What would you say about Linux/MythTV drivers for 2nd gen PVR cards?
Most of the popular new PVR cards sold for Windows XP MC are based on Connexant's "Blackbird" design, which hasn't had drivers for Linux or Myth.
We have been working on these drivers and released an alpha version at http://plutohome.com. Pluto even has a self-booting kick-start CD that will automatically install & configure everything for you, including a ready-to-go Myth system. It's the fastest and easiest way to get a MythTV PVR up and running, and also installs Xine, Asterisk and our own software to give you the most advanced media & entertainment, home automation, security, telecom & computing system, controllable with your Symbian Bluetooth mobile phone, as well as PDA's and Webpads.
We're working hard to harden the drivers as quickly as possible and would like as much feedback as possible. These 2nd generation "Blackbird" cards are lower in price and offer better picture quality than the current models supported in IVTV, so be sure to check them out.
visit: plutohome.com, click 'support', 'support site', and choose "CX88 Blackbird Drivers" from the projects menu
It would be nice if you guys did a review of
Mythtv.
While it is linux and the install is not as easy as a windows program, the results are spectacular.
Mythtv is a very nice way to show off what Linux is truyly capable of.
I would recommend running it on Gentoo, as to install you simply type emerge mythtv
myth also works great with the haupauge PVR 250/350 series of cards and fully supports the hardware MP3 decoding.
check it out at http://www.mythtv.org
I have had uptimes of 75 to 100 days with shows being recorded and watch daily. My wife loves Mythtv and couldn't live without it.
I tried SageTV, but I went back to Myth because it was better IMHO anyway.
Another TV Tuner/PVR software to consider: Cyberlink's PowerVCR II. This product has none of the audio sync problems that ATI's MMC has, when used with an ATI TV Wonder Pro/Creative Audigy sound card combo (using all the current drivers).
#19 - We worked through all the details with Jeff and Dan Kardatzke, the owners of Frey Tech, and everything has been settled. Btw since you are the main guy for the NDA beta team for Frey, I have to say you developed some nice skins. :)
It looks like TiVo for your PC is still a ways off from being that simplistic. Any plans on reviewing some of the other HTPC apps? I'll have to go back and check the Beyond TV review.
Lawranch
ATI has drivers that perform software MPEG2 decoding for AIW's but has failed to release them to anyone but Dell. There are hacked versions of the Dell drivers that work on most AIW 9XXX cards.
At anyrate AIW's suck and you should get a blackbird type card for MCE.
FYI Microsoft announced it will release MCE 2004 into the system builders channel later this year. It requires a hardware MPEG2 encoder so you won't be able to use the All-in Wonders.
I bought the Sage TV Blackbird bundle + one client (not the 2 tuner bundle) to replace my AIW 7500 as I upgraded my bedroom box with old components from main PC which included 9700 Pro, P4T-E, 512MB RDRAM, and 2.4 Northwood @2.64. I could not be more pleased. What I wanted was something for my bedroom TV that would work perfectly with a remote, something MMC rarely gave me, mainly because of on and off Guide Plus bugs that often rendered the MMC front-end all but useless.
Sage TV was IMO a no-brainer install and was completely functional in just 5-10 minutes. I was rather impressed by the client install, click the .exe, enter name of computer on network with Sage TV installed and that was it, it automatically chose the previously installed Sonic Cineplayer as the video decoder. I am also extremely pleased with the quality of the recordings.
I have only lived with it for a week but has been so far flawless, one of the things I love is I absolutely don't have to think about or fiddle with it, unlike my quite extensive experience with MMC and Guide+.
Sage TV I realize has a number of great customizations and tweaks but for my basic use with TV in bedroom and with the client on main PC, I just don't need them so far.
I do have a HTPC in my living-room connected to an HDTV and I can see how Sage has some compelling reasons for use with a HTPC/HDTV setup but as I use a wireless keyboard and mouse for the many different programs I use for Music TV and DVD and get great results with the AIW 9700 in that system (don't use the MMC front end at all in HTPC) I really have no compelling reason to go to Sage there, also I plan on keeping the AIW 9700 used in HTPC for quite some time.
