[plug] MythTV project

[Ian Kent]

On Fri, 2011-02-11 at 11:00 +0800, Tim Bowden wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I'm looking (finally) at building a cheap(ish?) MythTV box.  Building
> small form factor or low power systems is something I've not done
> before, so I've got some rather basic questions.
> 
> The system will have a combined front end and back end, at least two
> and at most three tuner cards, with at least two 1Tb SATA hdd's I've
> got lying around.  I've got more spare SATA drives, but I'm not
> expecting to fit more than two into a case without size and heat
> issues.
> 
> * Does anyone have any recommendations for cases, motherboards or
> tuner cards available locally at a 'reasonable' cost?
> 
> * Do all modern tuner cards pick up the new digital channels?  I
> assume so, but I'd rather ask a dumb question than get stung.
> 
> * PLE has Leadtek WinFast DTV1000S PCI tuner cards going cheap ($27).
> http://ple.com.au/ViewItem.aspx?InventoryItemId=601666
> I have seen various reports on the success or otherwise of getting
> them to work under linux, though as of kernel 2.6.33 the driver is
> included.  Does anyone here have any experience using them?  I'm
> tempted to grab a couple and take the risk unless there are better
> cards at a similar price.

The DTV2000DS has is a dual tuner card (since your talking multiple
tuner cards anyway). I thought it worked for me under Mythbuntu but I
can't remember now, sorry.

> 
> * This system will be on 24/7 in the living room, so excessive noise
> and power consumption is an issue.
> 
> * Form factor- Micro ATX or Mini ITX?  Do any of the Mini ITX boards
> have enough PCI slots for multiple tuner cards or should I only look
> at Micro ATX boards?
> 
> I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions as I get my head around this.
> 
> Regards,
> Tim Bowden
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