| Rachel Rawlings on 25 Jun 2011 09:58:01 -0700 |
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| Re: [PLUG] Media Frontend Hardware |
If you're willing to use RCA cables rather than S-Video then I can recommend the Patriot BoxOffice. It's not a true Myth front end, since it treats the myth server the same as if it were a samba share, but it's a good low-power-consumption STB with HDMI and composite out, a nice remote, and the capacity to add an internal 2.5" hard drive as well as USB disks. With an internal hard drive you also get a half-decent web interface and the ability to have it download torrents directly to the BoxOffice rather than via another computer. It also works as a simple NAS device should you wish. On Jun 25, 2011, at 12:06 PM, Rich Freeman <r-plug@thefreemanclan.net> wrote: > Well, I'm suddenly stuck without a mythtv frontend, which isn't a very > family-friendly situation. Apparently the hardware I'm running is > about to lose support from MythTV in the next version anyway, so > repairs don't make sense right now. > > My main requirements are: > 1. Runs mythtv - ideally easily. > 2. Supports composite or S-Video out. (This is for a standard-dev TV.) > 3. Can play a reasonable variety of standard-def codecs (ie not too > dependent on hardware decoding). > 4. Is cheap. > 5. Ideally doesn't require mail-order, but I realize my options are > limited there. > > I'm open to alternative suggestions as well. (I took a quick look at > XBMC - not sure I'd use it as a substitute for a frontend, but I might > be talked into that.) > > The old front-end is an EPIA M10000 with 512MB of RAM configured for > PXE boot. The problem is that the VIA drivers are obsolete, so even > if I get it working it will quickly become unsupported (mythtv is > dropping the drivers). > > If I were willing to switch to XBMC then hacking an Apple TV might be > an option, but jailbreaking one apparently requires a Mac, which I > don't have. Also, it looks like the typical XBMC install goes into a > submenu, and mythtv itself gets buried in submenus, and I'm not > convinced that my family is going to figure out how to navigate > through 12 layers of submenus (especially since my wife can't read > very well at the moment due to a recent stroke). > > So, any suggestions? > > Rich > ___________________________________________________________________________ > Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org > Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce > General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug ___________________________________________________________________________ Philadelphia Linux Users Group -- http://www.phillylinux.org Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce General Discussion -- http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug