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Shamus_McFartfinger

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I love auctions. After blowing up a PC the other day and having to resuscitate another which was on the brink of death, I trundled off the the local computer auctions to see what I could find. For $600AUS I got a HP Laserjet 4000n printer (old but functional) and 3 x ComPaq EVO D15S mini desktop PCs. The EVO?s eBay LINK HERE are all P4/2.4GHz/512RAM/40GIG HD. They?re not very expandable (maximum of 2 drives) but they?re fairly quick. I installed Mandriva Linux on one (which I?m using to write this post :) ) and installed w2k on the other.

 

The fooking around I had to do to find Windows drivers was an exercise in frustration. By contrast, Mandriva installed everything needed first time around. An hour to install linux and about 6 hours for Windows because I couldn?t find the drivers. (Ever noticed how the big companies like HP and Sony have the WORST websites when it comes to finding information and/or drivers). I dunno what to do with the other evo yet. Maybe learn how to drive a server or something. Dunno.

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LOL! I did a Google thingy and came up with this site as well (which I?m reading ATM). Looks like fun. Stupid question: What?s the difference between the ?build it yourself thingy? and the DVD recorder I bought a few weeks ago similar to this? A little help?

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I?ve done a quick search of capture cards I can buy in my local area and I found a ?Fusion HDTV PLUS PCI HD-TV Tuner Card with remote control? @ The Disc Shop which isn?t what the experts recommend (hardware is difficult to find over here) but the specs seem to be similar. Capture card profile here. What do you think?

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from the looks of it not much..but from the spec sheet for yours link

yours dont have a modem or any way to get program updates..so its kind of like a vcr it will tape a show but it dont know if the show is a repeat or if its the right show.

the pvr like my tivo will record what i tell it and it will skip it or not record if the show is not on that night.

i like my tivo but i dont like paying for the program to keep it running so im gonna build my own..on that site they have some programs that are free that do the same as a tivo.

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from the looks of it not much..but from the spec sheet for yours link

yours dont have a modem or any way to get program updates..so its kind of like a vcr it will tape a show but it dont know if the show is a repeat or if its the right show.

the pvr like my tivo will record what i tell it and it will skip it or not record if the show is not on that night.

i like my tivo but i dont like paying for the program to keep it running so im gonna build my own..on that site they have some programs that are free that do the same as a tivo.

 

You?ve got me intrigued. It looks like the way to go is to use Myth TV? Is that what you plan to use or are going to use Windows?

 

I have lots and lots of questions. :)

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well i dont want to have to buy windows media edition i may go with myth tv..

There must be other alternatives?

i just priced the wintv pvr 350 for you link god thats a high price over there here its link

but i just started working on it so i get most of what i hear from that site..

Everything is expensive here. At least it seems to be.

 

I was just reading about the 350 and I?m wary of what was said about it.

 

From: http://www.byopvr.com/Sections+index-req-v...d-5-page-2.html

The Hauppauge WinTV PVR 350 hardware encoding is supported on the same level as the pvr250(it's the same chipset really) BUT there is a caveat regarding the display of menus/OSD through the TV out on the 350. This functionality is NOT quite totally supported across the board yet (only CVS versions of MythTV with special IVTV/xfree86 patch (linux) driver, Beta GB-PVR (windows), and Beta SageTV) support displaying OSD/desktop through the PVR 350's tv out ) To clarify, the TV out on the PVR 350 works fine with all software but it will ONLY show the source material, you will not see the on screen displays (OSD) or menus or your desktop... which makes it hard to interact with you PVR if you can't see the menus. I know that seems like a lot of information but if you are considering the 350 (and I would consider) that's an important consideration.
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once i get it working well in the old tower box i have, i plan on getting this box so i can set it up with the rest of my tv system.

It?s a weird looking thing. :) Heaps of expandibility though and certainly doesn?t look like a PC. What sort of hardware are you going to put into it?

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My eyes are almost square from the reading I?ve done in the last 24 hours. :yawn: The card I?ve decided on is a DVico FusionHDTV DVB-T PLUS. According to Overclockers.com.au this card works fine with linux. There?s also an RPM for Mandriva so I (we?) shouldn?t have to compile anything as well as a guide for installing MythTV on a Mandrake distro (which is basically Mandriva anyway).

 

BTW, if you?re thinking of running linux grab Mandriva. It?s definitely one of the easiest and user friendly linux distros. http://wwwnew.mandriva.com/en/downloads

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that card looks like a good choice..

i was going to ask about Mandriva..is it the same as Mandrake? i played around with Mandrake a few years ago and had it runnig well..i just didnt have the time to really mess with it..now that i dont work on the truck anymore i have more time at home so i can work with it more.

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that card looks like a good choice..

Yeah. It?s also one I can get a hold of. Choices of hardware around here suck.

i was going to ask about Mandriva..is it the same as Mandrake?
Sort of. The best thing I can suggest is to read the official explanation instead of me screwing it up. :)http://wwwnew.mandriva.com/en/company
i played around with Mandrake a few years ago and had it runnig well..i just didnt have the time to really mess with it..now that i dont work on the truck anymore i have more time at home so i can work with it more.

It?s worth the effort, I think. It?s simple to install, fast, very stable and almost immune to virus/trojan attack. Plus processes can?t be installed and run without running as ?root? which can?t happen (apparently) without the admin password being physically typed in while at the computer. I must admit that most of it is still beyond me. The good news is that security patches and updates are issued all of the time (sometimes several releases per day depending on the problem or problems) and can be downloaded at set intervals like Windows update. With the majority of software for linux being open source, patches are sometimes released within hours of flaws being discovered. If you want to have another go at linux I?d recommend using a seperate PC. If you kill the OS (which I?ve done on many occasions while learning how to drive the fooking thing), format and re-install. The biggest problem I?ve found with linux is that it?s hard finding drivers for hardware, particularly video drivers. Experts might be able to compile the source code but I?m still learning. Older video cards like Radeon 32meg or G-Force2 64meg video cards are a good choice for linux beginners. At least that?s my opinion as the drivers are included in most distributions.

 

Given that linux can run a brand new, multi-cpu blade server right down to a 386DX (and everything in-between), it?s a great OS to play with.

 

<ramble mode off>

 

EDIT: Here?s a quick snapshot of what mine looks like. http://users.tpg.com.au/adsldxhe/snapshot2.png

 

There?s an MSN Messager thingy called GAIM running in the right of the page. You can also see a shared Windows drive called ?Common? on the computer called ?P4? (//p4/common) using Smb4K. Opera and Mozilla are also running. A great OS.

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