Does anyone think that it is possible to come up with a "reference" platform for KnoppMyth. That way new versions of KnoppMyth could be tested on a specific set of hardware and be guaranteed to work for anyone using the KMRP. Whenever someone new comes along and asks what hardware should be used we can just point them at that. There would have to be a collection taken up to ensure that the developers had access to a copy of the KMRP. I'm willing to put up some $. Of course the people putting up the $ would get to pick the hardware with input from the developers of course.

This would be as close as you could get to a set top box.

well it is certainly a novel idea and worthy of some discussion.

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Xsecrets

Personally I'm in favor of a Pundit with either a PVR 250 or a 350. If its a 250 then we would need to vote on a video card. I would prefer the 350. Don't care much about the HD/CD either. Can you guess what my hardware is?

Here is a quick system I threw together at NewEgg. I'm in for $100. Could be less if the developers already have some of the parts. Are there 4. 35 other takers?

$534.99 Total

$150.00 ASUS Pundit Barebone System for Socket 478 at 400/533MHz FSB Intel CPU, Model Pundit (N82E16856110018)

$66.00 Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz 400MHz FSB, 128K Cache - Retail (N82E16819112176 )

$185.00 Hauppauge PCI Video Recorder, TV/FM Tuner Card, Model "WinTV PVR 350" -REATIL (N82E16815116609)

$ 69.00 Seagate 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST380011A, OEM (N82E16822148015 )

$45.00 Kingston ValueRAM 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail (N82E16820141425 )

$ 19.99 ASUS Black 52X QuieTrack Technology CD-ROM Drive, Model CD-S520 Black QuieTrack, Retail (N82E16827134009 )

just curious if you are using pundit anyways why would you need a separate video card? the onboard tvout of the pundit works just fine after you install the binary sis drivers.

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Xsecrets

Many people seem to be unhappy with the quality of the SIS TV-Out. Personally I use an external scan converter. Its just easier to get to overscan and everything right and the picture quality is very good. I actually have a PVR-350 in the box just waiting for that to get easy enough to setup so that I may actually accomplish it in some finite time.

For a reference platform I'd prefer to see something with a bit more expandability (ability to put in more disks, multiple tuners, ...). That's the major drawback with the Shuttle SN41G2 that I used, and the Pundit has similar limits.

Maybe two separate machines? A reference front end and a reference back end machine?

If there were a official reference platform, I wouldn't be based on a Pundit. I'd based it on a Chaintech 7NIF2. Why?! Everything works out the box w/ this motherboard. Since releasing R4V3, I've been running it on my master backend and it has been rock solid.

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

OK, maybe that is a better approach. Could the developers post somewhere prominent and permanent their exact platform configurations? Possibly they already have. What I really want is some shadow of a guarantee that new releases of KnoppMyth will work out of the box. Obviously the developers can only ensure that a release works on platforms they own. So if you can beat 'em, join 'em. Call this Tier 0.

If this is built around a Chaintech 7NIF2 so be it. What is the case, cpu, hd, cd/dvd, video, tuner, memory, everything. I'll buy myself the new hardware. In addition to my selfish motivations I was thinking that it would be nice if the community bought you some.

BTW. Thanks for all the excelent and hard work. It really is much appreciated. I love by KnoppMyth. I just want it to work again.

I just did... look up. . I'm also working on a doc that describes my home entertainment system. Prior to releasing, KnoppMyth is beta tested to ensure it works on various hardware, not just the hardware Dale and I use. What is wrong w/ your setup(link to the thread is find...)? Found it... ironically before release R2(or was it R3), one of the beta testers found an issue w/ bcm4400 not working. Just before releasing he reportted it... I delayed the release, fix the problem and had him test it before releasing...

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cesman

When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!

OK so it has a Chaintech 7NIF2 in it. I'm sure this will all be in the doc you are working on my I'm an impatient sort and I want to buy asap to get a box that works.

What do you use for tv-out?
What do you use for tuning?
What slots are your cards in?
What is your cpu?
How much memory?
What case are you using?
What is the capacity of your hd?
What is the hd make/model?
What cd/dvd are you using?

Details appreciated...

It might be interesting to approach Aberdeen or NewEgg and see if they would sell a package in concession for advertising on the myssettopbox site. I've never tried that type of thing before. The volume might not be high enough to make it worth their while.

