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HOW TO - Ubuntu + MythTV = Free Tivo and an EASY Setup

help.ubuntu.com — For the past 4 days I've tried setting up KnoppMyth, Freevo, and MythDora on my Asus Digimatrix. Nothing worked, either wouldnt install correctly, or I would get a black screen instead of the channel I was watching. I finally give the handy dandy Ubuntu a whirl, and it works FIRST try, right out of the box!

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  • Nixxo, on 10/12/2007, -81/+7ruining first post is fun ... doesn't windows media player do this ... or better yet .. vista ultimate?! too much drinking
    • anicejew, on 10/12/2007, -65/+6Personally I will be waiting for the apple iTV
    • nandorocker, on 10/12/2007, -4/+26wow, this tutorial is very practical, as soon as I have an entire day off I'll make sure to try it.
    • diggapleaze, on 10/12/2007, -5/+47@Nixxo and anicejew
      Vista Ultimate has many other great features, such as DRMing your recorded TV shows so that you don't accidentally illegally placeshift them onto another device.

      And with the fantastic new iTV, you don't have to worry about recording TV shows you already pay for via satellite/cable, you can buy shows right off the iTunes store! Just to make sure you don't forget that, Apple will be sure to not include any TV recording hardware with the iTV.
    • gronne, on 10/12/2007, -25/+8Tivo is a software and hardware product. This is just software. You'll probably end up spending a lot more money building a PVR over 5 years than you would with a Tivo even with the monthly fees.
    • bias, on 10/12/2007, -45/+5After looking at the screenshots you know Linux still has a long way to go... hmmm when was the last time you see Windows or Apple users have this kind of ***** interface to setup a program....
    • armbar, on 10/12/2007, -7/+17bias, that's not characteristic of Linux UI. Thanks for the generalization based on a single program though.
    • illu45, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@bias: If you look at the beginning, the howto says to install the command line version of the OS, probably to reduce boot time and avoid issues with running MythTV. However, if you'd prefer to avoid the command-line, I'm sure that you use the full install of the OS as well.
    • TOTALineptitude, on 10/12/2007, -40/+1Ubuntu sucks. Tired of reading about it.

      FC6 = more reliable and NOT the United Colors of Linux *****.

      Digg me down goat-felchers.
    • Conway, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12@TOTALineptitude

      Then why is Ubuntu the #1 Linux distro if it sucks so bad???? Just because you prefer FC6 doesn't mean Ubuntu sucks.
    • zeiben, on 10/12/2007, -14/+6"wow, this tutorial is very practical, as soon as I have an entire day off I'll make sure to try it."

      "Vista Ultimate has many other great features, such as DRMing your recorded TV shows so that you don't accidentally illegally placeshift them onto another device.
      And with the fantastic new iTV, you don't have to worry about recording TV shows you already pay for via satellite/cable, you can buy shows right off the iTunes store! Just to make sure you don't forget that, Apple will be sure to not include any TV recording hardware with the iTV."

      can't decide which comment is funnier.
    • joepaterno, on 10/12/2007, -15/+2@Conway- The top turd in the outhouse is still a piece of *****.
    • Elranzer, on 10/12/2007, -10/+4@gronne:

      It takes you 5 years to build a PVR (or any computer)?? Wow. Half hour or so for me...
    • TOTALineptitude, on 10/12/2007, -21/+2ubuntu = ***** distro that only its fanboys care about.
    • threedaymonk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10@gronne: 'You'll probably end up spending a lot more money building a PVR over 5 years than you would with a Tivo even with the monthly fees.'

      In my case, it cost me (GBP) £62 total. When I saw Linux-compatible PCI DVB-T cards on sale at £30 each, I bought a couple and pulled a dusty P4 out of my cupboard to build the MythTV box. Then I spent £2 on a cable to daisy-chain the RF inputs. I'm not saying that I'm typical, but in my case it made a lot more sense than a commercial recorder. In fact, there isn't a viable alternative that I know of in the UK that works with terrestrial digital broadcasts. Tivo-alikes are available on satellite and cable, but I couldn't receive either even if I wanted to.

      In my experience, MythTV works very well once it's set up. It's not for the general public, maybe, but it's fun for people who like to tinker. Like me.
    • msgyrd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Bias trolls all apple and linux stories, visit his profile and look at his comments...just block his username and be done with it.
    • kremvax, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6The signal to noise ratio in digg stories gets lower all the time.

