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I apologize if you thought I was picking on Joe Six Pack. My point is that the hardware is up to the task, but the bloated, slow, and inefficient software grinds down the performance of the machine. I base this on personal experience and run a MythDora (MythTV + Fedora Linux) media center on a Pentium III without any performance issues. It happily plays and records TV, burns DVDs, shows pictures, plays games, plays/rips DVDs, transcodes video, surfs RSS feeds, streams video and audio without any performance problems.

The modern hardware we have is very powerful in terms of computing power. It is the bloated software like Vista/Java/.NET which make your shiny new machine feel slooooow. If we could get the DirectX guys and the Linux kernel guys together, we could have a killer O/S.

The PVR Hardware Database is your friend: http://pvrhw.goldfish.org/tiki-pvrhwdb.php

You should check out the info on the PVR hardware database, they also have links to install guides for most distributions of linux. http://pvrhw.goldfish.org/

And by the way - this topic sounds very exciting, but lots of people are running myth on quiet EPIA mobos. Check out mythtv's hardware database. Its not new or even hard.

1. Buy mobo, case, HDD, encoder card, DVD. Or buy one of these pre-built ones
2. Plug it all in.
3. Insert knoppmyth CD.
4. install
5. ???
6. profit... errr... I mean watch TV.

One of the things you have to look out for when building one of these with Linux is hardware compatibility. Go to the PVR Hardware Database to see what others are running.

Other interesting links:
HTPCNews
Build Your Own PVR
AVS Forum - they have a Linux section under HTPC.

*2

PVR Hardware database lists a few more.

MythTv

PVR Hardware Database

RedHat install guide

Gentoo Install Guide(I went this route)

Knoppix Myth

I'm surprised that Mythtv hasn't been mentioned here as an alternative to the DRM'd crap more than once.

What more can you ask for? linux/wireless/radio/dvd/mediaplayer-dvd-mp3 -ogg-lame-wma/weather/news/web/mysql/ripping dvd/photoalbum/DVR -pause-rewind-record/PIP/Schdeduled recording/front-end/back-end/all-in-one/

What's not to drool over?? Beats the pants off any commercial product, plus you get to build it yourself!

Many, many sites to help you get started , !

All without someone watching over what you're doing with what you've purchased......

I've been researching chipsets for digital TV. Here are my links to current hardware products:

STMicroelectronics System on Chip (2) Get Linux here
ATI Xilleon 220 (Products)
Sigma Designs Digital Media Processors (Products)
IBM PowerPC405 STBxx (Zarlink [2], Araneo)
Texas Instruments DM642 DSP (i3 Mood Box , X-Designs Flikit + Softier MediaLinux)
NEC EMMArchitecture2 (Galaxis + LinuxTV , PRISMIQ + Linux)
Equator Technologies BSP-15 boards
Via CN400 (Mini-ITX Board), PM800 and PM880 (w/ HDTV for Pentium 4) , ShowShifter HMN, Soyo Multimedia Ready Motherboard (with TV Tuner, $129.99)
Toshiba TX System RISC (MontaVista Linux)
Windows chipsets:
Intel 815 VisionPlus terrestrial box (Korean OEM)
AMD Geode (CoCom)
ARM (Samsung, etc.)
Digeo X-Stream (Paul Allen company)

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.

As I'm sure we all know, upgradability is a big issue with computer hardware. My MythTV box is using a Cooler Master case (but in black), with this motherboard.

I've already added a DVB-T (HDTV in the US) card, which you can't do with this box (i.e. you will never get digital TV with this box).

My box is a bit bigger, but looks like a stereo component (brushed steel). I'm also planning on adding an extra analogue capture card (bringing my capture sources up to three). This will fill the PCI slots on the Micro-ATX board, so I'm damn glad I didn't buy a smaller box!

I've got a DVD-ROM drive, DVD burner and currently one 160GB hard disk. Planning on adding another much bigger hard drive (waiting, waiting, I want 1TB)

If you are thinking of building a PVR (it's a fun project), you really should think about expandability and upgradability.

Also check Jarod's PVR Hardware Database, and his excellent Install Guides page.

Also, don't forget MythTV is a very nice client/server architecture, so you can run your "backend" on some beefy ugly PC in a cupboard, and us anything (including an XBox) as a frontend.

--
"Puritanism - the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."
-- Henry Mencken

My blog: http://yi.org/blog, Latest entry : Muscle powered microrobot's

As I'm sure we all know, upgradability is a big issue with computer hardware. My MythTV box is using a Cooler Master case (but in black), with this motherboard.

I've already added a DVB-T (HDTV in the US) card, which you can't do with this box (i.e. you will never get digital TV with this box).

My box is a bit bigger, but looks like a stereo component (brushed steel). I'm also planning on adding an extra analogue capture card (bringing my capture sources up to three). This will fill the PCI slots on the Micro-ATX board, so I'm damn glad I didn't buy a smaller box!

I've got a DVD-ROM drive, DVD burner and currently one 160GB hard disk. Planning on adding another much bigger hard drive (waiting, waiting, I want 1TB)

If you are thinking of building a PVR (it's a fun project), you really should think about expandability and upgradability.

Also check Jarod's PVR Hardware Database, and his excellent Install Guides page.

Also, don't forget MythTV is a very nice client/server architecture, so you can run your "backend" on some beefy ugly PC in a cupboard, and us anything (including an XBox) as a frontend.

