[mythtvnz] MythTV-NZ Recommended Hardware List (was: Budget Myth spec)

[Nick Rout]

On Tue, Jun 10, 2008 at 8:54 PM, Phill Coxon <phill at getresults.co.nz> wrote:
> On Tue, 2008-06-10 at 16:37 +1200, Dean Pemberton wrote:
>> We have hardware questions on the list from time to time and a lot of
>> them boil down to..
>> "Whats the recommended hardware for....."
>>
>> Is it worth spending some time working out the MythTV-NZ recommended
>> machine (or set of machines) so that we can get Steven to put the list
>> up on the web and point people to it?
>
> I think this is a great idea.
>
> Very slowly I've been building a mythtv box - the main reason for the
> delay being I just don't know what direction to go in terms of
> hardware.
>
> It would be very useful to have recommended minimum hardware
> (particularly CPU, motherboard, graphics card requirements) for a SD
> setup and for a HD setup.
>
> I'd like to get some feedback on some of the newer motherboards with
> onboard graphics / HDMI - whether they are usable or if it's better to
> go with a separate nvidia card.
>
> I'd also like some recommendations for making a quieter / silent system
> in terms of case / fan / cooling system etc.
>
>

I am not really sure why this conversation would be relevant to NZ
only. IMHO you should look to the main mythtv-user list for advice on
hardware.

Having said that the NZ DVB-T HD situation is different to many other
countries, but does not seem to be unique, with the UK and other parts
of Europe having h.264 over DVB.

Similarly questions of noise, cooling etc are dealt with on many other
sites, most of them very easy to find.

I have seen people try to set up linux compatibility databases before,
but they soon get clouded by differences between user experience (as
opposed to the objective question of compatbility proper) and the
speed at which the hardware market changes. Keeping such a site up to
date is a rod for anyone's back.

I don't want to stifle discussion, but I wonder at the utility of the
discussion on a local list when there are many wise hardware heads on
mythtv-user and other places.

A discussion on the *availability* of certain parts in the local
market is different of course, I am as keen on a bargain as anyone!