PVR Capabilities distro

[skurella]

Hi all,

i have a pc ,with windows currently,which i would like turn into PVR (MythTV?) AND media center....my main objective is

want to record shows from my HDTV
schedule recording
stream media to hdtv

currently my pc doesnot have network adapter or wirless adapter or tv tuner card....so i'm looking at building from the scratch which means i have option of chosing distro and its compatible tv capture /tuner card and drivers... here is where i need your expert advise...

as i gained from google, mythtv seems to be good for my purpose with good UI...

please suggest me which distro, tv card required for my purpose....

thanks a ton in advance
SK

[waterhead]

Hello, and welcome to Linux forums.

You are correct about MythTV being the main Linux program for PVR functions. It can be installed on most Linux distros, or you can use a distro with MythTV pre-installed. Here are the three that I am aware of.

Mythbuntu (Ubuntu based)
Mythdora (Fedora based)
Knoppmyth (Knoppix based)

I would recommend Mythbuntu, as it seems to be the easiest to install and get working. I have also heard of Freevo, but I don't know much about it.

Freevo Media Centre | Home Theatre Platform HTPC & DVR

As for hardware support, that could be long thread on it's own. It may be better to figure out exactly the type of device (USB PCI) and tuner (analog, digital). You can then look for deals, and check for Linux support. You can check the wiki at LinuxTV.org for supported hardware, but it is not the most up to date.

LinuxTV.org - Television with Linux