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Are you a series 1 or series 2 tivo owner (or satellite tivo)?

Once you do the hack to have it NOT encrypt the mpegs (some hex flag change) and if you have some sort of USB WiFi or etherent adapter plugged in you SHOULD be able to pull off your stuff much easier...

There's also the mechanical hack of pulling the drive and sneaker netting and using some tools to pull stuff off that way... I suppose

Note: My tivo is currently in a virgin state, I do my content retrieval/archival from my homebrew PVR (*gratuitious plug*) which is much easier (for me).

I use the Hauppauge PVR-250 to record mine to DVD. You can find out more about it on BYOPVR.com.

What... no Homebrew's Slackware MythTV guide (with pvr350 tv out goodness?)

e.

I'll play your game rogue...

There ARE easy to setup PC PVR options. I shlopped a PVR350 in a box paired with SageTV (review) and it was pretty simple.

The cost thing is a valid concern. There is potentially a larger initial cash outlay (but no subscription fees.)

With that said the DirectTV deals with Tivo (which are they still being offered? Didnt't DTV and tivo have a bitter divorce quite publiclly last month?) ARE a great value if you go the satellite route. Dual tuning, digital only stream, Tivo ease of use, low subscription...

But out of the box without modification (software or hardware) you can't get the content off your DTV tivo box, which is the point of this article.

Another compelling reason is if you are a paranoid schizo and don't trust TiVo (no matter WHAT their privacy statements say, and oh by the way they can change them at any time) about collecting info on your viewing habits... if you DIY you can have more control over what goes in and out of your DIY PVR (unless you tape MTV, I can't help the GIGO there)

Note: I own and love my tivo and don't wear a tinfoil hat, just thought I point it out as a potential reasoning.

Now if Dishnetwork and DirectTV would supply the needed daughter cards/access cards to digital satellite PCI PVR cards we wouldn't be able to argue about the "re-encoding digital content" issue. (you can use those cards in Europe with subscription satellite services, but not here, from what I understand)

*shrug* YMMV,

e.

Obviously I'm biased (I run a DIY PVR / HTPC site), but this type of shennanigan, whether it comes to fruition or not, is one compelling reason to roll your own homebrew tivo-workalike.

Now hopefully the Broadcast flag won't come and ruin the party regardless of commercial/set-top or homebrew PC PVR.

E.

here's my review of the VIA EPIA M10000 (the earlier revision before the MII's)

the M10k (and presumably the faster/better MII12000's) handles DVD's fine assuming you have a software DVD decoder/player that lets you enable "hardware assist/accelleration"

*shrug* YMMV =)

e.

well that's teh big advantage to these mobo's besides just size... lower power requirements (compared to intel/AMD)... although at lower performance... I just put up a review (sorry for the plug...) of the not quite as horizontally challenged VIA EPIA M10000 Review

summary: small, quiet, low power comsumption, slightly underpowered compared to intel/amd, but surprisingly usable.

*shrug*

e.

you can get DVB / FTA in the us/canada
dvb fta overview | Planet DVB...

granted a lot of the programming is foreign... but theres plenty of free satellite music, pbs, and uh... stuff... great way to get news from diffeent sources all over the world.

*Shrug*

e.

>>
OK - What I want to know is if anyone out there has been successful in getting MythTV (or FreeVo) working successfully under Slackware.

I've tried (and I am certainly no Linux newbie) and could not get all the dependancies to work/compile/install. I spent the better part of 3 days working on it when I gave up.
>>
well a great user on byopvr site put together a guide for just that.

Homebrew's guide to installing mythtv on slackware (w/pvr350 support)

also see this forum post on the subject

Good luck...

E.

>>
OK - What I want to know is if anyone out there has been successful in getting MythTV (or FreeVo) working successfully under Slackware.

I've tried (and I am certainly no Linux newbie) and could not get all the dependancies to work/compile/install. I spent the better part of 3 days working on it when I gave up.
>>
well a great user on byopvr site put together a guide for just that.

Homebrew's guide to installing mythtv on slackware (w/pvr350 support)

also see this forum post on the subject

Good luck...

E.

The how to start as a newbie page is still up. Whatever server they're using, it seems to have survived the test pretty well. Their comment:

UPDATE 9:48 --- from the kicking me while I'm down department We're being Slashdot'ed on top of the yahoo/CNN and matt pvrblogs traffic. No mas! No Mas! =) Glad to see the site get so much attention (but in one day?!) so that we can grow our home brew tivo community.

" If I am going to pay 80 bucks for the Hauppage device, I might as well pay 20 more and get another TIVO. Or for 109 bucks, you can get a refurbished Xbox. Little hacking on it, and you have the perfect media center PC.

I am not discrediting the Hauppage device as it sounds really cool. But for 80 bucks I think I would compare the other devices in this category and find a better alternative. IMO that is."

ah.... but the rub there is the 13 beans a month (or 300 beans for lifetime of the "unit" subscription) and if you are one of the tinfoil hat folks, well say no more =). Setup a MediaMVP with GB-PVR (or get one of those myth client hax being worked on ) and use a 90 dollar hardware encoder/tuner card in your existing PC and you've got PVR goodness for around 170 beans (plus shipping) and no subscription. You also get expanded functionality that you have to pay EXTRA for with Tivo's "home media option", bah! Granted ReplayTV is a little bit better off in that arena, but you are still on the hook for subscription fees.