--
"Puritanism - the haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy."
-- Henry Mencken

My blog: http://yi.org/blog, Latest entry : Muscle powered microrobot's

If your interested in Linux based PVR Hardware, check out the PVR Hardware database ( http://pvrhw.goldfish.org/ )

Just a quick plug for the PVR Hardware Database at http://pvrhw.goldfish.org :) It contains a database of people's homebuilt PVR systems and their experiences which can help when deciding on what hardware to buy and what software to use.

I started looking into a replacement PVR solution when my DishNetwork sub ran up. My wife and I were hooked on the Dish501 PVR and hadn't watched TV bound to a schedule in more than a year. Our local cable provider (TW-Rochester) gave us a great deal on all the digital offerings with HBO @ 25.99 /mo for 12 months. Sounded like a good idea. I went on board with their PVR "solution", the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000.

Has anyone else used one of these clearly beta units? Ack!

That lasted about 3 weeks. So I sat down and looked at our needs and our options:

- Two tuners (the only nice feature of the SA8000)
- Intelligent recording options (record once/series/all)
- Sufficient storage (enough to fit the entire Tour De France: 20 stages x 3hrs. That was our unit of measurement. YMMV)
- Ability to record network channels (NBC/ABC/CBS/Fox)
- HighDef is a nice-to-have

Options:
- DirectTV with DirectTivo (No Rochester locals then) (~$550 for Series2 unit with big HD)
- DishNetwork with the Dish921 (High Def! Have to lie to get Plattsburgh locals) ($1000+)
- DishNetwork with the Dish721 (Have to lie to get Plattsburgh locals) ($500)
- Time Warner with SA8000 (Ack!) ($5 + $9 rental/mo)
- DIY box (???)

Wife gave the project a green light, and I bought the parts to build it. Motherboard with integrated LAN and VGA, $100; AthlonXP 1800+, $50; PVR250 Tuner cards, $130 x2; Wireless mouse & keyboard, $40. I already had a case and 120Gb drive.

It took a bit of work and a weekend to get it running the first time (Myth 0.11). Thanks so much to Jarod's guide. I tweaked it and broke some stuff about 3 weeks later, and rebuilt it. Only took 8 hrs that time.

Tweaked stuff again and broke it again. I should realize that it's a TV device, not a playtoy. This time I rebuilt it in 3 hrs. (That included restoring a backup of the programs saved on the HD.) ATRPMS with apt-get (thanks Axel) makes it a breeze.

It's been fine for the last month. It sits quietly mounted between floor joists in the basement crawlspace storage, where it is keep quite cool. As a bonus over Tivo, it has a picture gallery viewer of all the PCs in our house, it runs MAME and ZSnes, plays MP3s and shows the weather.

Thanks Issac and all the developers who put so much hardwork into a great project. Your efforts are very appreciated.

By the way: The best part about this being an open source, Linux based project? When there's a problem with the app and I'm not at home, I can ssh to it and fix it remotely. No more trying to explain things over the phone!

If you purchase a card that can do hardware encoding/decoding (a Hauppage WinTV PVR 250 or 350, for example), that is well-supported under Linux, the rest of the system won't have to be too powerful, and a MiniITX board would work brilliantly. However, if you want to encode things in software (to XViD, for instance), you might need a meatier processor, as a VIA processor might choke.

Some useful links:
MythTV requirements
And for Freevo
PVR Database

Hope that helps.

Agreed. MythTV is pretty nice and is getting better all the time. It has everything the TiVO has and more. For instance, using samba I can access all of my recorded programs from *any* computer on the network. Now, if my wife is watching the Bachelor on TV, I can watch any of my recording on my computer. Its just all of the extra things that make MythTV so nice. And if anyone tells you that MythTV is hard to setup, it isn't that bad. Any linux geek should have no problem following the install steps at http://pvrhw.goldfish.org/tiki-page.php?pageName=r h9pvr250.

None of the systems in the hardware section of that page are remotely like the Telly device. See the post I made earlier for details for a device of similar capabilities to the Telly. If you don't like the ATI tuner, add a hundred dollars for the Wintv PVR-250. Still a heck of a lot lower than $800. And keep in mind that the prices I found were retailer prices. A company building machines would be getting OEM pricing, so it looks even more like a rip off to me.

Please stop supporting these closed source companies that use Linux and don't contribute anything back other than the bare minimum to be compliant with the GPL (if that). Build a PVR with MythTV. If more people start using it and helping with developing it then it'll quickly leave Tivo and ReplayTV in the dust.

It seems like one solution to having a highly functional Digital Video Recorder would would be to use a PC running Linux with a tuner card in it and use MythTV or Freevo. This database of people's setups suggests that there are quite a few people our there trying this. It certainly has the advantage that if you are lacking some feature you can just roll up your sleeves and code it rather than just moaning about the vendor not supplying it.

However there is some disconnect between the way most people want to use a computer and how they watch TV and in general you will want to have your computer and TV in two entirely separate rooms. While I would be interested in anyones solutions involving wireless etc., since I don't have a desktop handy anyway, only a laptop, another option presents itself. Plop the laptop down next to the TV connect it up and use it as a DVR and when you are finished and want a computer you can pick just pick it up, carry it next door and put it on a desk.

It looks like Sony amoung others are just bringing out DVR ready laptops but if you don't want to fork out for a new one is it possible to get an older laptop working as a DVR? I guess you would be restricted to USB TV tuners (are there any good ones?) such as the Pinnacle PCTV Deluxe. However there is the question of whether there are USB tuners for which linux drivers are available (obviously not from the vendor that would be too easy!) and how easy it would be to get one working with Freevo/MythTV. Just some thoughts in case there is someone out there who has already tried this?

Software wise, MythTV is by far the best solution atm, although Freevo is coming along.