Building a DVR with Hauppauge WIN-PVR-150, MediaMVP, MythTV and Linux

Hello,
I've been meaning to do this for a very long time, finally
getting around to doing it. I will be basically following the
instructions he

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8562

I have digital cable with a set top box.

My goals of having a PVR are the following:
0. I am not interested in HDTV.
1. Want to record TV shows so my wife or I can watch them later.
Automatic (scheduled) recording would be awesome.
2. There may be occasions when I record a show, and my wife watches a
different show. From what I've read, this is not possible unless I
have 2 cable boxes. Is this true?

Some questions though, before I get started:
1. I was at Frys and went to the Hauppauge website as well, and it
seems like the WIN-PVR-150 has been replaced by the WIN-PVR-150MCE.
I'm assuming they are not the same thing. But will the new version
work on Linux? I will be using Centos 4 (the version that corresponds
to RHEL4)

2. Is there any major difference between WIN-PVR-150 and WIN-PVR-250?
Any reason I should go with the more expensive model?

3. Does anyone here have experience with the setup above? I'd be
especially interested in opinions of the MediaMVP. I will be getting
the wireless version so my noisy server can stay in my study.

Thanks,
Sandman

HD. I live in the boonies and HD isn't available where I live. I
barely get digital cable :-)

I'll wait for someone to get back to this thread QAM, and my other
questions. I'm most concerned about Linux support for what seems to be
the replacement for the WIN-PVR-150.

Sandeep


On May 3, 6:41 pm, "Peter H. Coffin" wrote:
On 3 May 2007 16:40:40 -0700, Sandman wrote:

Hello,
I've been meaning to do this for a very long time, finally
getting around to doing it. I will be basically following the
instructions he

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8562

I have digital cable with a set top box.

My goals of having a PVR are the following:
0. I am not interested in HDTV.

Odd newsgroup to be asking in then...

1. Want to record TV shows so my wife or I can watch them later.
Automatic (scheduled) recording would be awesome.

Just about anything would do that. MythTV is a good start for that.

2. There may be occasions when I record a show, and my wife watches a
different show. From what I've read, this is not possible unless I
have 2 cable boxes. Is this true?

Depends. *Generally* this is true. However, unencrypted cable broadcasts
sent over RF on the cable can be picked up by an appropriate tuner gizmo
in your computer. The keyword you'll be looking for is QAM. Wes will
happily tell you all about which ones and how cheap they are.

--
"Meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain"

On May 4, 10:54 am, Sandman wrote:
HD. I live in the boonies and HD isn't available where I live. I
barely get digital cable :-)

I'll wait for someone to get back to this thread QAM, and my other
questions. I'm most concerned about Linux support for what seems to be
the replacement for the WIN-PVR-150.

Sandeep

I have a mythtv system. But its not what I'll recommend for you.

The easiest and cheapest way to get set up the way you want is with a
ReplayTV unit. They are no longer made but are readily available on
ebay. I have two and they work very well. They accept component
input so you can send your STB component out to the ReplayTV unit for
very good recording quality. To change channels on the STB for
scheduled recordings, you will need an IR blaster, also easily
available on ebay. In fact, some ReplayTV's sold on ebay will come
with the IR blaster.

The interface is very easy, probably the best of any PVR, and
4000-5000 series units have built in ethernet for easy video sharing
and archiving. These units will detect commercials fairly well and
skip them for you. In addition, video file sharing is available
without legal threat to you, so if you can't tape a show one night,
you can probably get from someone else if you have a broadband
internet service.

There is a an active user base at www.planetreplay.com, and many great
FREE archiving and video sharing tools.

You should take a look at SageTV from FreyTechnologies. I've been using
their PVR and client software for several years. It is very mature, has
superb performance, and allows for $99 set-top boxes also from Hauppauge to
be used rather than PCs for bedrooms, kitchen, etc. I have built my system
up to 6 clients, 2 PVR-150 tuners capable of simultaneous recording, and 1TB
of storage. The files can be saved in many different formats, and I
personally prefer to use a DVD-compliant 2 hr format which allows direct
burning to DVD with no transcoding in less than 7 minutes total time for any
show up to 2 hrs length. At roughly 2 GB/hr, my system holds around 500 hrs,
but there are much slower formats which also make very good recording and
playback if you prefer, or HD cards and capture formats if you eventually
want to go to HD.

Smarty



"Sandman" wrote in message
oups.com...
HD. I live in the boonies and HD isn't available where I live. I
barely get digital cable :-)

I'll wait for someone to get back to this thread QAM, and my other
questions. I'm most concerned about Linux support for what seems to be
the replacement for the WIN-PVR-150.

Sandeep


On May 3, 6:41 pm, "Peter H. Coffin" wrote:
On 3 May 2007 16:40:40 -0700, Sandman wrote:

Hello,
I've been meaning to do this for a very long time, finally
getting around to doing it. I will be basically following the
instructions he

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8562

I have digital cable with a set top box.

My goals of having a PVR are the following:
0. I am not interested in HDTV.

Odd newsgroup to be asking in then...

1. Want to record TV shows so my wife or I can watch them later.
Automatic (scheduled) recording would be awesome.

Just about anything would do that. MythTV is a good start for that.

