Hi all - some of you may recall that I posted some time ago about an article I was writing for the PC World on building your own Digital TV video recorder. This article is now live: you can read all about it Here.

I like your writing style - good job!

One caveat, it would be nice if you could add a note to emphasize hardware that should be avoided:

- SATA disk drives
- USB keyboards and mice
- ... (anybody else got any favorites?)

It might also be good to mention that KnoppMyth expects to install on the primary master hard drive for folks trying to use an exisiting machine by adding another drive...

Overall it's an excellent article, but it has the potential to generate a lot of noise here if people start with problematic hardware configurations.

Thanks!

I could not agree more. I only got to part way through page 4 before I gave up.

As a step to step guide to installing KnoppMyth, it fails miserably, it leads me to ask did you actually do the installation yourself and follow your guide after writing. I don't think so.

I have a perfectionist personality (so my pysch keeps telling me) and if I followed your directions to the letter I wouldn't get past step 4. An example in a text based menu how do you click yes? Mouse doesn't seem to work, I can't find the pointer, you get the idea.

Also what version are you installing? I started with R5A12 and am now using R5A15.1, where do I find version R5A512? Also I would like to know where I can get my hands on a FX 52000 video card, I would really like to see the clock speeds of that bugger.

All that aside, yes it is a nice article but I think it will pose more questions than answer them.

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Girkers

Actually, I did go thorugh it step by step several times, and both cesman and xsecrets read through it prior to publication and made several suggestions. The problem is that it is, even at the best of times, a complicated process.



Wel, the click thing is a fair point, but I really hope that I don't have to get pedantic enough to have to specify everything at an atomic level. I tried to make it as detailed as possible without assuming that the readers don't know how to use a keyboard. Otherwise, it would have been "using the index finger in a stabbing motion, press the key marked with the letter y on the keyboard, holding it down for a quarter of a second, then releasing it. If you hold it down for too long, you'll need to start again."




As I specified in the article, I used R5A512: the problems in R5A515 with digital tv meant that I couldn't come up with a simple way to get it working. F5A512 is still avaiable on the same FTP servers that hold R5A515.1, And the FX52000 is a special overclocked model that's only available to computer journalists and those who press the zero key for more than a quarter of a second .

That was definitely a concern, which is why I spelt out in some detail the system I used at the beginning. I simply couldn't have covered every possible exclusion or caveat at the start there, otherwise the article would have been twice the length. I would have liked to get a mention of the KRP reference system in there, but the article was in production by the time I saw that.

And that's also why I put the stuff at the end referring people to this forum and the Wiki....

i like it .. it answers the stupid questions only linux morons like me generally ask.

um.. one point.. chances of writting one for australia? ... we dont have zap2it or anything similar here.. so... but .. no.. that was great..

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"enter witty comment here"

- Most USB-based tv-devices.

-brendan

I realize this may be true for most USB keyboards and mice, but I've used a Kensington PocketMouse Pro Wireless with KnoppMyth, and it works just fine. The ATI Remote Wonder's mouse capability is not terribly user-friendly, but it works, too. Both are USB devices.

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KnoppMyth R5.5
MythiC Dragon v2.0
Join the KnoppMyth Frappr!

My point wasn't that no USB devices work for anyone but rather that some of the nastiest problems folks have reported here (remember the monster "blinking keyboard lights" thread?) are related to them.

It doesn't make sense to encourage folks to buy trouble and drag the forums along for the ride...

Steve,

I have been considering this, especially after reading another article that does not do this distro justice. I am from Aussie (Oi! Oi! Oi!) so it will have an aussie slant.

When I get around to it I will publish it, but the same old story real life is getting in the way.

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Girkers

girkers ... would absolutely love to see something like that.. screw real life man.. its been holding you back for ages

i guess the biggest issue most people from outside the US face is tuning channels.. i saw a guide in australian pc authority mag.. but it didnt help much.

anyways.. looking forward to it

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"enter witty comment here"

I see what you're saying, but I guess I'd hate to see someone get the impression that no USB devices were worth using. This would inherently exclude a lot of cameras, too, and it may prevent someone with an otherwise Linux-compatible digital camera from even looking at MythTV.

Though in the case of the mouse, it works perfectly on two of my machines and fails utterly on another two, so even this depends on the motherboard. Another good reason for KRP, I guess

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KnoppMyth R5.5
MythiC Dragon v2.0
Join the KnoppMyth Frappr!