Posted on July 21st, 2008 by Kobski
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MyMote is the name of the application and it has just been announced that it is available. Well, availability can be a bit of a problem here to begin with. Apple has to approve each iPhone application and although the approval was requested on July 1st, it has still not been given. Until MyMote is approved, there are other ways to get it (see Ad Hoc section).
MyMote will let you remote control MythTV. It is configurable, so you can add and remove buttons and also move them around.
Last but not least it has a built-in program guide from which you can start live TV.
Filed under: MythTV, Remote, iPhone, iPod | 2 Comments »
Posted on July 15th, 2008 by Kobski
Lots of changes, but probably the most interesting changes for MythTV builder are these:
- Initial Radeon R500 support
- Support for Intel G45 chipset
- Support added for Hauppauge HVR-850, HVR-900, HVR-950 and HVR-1200
Filed under: AMD, ATI, Intel, Linux, MythTV | No Comments »
Posted on July 15th, 2008 by Kobski
Here is the changelog for this new version:
tv_grab_uk_rt: lots of improvements.. should upgrade
tv_grab_re: better season/episode number handling
tv_grab_be: responding to source site changes
tv_grab_fr: better title detection
tv_grab_huro: now generates stop times
tv_grab_na_dtv: responding to source site changes
tv_grab_pt: responding to source site changes
tv_grab_za: improve episode tags
not working, removed: tv_grab_il, tv_grab_nl_wolf
And of some bugfixes and polish.
More info available here.
Filed under: MythTV, XMLTV | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 8th, 2008 by Kobski
It has been a long time since KnoppMyth was last updated (Spetember 2007), but now the new version is ready. R5.5 is also called “Bone Marrow” and you can read why here. Nice going, Cecil!
Here is a list of some of the important changes:
- MythTV 0.21-fixes
- Kernel 2.6.23-chw-4
- IVTV 1.2.0
- ALSA 1.0.16
- Nvidia drivers: 173.14.09, 96.43.05 and 71.86.04.
- Updated video drivers for the Intel chipsets which include support for XvMC with the 810 and 815 chipsets.
- Latest versions of: MPlayer, Xine, XMLTV, etc.
Here is the complete changelog.
Also, here is a lengthy report of how to upgrade and all the things you have to be aware of. Recommmended reading!
Filed under: ALSA, KnoppMyth, Linux, MPlayer, MythTV, NVIDIA | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 4th, 2008 by Kobski
Roku Labs has just released some source code for their $100 Netflix streaming device. Such a move has got to start the thought: Can it be hacked to become a potential MythTV Frontend?
The device is able to play back HD content (1080i/720p) although the currently available content from Netflix is only SD. It has HDMI output, WiFi, it runs Linux AND it costs $100!
The device is powered by an NXP chip and according to the spec it can decode MPEG2, MPEG4, DivX, H.264 and JPEGs. Pretty impressive.
The hacking has already started and people are able to telnet to the device.
I’m hoping this could be the heir to the Hauppauge MediaMVP device which can be hacked to run a light weight variant of the MythTV Frontend called “MediaMVP Media Center“.
I know that AppleTV can run the full MythTV Frontend, but that device is $229. And it is always nice to have options. 
Filed under: AppleTV, HDTV, Hardware, Linux, MythTV | 4 Comments »
Posted on June 24th, 2008 by Kobski
If you think the official MythTV frontend is too much of a beast to start, when all you want to do is watch a show, then MythFace might be for you.
Built because the official frontend was unstable, it uses MPlayer to do the actual playback, NFS to mount the files and GMyth to talk to the backend.
Filed under: MPlayer, MythTV, gmyth | No Comments »
Posted on June 24th, 2008 by Kobski
CommandIR II is a new IR transceiver for MythTV. It is the followup to CommandIR Mini. It will let you control up to four devices, such as set-top boxes or TVs and it has 6 user programmable LEDs which you can use to indicate that MythTV is recording something or that it might be running out of disc space.
The device was announced back in may and it is currently in the last phase of beta testing, which means that the device should be shipping any day now.
Pete Daly from MythPVR has already written a thorough review of the CommandIR II. Check it out.
Filed under: Hardware, MythTV, Remote | No Comments »
Posted on June 14th, 2008 by Kobski
Brent Evans has an update on his first experiences with the Hauppauge HD PVR.
Generally he is pretty excited about it. The image quality is supposedly excellent.
Some of the early units have had heat issues, causing them to crash frequently. But it sounds like Hauppauge is handling it nicely replacing those units quickly.
Brent Evans is promising a full review soon. We look forward to it!
Filed under: HDTV, Hardware, MythTV | No Comments »
Posted on June 14th, 2008 by Kobski
The first release of the Linux driver for Hauppauge HD PVR is now available.
MythTV is still not ready to use the driver, but work is getting done.
Snipped from the announcement:
I’m pleased to announce the immediately available of a mercurial repository for the Haupauge HD PVR.
The repository is at http://hg.jannau.net/hdpvr/. Follow the howto at http://linuxtv.org/repo/ but use hg clone http://hg.jannau.net/hdpvr/ instead of http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb.
The driver is currently at most alpha quality and tested only with v4l2-ctl and cat /dev/video0. Other applications might fail in interesting ways.
I’ve compiled the driver only with kernel 2.6.24 and 2.6.25. A tester reported success on 2.6.22.
TODO:
- extend V4L MPEG encoding api (atm only add mpeg4 AVC and AAC as formats)
- test IR support and merge it into the official repo
- improve buffer management, especially make it fault-tolerant
- add missing device options (iirc only sharpness and chroma/luma filters)
- test with other v4l application and fix issues
Filed under: HDTV, Hardware, Linux, MythTV | No Comments »
Posted on June 14th, 2008 by Kobski
I often see gadgets that I would love to own. They have that special thing that just makes you want one. Often, I don’t really have a need for it and so that’s a pity…
The Logitech diNovo Mini keyboard has that special thing to it. I don’t know if it is the diminutive size, the cool green/orange backlight or the beautiful finish. Fortunately, in this case, it makes sense for me to buy one, because then I can use my MythTV box for surfing the internet, something which is really hard with a remote only.
I’ll introduce you to the Logitech diNovo Mini and since it’s fairly expensive at $150, I’ll give you some cheaper alternatives to consider. Note that the prices are retail and you might be able to get it cheaper than what is specified here.
Logitech diNovo Mini
Price: $150
Bluetooth keyboard (USB receiver included).
Good battery life (about 30 days).
Backlight.
Works with Linux, but does have one issue with the mouse control, although that can be fixed through a patch. You can read a test here from someone using it with MythTV.
VidaBox Wireless Media Keyboard
Price: $80
Some sort of RF link which seems to be very reliable.
Excellent battery life (1 month+).
No backlight.
You can read a review here.
Adesso WKB-4000U
Price: $130
Connects via RF
Short review here.
And if you want more options then take a look at this thread.
Filed under: Hardware, Linux, MythTV, Remote | No Comments »
