All,

I repair and maintain PCs for a living, and have or have had several linux PCs (Debian, Ubuntu, Redhat). My Knoppix CD has saved the day countless times for clients. I am aware generally of what MythTV is, and can work with Linux fairly OK. I mention these things so you know my background.

KnoppMyth seems like a very sensible way to get a working Linux and MythTV system installed with a minimum amount of fuss, but I have some general questions about MythTV and/or KnoppMyth. I hope I'm asking in the right place, and don't sound too stupid.

I have DishNetwork satellite TV, and one DishNetwork PVR in the living room. I have a second "regular" Dishnetwork box in my home office next to all my PCS. My GOAL is to have a computer with (presumably) MythTV change the channel of the Dishnetwork box at the right time, record shows when designated, and burn DVDs that any DVD player can play on a regular TV. The DVD burning doesn't need to be automated or anything - I just need a way to burn "standard" DVDs with the stuff I recorded on it.

So my questions:

1. Can MythTV do this? I assume I need to build or buy an IRBlaster to change channels on the DishNetwork box? (Or is there a better way?)

2. The PC I have set aside for this is a P3@1.5 Ghz on a BX motherboard with lots of RAM, a big hard drive, and a DVD burner. I assume this is enough?

3. It has a Geforce3 with a VIVO (Video In - Video Out) module, driven by a Philips 7108 chip. Is this hardware able capture video suitably from the satellite box? I do not need to watch, encode, or playback at the same time.

4. If this video hardware isn't suitable, what's the cheapest way to capture decent video from the dishnetwork box?

5. And finally, is it possible to burn "normal" DVDs from recorded programs with minimal fuss?

Thanks for the answers and tips.

-Warr

the vivo cards don't work in linux or at least with mythtv, so that won't work, but everything else should.

_________________
Have a question search the forum and have a look at the KnoppMythWiki.

Xsecrets

1) Yes. Unless your satellite box has a serial, usb, or firewire interface which will let you control it.

2) Should be OK for SDTV (NTSC) but not for HDTV (ATSC). Especially if you use a PVR card with a hardware based encoder.

3) Probably not gonna work.

4) Probably a PVR-150 given your CPUs age/speed.

5) Yes. Initially setting it up take some fuss, but once you've got it going it's pretty simple.

Sorry, I have to be an a$$... I want to buy your P3 1.5GHz on a BX chipset. So I can have the only one in existance!

</smarta$$>



This is what I wanted to seriously reply about... I think with enough work and dedication, you could make a VIVO card and an IRblaster work. I think you will also have a much easier time using a dedicated capture card than a VIVO video card, and I think it would be superior if you have a receiver with a more direct control method (USB/firewire/serial as the guy above mentioned).

So basically I am trying to strongly suggest a capture card.

The IRBlaster will work and it's not a bad idea, but I would prefer another method.