So I ordered my second HTPC today. I decided to go with a fancy case so that it is less obtrusive in my family room. I also bought some decent components to allow it to play HD flawlessly (I hope) and maybe even put my HD-DVD drive in that computer to test it if I feel brave. The intention is to put Linux of some flavor on there and then install MythTV. I have not decided which flavor of Linux it will be and I am open to suggestions. I might try one of the buntus. I am interested in hand-compiling MythTV for sure and running out of SVN. I don't want to be tied down to someone else's package management.
The pieces I purchased are:
Shuttle SG33G5B case (Open Box to save some money). I am particularly excited by the smallness of it and the HDMI video and audio out capability of this motherboard.
WD 640GB SATA HDD. This should be large enough to hold a decent amount of HD video.
Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz, 45 nm processor. I think this is likely overkill but I wanted to be sure the HD would be able to be stutter-free.
2x2GB RAM. This is probably overkill again but wow RAM is cheap these days so I might as well.
I already have one system up and running that is about 5 years old but reliable. It can barely handle HD playback and stutters if any other processes start at the same time. It has a SD and HD tuner card installed. I also have a HDHomeRun device on my network. I will likely have the slow machine continue recording with its local tuners and have the new machine record with the HDHomeRun tuners.
If anybody is interested in details, I can keep a log of the build and installation in the thread. This will be my third complete MythTV system so I am not too concerned but I thought it might give some inspiration to others to go forward and attempt this process.
9/3 - All pieces arrived. Everything looks intact. Will assemble tonight and attempt to install Mythbuntu.
9/5 - Assembled all pieces. Everything appears to work. Fighting through the installation process with Linux. I am specifically attacking the problem with getting HDMI video working with my receiver. A suggestion from the Xorg mailing list said to try updating to the latest source compiled version.
9/6 - Turned out that Fedora had some file with a bizarre patch that I could not figure out how to update and so I gave up on it and went back to Mythbuntu. After working with a guy on the Xorg mailing list, I compiled the latest Xorg stuff and got video through my Onkyo receiver. For now, it is just a fallback video mode and I need to spend more time tweaking the resolutions but that is a good start. I also was able to get sound and observed a bug in Alsa where sound is only output from the left channel. It looks like it is going to be a bit more effort to get the underlying OS set up where I need it to be. Another lingering oddity that I am not used to is that I don't seem able to force X to start up without an active device on the other end. That means any time I reboot I would need my receiver powered on or X will fail. With Nvidia based drivers, that was never a problem.
I don't think HDMI audio/video over Linux is ready yet but they are getting there. I definitely do not encourage someone with no experience in Linux to attempt it.
9/25 - Had a whole bunch of life get in the way. I have given up on HDMI with the Intel drivers. I know HDMI works but it is such a convoluted mess that it is too much effort. They have started some memory manager called GEM that is now part of the drivers but not part of the kernel. I reinstalled and plan on using VGA and optical output. I will revisit in a while once this GEM mess settles down. I was able to load Mythbuntu using the CD and the VGA output worked out of the box. Configuration and installation took less than 45 minutes (over my lunch break). I have to scrounge up an optical audio cable but I am hopeful that it will work. With any luck, I will be able to put this machine into service over the weekend.
The pieces I purchased are:
Shuttle SG33G5B case (Open Box to save some money). I am particularly excited by the smallness of it and the HDMI video and audio out capability of this motherboard.
WD 640GB SATA HDD. This should be large enough to hold a decent amount of HD video.
Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz, 45 nm processor. I think this is likely overkill but I wanted to be sure the HD would be able to be stutter-free.
2x2GB RAM. This is probably overkill again but wow RAM is cheap these days so I might as well.
I already have one system up and running that is about 5 years old but reliable. It can barely handle HD playback and stutters if any other processes start at the same time. It has a SD and HD tuner card installed. I also have a HDHomeRun device on my network. I will likely have the slow machine continue recording with its local tuners and have the new machine record with the HDHomeRun tuners.
If anybody is interested in details, I can keep a log of the build and installation in the thread. This will be my third complete MythTV system so I am not too concerned but I thought it might give some inspiration to others to go forward and attempt this process.
9/3 - All pieces arrived. Everything looks intact. Will assemble tonight and attempt to install Mythbuntu.
9/5 - Assembled all pieces. Everything appears to work. Fighting through the installation process with Linux. I am specifically attacking the problem with getting HDMI video working with my receiver. A suggestion from the Xorg mailing list said to try updating to the latest source compiled version.
9/6 - Turned out that Fedora had some file with a bizarre patch that I could not figure out how to update and so I gave up on it and went back to Mythbuntu. After working with a guy on the Xorg mailing list, I compiled the latest Xorg stuff and got video through my Onkyo receiver. For now, it is just a fallback video mode and I need to spend more time tweaking the resolutions but that is a good start. I also was able to get sound and observed a bug in Alsa where sound is only output from the left channel. It looks like it is going to be a bit more effort to get the underlying OS set up where I need it to be. Another lingering oddity that I am not used to is that I don't seem able to force X to start up without an active device on the other end. That means any time I reboot I would need my receiver powered on or X will fail. With Nvidia based drivers, that was never a problem.
I don't think HDMI audio/video over Linux is ready yet but they are getting there. I definitely do not encourage someone with no experience in Linux to attempt it.
9/25 - Had a whole bunch of life get in the way. I have given up on HDMI with the Intel drivers. I know HDMI works but it is such a convoluted mess that it is too much effort. They have started some memory manager called GEM that is now part of the drivers but not part of the kernel. I reinstalled and plan on using VGA and optical output. I will revisit in a while once this GEM mess settles down. I was able to load Mythbuntu using the CD and the VGA output worked out of the box. Configuration and installation took less than 45 minutes (over my lunch break). I have to scrounge up an optical audio cable but I am hopeful that it will work. With any luck, I will be able to put this machine into service over the weekend.
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