--Gentoo based jukebox with freevo (pls Help)--

leber33 · n00b Joined: 04 Sep 2002 Posts: 56

Hello,
I want to set up a gentoo based jukebox with freevo or other software of that kind.
I don't really knoew what hardware I should use.
Case, power suply(maybe passiv cooled), tv-card,Hard drive,.......

If somebody set up a (silent) and well performing box , please tell me.

I want to use it in my living room just as an aother station like dvd player or vcr.

Thx
_________________
On the 8th day god created linux

sklettke · Guru Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 352 Location: Madison, WI

[edited to include some more links]
I'm going to try and build the same thing this winter but am going to use MythTV instead of Freevo because it seems a little more refined.

These are some sites that I found last night while looking for info to build it:

Sites with information about Linux PVR's:

Step-by-step guide to building a MythTV box under Red Hat Linux
pvr_howto
Build-It: Save Money with a Linux Media Jukebox
Forum: Build-It: Save Money with a Linux Media Jukebox
Approaches to a Linux PVR
The unofficial MythTV user group
MythTV how-to | PVRblog
PVR Hardware Database
HTPC Project (he uses Gentoo)
How to get framebuffer support working on Matrox G400DH instead of using XFree

Cool cases:

Shuttle SN41G2: a kind of expensive, but really sweet looking case
Shuttle SN41G
Company site for SN41G2
Review of the SN41G
Review of the SN41G2
Coolermaster ATC-610-GX1 Aluminum Desktop Case
Evolution Home Media Center
Antec Minuet Piano Black Slimline PC Case
Yeong Yang A106. A nice, inexpensive $89 case

Motherboards:
Gigabyte GA-7VM400M VIA KM400 SKA 333FSB 2DDR333 ATA133 w/USB 2.0 , 6-Channel Audio ATX MB - Retail

CPUs:
I'm going with Athlon (more bang for the buck).
AMD Athlon XP 2500+ 1.833GHz/333 FSB Barton Core 3D CPU Retail with Heatsink and Fan $92.89

In general, Essential Computer Inc. has a huge selection of computer components and very cheap prices.

--------

Which TV Tuner/capture card would be the best and most compatible with Linux? (I'm considering ATi, AverMedia, or Hauppauge. These cards came from the PVR Hardware Database listed above. Also, have you been able to get the Hauppauge PVR-250/350 to work with MythTV? This is taken from ivtv.sourceforge.net: "Plugins have been created for Xine and one for MythTV is in progress.") Some of the Hauppauge have hardware mpeg2 compression, for those of you that have DVR's with this feature, do you see the benefit considering the added price? And, I have DirecTV and would like to use this system to, not only watch movies and listen to music, but also to control the DirecTV unit and schedule recordings/pause live TV. Since it will not have an onboard directv mpeg2 decoder, is there a diagram anywhere showing how the DirecTV would connect to the DVR? Does the signal go from the DirecTV (RCA) receiver to the DVR and then outputed to the TV?

Once the general operation of the unit gets working, I'm going to try and get a pci wireless card so that the DVR can access my home network to update channel listings and check get news/weather updates. Plus, I'm looking for a cheap, well-supported RF or IR remote so that I can control the unit totally via remote, as I would a standard TV.

Thanks!

Scott
_________________
Jab.ID: scottk@jabber.org

Kernel: 2.6.11-rc3-nitro0
KDE 3.3.2 with Xorg
MythBox: 2.6.5-gentoo-dev-r2 (LVMed 360GB in XFS; Athlon 2500+)

leber33 · n00b Joined: 04 Sep 2002 Posts: 56

First, thx for your post!

Why do you want to use myth tv. It think Freevo offers more features (?).
The cases are kind of expensive!! I bought a AOpen H340H at ebay but I might have to sell it agin because it supportes low level cards only.
Another good looking case is the "Yeong Yang A106" it is higher than my one so you don't have problems with pci cards
_________________
On the 8th day god created linux

leber33 · n00b Joined: 04 Sep 2002 Posts: 56

First, thx for your post!

Why do you want to use myth tv. It think Freevo offers more features (?).
The cases are kind of expensive!! I bought a AOpen H340H at ebay but I might have to sell it agin because it supportes low level cards only.
Another good looking case is the "Yeong Yang A106" it is higher than my one so you don't have problems with pci cards!!

My Box ' s main features should be:

Watching Tv
Capturing Tv
Play DVD VCD etc.
Play Mp3
IRDA (RemoteControl)
Time Shifting

I have been looking for some Mini ITX boards . I think I'll buy the VIA EPIA M10000 or V10000. Freevo supports these boards.
I don't know what kind of video card I will buy. The Hauppauge Cards seem to be good. Wintv Pvr 250/350 for example.

