Build your own PVR

nospam@example.com (aivasyuk) — Tue, 22 Mar 2005 00:37:04 -0500

I was reminded again today that we have a pretty cool setup over here. My friends have heard me sing the praises of my PVR system before, but it probably bears repeating here: We're running a system that can record three channels and watch a pre-recorded show or DVD at the same time.

Is it a TiVO? Nope. It's a MythTV system running on Linux Fedora Core 3 on an AMD 2400+ with 512MB RAM, 200GB hard drive, and 3 Hauppauge WinTV-PVR 250 tuner cards. A year ago this cost over $1100 dollars, after rebates. These days you could probably build the same type of system for a bit less. Nevertheless, this system has replaced both our VCRs (one dead) and the DVD player (also dead). It's all housed in a sleek piano-black Antec Sonata case that sits next to the TV.

The system fits right in to our household. The video and sound quality is far superior to even the best VCRs, and that makes a big difference with shows like American Idol. It's also much less stressful when you don't have to constantly swap tapes and/or keep track of which tapes have shows that you haven't seen yet, and so on.

Of course the system isn't perfect. We still have analog cable, and I refuse to upgrade to digital cable because digital tuner cards are few and far between, and good luck finding stable Linux drivers. There really isn't a good reason anyway since the free channel guide comes with MythTV anyway. Not to mention that parts of the installation were challenging to say the least, even for someone familiar with Linux.

So what do you need to build your own PVR system? There is always Windows XP Media Center Edition, but if you like MythTV and Linux check out Fedora Mythology. Also check out the BYOPVR site for other Windows software and other options.

Wetexit - Computers

Build your own PVR