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homebrew_pvrs_on_linux

russell pavlicek experiment with a pvr

his article in infoworld about it

Here are some links to some sites that teach you how to build a Linux PVR:

http://www.mythtv.org/
http://anandtech.com/linux/showdoc.aspx?i=2190
http://www.linuxprofessionalsolutions.com/pavlicek /tv.html
http://ozzzy.dhis.org/poorpvr-gtk.html
http://www.bluelightning.org/ebox/status.html
http://www.cadsoft.de/people/kls/vdr/

This distribution could prove very useful in recording videos such as these.

Make sure it has a BT848 chipset. You'll have to do some Googling for specific models that support time-shifting, I think. Anyways, here's a link to a PVR howto.

a tivo-like device, another, and linuxtv.org. That should be enough to get you started...

Russell Pavlicek has an article on his web site about turning an old PC into a Linux-PVR.

Who needs a set-top box that crashes or a computer that slows down because it's recording today's episode of Friends?

Well, we want one that won't crash. Or slow down. That's why we want a Linux set-top box. ;)

The tech exists to hack it together right now; it would be moderately expensive and rather ugly, but it could be done (Linux-supported TV-out + IR input port + LIRC + Linux BIOS or the Linux save-to-disk hack + xine/favorite decoder -- google for all these, I'm too lazy to link). And you can't say "Computers and TVs were not made to mix". The DVD player that might be sitting on your shelf is basically a simplified computer. If it can play MP3s, it is even more so. How about your Sega Dreamcast? We ported Linux to the thing, for God's sake! That can perform all the operations needed to call it a computer under Turing's definition...so you already have computers plugged into your TV, unless you're strictly an antenna-only guy.

Linux already works as an OS for many embedded systems. Your set-top box is merely another such system. I won't even get into the quagmire of a DRM argument, but let it be said for now that there are people who have gotten Linux PVRs working. It can be done now. With work, it can be done much more smoothly later.

The Risk aspect I discussed was not whether or not it would work, but whether or not you could properly budget for the solution.

Your cobbled together solution doesn't have a fixed cost associated with it, it will cost a different amount weekly depending on what it is you buy. Also as you introduce new cobbled together equipment to the environment, you've increased your support costs as you now have to manage multiple configurations.

It introduces some new variables which would have to be studied. I guess the point is, from an IT manager perspective life is a lot simpler if you can choose a solution and stick with it for at least a year. The cost Risk is also a little easier to handle when buying new equipment as you are fairly assured the prices will go down, not up. Better to come in under budget than over.

I've worked both in private industry and in government, and this cobbled together inelegant solution would probably fly in the government. But with the exception of a few small companies I've dealt with, few in private industry would accept this as a solution.

Again, it reminds me of the recent article discussing the cobbled together PVR. These were solutions that looked like good ideas when I was new to the industry 15 years ago, but over the years I've learned from experience that they aren't such great ideas.

Here's a page explaining how I constructed a Linux-based TV recorder for about US$300:

http://linuxprofessionalsolutions.com/pavlicek/tv. html

It creates files that can be burned to VCDs. I have no DVD burner, so I can't say what would be needed to create DVDs from the output. But it's using all Open Source software, so you can tweak it until it does what you want.

Here's a page describing a US$300 Linux solution I put together:

http://linuxprofessionalsolutions.com/pavlicek/tv. html