<<#10 - We went over part of that in the guide and schedule recording sections. It is kind of scattered a bit between the two, since we went over the software in more of a sequential manner.>>
If you are referring to Intelligent Recording (IR, for short), I don't see it there. I do see comments regarding shows being marked as Watched or Don't Like, but nothing relating how that affects the IR option seen in the 2nd image on Page 15 "Detailed Setup". In my opinion, that is another one of the big advantages of SageTV at the moment -- while other software may have such a feature at some point in the future, I don't think there is any other Windows PVR software that does it currently. With IR turned on, SageTV will automatically schedule recordings it thinks will fit your viewing preferences. I won't claim that it is perfect, but it does a pretty good job for me now.
#9 - I will have to go back and double check on that.
#10 - We went over part of that in the guide and schedule recording sections. It is kind of scattered a bit between the two, since we went over the software in more of a sequential manner.
Maybe I didn't spend enough time with the review to see this, but I don't recall seeing anything about SageTV's Intelligent Recording feature either, where it will record shows that it thinks you would like to see, based on what you've watched and what you've said you don't like. I thought this was pointless at first, but I find that between it and my favorites, I hardly ever even bother to look at any sort of TV guide any more.
Also, one advantage of making full use of hardware encoders and decoders is that I am able to use something as old & slow as a P2-400 to record with 2 tuners and playback via an Xcard (for decoding) with cpu use remaining extremely low -- and this is with 2 shows recording at the same time, a different show playing on the old server, and yet another show being streamed to my client. Quite nice. :)
#6 - Whew... we spent a ton of time with this thing; I hope we didn't miss anything :). I think the second view you are talking about is the "view upcoming recording schedule" which should be under the "schedule" section.
In one form or another, we pretty much have gone through and taken a snapshot of every single visible page in SageTV 2.0, minus the sub pages in the detailed setup section of the software title.
I would liked to have seen you spend a Little more time with the product. I know it may be limited, but most of your dislikes are completely configurable if you tried a little harder. Just one example, complaint about the upcoming recordings display. There are two views! The one you tried and the other list view.
Also, the mods out for SageTV are very important and should not be discounted. Here is mine, so I may be biased :).
Very interesting article! I would like to add one bit of information: while it is true that SnapStream cannot stream hardware-encoded TV files over the network without a fairly lengthy reencoding process, they will be removing this restriction in the next version. Also, they will be adding multiple tuner support, parental controls, and some user privacy settings. Maybe Anandtech will reexamine SnapStream at that time? The HTPC world seems to be in a very "buyer beware" mode right now, and it's good to have such in-depth reviews of each product.
Still reading, looks good so far. I have been using sage TV 2.0 for about a month or so now, works great. One thing though, I see you mentioned that it is available for download only, and while this may be the case from frey themselves, PC alchemy sells sage TV as both a download or on a CD, thats where I got mine from.
I believe one of thier employees, or possibly the owner himself is a member of these fine forums we have.
Keep up the good work. Next we need a "How to build and awesome HTPC" article.
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punkkid - Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - link
If you need firmware for MythTv Plugin under Pluto you can find them herehttp://www.geocities.com/download2kx01
http://members.lycos.co.uk/mythtvx101/
http://mythtvx101.netfirms.com/
http://www.mythtvx101.home.ro/
http://www.mythtvx101.as.ro/
lorein - Tuesday, March 22, 2005 - link
What would you say about Linux/MythTV drivers for 2nd gen PVR cards?Most of the popular new PVR cards sold for Windows XP MC are based on Connexant's "Blackbird" design, which hasn't had drivers for Linux or Myth.
We have been working on these drivers and released an alpha version at http://plutohome.com. Pluto even has a self-booting kick-start CD that will automatically install & configure everything for you, including a ready-to-go Myth system. It's the fastest and easiest way to get a MythTV PVR up and running, and also installs Xine, Asterisk and our own software to give you the most advanced media & entertainment, home automation, security, telecom & computing system, controllable with your Symbian Bluetooth mobile phone, as well as PDA's and Webpads.
