Unknown Motherboard AMD K6-2 500mhz 128mb PC100 Ram ATI RagePro (I think thats what it is) 8mb graphics (Although this would likely be upgraded to something with TV-Out) 10gb HDD Don't have a sound card yet. Would this be enough for a TV tuner, and maybe a DVD Writer in the future? Maybe PVR capabilities too, but large programs would be recorded onto the 120gb in my desktop. What do you think?
It's not enough ram if you're wanting to do any kinda show shifting... you probably need around 512 for that to work seemlessly. If you are wanting to be able to watch tv and record at the same time, I don't think 500 mhz is enough... here's a couple of site I've run across researching for my future HTPC (who knows when it'll actually come to fruition though) http://www.byopvr.com/ http://www.htpcnews.com/main.php hope this helps -Fiz
For timeshifting or recording and watching at the same time at DVD resolution then that cpu is not enough even with a hardware encoding tv card such as a pvr150. Also if you intend to run 2k or xp with that amount of memory you will suffer. If you just want to watch tv on win 98 or linux then that would be good enough with an old BT8x8 tv card.
Hmm.. fizban on the first site you linked I got this in the FAQ: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm a newbie, what kind of hardware would I need to get started on a BYOPVR project? -=Here is the minimum suggested setup for a PVR=- * A 500mhz CPU or more (If you don't get a tuner card with hardware encoding/decoding you will need more mhz) * 128mb of RAM or more * 30gigs of HD or more (the more gigs the more saved shows) * Sound card (nothing fancy required) * CD-ROM drive (you need to install that OS) * Hauppauge WinTV PVR-350 (w/ hardware encoding/decoding) All of the above should be Linux friendly if you want to install MythTV. Otherwise SageTV/Snapstream/Showshifter will probably work fine. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- So do you reckon I'll be ok if I get a PVR 350? I might consider buying more RAM in the future. I probably wouldn't be watching and recording at the same time, and time shifting would only be a bonus if it did work, not something I really thought about. Also, I will probably be putting Linux on it, what distro do you suggest for PVR use? EDIT: Just thought of something. Do ATI all-in-wonder cards (older ones) have hardware encoding?
I think you'd probably be ok, you probably won't be able to record shows at their best levels, definitely not DVD quality, more like streaming video quality From what I've seen ( and there is a walk through on BYOPVR ) put a slimmed down distro of Linux on there then install Myth-TV. Or there is also a CD-Distro of Knoppix with Myth-TV on it, (i'll see if I can find it ) but you have to make sure all your hardware is supported! EDIT: wouldn't you know a new version of KnoppMyth is out. http://www.byopvr.com/displayarticle287.html I'm not sure, I don't think so, maybe one of the video card guru's here at Bit-tech could better answer that.
Don't get the pvr350, your better of with the pvr250 if you want to use win98 or a pvr 150 if your going to use xp. The hardware decoder on the pvr350 is flaky and also only works whilst being played through the s-vid out.
Thanks for the info herbs I haven't actually used any of the tuners except a cheapy 3dfx one that was given to me years ago. -Fiz
The sticking point is the cpu speed, you might be better off with a second hand cpu and mobo at least 1 ghz.
Hmm, I'll try and get hold of an old processor and mobo, should be able to find something around a P3 800.. And by the way, I won't be able to get a PVR 150/250/350, they're WAY out of my price range. This is supposed to be a cheap as possible HTPC with old parts laying around.
In that case if you record in a codec like huffy then you might get away with a software based encoder if you want full resolution but that eats a massive amount of hdd space. You can probably record in SVCD/VCD or half res divx quality with over a 1 ghz cpu though but might have trouble watching and recording @ the same time or timeshifting. The pvr150 can be had for just over £50, or a dvb-t (freeview) tv card for about the same which actually might be your best bet if you can recieve freeview in your neck of the woods.
I'll probably just try and get something like a P3 1ghz and get a cheap TV card, and input my freeview box to that.
OK, just bought a P3 733 processor for £4.70 inc p+p on ebay... it's a bit low but I'm hoping it'll be able to handle it. Also got my eyes on a mobo.
I now have a mobo, the P3 733 (which I might swap out for the 800 in the family PC), and 192mb of ram. I'm considering upgrading to 256 - do you think it'll be worth it?
