[mythtvnz] (no subject)

[Jonathan Marshall]

I don't mean to hijack Matthew's thread, but if one was wanting a
(back end only) machine for DTT (HD) freeview recording, would one
need a quicker machine (I presume not) or more disk space, or are the
streams pretty much the same size (MPEG4 HD vs MPEG2 SD).  Also, does
the DVB-T card need to be anything in particular, or will most brands
supported under linux work fine?

Cheers,
Jonathan

On Thu, Mar 13, 2008 at 5:44 PM, Toby Mills <toby at np.co.nz> wrote:
> I run a backend only on 512Mb,
>  Used to be only 256Mb, but once you start adding multiple tuner cards it
>  just can't keep up any more and starts getting very jittery when trying
>  to record 3 programs at the same time and watching another :)
>  Same with hard disk, my orignal 200Gb disk wasn't enough, so i've tacked
>  on more drives which has started getting messy.
>  Currently looking at replacing all the extra drives with a single 750Gb,
>  but once we go HD then that won't last long either.
>
>  One bit of advise, I started on the cheap with spare bits from old boxes
>  and I severely regret putting it into 'production'.
>  Suffered a lot of negative WAF points for a long time due to
>  unreliability, running out of space / RAM, grunt etc.
>
>  Now that my system is just about bulletproof in terms of reliability, it
>  still gets blamed when something external affects it. i.e, if we have
>  rain fade, then its Mythtv's fault. If a program didn't record because
>  someone set the time wrong then it MythTv's fault. You know what I mean.
>
>  If you have a family who will be using it, then don't make it their only
>  option for watching TV until you can afford to build a bulletproof system.
>
>  The optiplex will also be noisy so it may not last long in your lounge.
>  I would be tempted not to spend too much money upgrading it but use it
>  as a proof of concept for testing.
>  Then you can put together a 'Business Case' for investing in the parts
>  to do it properly and reliably (ie UPS etc) and your family can then
>  make the choice on what level of reliability they expect.
>
>  I'm really glad I went to a split frontend backend solution. Now the
>  noisy backend is out in the garage with tonnes of disk space and giant
>  cooling fans that sound like a 747 taking off. And I have silent shuttle
>  PC's in the house with no disks acting as frontends only. Also, people
>  can turn off the shuttles while I have full control of the backend
>  environment.
>
>  It also allows you to dick around with one of the frontends testing
>  upgrades etc without messing with the whole familys Television viewing.
>
>  Cheers
>  Toby
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