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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>The new DRM techniques and other quasi limitations like
digital television and cable-card make whole house systems like you want
either legally challenging or very expensive.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>However, I use MythTV (knoppmyth) and along
with some DVD-archiving hacks I've been pretty happy with it. Also Silicon
Dust has announced an HDHomerun with CableCard Support. If you can't live
without Digital or HD TV that may be an excellent way to get
it.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>I run a very basic Mythtv box with a large hard drive and
3 NTSC tuners hooked to analog cable. I use an old shuttle box and
some Hauppauge mediaMPVs with the open source firmware to access tv programs
from other televisions in the house. To archive DVDs may require 3rd party
software to get around the encryption and a more powerful mythtv front end
for playback. There are some really cool hooks into MythTv and you
could easily waste your life configuring everything. For my part, the best
things about MythTv is the commercial skipping ability, and the ability to
decrease playback times by increasing the speed the program
plays.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>My family uses a Tivo and it has really come a long way
with what it can do, the next generation looks even more feature-full. I
like Tivo for Video on Demand from Blockbuster and Amazon. I have an
associate who thinks the Roku set-top box for movies is one of the best
commercial electronics products yet. But then he also bought Windows Media
Center. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>The time for TV-over-IP is nearly here, where you no longer
need Cable, Dish, or over-the-air to watch what you want and pay per
program.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=546475317-16032010><FONT face=Arial
color=#0000ff size=2>-Nate</FONT></SPAN></DIV><BR>
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<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> cialug-bounces@cialug.org
[mailto:cialug-bounces@cialug.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Matthew
Nuzum<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, March 16, 2010 11:40 AM<BR><B>To:</B> Central
Iowa Linux Users Group<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Cialug] media
center<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Hi, I am thinking about a whole-house media center. It would be a
server that could record shows, store copies of DVDs and other media and be
controlled by front-end devices hooked up to TVs.<BR><BR>I was wondering if
anyone has some experience doing the parts of this. I am going to invest some
money and would like it to work as painlessly as possible. I need
to:<BR><BR>Choose where to get my content: mediacom, dish, directv
(other?)<BR><BR>How should I record the content: hdhomerun, pci/usb tv tuner
(other?)<BR><BR>How should I watch the media? I.e. what software should I use?
I'd like to be able to control it via a remote, watch hi def, have surround
sound, watch/pause/record live TV and most of all, be very easy to
use.<BR><BR>I've seen devices like the SageTV HD Theater <A
href="http://www.sagetv.com/hd_theater.html">http://www.sagetv.com/hd_theater.html</A>
or Roku HD <A
href="http://www.roku.com/roku-products">http://www.roku.com/roku-products</A>
and PC operating system net-tops like the Acer Revo.<BR><BR>Have you read any
practical hands-on reviews or tutorials of people doing this?<BR><BR>Oh, and
one last question... how does a person hook something like this up to surround
sound? Do you plug your devices into the TV and then use the TV's output into
your stereo system? I'm really new to HD.<BR clear=all><BR>-- <BR>Matthew
Nuzum<BR>newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin, <A
href="http://identi.ca">identi.ca</A> and twitter<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>