[mythtvnz] A successful, problem-free installation...

[David Lowe]

I know this list is meant for problem solving, but I'm just so happy
at how well my new installation went that I had to share the
experience. Maybe it will help another 'enthusiastic amateur' like me
to give it a go.

My old system was 4 years, 8 months and 27 days old. Asus M2NPV-VM
mobo, Twin DVB-s cards; originally had a PVR-150 for recording from a
Sky box. Has worked well, but was showing signs of age, and it was a
power-sucker (I never got around to setting up the power control
stuff).

So, I decided to build a reasonably simple system - Freeview only;
don't need Sky. I set up a backend  to run on an old Acer Revo. I used
Mythbuntu 11.10 for no other reason that I had a copy of it (I
struggle a bit with data caps). Two WinTV USB tuners are connected to
the UHF aerial I've had on the roof since the days when Sky came in
that way.  I set up tv-grab-nz_py without any fuss by following notes
from this list. Installation was all good, reception is solid and
mythfilldatabase worked without any futzing or fiddling on my part.

My old setup used a couple old Xboxes running XBMC as frontends. I
knew when I started that they wouldnt be able to handle HD but I have
resisted retiring them. I will miss them though. They now just play
music and DVDs.

So I knew I would need a couple of new frontends. I didnt expect the
Revo to cut the mustard, but after a bit  of fiddling with the VDPAU
settings, it's perfectly good. I wasn't looking forward to trying to
work out what the other frontend would be... but i found that the new
Sony 32" TV I bought for the bedroom actually comes with what amounts
to a perfectly good frontend built in! Without me doing anything
special at all, the TV found the Myth server using DLNA and sorts and
plays recordings perfectly.

And its all been cheap! Total cost of my setup is the price of a
secondhand Revo - about $400 I think, plus a couple of tuners and an
aerial splitter.  And a remote that I still had that came originally
with the PVR-150 which Mythbuntu set up for me.

I really didnt expect it all to be so easy. Thanks to this list for
the bits you have helped me with.

- David