I’ve built a system using KnoppMyth (latest R5E50) about a year ago. I’m using a Hauppauge PVR-350 card and I’ve got 650Gb set up using LVM. It’s not that powerful of a system, but it doesn’t have to be. If you will be using KnoppMyth, definitely check your hardware first for incompatibilities. 6 years ago

After my next computer upgrade I will start on this goal. I will use what is now my main machine and turn it into a PVR. It will probably be a slow process as I dont have tons of money and have too many other hobbies. ;-)

But I will get this done. 6 years ago

This is off my list: I haven’t watched TV at home in four months, so it’s not such a useful goal.

When I start watching TV again (which I’m sure I will), it will be back on the list. At the top. 7 years ago

It was lots of work but I enjoyed doing it. It was a great challenge using MythTV and a PVR-350 7 years ago

I can’t speak for the alernatives but MCE is pretty basic in what it can do. I don’t like the fact it’s very hard to edit out commercials, no tools when the files get ‘broken’, and porting ms-dv to dvd takes a super long time (with commercials!). 7 years ago

After a long and exhaustive period of trying just about everything, I ended up going with Windows Media Center 2005. The hardest part of that was getting the OS, but persistence paid off.

Its quite neat, and performance is much better than I expected. Plus, it works with the Xbox 360 as an extender. Good stuff. 7 years ago

I wasn’t a big TV person, but my home-built PVR crashed just before the move, and I can no longer watch “regular” TV. It was a pain to build my own (on the cheap) but really well worth it. 7 years ago

My box has a PVR-150 and is rock solid. I’m running BeyondTV now because MythTV wasn’t working right with my TV card. I’t connected to my projector as well, and networked to my desktop computer so I can watch tv/movies on my wall, and/or stream video directly from my pc. Works like a charm. 7 years ago

I love my PVR machine. With the PVR card (hardware encoding built in – that way your machine doesn’t have to do the encoding!) and BeyondTV, I can record anything I want. I recorded all of Live8 and just have to burn it to DVD now. Christmas specials for the kids…all burnt to DVD.

I plan on giving Orb (www.orb.com) a try. 7 years ago

Back in those days of yore when a 750 was a good computer, and ati all-in-wonders were the best tv tuners, i built a pretty simple pvr box.

Strangely enough, we are still using this computer. Some gradual hardware updates over the years (HD, processor, video all got this treatment), and it’s been running windows 2000 solidly.

Originally using only the ATI Tv viewer, now we have intervideo windvr/dvd. A large fast hard drive is necessary, of course.

The interesting thing is that we dropped the idea of hooking it to a TV. The resolution’s just too low, too fuzzy. It’s got a big monitor on it, and been like that in our living room for ages. 8 years ago

Hi, I’m a simple end user who has been using Linux on the desktop since 2001. I can point and click, but that’s about it. I’m also doing a film about free open source software called the Digital Tipping Point. So I’m big on freedom in cyberspace. But I’m also a noob, so anyone who wants to help, I’d be very grateful! The broadcast flag is going to make it illegal to do this in the US after July 2005.
http://www.digitaltippingpoint.com

Christian Einfeldt
einfel@yahoo.com 8 years ago

Especially if you have low expectations. I recommend buying Hauppauge PVR-250 or PVR-350 and a MediaMVP. 8 years ago

I found some notes on creating an HD-capable PVr in this EFF article. This article (and others from EFF) point out that regulations will outlaw the sale of HDTV receivers which ignore the so-called Broadcast Flag this summer. So if you don’t exercise your rights now, you won’t be able to do so legally a year from now. 8 years ago

Just discovered this BYOPVR Forum, which contains news and tech discussion which anyone working on a project like this may find useful. 8 years ago

I love seeing devices with A/V hookups and a 4-port ethernet switch. This one is audio only, but…you get the idea.

From this LD article on the Sonos digital music system. 8 years ago

Today Transmeta announced a digital entertainment initiative around their Efficeon line, which organizes a bunch of partners toward providing a reference platform for PVRs and other digital entertainment systems.

This effort looks much more friendly to the hobbyist market than the Coventive board I mentioned earlier.

Related links: media-server8 years ago

The Coventive Uranus board turns out to be prohibitively expensive for a hobby project. They want $16K for the SDK!

So I’m going to have to pursue other alternatives for a hardware platform. 8 years ago

Here’s an interesting PVR board listed on LinuxDevices.com:

The Coventive Uranus has a 64 bit SoC, bidirectional MPEG 1/2/4 hardware, composite video connectors, and ethernet, in a mini-ITX package. And comes with a linux SDK.

Sounds like a great place to start. 8 years ago

I’d like to replace my TiVo, which I love dearly, with
something I can rebuild from source. I’d like to build
one for my sons, who live with their Mom and don’t have
cable TV. I’d like to record shows and push them to their
unit over the internet, bypassing the cable TV thing altogether.
Not to mention my friend Chris who lives in a famous apartment
building in DC and has the worst cable TV selection of anyone
I know living in the 21st Century.

And I’d like to get some of my geekier friends involved in the
project so I’m not struggling away on this all alone. 8 years ago