2. There may be occasions when I record a show, and my wife watches a
different show. From what I've read, this is not possible unless I
have 2 cable boxes. Is this true?

Depends. *Generally* this is true. However, unencrypted cable broadcasts
sent over RF on the cable can be picked up by an appropriate tuner gizmo
in your computer. The keyword you'll be looking for is QAM. Wes will
happily tell you all about which ones and how cheap they are.

--
"Meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain"

On May 4, 4:14 pm, "Smarty" wrote:
You should take a look at SageTV from FreyTechnologies. I've been using
their PVR and client software for several years. It is very mature, has
superb performance, and allows for $99 set-top boxes also from Hauppauge to
be used rather than PCs for bedrooms, kitchen, etc. I have built my system
up to 6 clients, 2 PVR-150 tuners capable of simultaneous recording, and 1TB
of storage. The files can be saved in many different formats, and I
personally prefer to use a DVD-compliant 2 hr format which allows direct
burning to DVD with no transcoding in less than 7 minutes total time for any
show up to 2 hrs length. At roughly 2 GB/hr, my system holds around 500 hrs,
but there are much slower formats which also make very good recording and
playback if you prefer, or HD cards and capture formats if you eventually
want to go to HD.

Smarty

"Sandman" wrote in message

oups.com...

HD. I live in the boonies and HD isn't available where I live. I
barely get digital cable :-)

I'll wait for someone to get back to this thread QAM, and my other
questions. I'm most concerned about Linux support for what seems to be
the replacement for the WIN-PVR-150.

Sandeep

On May 3, 6:41 pm, "Peter H. Coffin" wrote:
On 3 May 2007 16:40:40 -0700, Sandman wrote:

Hello,
I've been meaning to do this for a very long time, finally
getting around to doing it. I will be basically following the
instructions he

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8562

I have digital cable with a set top box.

My goals of having a PVR are the following:
0. I am not interested in HDTV.

Odd newsgroup to be asking in then...

1. Want to record TV shows so my wife or I can watch them later.
Automatic (scheduled) recording would be awesome.

Just about anything would do that. MythTV is a good start for that.

2. There may be occasions when I record a show, and my wife watches a
different show. From what I've read, this is not possible unless I
have 2 cable boxes. Is this true?

Depends. *Generally* this is true. However, unencrypted cable broadcasts
sent over RF on the cable can be picked up by an appropriate tuner gizmo
in your computer. The keyword you'll be looking for is QAM. Wes will
happily tell you all about which ones and how cheap they are.

--
"Meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain"

You're referring to the Hauppage MediaMVP I think. It will also front-
end for mythtv and ReplayTV.

Yes, but the MVP, when used with Sage, boots and installs a replacement
firmware program which gives the MVP a totally Sage personality, user
interface, file compatibility, etc. I have 2 here and they run perfectly.
They also make a wireless version for $50 extra ($149 MSRP versus $99).

Smarty


"mogator88" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 4, 4:14 pm, "Smarty" wrote:
You should take a look at SageTV from FreyTechnologies. I've been using
their PVR and client software for several years. It is very mature, has
superb performance, and allows for $99 set-top boxes also from Hauppauge
to
be used rather than PCs for bedrooms, kitchen, etc. I have built my
system
up to 6 clients, 2 PVR-150 tuners capable of simultaneous recording, and
1TB
of storage. The files can be saved in many different formats, and I
personally prefer to use a DVD-compliant 2 hr format which allows direct
burning to DVD with no transcoding in less than 7 minutes total time for
any
show up to 2 hrs length. At roughly 2 GB/hr, my system holds around 500
hrs,
but there are much slower formats which also make very good recording and
playback if you prefer, or HD cards and capture formats if you eventually
want to go to HD.

Smarty

"Sandman" wrote in message

oups.com...

HD. I live in the boonies and HD isn't available where I live. I
barely get digital cable :-)

I'll wait for someone to get back to this thread QAM, and my other
questions. I'm most concerned about Linux support for what seems to be
the replacement for the WIN-PVR-150.

Sandeep

On May 3, 6:41 pm, "Peter H. Coffin" wrote:
On 3 May 2007 16:40:40 -0700, Sandman wrote:

Hello,
I've been meaning to do this for a very long time, finally
getting around to doing it. I will be basically following the
instructions he

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8562

I have digital cable with a set top box.

My goals of having a PVR are the following:
0. I am not interested in HDTV.

Odd newsgroup to be asking in then...

1. Want to record TV shows so my wife or I can watch them later.
Automatic (scheduled) recording would be awesome.

Just about anything would do that. MythTV is a good start for that.

2. There may be occasions when I record a show, and my wife watches
a
different show. From what I've read, this is not possible unless I
have 2 cable boxes. Is this true?

Depends. *Generally* this is true. However, unencrypted cable
broadcasts
sent over RF on the cable can be picked up by an appropriate tuner
gizmo
in your computer. The keyword you'll be looking for is QAM. Wes will
happily tell you all about which ones and how cheap they are.

--
"Meet it is I set it down
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain"

You're referring to the Hauppage MediaMVP I think. It will also front-
end for mythtv and ReplayTV.