      Imagine if the comments read like:

      "I tried this and it worked well because ....xyz" Or "I tried this and it didn't work out because...xyz" Or even "I costed this out, and found the best way to save money would be ....abc"

      Instead of:

      "Linux sux." "linux rox" "Windows is best for everyone" "I use this other completely unrelated system...and everyone else should do so" "why do people post aritcles that do not interest me personally?" "I've never installed or run linux, but here is my amazingly uninformed opinion of it."
    • j0c1f3r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@ anicejew - shouldnt your name be anicefanboy?
    • ZMorek, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I used this guide as a background and others out there for Ubuntu when setting up my Ubuntu myth rig.... a couple tips:
      -If something isn't working... CHECK PERMISSIONS. My Ubuntu install required I add my mythtv user to the audio and video group to access tuner and audio output, something I never worried about on a FC install.
      -Drivers for the tuner card might be an issue (IVTV wasn't working for me so I had to compile myself), google around.
    • hyperfocal, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1@diggapleaze

      Vista MCE does NOT DRM all content. I've been using it for over a month with OTA HDTV and analogue cable. The DVR-MS files can be streamed to other computers and converted to standard mpeg HDTV streams. I have had absolutely no problem converting to XviD or WMV.

      Vista MCE will support 5C copy protection for HD cable, which will cripple the proposed cablecard MCE system.
  • Nixxo, on 10/12/2007, -22/+1lol media center i suxors
  • shifty2, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7sweet tutorial w/ great detail!! now that seagate has their 1TB drives for $400, that alone will be enough to build a nice Media Center!!
    • Daedalus81, on 10/12/2007, -20/+5Or you could just get a Tivo for like $60 and 26 months of service...not to mention the cost of the PC, video card, and other equipment.
    • diggapleaze, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6@Daedelus81

      mythtv lets you do things that Tivo can't. One example: Tivo DRMs your recorded TV shows. I could name others, but I'll let you google it.
    • LycoLoco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9You do realize that a series 3 tivo costs $700, right? That's more than my parents paid for their new HDTV.
    • rabidsnail, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4He skips the most difficult part: installing drivers for your capture card(s). Hauppague cards are a pain to install as you have to, at the very least, compile the drivers from source and extract the firmware from the install disk. DVB cards are worse. While setting up mythtv isn't too too bad, it's easier to use a specialized distro like knoppmyth.
    • threedaymonk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@rabidsnail:
      For me, the drivers were the easiest part (using Ubuntu Edgy): I plugged the DVB-T card in, booted, and it just worked!
  • haggie, on 10/12/2007, -18/+6There is no better PVR software than Sage (www.sage.tv). Rock solid, well supported, great third-party development. It's not free, but its worth every dime.
  • rubicante, on 10/12/2007, -24/+5It's not "Free" or "EASY" if you had to setup KnoppMyth, Freevo, and MythDora and "nothing worked."
    • CCB0x45, on 10/12/2007, -5/+16He said those other ones DIDNT work and Ubuntu with MythTV worked EASILY and it was FREE. Thus FREE and EASY. Hope the description of the description helps understand it. :)
    • jma06, on 10/12/2007, -14/+4> He said those other ones DIDNT work and Ubuntu with MythTV worked EASILY and it was FREE. Thus FREE and EASY. Hope the description of the description helps understand it. :)

      With a tutorial that long, I sure don't call it EASY.
    • armbar, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14@jma06, the article is long because it includes pretty pictures for intelligent folks such as yourself.
    • dkoon, on 10/12/2007, -20/+3@armbar
      And you think those pictures are pretty? Luckily most of the people in the world use Windows not Linux, or they will have to relearn what "pretty" really means.
    • armbar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7No, dkoon, the pictures aren't pretty, but that wasn't the point.
    • rubicante, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Okay, I'm running MythTV on KnoppMyth. Misrepresenting the ease of build a MythTV box should be a little tempered. He tried three times and failed, then says that installing on Ubuntu was easy. Personally, I had problems with Ubuntu and fell back to KnoppMyth. Of course, I could just say it's EASY and stroke my nerd-ego, or maybe you can digg me down and stroke yours.
    • Ssullivan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Yes, dkoon you're a troll.
    • dkoon, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4@Ssullivan
      No man, I'm very sure I picked Elf when I create this character!
  • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11what is it? apt-get install mythtv?
    • FartyMcPooPants, on 10/12/2007, -8/+17apt-get is a linux command found in Ubuntu (and other linux distributions perhaps) if available you tell it the package you want to install, it checks the central download servers to see if it's available and if it is, it downloads it and installs it for you.

