Building a DVR

[klange]

Just a small project to make use of my Via EPIA-M that I have lying around.

Here's the goods:

- Case: M300-LCD Mini-ITX enclosure from Mini-Box (http://www.mini-box.com/core/media/media.nl?id=11045&c=ACCT127230&h=b8afd70817926d79ecf4) (great embedded stuff)
- PSU: PicoPSU 120 + AC/DC adapter (http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-120-power-kit?sc=8&category=981) (also from Mini-Box)
- HDD: 80GB PATA drive, 2.5" (http://www.mini-box.com/80GB-2-5-HDD_2?sc=8&category=979) (for simplicity, from Mini-Box, mobo has no SATA)
- RAM: Cheapest 1GB DDR266 I can find (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141172) (Old Via board is old)
- Tuner Card: Hauppauge HVR-1600 (http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hvr1600.html) (PCI, hybrid analog/digital)
- Mobo: Via EPIA-M Mini-ITX (http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/motherboards.jsp?motherboard_id=81) (w/ 1GHz C3 and integrated graphics with MPEG2 decoder, already have this)
- OS: MythBuntu (http://www.mythbuntu.org/) (Ubuntu with MythTV already set up)
Cost of new stuff: $390.

Pic of the case:
http://www.mini-box.com/core/media/media.nl?id=11045&c=ACCT127230&h=b8afd70817926d79ecf4

Pretty much plan to use it for the next few months as a regular DVR on my TV, then I'll take it to my dorm when I go off to college in the fall and use it with my LCD.

I'm getting this stuff in incremental steps. The tuner card is next, as I got the motherboard from a friend.

Please suggest cheaper stuff if you can find it (except for the tuner, which I've picked out specially for its availability, hardware MPEG2 encdoing, and compatibility with Myth.)

[paladin]

You sir, have truSKILL

[legionaire45]

I've wanted to do something similar, except without the DVR part and with this for a case:
http://www.metarinka.com/grc/can30cal.gif

I don't have any money though :P. Cool stuff.

[ExAm]

I've wanted to do something similar, except without the DVR part and with this for a case:
http://www.metarinka.com/grc/can30cal.gif

I don't have any money though :P. Cool stuff.
That. Would be epic, sir. Especially if the control panel were just inside the lid :awesome:

[Anton]

Yes yes, that would truly be :awesome:

Good luck on the DVR project Bacon! I was looking into this recently, myself.

[jcap]

I want to do something similar. You know, a small box for one of my TVs. When I was messing with all of the Linux distros, I was extremely disappointed, though.

To be honest, they all fucking suck. MythTV I used first. The UI is fugly and it requires third party apps just to play videos. The latest version to come out is almost a year old and there is extremely limited support for it. I know you're extremely linux savvy, but still, having to screw with this to even get it working correctly is stupid.

Freevo is nice. Very nice. It's probably at the top of my list for astethics and function, but I don't recall if it has nearly as much customization as MythTV. It has the same base features, but it's a little less flexible.

Probably the number one most functional and easiest to setup is LinuxMCE. It's also the number one for the fugliest UI ever, though. The software is great. However, the user interface, while simple, is awful. If they spent more time revamping the entire UI, it would be at the top of my list, hands down.

I just hope Xbox Media Center supports TV tuners soon. THAT is, above all, the best for a Linux media center.

Although I've tried all of the above, I'm really not pleased with any. When you talk about a great media center, Windows Media Center is really the best of them all. It's extremely stable and functional. You can easily get addons for it and make it do anything. The UI is FANTASTIC and extremely easy to use and navigate. It can even extend to your Xbox 360, so if that's in another room, you can access your recorded TV, videos, and music through it. It can also play any type of video as long as you have the correct codecs installed. It performs great on little RAM, just as long as all other services are disabled. All you have to do is disable any of the I highly recommend this above all, even though it's part of Vista and not free. But hey, you get what you pay for. Unfortunately, though, it requires a little more power in the processor and graphics arena, so I doubt it would work with your setup anyway.