On 4/21/05, John Robinson <profile at aye.net> wrote: > > Lee, I have just read with great interest your article in the Access > concerning Myth, so timely for what I am doing at this time in trying > to build a home and utilize a system like you describe.
I'm slowly building such. My first target has been network storage. The Linksys NSLU2 (apart from being a stunningly cheap Linux server (80 dollars)) is a very nice way to put USB drives on the network. I now have half a terabyte available and not a single noisy computer running. For recording from the TV, I'm using a Hauppage card, but the Windows software is pathetic so I've only recorded one thing so far, and I've not found an editor with which to remove the irritating adverts. For playback we've been using a Windows laptop and the VLC video player (as Quicktime and Windows Media Player are equally useless). When Tiger is available I'll get my wife a new Mac Mini which will free my current base-model Mini to sit next to the TV and see if it can be a nice music and video playback device. If that fails, the XBox Media Center project beckons. I've also just ordered an Airport Express. I stopped myself buying an iRiver mp3 player when I realised that their iTrip clone would work with my aged iPod, but I somehow let myself slip and buy the Express even though I've no idea if we have any use for it. Idiot. > I do not have the expertise to do as you, can't even understand it, but > the last line of your article I wish you could explain a little. You > stated: Me neither :) I bought the fancy Hauppage TV card (PVR-350) and after a lot of work got it to work in Windows, and gave up in Linux when I realised I had to install kernel modules from source. That's been a sign for me over the years that something is too much effort. I saw somebody recommending the PVR-250 card (no TV out) and a separate video card with a TV/out, and I've got to agree with them. > "Mythers had the front end running on the Mac mini, and by most > accounts, it makes a fine front end machine, as long as you don't > expect it to drive a high definition television". Installs very nicely, there's a nice simple .dmg file. Bad side is that the Myth front end requires a Myth back end elsewhere (or seems to), so you can't just dump video somewhere on your network. > I will be using High Def. sets in the home, so what is the shortcoming > of the Mac Mini as to why it won't support such? I think it's because the CPU in the Mac Mini is not able to handle the HD decoding. Hen | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be April 26. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>. | List posting address: <mailto:macgroup at erdos.math.louisville.edu> | List Web page: <http://erdos.math.louisville.edu/macgroup>