      Saves the whole messing about with going to different websites to download different packages and mess around with different install techniques etc.
    • spdorsey, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5This guy does not deserve negative diggs. He's just helping a newbie. Not everyone can be a Linux CLI god, you gotta help the people who want to learn.
    • cliffzdude, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5"what is it? apt-get install mythtv?"

      /sarcasm
  • joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7It's tempting, but, damnit...I just want a box I can plug into the wall and have it work.

    I'm finding that's not really an easy thing to do either, though. Sounds like Tivo is the best option. Of course, I have sattelite, and both providers seem to have decided to reinvent the wheel and build their own crappier versions of a Tivo.

    Anyone know of a decent overview that compares the major options:
    - TiVo
    - Windows MC
    - MythTV
    - DirecTV's/DishNetwork's
    - What else? EyeTV? Others?
    • joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6This bit is what scares me about the Myth Option:

      --------------
      A normal part of mythtv maintenance is damage recovery. If god forbid your box is to go down, its best to be ready to recover quickly. This can range from having to do regular backups of the operating system, to instead regularly backing up the mysql database. Since you set up the machine with a seperate partition for recordings, an operating system backup should be fairly small and manageable. I'd recommend you investigate sbackup for this purpose.
      --------------

      I'm sure for many that isn't that big of a deal, and more power to them, but I just don't want to have to deal with that kind of maintenance just to watch TV.
    • Sithlrd, on 10/12/2007, -23/+2Hell yeah. This is NOT easy. I don't want to have to become a Linux god just so I can DVR my television.

      This is the 21st century. Time to kill the command line forever. Put a GUI on Linux that can fully control the system, or STFU about it's ease of use.
    • armbar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15@Sithlrd: Welcome to the 20th century--linux has had a GUI for most things since before the new millenium, but--get this--it's actually easier to use the command line sometimes. Mousing around through menus and buttons takes a heck of a lot more time than apt-get install NAME_OF_PROGRAM.

      Linux isn't intended to be mainstream, so it's going to work however the developers damn well please.

      Simple != Easy
    • MWeather, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6@joeyjojo Any computer should be backed up regularly. This isn't something unique to MythTV or Linux. In fact it's even more important if you're not using Linux.
    • joepaterno, on 10/12/2007, -12/+2@armbar- If it's not meant to be mainstream, stop making me ***** read about it on the front page.
    • tm8992, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Lots of people on digg are interested in Linux. Linux, is, believe it or not, technology-related! Digg is, you guessed it, mainly a technology news website. Digg isn't always mainstream news! Mainstream news is CNN, or BBC, or whatever you like. Therefore, when there is news about Linux, what's the big deal if it's on the front page? If you don't like it, ignore it. Easy enough. I don't like Windows news, but I don't care when it's there, I just ignore it.
    • spisska, on 10/12/2007, -0/+22A short and by no means comprehensive comparison:

      TiVo
      Pros:
      - Simple setup -- more or less plug and play
      - Excellent UI
      - HD capability in Series 3
      - older models are somewhat hackable

      Cons:
      - Recurring monthly cost for listings
      - DRM, lack of flexibility in moving recordings around; recordings can be autoexpired without knowledge or consent of user; Tivo can change the rules at any time for any reason, and Tivo WILL find a way to push advertising.
      - HD model (Series 3) runs around $700
      - Requires serial/IR blaster setup when STB is required
      - No commercial flagging/autoskipping (you can set FF button to skip an arbitrary time, but requires additional setup)
      - Only does TV -- doesn't do music, doesn't do pictures, doesn't import videos, doesn't archive DVDs.
      - Phones home


      Windows MCE
      Pros:
      - Familiar OS environment for those afraid of Linux
      - Wide range of hardware support
      - bundled with many OEM systems
      - Alleged CableCard support (although I've yet to see an actual CableCard device -- just vapor for now)
      - Supports non-encrypted HD with QAM and ATSC capable capture cards
      - No recurring monthly costs (yet)
      - Handles various media types including video, music, photos, etc.

