The Vulture's Nest
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My MythTV Setup

I've been using MythTV since version 0.9, when I first investigated PVR's (Personal Video Recorders). At that time, I was seriously considering buying a TiVo, but when I found out about the price, I decide to look into DIY (do-it yourself) alternatives. At that time, I looked around on the web, and found two projects that seemed to be the all-in-one entertainment center, Freevo and MythTV. Shortly thereafter, I saw a review of Freevo on TechTV's show, "The Screen Savers" (unfortunately, TechTV isn't available in my area anymore), where the reviewer, "ripped it a new one". Granted, this was a while ago, and back then, the software wasn't quite mature, but it didn't support the main feature I wanted, which is PVR functionality (at that time, it only supported watching TV through a xawtv like program).

Let me get this out of the way now... If you're looking for a PVR, but aren't very familiar with how Linux works, you may be better off with a Windows-based solution. I also looked into these while experiencing initial frustration with Freevo and MythTV, but at that time, they weren't any better. Nonetheless, you might want to check out SnapStream Media, or SageTV. If you know nothing about PC's at all (or just enough to be "dangerous"), then I highly recommend getting a TiVo. Building your own PVR can be a bit of a hassle if you aren't familiar with the hardware and software that you'll be using. Additionally, while a TiVo costs around $200, and then (last time I checked) another $250 for a lifetime subscription (total cost about $450), the hardware for your own PVR can easily cost over $1,000.

That out of the way, I love my MythTV setup. I use it for watching and recording TV, looking up the weather forecast, watching DVDs and playing MAME ROMs (arcade games). And I'm just using a subset of the MythTV functionality. There's an active community e-mail list (that I contribute to as well), and new features are always being added. This ensures that MythTV has a solid future.

Hardware

Before buying my hardware, I tested MythTV on my main PC, which is pretty powerful enough. After being satisfied with the results, I went over the mailing list archives looking for the best hardware combination. A good place to check for general MythTV hardware information is section 3 of the Documentation at http://www.mythtv.org/docs/mythtv-HOWTO-3.html#ss3.1. I also highly recommend reading Jarod Wilson's MythTV HOWTO (link on the left) for more sample hardware configurations, as well as checking out the PVR Hardware Database.

That said, here's a list of the hardware I use, and it workd for me:

Software

For the software side, I use Fedora Core 1, as described by Jarod's HOWTO (linked on the left). Using Jarod's HOWTO results in a MythTV system in only a few hours, and it's easily upgradable, thanks to apt for RPM.

Trust me, you don't want to compile it yourself. I've done that before, I know the pain (it's doable, just annoying).

Remote Controls

To me, the most important part of a PVR is the remote control. Thus, it is very important to pick a remote control that feels comfortable. For each person, this will be a different remote. However, if you're using a Hauppauge capture card (one of the WinTV series), then I highly recommend that you get a remote control that is capable of sending RC-5 codes (most universal remotes can do this). The reason for this is that a programmable RC-5 remote can be used with the Hauppauge IR receiver. I use an One For All URC-6131, my guide to using this remote with MythTV and the Hauppauge RC-5 Receiver can be found here.