haven't looked. i get most of my Myth info from this very resource here. and when i don't see an active thread regarding the topic i'm researching i turn to http://www.gossamer-threads.com/lists/mythtv/ or http://www.mysettopbox.tv/phpBB2/ > Two: Can I even do what I am trying to do? The Windows XP Media Center > allows you to hook up an X-Box or media extender to TV's so you can watch > your Prerecorded information from a TV not directly hooked to the Media > Center PC. That is what I want to do with MythTV. Although it looks like > MythTV can record my DVD's to disk drive where I can't get a confirmed yes > on that ability for Windows MCPC. you can do anything/everything with MythTv! ;) yes, from your description, you can do that with MythTv. > > I would like to load all my families DVD's (If they are all loaded the way > I want then I don't have to keep baying new DVD's when my kids scratch > them. I got to get a new Harry Potter this weekend), MP3's and hook up > like 5 TV tuners to the system so everyone can watch and record TV from > there own room. Then I can watch Sci-Fi and Westwing until I am blue in > the face in my bedroom while my wife watches Desperate House Wives and > America's Next top Model downstairs (ok those two shows have enough > hotties that I don't mind so much) but you get the picture. I got Barney > in one room and GI Joe in another and so on and so fourth. the trick is that aside from your 5 tuners you may still need 5 your 5 satellite tuners depending on the type of signal you get. if you're looking at SDTV (analog) you can get away with your feed and a splitter. if you're looking at digital then you will most likely need settop boxes. HDTV is another animal... so it depends on what type of signal you are trying to capture and how it's provided to you. > Three: I plan to get a truly beefy system to do all of this. I am looking > into a SARA raid array to prevent data loss and if possible dual core > system (do they make duel CPU Dual Core motherboards) I want to avoid any > kind of Encoding in the main processors. So do I need a certain TV Tuner > to do everything in the tuner and such? Let's pretend money is no object > (unfortunately it is so this will be an ongoing project) how would you > design your system. I know a lot of these questions can be answered by the > documentation but I only have time to read it offline and have not been > able to find a way to print or view it offline. surprisingly you don't need a Cray to do what you want to do. if you're using the Hauppauge PVR cards or other capture cards that do the video encoding for you then you really don't need an uber-powerful backend system. even with HDTV. the cards will do most of the work, depending on the cards you get. if you want to transcode your recordings into another format you may want a higher power system. you will need a LOT of disk space. i started ripping my very meager dvd collection to watch via MythVideo and the 350GB i had just didn't cut it. :) even keeping up with SD broadcasts i find i'm running out of room with 300GB. but i don't watch Modern Marvels as often as it's played either. you can use an xbox as a front end but there are gotcha's that may come along with it. there is also the Hauppauge Media-MVP (http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_mediamvp.html) that some ppl are playing with and using for a light weight front end. so what you want is doable with Myth and not necessarily difficult. but you will need to research a bit. i think most of the responses you'll get are like mine, lot's of fluff and not a lot of detail. :) you'll definitely get more pointed responses with directed questions. shotgun questions get shotgun answers. ;) maybe mention what type of signal you'll be capturing and what you want to do with it. watch it and delete it? back up to dvd? transcode for later viewing on your video iPod? that's the first question that will need to be answered. then ppl can help you pick out your hardware. oh, and where do you live? US, Europe, Aus, etc. it's easier to get advice from someone in your locale. not that other ppl can't help, it's just easier to get accurate responses from ppl that have gone through the setup in your area. ok, i'm sure i've rambled on much too long about this. :) good luck! ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi
Re: [mythtv-users] Some Quick Questions about MythTV
On Tue, 2005-10-25 at 15:18, Joshua Lewis wrote: > I am seriously considering the MythTV as an alternative to having 5 > satellite receivers and DVD players and computers and stuff in my house. I > want desperately to consolidate my house. > > I questions is three fold. > > One is the MythTV documentation on PDF somewhere or available to download > so I can read it on my way home on the train? > > Two: Can I even do what I am trying to do? The Windows XP Media Center > allows you to hook up an X-Box or media extender to TV's so you can watch > your Prerecorded information from a TV not directly hooked to the Media > Center PC. That is what I want to do with MythTV. Although it looks like > MythTV can record my DVD's to disk drive where I can't get a confirmed yes > on that ability for Windows MCPC. > Have read that many people utilize X-Box systems as frontend systems. These connect to the backend system to pull recordings. Not sure if there are any limitations on such an X-Box frontend. I've been looking at putting together a diskless frontend system using small form factor motherboard but have not spent enough time to pick out the right mother board yet. > I would like to load all my families DVD's (If they are all loaded the way > I want then I don't have to keep baying new DVD's when my kids scratch > them. I got to get a new Harry Potter this weekend), MP3's and hook up > like 5 TV tuners to the system so everyone can watch and record TV from > there own room. Then I can watch Sci-Fi and Westwing until I am blue in > the face in my bedroom while my wife watches Desperate House Wives and > America's Next top Model downstairs (ok those two shows have enough > hotties that I don't mind so much) but you get the picture. I got Barney > in one room and GI Joe in another and so on and so fourth. > You can do that, just build a big server with lots of disk drives and encoder cards and deploy diskless front ends to each TV. Have not played around much with the DVD options in mythtv. But it appears that it can be done. You will want to make sure the frontends you use support the right protocols