      Cons:
      - DRM, lack of flexibility in moving recordings around; recordings can be autoexpired without knowledge or consent of user; MS can change the rules at any time for any reason
      - Works with restrictive and substandard video formats
      - No real networking support (MCE extender modules are nothing like Myth FEs)
      - Will enforce HDCP
      - Autoexpires recordings without user's knowledge or consent
      - Will enforce broadcast flag if and when it comes into existence
      - No commercial flagging/auto skipping (FF controls customizable)
      - Will not archive DVDs or play (or rip) "protected" non Red Book audio CDs
      - Phones home
      - Runs on WIndows will all the problems that implies -- from spyware to instability to arbitrary changes in how the machine works, etc.
      - Requires serial/IR blaster when STB is necessary


      DirecTV's/DishNetwork/Comcast PVRs:

      Pros:
      - Setup done for you
      - Full HD capability

      Cons:
      - No networking
      - No expansion
      - No moving recordings off PVR
      - Clumsy, Clunky, or downright retarted UIs
      - In some cases (Comcast's) recordings are stored at head end, not in unit -- recordings may all disappear for no reason.
      - Recordings are autoexpired
      - No com flagging/auto skipping. No customization in FF behavior.
      - Very slow response time (when recordings are stored at head end a la Comcast)
      - Only does TV -- no pictures, no music, no external video, etc


      MythTV
      Pros:
      - Complete media archive and playback system -- handles wide variety of video, music and photo formats
      - Supports transcoding and exporting recordings to wide variety of formats from PDA-type mp4 to DVD standard MPEG-2
      - Recording, Video, Music, and Photo directories and repositories can be shared among all Myth (and non-Myth) systems on network.
      - Networking and extensibility are part of the architecture, meaning limitless posibilites for an installation
      - No autoexpiration unless user allows it (due to lack of space for new recordings)
      - Will flag commercials and autoskip on playback; will remove commercials when transcoding/exporting recordings
      - Doesn't support HDCP
      - Can archive DVDs
      - Can burn recorded programs to DVD
      - Can import any music CD --- treats all music discs as Red Book-compliant CDs
      - Supports non-encrypted HD with ATSC and QAM capable capture cards
      - Doesn't phone home
      - Is rock solid in stablitiy (my current backend uptime is over 100 days, ever since I upgraded to .20)
      - Can be controlled remotely through Apache-based web interface
      - Software is free, no recurring fee for listings data

      Cons:
      - Requires some effort to get up and running. Requires (and teaches) Linux skills
      - Specific hardware requirements
      - Serial/IR blaster control needed when STB is required
      - Requires initial investment in hardware and time (though h/w costs are lower than a similarly performing MCE system)
      - Will cause the user to spend lots of brain cycles thinking of ways to expand his or her system, and some money making those improvements happen. Users will begin to obsessively follow prices of HDD storage, video cards, capture devices, and HD displays.


      Mythtv is not for everyone, but any reasonably intelligent person can get it running. And any reasonably intellingent person can see why any other comparable product is simply outclassed.
    • joeyjojo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"Any computer should be backed up regularly."

      But I just want to watch TV.

      Thanks, Spisska!
    • nikeairj, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1Too bad it doesnt work with my nvidia dualtv mce card... :/ So I decided to shell out for a new copy of Windows MCE 2005.
    • Pelapp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1SageTV 6:

      PROS
      Customizations
      Amazingly loyal User Community applications & support
      Intelligent Recordings
      Video conversion built into the UI with many formats
      Unlimited tuners at no extra cost
      Video Playlists
      Ability to extend to other rooms via Client or inexpensive Hauppauge MVP hardware
      Great customizations

      CONS
      No mini-guide (can be added)
      No changes to UI over the years (can be changed)
      Must individually set up each tuner's guide
      Customizations take effort/knowledge
      Few visualizations for music (can be added)
      More dialog boxes than I'd prefer - Although you can bypass these boxes in Music/Photos/Video by pressing PLAY on the remote, this should work with TV as well
      Why Google Video instead of YouTube?
      No auto-play music CD

      Beyond TV:
      They are, as the name suggests, very good as a PVR.