BTW. Aberdeen has an nice barebones kit that would work as a base http://www.aberdeeninc.com/abcatg/KITBOOK3.HTM that will likely be the basis for my purchase.

that's really not a bad starting kit. I would probably bump it up to 256Mb ram and make sure that you get two sticks, so you can take advantage of the dual channel memory capabilities of the nforce chipset.

as for your other questions


What do you use for tv-out? - onboard
What do you use for tuning? - pvr250 (and in my case also a leadtek)
What slots are your cards in? - doesn't appear to make any difference I've moved them all around.
What is your cpu? - AthlonXP 1700+
How much memory? - 512 (256 should be sufficient)
What case are you using? - I am using the coolermaster 620
What is the capacity of your hd? - I have a 200Gb you should probably stick with a 5400 RPM drive. I got the 7200 and its loud.
What is the hd make/model? - western digital ( I hear seagate makes the quietest drives, but usually little more expensive.)
What cd/dvd are you using? - not even sure it's an old ide dvd I had laying around. (Any ide drive should work.)

I'm not a developer, but I do usually beta test new versions. For the most part I can tell you that the important stuff is onboard the 7nif2. If you get that and a supported PVR card everything else shouldn't really matter, as long as it's reasonable.

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Xsecrets

Then I propose the following frontend and backend reference platforms. I'm getting the sense that it really won't matter much to anyone but me. But at least the research is posted for others to reference. I don't know for the life of my why Aberdeen doesn't stock the PVRs or the large Segate drives.

Can cesman or Xsecrets confirm that the pvr350 output should work out of the box in R4V4.1? These systems are very close to both of your current systems, right?

For those that are interested in expandability the Athena case has room for a second drive which I thought was nice.

Frontend $381.97

Aberdeen (http://www.aberdeeninc.com)
$250.00 KITBook3 ATHENA SILVER BOOK PC BARE-BONES KIT
MB7612 CHAINTECH 7NIF2 MOTHERBOARD
IC7788 AMD ATHLON XP 2200+ (266MHz)
MYDD200 1 x 128MB DDR 266MHz (2x133MHz) PC2100 SDRAM 184-pin DIMM (128MByte Total/DIMM)
CA729 ATHENA MINI BOOK PC
FDNS475 TEAC FLOPPY 1.44 MB DRIVE
$72.99 HDG8004 Seagate 80GB 9.5ms 7200rpm ATA/100 2MB
$25.99 MYDD200 1 x 128MB DDR266 CL3 PC2100 OEM SDRAM
$32.99 HCV142 Sony DDU1621 16X DVD /48X CD-ROM (Black) OEM



Backend $636.46 (with pvr250) to $810.44 (with pvr250 & pvr350)

Aberdeen - $400.90 (http://www.aberdeeninc.com)
$89.99 MB7612 Chaintech 7NIF2, Athlon XP, NVIDIA nForce2 IGP + MCP, Integrated NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 256-bit 3D/2D graphics, FSB400 Support, 3xDIMMs, Dual Channel DDR400 Support, w/ 4ch Audio, LAN, 3xPCI Slots, 1 AGP 8X slot, Micro ATX Motherboard
$72.99 IC7788 AMD Athlon XP 2200+ (1.80GHz) processor (Thoroughbred core .13 micron) with QuantiSpeed, 266MHz Alpha™ EV6 Bus, with 3DNow! Professional (full SSE support) w/ 128KB L1 & 256KB On-Die L2 Cache - Requires Cooling Fan/Heatsink MICK615
$99.98 MYDD209 Two 256MB DDR400 400MHz (2x200MHz) PC3200 SDRAM 184-pin DIMM ($49.99 each)
$49.99 CA729 Athena Silver Book PC Case. microATX case 1x5¼" 3x3½" (2 hidden), full size expansion slots, 145 x 343 x 370 mm (W x H x D), 200W power supply (AMD Approved), P4 Ready.
$87.99 HCV159 Sony DWU18ABK Internal (Black) COMBO DVD+RW/+R/DVD-RW/-R/CD-R/RW burner OEM/Bulk, 4X DVD±RW/ 8X DVD±R / 12X DVD-ROM/ 40X24X40X CD-RW, 200ms DVD 160ms, 2MB Buffer

Buy.com - $409.54 (http://www.buy.com)
$114.99 10339896 Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 Plus - Hard drive - 160 GB - standard - 3.5" - ATA-100 - 7200 rpm - 8 MB - ST3160023A
$128.56 10322340 Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250 - Model 980
$165.99 10340586 Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 350 - Model 990

NewEgg - $421.99 (http://www.netegg.com)
$107.00 N82E16822148025 Seagate 160GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST3160023A, OEM
$129.99 N82E16815116602 Hauppauge PCI TV Tuner Card, Model "WinTV PVR 250" -RETAIL
$185.00 N82E16815116609 Hauppauge PCI Video Recorder, TV/FM Tuner Card, Model "WinTV PVR 350" -REATIL

sorry to dissapoint you , but I can confirm that pvr350 TVout does NOT work "out of the box" on R4V4.1

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

Xsecrets