[ale] MythTV/similar hardware recommendations

[DJ-Pfulio]

Media sources?  ATSC?  CableCARD?  Something else?  For ATSC, get
SiliconDust HDHR network tuners.  If cableCARD, I didn't think Myth
supports the premium channels without going through an analog hole.
Though that only Microsoft Media Center worked with that DRM.

I don't use Myth for recording, so cannot suggest any other hardware,
but with ATSC, basically the PC just needs to safe the file in the
stream from the tuners - no great CPU needed - unless you want to find
commercials, skip them, or have them removed before viewing.  Removing
commercials will make the recordings 30% smaller.  Transcoding from
mpeg2 to h.264 will reduce that by 50% - 70-80% savings if you do both.
 Comskip will create EDL files that Kodi can use to skip commercials
during playback even if you don't remove them from the file. It isn't
perfect and gets confused on some network shows.

Yes, a R-Pi v2 can play 1080p content - ATSC is mpeg2, so you'll
**need** the commercial driver ($4 I thnk).  For h.264 playback, the
hardware hands that already - no extra license needed.  Of course, if
you transcode the mpeg2 --> h.264, then you don't need a license, just
enough CPU and time.

Come out some Sunday to a meeting and we can discuss this at length.
Lots of moving parts and options. Things that are important to me
probably aren't important to you.

I wouldn't bother with a fanless box. Put the box somewhere where the
noise doesn't matter and use a silent $50 player.  Almost anything can
be used, provided the video codecs are supported.  I use Plex for
real-time transcoding.

As to storage - 200G would be plenty for 2 days of hidef recordings -
lots of shows. I think about 200G is all I use in a week of recordings -
just to show the extra room.  When I go on vacation, I'll ssh into the
storage area and move recordings to storage with more room to be handled
when I return.

On 03/29/2016 09:03 PM, Alex Carver wrote:
> Some circumstances have suggested that I need to build a DVR (instead of
> renting one) but I need suggestions on hardware since it's a bit more
> resource intensive than most machine applications.
> 
> I'm not planning on pausing live TV with this thing, just a time shifter
> device where that time could be hours or the next day or two.
> 
> At first the recorder will likely be the player, too, although I may
> want to put a client somewhere else in the future.  I've only heard that
> an RPi can do a playback reasonably well but suggestions are welcome here.
> 
> Long term storage is not planned, shows would be deleted after watching
> although being able to suck a file out of the machine if there's a
> really interesting clip would be good, I can process it elsewhere.
> 
> Silence and physical size is probably important for now because this
> first system will have to live behind the TV where the satellite box
> also lives.  I can't really move the satellite box into a closet, no
> suitable access to the cable from the dish.  So this probably implies a
> SSD and a fanless box.
> 
> Thoughts and/or suggestions?
> _________________________________