      The Media Center abilities are lacking though, and a Beyond Media doesn't work nearly as well as the other full fledged Media Centers.


      In the last 3 weeks, I've tried Meedio, Mediaportal, BeyondTV, MCE 2005, SageTV, andMythTV and I've stayed with SageTV. It was the best compromise between ease of setup and features i found. If you try it, remember to look at the customizations forum! Especially SageMC 16x9.
  • LordSkippy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2This may be slightly off topic, but I've tried looking this up before and couldn't find an answer. Does MythTV have anything similar to TiVo's suggestions? The automatic recording of shows similar to (by genre/actor/director/etc) of shows you've told it you like, if it has free space to do so?

    That is one of my favorite features of TiVo, and something that would make me give MythTV a try - if it has it.
    • rabidsnail, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1No.
      I don't think any of the DEVs want it.
    • spalVl, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No one has built it yet, but is possilbe.
    • RyeBrye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Someone was working on a filter that used some kind of baynesian filter to look at the stuff you viewed and then would find things that were statistically similar... don't know if they ever finished it or not.
  • skyshock21, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I prefer this method

    http://tvease.net/wiki/index.php?title=Install_Myth_Web
  • york2600, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Myth on Ubuntu is going to get a whole lot easier for everyone out there with the PVR-150/250/500 cards once Ubuntu Feisty comes out. The Ubuntu fokes make the wonderful decisions to including the IVTV drivers in their 2.6.20 kernel varient. This is one of the biggest pains for first time Linux users. Now you just install Ubuntu, apt-get Myth and it works.
  • KSDigerati, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's a great run through, but setting up my own tuner cards is the only thing that has been holding me up.
  • TheADOGuy, on 10/12/2007, -15/+2*Free* is in accurate. Cheap, sure...but hardware isn't free...
    • diggapleaze, on 10/12/2007, -0/+30thanks for pointing that out. The submitter should be more careful next time to specify that computers aren't free. I'd be lost without helpful comments like this.
  • sparhawk6, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Is there any way that I can setup a Myth TV box that will record files that I can easily view across a network on a Windows machine?
    • howrare, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9After you have mythtv running you can set-up a samba share pointing to the folder with your recordings in. In windows this will appear as a shared folder in my network places.
    • skyshock21, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Don't digg him down for asking a legitimate question. This is half the reason I read all the comments, for Q&A posts like these.
    • acmartin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I currently do this. howrare gave you half the story. You share out the MythTV folder via samba, but you also need to install the codec needed to view the video files. MythTV uses .nuv files, and out of the box windows doesn't know how to play those.

      I use dsmyth (codec) + media player classic (player) to watch the .nuv files in windows:

      http://dsmyth.sourceforge.net/
      http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli

      You will also want to make sure mythweb is installed. MythWeb is the package that lets you schedule and delete shows via a web interface, and is handy b/c then you don't manage mythtv without ever having to log onto your linux box.

      Here is my entry in samba's config that shares the mythtv folder:

      [mythtv]
      comment = MythTV Video Files
      path = /var/lib/mythtv
      guest ok = yes
      writable = no
      veto files = /lost+found/*.png/*.lock/

      The 'veto files' line hides some of the other files that mythtv puts in the folder that you don't care about.

      One last thing, the video filenames generated by mythtv are long and ugly and at first glance you will have no idea how to parse them. This can be a pain if you have multiple shows waiting to be watched and you want to watch a specific one. For instance, I currently have a file that looks like this:

      1072_20070105020000.nuv

      I don't know what the beginning '1' means (tuner # probably), but the next three digits '072' are the channel number. After the underscore, '2007' is the year, '01' month, '05' day, and '020000' is the time (2am). I sort the folder by 'Date Modified' in explorer, and then just search for the channel number portion, comparing it to the listings on mythweb.

      good luck!
    • spisska, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@sparhawk6, acmartin

      Myth will share its recordings over samba with any Samba-capable machine (including Windows).

      VLC will play myth recordings whether they're in .mpg or .nuv format.

      The mythrename.pl script in the contrib directory will rename the native Myth files (eg 072_20070105020000.nuv) to something more easily readable by humans (eg The-Simpsons-Treehouse-of-Horror-IV.nuv).

