carlmfischer.com mythtv

My MythTV setup consists of a master backend and a MiniMyth front end. The backend has an Intel DH77EB motherboard, an Intel Core i3 3225 processor with 8GB RAM, and runs CentOS 6.3 x86_64. The MiniMyth frontend runs Minimyth-0.25.3-82.

The backend CentOS was installed with the atrpms-stable, atrpms-testing, centos-plus and rpmforge repo.

The mythfrontend system, running minimyth-0.25.3-82, boots from the backend via tfptboot. The minimyth.conf config files below are copies of what I am currently using.

I previously had a EPIA Minimyth frontend, but has since been retired, since I mainly view only HD now.

I recently updated the Backend to CentOS 6.3 and Myth .25.3 to take advantage of a new HDHomerun Prime box. I received a CableCard and I am now able to view encrypted channels, including HD channels.

The setup of Myth with the HDHomerun Prime was a bit of a challenge and it took me a few weeks to get everything working from a test box. I ended up deleting all of the existing tuners (which were HD Homeruns) and added the Prime, then did a channel scan with the Prime. The channel scan gave me very few channels I could use, but it did add to the dtv_multiplex table all of the frequencies neccesary. I then used the Windows HDHomerun GUI setup to find out all the channels I wanted. I was able to find each channel, grab the frequency and channel number, then put it in a sql statement to import into the mychconverg database.
That was a tedious process, but after writing out about 115 channels I found this to work the best. I also wanted to match up the existing chanid, callsign and name since this preserved all the existing recordings I had and statistics over the 6+ years I have had Myth running.

Here are the steps I did, starting with installing some components:
# yum install xmltv
# yum install Perl-File-HomeDir
# yum install phpmyadmin
# yum install qt47-mysql qt47
# yum install mythtv-suite
The xmltv, Perl-File_HomeDir, phpmyadmin are not absolutely necessary, but I used those utils for various troubleshooting tasks assocaited with Myth.
Then it was a matter of running mythtv-setup, deleting the capture cards, adding the HDHomeRun Prime and then importing the sql statement into the mythconverg db. Phpmyadmin really helps with looking at the database.

mythfrontend - amd

Antec Minuet 300 Case
ASUS M2NPV-VM Micro ATX Mobo
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Processor
1GB RAM
I paired it to my 32" LCD Sharp TV with the DVI output
and a DVI->HDMI cable adapter

A few notes on the setup:


Running: Minimyth-0.25.3-82.
The minimyth.conf for this box, along with the lircd.conf and lircrc which are called by the following options in the minimyth.conf: MM_LIRC_FETCH_LIRCD_CONF='yes'
MM_LIRC_FETCH_LIRCRC='yes'
I'm also using the same Microsoft A90-00007 usb remote control that my epia box uses, since I have lircrc configured the way I want.

Pics of the amd box:


case with mobo installed:
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front:
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case with mobo and hard drive cage - different angle:
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case closed from the front:
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rear of case with the dvi-hdmi adapter:
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in the armoir along with the Sharp 32" LCD:
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the remote frontend is using my backend system for viewing.
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mythfrontend - epia retired

A Casetronic c137 case w/ 90w powersupply
EPIA-M10000 motherboard
VIA C3 1Ghz processor
512MB RAM
cd/dvd rom drive
Paired to a 25" TV via composite rca out

A few notes on the setup:


Running: Minimyth-0.22.0-72.
Here is the minimyth.conf for this epia box as well as the xorg.conf which is called by the following option:MM_X_FETCH_XORG_CONF='yes' I used Mythtv wiki for setting up the remote control, and here are the lircd.conf and lircrc also used in my mythamd box and fetched by the minimyth.conf.


Pics of the epia box:


the layout - out of the box:
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with the hard drive and motherboard installed:
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close-up of the hard drive:
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cdrom installed:
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all closed, ready for action:
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Microsoft A90-00007 usb remote control
the lircrc config file I used for this particular remote.
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