[clue-tech] Installfest: MythTV on Ubuntu

[T. Joseph Carter]

We'll see whether or not I can lug this thing on my own given standard
public transportation, but I have all of the essential hardware on hand
right now:

 * Gigabyte GA-M55Plus-S3G nForce Pro motherboard w/ GeForce 6100 IGP
 * AMD Athlon 64 3800+ (Socket AM2)
 * 1GB DDR2 800 RAM
 * 2x Seagate 160GB SATA300 hard drives
 * LG 16x DVD+-RW
 * Antec Sonata II w/ 450W ATX12V power supply
 * Internal memory card reader
 * ViewSonic VX2025wm 20.1" LCD (1680x1050)
 * Logitech Z-5300e 5.1 speakers
 * Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 500
 * Snapstream Firefly RF/USB remote


I have a great picture of all but those last two items sitting in a stack
in my dining room if anyone is really interested.  I am probably going to
assemble it all and put Ubuntu server on it for the time being since I
have no idea what all is going to be required to get MythTV up and running
on this setup yet.

The hard drives and media card reader came from the Best Buy near
Southwest Plaza--I figure $80 apiece is a fine price to have them in my
hands RFN, and in full retail packaging.  (Besides, a few days ago Newegg
was out of that particular model, they have them again as bare drives for
$60 with no sales tax to offset the shipping costs..)


If I could've afforded it, I'd have gone for screen big enough for more
than one person to watch, two more Seagate drives, a third capture card
interface (ATSC) and a few extras like additional fans, gel grommets for
drives and fans, and a temperature- controlled fan controller set to keep
the noise to a minimum without letting the thing cook itself.  With the
exception of the bigger screen, all of the above can be added later
without a second thought.  And let's just face it, the LCD will not go
unused if later I get a nice 46" plasma TV or something.

Wish I'd thought to include another one of these in my NewEgg order, mine
is all but gone:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812999101


Oh, unfortunately, the Snapstream remote probably will not make an
appearance at the installfest--I haven't had time to finish abusing the
ati_remote driver so that it works properly yet.  Kernel driver hacking to
make MythTV work is a bit beyond what I intended to do at the 'fest.  =)