so xine can be used on your TVs. I understand that allows you to get the full menus from the DVDs. Others should have better comments on this feature. > Three: I plan to get a truly beefy system to do all of this. I am looking > into a SARA raid array to prevent data loss and if possible dual core > system (do they make duel CPU Dual Core motherboards) I want to avoid any > kind of Encoding in the main processors. So do I need a certain TV Tuner > to do everything in the tuner and such? Let's pretend money is no object > (unfortunately it is so this will be an ongoing project) how would you > design your system. I know a lot of these questions can be answered by the > documentation but I only have time to read it offline and have not been > able to find a way to print or view it offline. The big decision is going to be based around the signal input. If you just want/need the analog channels off most cable services (all I use) it is fairly easy. Get a big tower system with lots of drives and plenty of cooling, install several PVR-500's (two tuners per card), setup as many diskless front end systems as you need. The PVR-500's are not that expensive. I have found that watching live tv is not done much anymore. I setup recording rules to capture all the shows I am interested in. Then you can watch them when ever you want. If you are using PVR-500 tuners you won't require that much CPU. The CPU will mostly be needed for commercial flagging jobs. Check out Jarod's guide for building the system. It will help a lot. ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
Re: [mythtv-users] Some Quick Questions about MythTV
On 10/25/05, Joshua Lewis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I am seriously considering the MythTV as an alternative to having 5 > satellite receivers and DVD players and computers and stuff in my house. I > want desperately to consolidate my house. > > I questions is three fold. > > One is the MythTV documentation on PDF somewhere or available to download > so I can read it on my way home on the train? http://mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-1.html#ss1.4 > > Two: Can I even do what I am trying to do? The Windows XP Media Center > allows you to hook up an X-Box or media extender to TV's so you can watch > your Prerecorded information from a TV not directly hooked to the Media > Center PC. That is what I want to do with MythTV. Although it looks like > MythTV can record my DVD's to disk drive where I can't get a confirmed yes > on that ability for Windows MCPC. > > I would like to load all my families DVD's (If they are all loaded the way > I want then I don't have to keep baying new DVD's when my kids scratch > them. I got to get a new Harry Potter this weekend), MP3's and hook up > like 5 TV tuners to the system so everyone can watch and record TV from > there own room. Then I can watch Sci-Fi and Westwing until I am blue in > the face in my bedroom while my wife watches Desperate House Wives and > America's Next top Model downstairs (ok those two shows have enough > hotties that I don't mind so much) but you get the picture. I got Barney > in one room and GI Joe in another and so on and so fourth. Essentially, you want to view programs on a TV that is not where the main server is? MythTV runs in a client/server form (frontend/backend), so this would be possible by placing a frontend (X-Boxes can work) by the TV. > > Three: I plan to get a truly beefy system to do all of this. I am looking > into a SARA raid array to prevent data loss and if possible dual core > system (do they make duel CPU Dual Core motherboards) I want to avoid any > kind of Encoding in the main processors. So do I need a certain TV Tuner > to do everything in the tuner and such? Let's pretend money is no object > (unfortunately it is so this will be an ongoing project) how would you > design your system. I know a lot of these questions can be answered by the > documentation but I only have time to read it offline and have not been > able to find a way to print or view it offline. To be honest, the backend doesn't need to be too powerful if you're running MPEG2 encoders such as the Hauppauge PVR series. Transcoding to Divx format *would* require some horsepower. ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
[mythtv-users] Some Quick Questions about MythTV
I am seriously considering the MythTV as an alternative to having 5 satellite receivers and DVD players and computers and stuff in my house. I want desperately to consolidate my house. I questions is three fold. One is the MythTV documentation on PDF somewhere or available to download so I can read it on my way home on the train? Two: Can I even do what I am trying to do? The Windows XP Media Center allows you to hook up an X-Box or media extender to TV's so you can watch your Prerecorded information from a TV not directly hooked to the Media Center PC. That is what I want to do with MythTV. Although it looks like MythTV can record my DVD's to disk drive where I can't get a confirmed yes on that ability for Windows MCPC. I would like to load all my families DVD's (If they are all loaded the way I want then I don't have to keep baying new DVD's when my kids scratch them. I got to get a new Harry Potter this weekend), MP3's and hook up like 5 TV tuners to the system so everyone can watch and record TV from there own room. Then I can watch Sci-Fi and Westwing until I am blue in the face in my bedroom while my wife watches Desperate House Wives and America's Next top Model downstairs (ok those two shows have enough hotties that I don't mind so much) but you get the picture. I got Barney in one room and GI Joe in another and so on and so fourth. Three: I plan to get a truly beefy system to do all of this. I am looking into a SARA raid array to prevent data loss and if possible dual core system (do they make duel CPU Dual Core motherboards) I want to avoid any kind of Encoding in the main processors. So do I need a certain TV Tuner to do everything in the tuner and such? Let's pretend money is no object (unfortunately it is so this will be an ongoing project) how would you design your system. I know a lot of these questions can be answered by the documentation but I only have time to read it offline and have not been able to find a way to print or view it offline. Thank you in advance for any recommendations and advice. Thank you, Joshua Lewis ___ mythtv-users mailing list mythtv-users@mythtv.org http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
