thelinuxlink.net

Iam in the UK and have used Mythtv in few different configurations since 0.21 on top of suse originally

I have recently completed a Frontend /Backend box. I thought i would share the details.

The build and installation of my planned mythtv combined frontend/backend system has gone well. The system is running
mythbuntu 10.04 64bit and is now in regular use.

I used the following hardware:

Coolermaster aluminium case
ASUS A8NE motherboard
Athlon64 x2 3800 processor (standard 2000 mhz clock)
2 Gb coarsair ddr ram (4x512mb dual channel)
MSI nvidia 220gt graphics card for vdpau version 4
3 sata drives 40gb for os 2 x 1 Tb for storage
Hauppauge nova t pci dvb tuner with remote
Avermedia volar usb dvb tuner
Leadtek winfast usb dvb tuner
Kworld kW399u usb dual dvb tuner (only using 1 tuner currently)
viewsonic va2213w monitor

I had initial problems with the mythbuntu cd not booting, i had to select nodetect as a boot option to get it working.

I partisioned the drives as follows on the 40 gb os drive / 15 gb, /home 20gb and /swap 5gb. for the storage drives

disc 1 var/lib/mythtv 130gb var/lib/mythtv/recordings 800gb

disc 2 var/lib/mythtv/videos 700gb var/lib/mythtv/music 230gb

The partisioning was setup within the mythbuntu installer using the manual option. Using Mythbuntu makes the process of
setting up Mythtv easier than previous setups when i started with suse and added the programs manually.

All the dvb -t tuners installed ok, they are used to recieve the free to air uk terrestial tv service "freeview" via an
aeriel and booster. I am using multirec on all the tuners so in theory 5 programmes on each of 4 different multiplexes can be
recorded at the same time , 20 channels in all . I have not found myself short of tuners yet.

I am only recieving sd programming (PAL-I format) however the VDPAU high quality setting really does give an excellant
picture on the viewsonic monitor, also CPU use is minimal.

I have been taking the updates as they become available and this has resolved some issues i was having with missed recording
and remote control behaviour. Missed recording occured because of 'no lock' on the channel later firmware fixed this.
I am using the /dev/input/event method for the remote. The remote is what seems to be known as snowboard remote due to its
shape, a sticker in the battery compartment gives a model number of a415 hpg. The remote is not listed directly in the list
of remotes so i bit of work was required to sort out the lirc codes. I eventually found it worked as a hvr 1100 and all
buttons function as they should. One initial issue was the double response i was getting on the number and cursor buttons as
hal was registaring them as a keyboard as well as lirc responding to them. I did a work round in the home directory lircrc
files so that hal did cursor keys and numbers and lirc did the rest. Later on a update resolved the hal inteferance and i
re editted the lircrc to put it all under lirc control.

I should also mention that the i have locked the /dev/input/event number for the remote to avoid losing function. I have also
setup my router to make the frontend/backend ip address fixed so that i can use a remote frontend.

Already since early june my recordings drive is half full.

My backend is of similar core hardware spec.

I capture HD content off Freeview (Australia)
Do you just not have HD content over Freeview there??

I find my Nova-T needs to have the power pulled from the system if I need to reboot at all, otherwise it does not work. Something to do with firmware loading.

Hi DaveQB
In answer to your questions there is HD available over the air in the UK via Freesat or Freeview HD.

I currently do not have dish so sorting out Freesat reception would cost about £100.

Regard the Freeview HD tuners are only just appearing on the market for PC's. May take a while for driver support
to be sorted out.

I do not have any issues with The Nova-T , as Iam running Mythbuntu 10.04 and take all the updates may be on a later
version of the firmware.

That might be it. I am running 9.10 which was an upgrade from 9.04.

Thanks for the tip on that.

Hi DaveQB
I had a look at my lib/firmware directory on my frontend/backend, oldest modified date of any file or folder is April 2010.

Was not able check this before, sent my earlier response from a linux laptop i use at work on my lunch break
(web access via Vodafone 3g stick).

root@myth:~# ll /lib/firmware/ -d
drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 12288 2010-07-25 19:19 /lib/firmware/

Thanks!

Is this the folder you meant?

yes that is the folder i meant.

i was going to ask is your nova -t a single tuner or the dual tuner t 500?

mine is the single, if i review dmesg if identifies the card as a model 90003 rev c2b0

iam sure that i have read that the t 500 is significantly different, being effectively two
usb dvb -t tuners housed on a pci card.

see www.linuxtv.org for more detail.

Thanks Pantera116

It is the dual tuner model.
I am hoping that an upgrade (or re-install) to 10.10 may contain a fix for this issue. That would be nice, will then allow remote reboots and power on from a blackout will also work.