MythTV is Awesome

My TV recorder has nothing to do with Bill Gates. I am using a package called Mythbuntu. It combines MythTV, a TiVo-like software package, with Ubuntu, a non-geek friendly version of Linux.

Before that, I started with a Toshiba DVD PVR a few years back. It has an 80 gig hard drive and is pretty user friendly. Problem was, the DVD drive died so I was unable to archive anything I wanted to save. And with an 80 gig drive, that filled up pretty fast. Now they come with much larger drives, but the market is drying up because all of the service providers (Shaw, MTS, etc) offer their own devices. But you will never get content off of those things to a DVD due to the Digital Rights Management bull****.

So that’s why I settled on this MythTV solution. Being based in Linux, it’s free. But for the same reason, it is not for the technically faint-of-heart. Mr. Gates does offer his own solution that gets bundled with most (or all?) versions of Vista called Media Centre. I have seen a demo of it and it looks kind of cool. It seems to have many of the features of the MythTV solution.

Here is a YouTube video that explains it pretty well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-yNCqj_MXs

Most of the videos on YouTube have the user demonstrating it on their computer. What I did was put the computer beside my TV. My PC has S-video out so I ran a cable from the PC to the TV. Then I connected the audio out from the PC as well. Similar to what you would do with a DVD player.

To use MythTV or Microsoft’s Media Centre, you need to have a TV capture card in your PC. Either HD or Standard, whatever your signal is. That card actually comes with a universal remote control. So now my kids can operate this thing pretty well. They have their shows recording and are able to watch and delete the stuff in their “category”.

Because this thing is a PC on a network, I can access the shows from anywhere in my house on my notebook. And I can also see the system from outside the house via the web.

The system can be run on an older computer, but I added a couple of HD’s to bring my storage up to 1 Terabyte. The only thing I need to pay for is a subscription to the listings service that gives me 2 weeks of program guide information over the web. But at 20 bucks a year, it’s worth it.

****Edit****
I have had people ask me for a cost breakdown/materials list.  Although this will vary from person to person, here is mine:

• 1 Computer (~$200).  Or at least a VM.  

I have a dedicated P4 2.66 GHz with 768MB RAM.  I installed two 500GB hard drives ($200) giving me the better part of a Terabyte of storage.  You can get a great one used from a place like Coreys computing.

• 1 Video Capture Card with tuner. (~$100.00)
  

I bought a Hauppage 150.  This seems to be the standard card that everyone uses.  There is a version of the same card that has 2 tuners.  This allows recording of two channels simultaneously, or recording of one channel while watching another.  If I had this to do over again, I would buy that one.  But for most peoples needs, the single tuner model is sufficient.  You need to ensure that you are using the right card for the service you are paying for (HD vs Standard Definition)

• 1 Video card with S-video Out (~125.00)

This is optional. You only need this if you are outputting your recordings to a TV for viewing. 

That covers the basics.  Other than this, you need:

• A subscription to Schedules Direct (20.00/annually).  This is a service that pushes the TV Guide schedule information to your MythTV PC via the Internets

• An internet connection wherever you are putting this thing.  I had to run a line from my switch to the TV.  This allows the system to automatically gather schedule information.  Also, you can get access to your system from other PC's in your house, or remotely.  You just need to configure your gateway properly.

• Although the Hauppage Capture card comes with a functional remote control, I found it limited in the way it controlled the other devices, so I had to purchase a Logitech Universal remote (~160.00).  This turned out to be the best thing by far.  This thing is fully programmable and you can even set up macros to make it even easier.