hi there johndecker !
I am SO sorry to hear what happened to you!
it is horrible and there is always SOMETHING you can't replace..
as I said.. I feel really sorry for you

AFAIC software (and the "sort of hardware" raid solutions on motherboards and the like) are NEVER really bulletproof!
I store all my stuff on a NAS (using Freenas) at the moment
and I am looking at Openfiler..  looks like a really good NAS very stable and configurable!
it will perform scheduled backup and all manner of other tasty things
I would HIGHLY recommend a hardware raid solution if you can find one.. if not Openfiler supports multiple software raid configurations

it is great to see you come out of this with a positive attitude and not shouting at everyone
good luck with your rebuild!
Garry
 

Hi again and thanks everybody
firstly sadly VDR does not suit my application as the tuners are in the core and I need to be able to view on two MD's 
I am using freesat (for now) as a source.. with a technotrend 1500 ci and as such the EPG is only giving me now and next data via the transmitted guide!
 
I have tried starting up mythv-configure (if I remember correctly) from the terminal but it opens setup in a GUI and I am unable to get back to the terminal once the mythtv setup starts?

danielk! any chance you could point me at how to setup the XMLTV outside of myth setup as that sounds like the ideal setup!!
I am SOOO jealous of you folks in the USA that can get better than a series one TIVO!
.. I have to be blunt.. if I could get a series 3 or better TIVO in the UK I would be soooo happy lol!
is there a commercial EPG option for MYTH?
yes I know... and I am truly sorry!! I bought a series 1 TIVO when they became available to the UK..
and there is truly NOTHING at ANY price vaguely as good here in the UK (and I think I have tried them all!!)
again thanks everybody for all your help!
Garry

such a simple thing really.. but it renders it totally useless here in the UK
simply.. I get to the xml grabber part in the gui and I tll it to grab from rt..
it says it will open in a terminal (so you can add or remove channels from the list)
but I can find NO WAY to get back to this terminal so I can get a viable epg!!
as I KNOW there is at least one CORE MYTHTV dev in our community (and he lives in the UK)
and I know HE has MYTHTV setup and working there MUST BE a way to do this...
right now.. beyondTV and TIVO are looking promising!!
I have been working on this particular quirk for months now...
any help would be greatly appreciated!
before I do something stupid!!
Gazzzman

simple question really...
I have never yet got a successful EPG and channel map!
anyone any ideas?
2 problems really...
never seem able to get back into the terminal after running mythconfig and telling it to use rt xml grabber! (that means I can't tell it what channels I have... and it locks up waiting for my response!
 using EIT I only get now and next on satellite

I also have no idea how to remove unused channels from the list and map the used channels against the information I should get from the xml grabber!

that means the channel order and the epg would not be in sync!!

finally is there any way to give channels a friendly channel number??
really going to channel 6307 for BBC1 and 5876 for BBC2 is a bit much (those are only examples of the type of channel numbers... they are so bizzar I can't remember the ACTUAL numbers lol)

thanks for any help.. pointers etc!!

just as a point of interest really...
the box I tried to use for LMCE but had sound and networking hardware issues...
runs Kubuntu 710 fine out of the box (excepting the sound)
but won't run Mythbuntu at all!
either 710 or 804??
but is quite happy running Mythdora!!
still can't get any reasonable sense out of the EPG in the UK with ANY version of Myth
either using EIT or RT XML??
I DO wish TIVO would come back to the UK!
currently... "Sarah" is running the media side of things pretty reliably (with a few issues) but MythTV may as well not exist for the use it is to me!!
shame really!

strange but true...
if we where discussing Vista MCE or XP MCE everyone would be saying..."it is because you are using crap software!)
I don't think LMCE ate anyones baby... just no one has any time to have babies due to all the time spent trying to find a combination of hardware that works!
people ARE having real problems... name calling on both sides are not helping to cure them!
chill people!
I understand that most of the Devs are working like hell for little thanks to get things done!
I also understand just how frustrating things get (especially if you where sold from some video and have never used Linux before)
and there ARE problems with LMCE that are outside the control of the dev team too.. and there will probably always be some!
and nobody gets paid to support anybody!
leave a nasty post you deserve what you get...
but while some of these "LMCE ate my baby" posts are annoying.. they do contain valid points!
(in some respects more than can be said for this post   )
it would just be nice to see people being nice to one another.. thats all