Note: I have a tivo and love it, but I've seen this combo outlined above as a viable option. *Shrug* ymmv.

FWIW a regular user on my site did a review of the hauppauge MediaMVP and a new writeup about using it with GBPVR (instead of the default software) is coming "soon".

hey, it's a different option, and it's not for everybody... but I'll be watching what the mediamvp hackers come up with... reminds me of the good old iopener/websurfer days =)

e.

Hauppauge MediaMVP stream the content from your existing PC to your TV for like 88beans street price... *shrug* it's not for everyone, but my buddy has it and I was surprised at how how well his quasi-pvr/home media center worked.

I'd rather build my own mini-itx htpc of course though =)

e.

PS I also believe there's quite the mediamvp hacking community (it doesn't support linux out of the box, from what I understand)

I've been considering a PVR for a while, and I'm still rather conflicted. As far as I can tell the issues with a custom PVR are:

+ more flexible and future-proof (depending on what you buy)... a hardware MPEG-4 en/decoder might be even more future-proof.

+ ideally this would give more control over unwanted restrictions, like Macrovision, commercial skip, etc.

- much more expensive -- though if you already have a 800Mhz+ computer sitting around doing "nothing", they might be more comparable.

- have to manually deal with concerns such as noise, heat dissipation, size/shape, power consumption, etc., which can be at odds with having a flexible and upgradeable system.

- I think custom PVRs are primarily for analog cable users. This is actually ok for me since I am an analog cable user and, hopefully, if I want some digital service I could just stick in another PCI card (if I buy a larger system)... though, currently, it seems that such cards are either not available or not very popular (at least in the US)?

I'd be interested to hear from any /.ers if they have a custom digital PVR setup. I've heard of external digital tuners which are changed via IR from the computer, but those seem like a hack, prone to error, and less controllable.

IMHO, if you are using DirectTV / DishNetwork then the corresponding TiVo is the way to go... especially with all the hacks I've heard about (e.g. networking, free guide, etc.). Of course, that locks you into their respective digital service, but that might not be so bad.

FYI:
This might be the PVR Hardware Database you were looking for.
BYOPVR also has some useful info.

yet...

The article assumes Tivo will never release another version/improvement or will never implement HDTV or tap into digital cable boxes "digital" stream...

I love my tivo (I'm still building my own home brew one though because it's fun )... I kinda wish I had gotten replayTV (networking features mainly), but after their boneheaded near bait and switch PR blunder I feel better not supporting them with my purchase.

*shrug* The article was right about the dangers of the cable companies offering built in PVR's into their digital cable boxes (as a matter of conveience not necessarily signal quality/degredation concerns)

E.

yet...

The article assumes Tivo will never release another version/improvement or will never implement HDTV or tap into digital cable boxes "digital" stream...

I love my tivo (I'm still building my own home brew one though because it's fun )... I kinda wish I had gotten replayTV (networking features mainly), but after their boneheaded near bait and switch PR blunder I feel better not supporting them with my purchase.

*shrug* The article was right about the dangers of the cable companies offering built in PVR's into their digital cable boxes (as a matter of conveience not necessarily signal quality/degredation concerns)

E.

well... here's a windoze utility to control directTV box via serial cable There probably is a linux version out there, but I had that link handy so uh.. there it is...

IF you do decide to build your own, may I humbly suggest checking out Build your own PVR community site and maybe joining in on the discussion(s)...

e.

I concur,

mythtv is yummy! building your own tivo is one way to help control who knows what about your viewing habits.

although I have a Tivo and never felt that my personal viewing habits were a liability (in aggregate) supposedly according to the TOS/privacy statements I read when I opened my tivo all the personal data is stored on the unit itself, and only anonmyous aggregate data goes back to the mother ship...

now WHERe did I put my tinfoil! I'm going to need the superwide box of reynolds wrap to cover my unit.

e.

Hi guys,

FWIW I recently started a site dedicated to discussing the merits, prattfalls, and techniques/hardware/software/etc...

anyways build your own PVR community site

Would love it if any slashdotters want to drop by and discuss either their existing PVR or future PVR projects...

Thanks!

E.

LOL, that's true... not *Everyone* has the time nor the inclination to build your own... but for some people building your own PVRis the way to go.

Those of us with free time (what are your girlfriends taking up all your time again?) and some money to burn, can make a much more flexible customized system either using OSS or commercial software like snapstream than an off the shelf commercial PVR.

*Shrug* YMMV but I think it's a cool idea (and I *own* and love my tivo)

e.

Seems like a good time to mention BYOPVR! Which was launched a few weeks ago.

I just started a site dedicated to Building your own PVR / DVR

*shrug* Would love some reviews/comparisons of mythtv, knoppix myth, etc...

e.