Do you want to setup a gentoo box or a other linux system?
Iam emerging freevo right know to take a look at it . Iwill try MytvTv next. Later I will decide which one I will use for My GentooMediaCube.
_________________
On the 8th day god created linux

sklettke · Guru Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 352 Location: Madison, WI

I'm debating on whether to use Freevo or MythTV, but the current Freevo version does not support pausing livetv (or timeshifting) yet. Let me know how Freevo works though.

I think I'm going to go with an AMD 2500+ or 2800+, and a wintv pvr-250. And then for a case, either the SN41G2 or SN45G. They both come with Shuttle I.C.E. (Integrated Cooling Engine) heat-pipe technology CPU temp. Autoguardian, which supposedly does an excellent job of dissipating the heat. The 41G2 has the nVidia nForce2 Crush 18G chipset, while the 45G has the nVidia nForce2 Ultra40. Both have high quality integrated audio, 1 PCI slot, and 1 AGP 8X slot. The main difference is that the 41G2 has an integrated (on the motherboard) 128MB GeForce4 MX with S-Video out on the back. The 45G has no integrated video.

Now that I'm thinking about it, once a hard drive, tv tuner, and cdrw/dvd player is added, the price would be close to $700, and I'm looking for something a lot cheaper than that. Where did you find the Yeong Yang A106 case? and how big is it? The one thing that I really like about the Shuttles is how small they are.

I'm going to be definitely using Gentoo. After looking at the installation instructions for RPM based distros and then at the installation using Gentoo, Gentoo is so much easier.

What features make you think that Freevo is better than MythTV? (I've yet to try either yet).

Scott
_________________
Jab.ID: scottk@jabber.org

Kernel: 2.6.11-rc3-nitro0
KDE 3.3.2 with Xorg
MythBox: 2.6.5-gentoo-dev-r2 (LVMed 360GB in XFS; Athlon 2500+)

leber33 · n00b Joined: 04 Sep 2002 Posts: 56

After reading a bit more about freevo and mythtv i decided to use mythtv.

The case I bought costs 51 Euro (Aopen H340H), the board costs 115 Euro (VIA EPIA V10000).
I bought a new dvdrom Toshiba SD-M1712 --> 36 euro
Now I need to get a harddrive, VideoCard and Ram.
I will look for a used WintvPvr card at ebay because that is the most expensive part of the system!

The Via Epia V10000:
Prozessor--> c3 1000Mhz no activ cooling
Lan onboard
Sound onboard
Tv out "
_________________
On the 8th day god created linux

sklettke · Guru Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 352 Location: Madison, WI

Let me know the final setup and cost of the unit. I'll post my stuff as well once it gets finalized.

Scott
_________________
Jab.ID: scottk@jabber.org

Kernel: 2.6.11-rc3-nitro0
KDE 3.3.2 with Xorg
MythBox: 2.6.5-gentoo-dev-r2 (LVMed 360GB in XFS; Athlon 2500+)

grudge · Posted: Fri Nov 07, 2003 9:23 am Post subject: Any Progress ?

How are the two projects coming along ? I'm busy doing something similiar, any more ideas/comments/tips ?

strato911 · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2003 12:33 am Post subject:

leber33 · n00b Joined: 04 Sep 2002 Posts: 56

I'm having lots of problems with my via epia M10000.
I already had a complete installation but I had some problems with XFree!

I'm going to get DVB-S so I need a good DVB-S card
Any suggestions!!

The time I'm done with my box I will post a small how to
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On the 8th day god created linux

wish · n00b Joined: 22 Mar 2003 Posts: 3 Location: Ireland

leber33, I am going to proceed with VIA EPIA V10000, (as soon as I get some spare cash) for a PVR for my living room.
Please post sucess/failer/problems/soln. you have had, as it would be a great help to a n00b like me.

sklettke · Guru Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 352 Location: Madison, WI

There's a great epia-m10000 and gentoo wiki here: http://www.alterself.com/~epia/wiki/tiki-index.php

Also, you might want to look at the Epia-M line (it includes an onboard mpeg decoder, while the V line does not).
http://techreport.com/reviews/2003q2/epia-m10000/index.x?pg=1

Scott
_________________
Jab.ID: scottk@jabber.org

Kernel: 2.6.11-rc3-nitro0
KDE 3.3.2 with Xorg
MythBox: 2.6.5-gentoo-dev-r2 (LVMed 360GB in XFS; Athlon 2500+)