[ale] MythTV/similar hardware recommendations

[Byron Jeff]

On Wed, Mar 30, 2016 at 10:02:03PM -0700, Alex Carver wrote:
> On 2016-03-30 21:25, Byron Jeff wrote:
> >> 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.
> > 
> > I can speak to that. My current setup is the following:
> > 
> > 1. Comcast Xfinity service.
> > 2. 2x HD Homerun Primes with cablecard. Delivers up to 3 MPEG2
> > hardware encoded stream over the network each.
> > 3. Two clients. First is a Raspi2 with MPEG2 decoding enabled. The second
> > is a Pentium G3258 with 8GB ram and 240GB SSD on an H81 MB with HDMI out.
> > Both are running Kodi's PVR as their front end interface.
> > 4. MythServer is a reconstituted old pentium dual core CPU, 4GB ram, 240 GB
> > SSD for the system disk and a 5G video storage disk.
> > 
> > The Raspi2 does a decent job as long as the hardware decoder is enabled.
> > However, the CPU doesn't have enough horsepower to decode streams in
> > software.
> 
> Can't use the Homeruns.  They don't accept composite or s-video inputs
> so I have no way of plugging them into the satellite receiver.

Understood. Initially I was planning to employ the Hauppauge HDPVR 1212 I
have as an extra tuner to capture premium content.  I finally figured out
that the cablecards in the Homeruns can tune premium channels.  The HDVPR
1212 converts S-video, composite, and component inputs into an H264 stream
delivered via USB2.0.  So it may be of some use to you. It's a bit bulky at
about the size on micro-itx in a case.

> 
> >> 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.
> > 
> > I guarantee that you'll soon tire of managing exceptions to autoexpiration.
> > Since I have the disk space I settled on emulating Dish Networks Primetime
> > Anytime. So I record the entire primetime block of the 4 major networks and
> > cycle them out automatically after 8 days.
> 
> Not really, I don't watch that much TV (maybe three or four hours a week
> tops) but occasionally a show will come on that I won't be able to watch
> due to scheduling.  So we're talking maybe recording one or two hours
> every few weeks.  If it's something I really want to save I just want
> the ability to shuffle it off the storage device and then send it to
> long term storage (like burning a DVD).

So an SSD should be able to handle that load without an issue.

> 
> > 
> >>
> >> 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.
> >  Probably. My initial server was an Intel Atom D2500 fanless with the SSD.
> > Unfortunately it conked out. Sound wasn't too terribly pressing because the
> > server can sit anywhere on the network as the HDHomeruns transport their
> > streams via the network.
> 
> Since I can't use Homeruns silence is important.  The receiver and TV
> are in the living room.  This box would be there, too.
> 
> > If it's a single box, I think a Next Unit of Computing may be the sweet
> > spot as long as hardware encoding is on the table. Silent, holds a SSD,
> > HDMI output, small form factor, reasonable price. Should be able to handle
> > both server and client sides without too much trouble.
> > 
> > BAJ
 
As long as there is space a NUC + HDPVR 1212 could possible meet the need.

BAJ

-- 
Byron A. Jeff
Associate Professor: Department of Computer Science and Information Technology
College of Information and Mathematical Sciences
Clayton State University
http://faculty.clayton.edu/bjeff