We're working hard to harden the drivers as quickly as possible and would like as much feedback as possible. These 2nd generation "Blackbird" cards are lower in price and offer better picture quality than the current models supported in IVTV, so be sure to check them out.
visit: plutohome.com, click 'support', 'support site', and choose "CX88 Blackbird Drivers" from the projects menu
snorkel - Sunday, August 1, 2004 - link
It would be nice if you guys did a review ofMythtv.
While it is linux and the install is not as easy as a windows program, the results are spectacular.
Mythtv is a very nice way to show off what Linux is truyly capable of.
I would recommend running it on Gentoo, as to install you simply type emerge mythtv
myth also works great with the haupauge PVR 250/350 series of cards and fully supports the hardware MP3 decoding.
check it out at http://www.mythtv.org
I have had uptimes of 75 to 100 days with shows being recorded and watch daily. My wife loves Mythtv and couldn't live without it.
I tried SageTV, but I went back to Myth because it was better IMHO anyway.
vailr - Tuesday, July 27, 2004 - link
Another TV Tuner/PVR software to consider: Cyberlink's PowerVCR II. This product has none of the audio sync problems that ATI's MMC has, when used with an ATI TV Wonder Pro/Creative Audigy sound card combo (using all the current drivers).MlbDude - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
Thanks, and thanks also for listening to some of this feedback and actually looking into it. :)AndrewKu - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
#19 - We worked through all the details with Jeff and Dan Kardatzke, the owners of Frey Tech, and everything has been settled. Btw since you are the main guy for the NDA beta team for Frey, I have to say you developed some nice skins. :)MlbDude - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
Since this review is so bad, here is another to check out. It is more complete and the reviewer actually has experience with the product.http://htpcnews.com/main.php?id=sagetv_1
WooDaddy - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
Phew...That was a helluva review Andrew.
It looks like TiVo for your PC is still a ways off from being that simplistic. Any plans on reviewing some of the other HTPC apps? I'll have to go back and check the Beyond TV review.
glennpratt - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
LawranchATI has drivers that perform software MPEG2 decoding for AIW's but has failed to release them to anyone but Dell. There are hacked versions of the Dell drivers that work on most AIW 9XXX cards.
At anyrate AIW's suck and you should get a blackbird type card for MCE.
reboos - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
review MythTV please!Lawranch - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
FYI Microsoft announced it will release MCE 2004 into the system builders channel later this year. It requires a hardware MPEG2 encoder so you won't be able to use the All-in Wonders.MlbDude - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
Other items that become apparent when you spend more time with it:If you change channels while watching a show then come back, you can time-shift back to the part of the show you watched before.
If you are watching a show and decide you want to keep it, just select record and you got it.
Intelligent Recording is a major feature, and should not be overlooked.
Setting a show as watched not only affects IR, but that episode will not be recorded again.
How about something about the different grouping options in Sage Recordings? It is great to view my recordings by category.
Just a few things that every PVR should have that you don't notice at first.
Yelapaboy - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
I bought the Sage TV Blackbird bundle + one client (not the 2 tuner bundle) to replace my AIW 7500 as I upgraded my bedroom box with old components from main PC which included 9700 Pro, P4T-E, 512MB RDRAM, and 2.4 Northwood @2.64. I could not be more pleased. What I wanted was something for my bedroom TV that would work perfectly with a remote, something MMC rarely gave me, mainly because of on and off Guide Plus bugs that often rendered the MMC front-end all but useless.Sage TV was IMO a no-brainer install and was completely functional in just 5-10 minutes. I was rather impressed by the client install, click the .exe, enter name of computer on network with Sage TV installed and that was it, it automatically chose the previously installed Sonic Cineplayer as the video decoder. I am also extremely pleased with the quality of the recordings.
I have only lived with it for a week but has been so far flawless, one of the things I love is I absolutely don't have to think about or fiddle with it, unlike my quite extensive experience with MMC and Guide+.
Sage TV I realize has a number of great customizations and tweaks but for my basic use with TV in bedroom and with the client on main PC, I just don't need them so far.