      There is another program called Mythstreamtv that, AFIU, allows streaming to Windows clients. It's also possible to stream recordings through the MythWeb interface.
    • djlosch, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1acmartin also gave you only half the story. in mythtv .20 with the pvr-150 (the most commonly used tv card), the files are automatically converted to mpg, which windows reads natively.

      my question is how to have myth automatically strip the commercials out of the mpg and rename the file to something like "Good Eats - Squid Pro Quo 2.mpg" rather than "12389213893984_3018390123.mpg".

      my mythtv + ubuntu edgy + pvr-150 guide has apparently already been linked higher in these comments, but i'll point it out again for you: http://www.djlosch.com/post_retrieve.php?pid=70
  • MSTK, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2And, btw, partitioning your hard drive =/= easy installation
    • shredswithpiks, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6!=

      and ubuntu (normally...) takes care of all that for you. just keep hitting next!
  • citrusfizz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2does anyone know if there is a semi-easy way to get the MCE remote and reciever and IR blaster working with ubuntu/myth?
  • Glich, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I gave up on myth.. I use beyond Tv now..
    • tito13kfm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Yeah, Beyond TV was well worth the $70 I spent on it. I run it in my task bar and it will record shows while I do other things, like play games. It also has a HUGE list of supported cards that grows with every update. Nothing easier than point & click for setup either.

      I gave MythTV a whirl 3 different times, with 3 different setups, before giving up on getting it to work flawlessly.
    • aparsons, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Oh yeah, beyond is awesome for the first month. Then, you call for support and no one answers; you email and no one answers; you post in the forum saying "Argh, BeyondTV won't answer their phones" and then your post gets deleted. Then, the fix is to "upgrade" which costs ANOTHER $70. I'll stay away from BeyondTV and recommend that no one use their service!
  • speedygonzalez, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0does anyone have a guide they would recommend to coding in terminal or text editor? i've tried installing myth with knopp myth before, but with no success, i believe it was my video card, but i'd like to give this method a try, i'm just a bit intimidated by the coding involved. i have experience coding in different languages as well as websites, but i've never gotten into the linux side of it. any suggestions would be great
  • MikeMacMan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2A Tivo lets you record protected HiDef content (using cable cards.) No other PVR lets you do that. Myth TV is only good for recording OTA HDTV. I'm going to stick with my Tivo 3. Myth TV is great for standard def, but for HDTV a Tivo is the only way to go.
    • tito13kfm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2A DVHS recorder will do that as well, and it can also be modified to ignore the DRM flags and transfer the content via firewire to your PC. The more you know...
    • Portwineboy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Every cable company DVR has the capability to record HD as well. Tivo series 3 is too expensive at the moment.
  • hadak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4i just fought with knoppmyth the other day...turns out, according to dmesg, that my tuner type was not set. a simple fix: and with a quick keystroke, everything worked out of the box. (wintv pvr-150) remote worked, wifi worked; albiet i had to drop to console to connect to my wireless, and it pulled my tv guide info and weather and whatnot right off the internets. very simple and there is a GREAT community on irc (#mythtv-users) but i can't remember which server :)
    • TankerJoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The #mythtv-users channel is hosted at: irc.freenode.net


  • theantix, on 11/09/2007, -0/+2Has anyone here had success in setting up a USB-based tuner with MythTV? I only have a laptop so a PCI card doesn't work and that's all I've ever seen supported on Linux.
    • spdorsey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3You are best off getting a cheap PC with slots to run it. Although it is possible, I'd strongly advise against using your CPU to decode/encode video, the cards out there are relatively cheap and make all the difference in the world. Go to mythtv.com and google to do some research, you'll be glad you did.

      --------S
    • Pelapp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You can get USB cards with hardware encoders too...
  • pabster, on 10/12/2007, -11/+1Lame as *****.

    MythTV is no replacement for TiVO.

    Don't forget High Definition.
    • spdorsey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I'm no huge fan of Linux and its unnecessary complexities, but I think that Mythtv is a fantastic effort. If the installer is really as easy as it seems in this tutorial, then I'll LOVE my Myth box a lot. I had it running a few years ago, and I thought it was really great. Since then, I have tried to re-install, and it's been nightmarish. People say its easy, but it's not if you are a Linux newbie.

      Don't dismiss MythTV quite yet. It's a great product. That being said, I have a series 2 Tivo, and I LOVE it a lot. Ease of use, great interface, and MUCH cheaper than the kind of PC I'd put MythTV on.

