MythTV

The Ki!er Linux Application?

What is MythTV?

A Video Recorder that knows what to record

A music and movie Jukebox, a photo album

A CD/DVD player. A TV. A games console

A telephone, video phone, a weather and news

service
Why would I want this?

A simple to operate home entertainment tool.

One remote control!

Never search for an empty video tape again!

Watch more TV for less time & money

Two or three things on at once? No problem:

HTPC- Home Theatre PC

Two vague terms crammed together

HTPC — Customisation?

MythTV – Convergence?

PVR — Convenience?
From this:
To this:
(plus a remote)
What hardware is needed?

A medium-level PC

Internet connection

A TV tuner card or two

Lots of storage
Why is Nigel interested?

Freedom from high-cost entertainment

Reduce the video cassette nightmare

A cool toy (er, elegant technology)

Possibility for Telstra project?

 MythTV architecture:
simple (all-in-one)
MythTV all-in-one

Media

Tuner
Display

mythbackend mythfrontend

Tuner Remote/
Keyboard
MySQL
mythfilldatabase

Internet
MythTV architecture:
simple network
MythTV main box

Media

Tuner
Display

mythbackend mythfrontend

Remote/
Tuner Keyboard

MySQL

Display

mythfrontend

mythfrontend
X
Remote/
Keyboard
MythTV architecture:
server based network

MythTV server MythTV slave backend

Tuner

Tuner
mythbackend mythbackend

Tuner

Media MySQL

MythTV frontend
Display

mythfrontend

Remote/
Keyboard
 KnoppMyth —
MythTV for Dummies?

Knoppix (a Debian Linux distro) which has

been customised for installing a MythTV PC

MySQL, MythTV binaries, XMLTV

Graphics drivers: nVIDIA, ATI, VIA

mplayer, Xine, mkisofs, nuv2disk, ssh

What about Win. MCE?

Stability/Viruses? Do you really want to have

to “patch” the operating system of your VCR?

Cost? The extra $200 could buy another TV

tuner card, or a DVD recorder. What about
future upgrades?

Fit? Do you really need to run Word on a TV?

Can you drive it without a mouse?
 Windows MCE vs
KnoppMyth/MythTV
Feature Win. MCE KnoppMyth
Windows and MCE ✓
limited (Samba)
extender compat. (up to 5 clients?)
Commercial
No ✓
flagging?
sudo apt-get install
Multi-region DVD? DRM. Probably not
libdvdcss

Programme guide? None in Australia ✓

Usable on any
Mostly ✓
crappy old TV?
MythTV failings

Video processing filters are not superlative,

audio processing currently unimplemented

No home automation or security module yet

(previous KnoppMyth included Motion)

No video test patterns/audio sequences yet

 Free-To-Air TV in Sydney
Analogue (PAL-B) Digital (DVB-T)

Artarmon King’s Cross, Artarmon King’s Cross

Network
Gore Hill North Head Gore Hill North Head
VHF 12, UHF 30,
ABC VHF 2 UHF 46, 42
226.5MHz 543.5MHz
TCN VHF 6, UHF 48,
VHF 7 UHF 49, 60
Seven 177.5MHz 669.5MHz
NBN VHF 8, UHF 33,
VHF 9 UHF 52, 63
Nine 191.625MHz 564.5MHz
TEN VHF 11, UHF 45,
VHF 10 UHF 55, 66
Network TEN 219.5MHz 648.5MHz

SBS UHF 28 UHF 58, 39 UHF 34, 571.5MHz

UHF 35,
D-Four
578.5MHz
 Useful URLs

http://mysettopbox.tv The home of KnoppMyth

http://www.mythtv.org The home of MythTV

http://wiki.cs.uiuc.edu/
cs427/MythTV Paper on MythTV
+Architecture