I do have a HTPC in my living-room connected to an HDTV and I can see how Sage has some compelling reasons for use with a HTPC/HDTV setup but as I use a wireless keyboard and mouse for the many different programs I use for Music TV and DVD and get great results with the AIW 9700 in that system (don't use the MMC front end at all in HTPC) I really have no compelling reason to go to Sage there, also I plan on keeping the AIW 9700 used in HTPC for quite some time.
Opus4 - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
<<#10 - We went over part of that in the guide and schedule recording sections. It is kind of scattered a bit between the two, since we went over the software in more of a sequential manner.>>If you are referring to Intelligent Recording (IR, for short), I don't see it there. I do see comments regarding shows being marked as Watched or Don't Like, but nothing relating how that affects the IR option seen in the 2nd image on Page 15 "Detailed Setup". In my opinion, that is another one of the big advantages of SageTV at the moment -- while other software may have such a feature at some point in the future, I don't think there is any other Windows PVR software that does it currently. With IR turned on, SageTV will automatically schedule recordings it thinks will fit your viewing preferences. I won't claim that it is perfect, but it does a pretty good job for me now.
AndrewKu - Monday, July 26, 2004 - link
#9 - I will have to go back and double check on that.#10 - We went over part of that in the guide and schedule recording sections. It is kind of scattered a bit between the two, since we went over the software in more of a sequential manner.
Opus4 - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
Maybe I didn't spend enough time with the review to see this, but I don't recall seeing anything about SageTV's Intelligent Recording feature either, where it will record shows that it thinks you would like to see, based on what you've watched and what you've said you don't like. I thought this was pointless at first, but I find that between it and my favorites, I hardly ever even bother to look at any sort of TV guide any more.Also, one advantage of making full use of hardware encoders and decoders is that I am able to use something as old & slow as a P2-400 to record with 2 tuners and playback via an Xcard (for decoding) with cpu use remaining extremely low -- and this is with 2 shows recording at the same time, a different show playing on the old server, and yet another show being streamed to my client. Quite nice. :)
MlbDude - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
Then bring up the options menu and select Schedule Display: Parallel.Lots of little things like that hidden throughout. But I guess that is the problem is that they are kind of "hidden".
Just another quick tip, in detailed setup you can store the IP or machine name of the server if you are using the client.
AndrewKu - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
#6 - Whew... we spent a ton of time with this thing; I hope we didn't miss anything :). I think the second view you are talking about is the "view upcoming recording schedule" which should be under the "schedule" section.In one form or another, we pretty much have gone through and taken a snapshot of every single visible page in SageTV 2.0, minus the sub pages in the detailed setup section of the software title.
cosmotic - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
whats wrong with d-link?MlbDude - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
I would liked to have seen you spend a Little more time with the product. I know it may be limited, but most of your dislikes are completely configurable if you tried a little harder. Just one example, complaint about the upcoming recordings display. There are two views! The one you tried and the other list view.Also, the mods out for SageTV are very important and should not be discounted. Here is mine, so I may be biased :).
http://download.sage.tv/~mlbdude/MlbDude2.html
Even more has been added, but that is something to start with.
MlbDude - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
Saist - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
I only have one comment to make.D-link??? EWWWWW.
Spearhawk - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
Nice article. It would be intresting to see a simelar on GB-PVR (http://www.gbpvr.com/), which is freeware. I actuly prefare it before Sage TV.nullpointerus - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
Very interesting article! I would like to add one bit of information: while it is true that SnapStream cannot stream hardware-encoded TV files over the network without a fairly lengthy reencoding process, they will be removing this restriction in the next version. Also, they will be adding multiple tuner support, parental controls, and some user privacy settings. Maybe Anandtech will reexamine SnapStream at that time? The HTPC world seems to be in a very "buyer beware" mode right now, and it's good to have such in-depth reviews of each product.coolred - Sunday, July 25, 2004 - link
Still reading, looks good so far. I have been using sage TV 2.0 for about a month or so now, works great. One thing though, I see you mentioned that it is available for download only, and while this may be the case from frey themselves, PC alchemy sells sage TV as both a download or on a CD, thats where I got mine from.I believe one of thier employees, or possibly the owner himself is a member of these fine forums we have.
Keep up the good work. Next we need a "How to build and awesome HTPC" article.