      Both have their strengths.
    • bubba9999, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Speaking of lame, don't forget that you can record HD off of the firewire port of your cable box.
  • joepaterno, on 10/12/2007, -8/+0Christ on a crutch. Every time I turn around there's a lame ass MythTV posting up here. Nobody gives a *****.
    • bubba9999, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1said the leader of the constipation support group
  • BigSlacker, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0NTSC or PAL analog video just isn't interesting anymore. Unless it can work with a cable card, there just isn't any point. This is just one step above a VCR and just as obsolete.
    • Nerevar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You can't even buy a cablecard yet. CableLabs only allows cablecards in "certified systems". Hopefully this will change so the rest of us who don't feel like buying a crappy desktop from HP can record HDTV.
  • Nerevar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Great guide! This one is good as well http://parker1.co.uk/mythtv_ubuntu.php
  • Lone07, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Great to see more and more information available on how to setup MythTV in the linux environment because it certainly is a great alternative to Windows Media Centre.

    However for people out there looking for a Windows based alternative that is open source be certain to checkout Media Portal http://www.team-mediaportal.com/

    All the functionality of Media Centre but fully configurable and open source!
  • diamondedge, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Good guide, but if you are not a Linux guy, it can become difficult. I tried to install Mythtv with Ubuntu but I never could get it to recognize my satellite card, the Skystar 2 PCI card. It would have been sweet had it worked. I don't like, however, how you "should" be online with the machine to get stuff installed.
  • drathen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Here is the definitive fedora guide

    http://wilsonet.com/mythtv/
  • notbrittish788, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Myth TV? Check out Systm epp 2, Our good friends Kevin Rose and double_d shows you how to make one.
  • mojaam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sounds technical and advanced, but will certainly attempt this with free time and money.
  • Pelapp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Very nice guide!

    As far as the easy part goes, that probably applies more to the average Digg user, than the average Tivo user.
    Hopefully these great free programs can be made more accessible over time.
  • Swailcat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Already tried MythDora & KnoppMyth and was unsuccessful. I'll see if I can go 3 for 3 today.
  • L4U57, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The orignal digger should really have linked to this page

    https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MythTV_Edgy

    It lists installation instructions for different setups of MythTV under Ubuntu Edgy Eft - including the one dugg here.

    Because MyhtTV is a true client/server system it is possible to network several machines with different roles, multiple backends for recording and multiple clients for viewing - a single machine can off course be used for both recording and viewing.

    My personal setup is with a server dedicated for recording and then I have clients on my laptop and a modded Xbox for viewing.
  • delafield, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Okay, so I tried the tutorial. I followed the instructions carefully, but was unsuccessful - twice. I'm using a Dell Dimension 4500S, P4, 1.8MHz, 256MB RAM, 80GB HDD, with a typical 17" Dell LCD monitor. I have successfully installed Ubuntu 6.10 on this machine before (that was what was installed just before I tried this tutorial). This is what I found:

    The tutorial suggests using ssh before installing ssh-server. Installing the ssh-server step should be put a bit earlier in the tutorial. Everything goes fine until I get to this step: sudo /etc/init.d/gdm restart. I get the following errors: (EE) VESA(0) No matching modes; (EE) Screen(s) found, but none have a usable configuration; Fatal server error: no screens found."

    Any help? Would be much appreciated.
    • BenjaminG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You borked your X installation (etc/X11/xorg.conf). Happens all the time with tricky installs. Try this: dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xorg
    • delafield, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Thanks for the suggestion. I tried to reconfigure, but I keep getting the same error. Maybe I should install ubuntu 6.10 with the GDE desktop and see how it configures etc/X11/xorg.conf since I know everything works fine in that scenario?
  • chymoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm pro ubuntu but took the mythdora approach here. Installation and setup was a cinch, here's my setup:

    Abit kg7-raid
    AMD 1.4 ghz
    1gb RAM
    Haupauge pvr-150 w/ remote
    Haupauge pvr-150 1042 (w/ audio ports)
    Chaintech GeForce FX5200 128mb

    After much research I've learned the tuners and display adapters make a big difference. Myth does work well with this setup so far, my only problem is that I can't find anything good on tv that I actually want to watch.

  • Four20, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1check out www.geekenough.com for other bare/basic tutorials
  •  

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