Project: Linux based PVR

[DaBeeeenster]

Right then. Dont often post here but thought I would start off a thread about the upcoming Personal Video Recorder I am going to (attempt) to put together.

I've got a Shuttle SK41G arriving tomorrow, with my main rig acting as a donor PC (512MB of 266 DDR, 2x80GB disks and an Athlon 1800). Going to stick gentoo linux onto it first of all to get things up and running, then the real fun starts.

I've bought an Avermedia DVB-T digital tuner which will be driving a MythTV backend. It looks like a total bitch to get set up, but I am up for a challenge, and have a fair amount of Linux experience.

Anyway, here are some pics of what MythTV looks like when everything is up and running, and a listof features:

http://www.mythtv.org/modules.php?name=MythFeatures

Anyway, I am looking forward to screaming at Linux, swearing a lot and generally getting upset for about a week before it is all working and sat next to my Sony TV downstairs, so this thread is going to be a little bit cathartic for me. Anyone done anything like this before?

[directhex]

i've done the software bit before, i set up mythtv on debian sarge, on my spare "sacrifice" machine. it _IS_ a whore to set up properly, unfortunately, but very nice once beaten into submission.

[DaBeeeenster]

Right, well, after about 20 hours of hacking at the Linux kernel, I have the thing working, and it is SO damn sweet! As of now I can:

Watch free-to-air digital TV on my PC
Pause, rewind and fast forward "live" tv
Schedule programs to record automatically (both from the PC and an internet facing web based interface)
Watch scheduled programs
Play MP3's
Play DIVX files

And this is the best part:

Boot up my laptop in Linux, slap in my wifi card, get into bed and do all of the above!

Things I have left to do:

- Get the remote control working
- Hook the blighter up to my Sony 32" widescreen beastie downstairs

I'll get some pics up when I have managed the 2 things above.

I have to say that I heard a lot of good things about MythTV, and they are all true. It is stunning. Rock solid, fast and well designed (when you get the damn thing working).

[Agent]

Dont forget some retro gaming on it

[DaBeeeenster]

Aye got to get MAME and some other stuff running on there too I think. All in good time.

I'm toying with the idea of getting a cordless keyboard instead of trying to get the remote working. Does anyone know of any that just plug straight into the PS2 or USB port and "look" like a standard keyboard? I.e. one that wont need a linux driver?

[Moby-Dick]

looking nice ! - I'm attempting an X-Box based media cente myself shortly , but would love to add TV functionality to it

[Rave]

Wow, I'd love to have a setup like this but my linux experience = nil. Mainly, I want to be able to burn the TV programs I've recorded onto a DVDRW and watch them on the train on the way to work with an el-cheapo portable DVD player. Much better than having to walk up the train trying to find a discarded Metro.

Rich :¬)

[DaBeeeenster]

Right, well, it's up and running but it needs some tweaking to get the TV output looking totally solid.

It's a top piece of software. Will take some photos soon.

[ikonia]

I've done this before - very similar.

My advice is a.) use either a VERY late 2.4 kernel or the best 2.6 kernel you can get. This makes things a lot easier, there was a lot of bugs in the earlier 2.4 kernels that made this harder than it needed to be.

keep us posted on how you get on.

i'm designing a new TV solution for my linux machine at the moment

[Jon-AVerMedia]

Driver for Linux are provided on www.avermedia.com for the following cards:

DVB-T A771
DVB-T USB 2.0

The TV studio 303P is supported in Myth TV as standard

[DaBeeeenster]

Hey Jon - Thanks for the info - do you work for Avermedia?

[ikonia]

DaBeeeenster

have you got to the point where you can list of the software and versions your using in the system,

eg: Distro and kernel and patches
TV software version and patches
Required library version and patches
Web interface (very interested in this) version and patches
etc etc

[DaBeeeenster]

TBH mate I cant remember! I'm running Gentoo. uname -a shows:

Linux gentoo 2.6.7-gentoo-r11

I cant remember what patches I applied. No doubt they have been rolled into the kernel source by now (for the Avermedia cards anyway).

Not sure what you mean by "TV software", "Required Library" or "Web Interface". I'm running MythTV version 0.17...

http://www.mythtv.org/

That's it. It has a web interface.

[Allen]

That MythTV looks good. Does it work on Windows, or just Linux? If it is Linux only, what sort of Linux knowledge do you need to get it up and running properly?

If it's not for Windows at all, what good and free alternatives to MCE is there?

[DaBeeeenster]

Linux only. Total nightmare to install. You need to be a hardcore Linux user basically.

[Allen]

Eek, not for me then, I'm a beginner with Linux!