my USB soundcard gives 5.1 just fine...
but TBH I would not recommend using USB soundcards at all anyhow..
I do suffer breakup on sound.. and this is entirely a soundcard problem it is intermittent and very annoying!
to the point I am about to scrap the MD because the onboard sound is unsupported and I don't know enough to fix it (:
core stability is ENTIRELY hardware Dependant in a stock installation!
my biggest gripe at the moment is MythTV or VDR..
Myth is not set up to use in the UK (surprising considering at least one core Dev lives here (Mark))
the only REAL issue in the UK with Myth now is the XML grabber setup
40+ installs on.. (Lmce + MythDora + MythBuntu) I have not once got the EPG to work properly...
as to the Alpha blending.. it IS pretty but I cannot use it because several lists/menus I cannot read because of the background images!!
but really to end as I said earlier stability should really not be an issue!
try running the core on it's own for a few days...
have a great weekend everyone!!
Gazzzman

you don't have your usb drive formatted fat32 do you?
that would explain the file size issues..

hi there!
never used subtitles so Iii can't help there!
but I can tell you your 1TB storage drive should work just fine
do however read learn and understand the implications of how Sarah likes her networking
she is quite fickle and gets somewhat p"*sed of if you don't do it her way!
(it's one of those things you must look into before you commit!

thanks skerit!
I "think" the drivers are working under LMCE (how would I know lol!)
they appear to load and in Myth it identifies the card correctly
but it seems like I am going to have to wait for others to do some work before I see any results
(I will have to see if I can get my tt1500 ci back for now)
then (when VDR is fixed I will probably have to change everything around again as it looks like I am going to have tuners all over the house for now!!)
it looks like I will be keeping a close eye on your blog!!!
it's days like this... I can feel the micro$oft force pulling at me
wouldn't it be great if the manufacturers where a lot more interested in Linux!!
thanks for your help!!
Gazzzman

hi there thorsten!
before I waste any of your time I can't really help as such
though I would just take the nova card out (for now) and concentrate on the Technotrend 1500!
this worked out of the box for me in B4 and RC1
if it is any consolation at all..
I stupidly got rid of my 1500 in favour of a 3200 (big mistake) and now... I to am getting nowhere!
and yes.. it takes about a week to find a specific film or MP3 on my system too
oh.. and why not just pick up a windows MCE remote to save you worrying about the remote issues.. you can get them on Ebay as a complete kit very cheaply
good luck!
Gazzzman

Hi Andrew
after I scan for channels at command line (it seems to find 940 or so on Astra 28.2E) I go to myth setup and tell it about my channels.conf file
it accepts the file but goes on to do a scan of it's own and that scan finds nothing!
I am fairly sure if I want to use VDR I will have to start again from scratch (re-install LMCE etc) as I recall just changing things in LMCE once you have set them is not a clean operation at all
so I am a little confused about the best path to take (understatement lol!)
also (if I read it correctly - and the status has not changed) if I where to install VDR I can only watch TV on the device that the tuner card resides in?
and as the tuner card is in the core.. and not in any entertainment area as such this is less than ideal
cheers!
Gazzzman

thanks for the info so far Skerit
it has at least enabled me to load the drivers
and the card is now "seen" in mythtv !
the scan from the command line worked a treat...
now any thoughts how we can use it with Linuxmce ?
I don't mind vdr or myth
just have no idea where to go from here!
oh and how is vdr working these days?
(and I take it there is still no S2 support in vdr??)
cheers!
and have a great weekend!

hi there !
I think it is a great idea that someone starting off knows the setup he has bought "could" work!
I love Linux and Lmce! but for someone that has just left their cosy windows home to start this project... it is a minefield!
and it would be great if these newbes where spurred on by their successes rather than sulking and shouting about their failures!

 gets my vote!
Gazzzman

sorry all if I didn't explain myself too well
you NEED DHCP running on the core and you NEED DHCP on anything you want to use with LMCE

however.. you CAN use one network and one network card on the core (think router on a stick if that helps   )
say your original router uses subnet 192.168.0.1/24 and you set the EXTERNAL address on the core at 192.168.0.254 and a gateway address of 192.168.0.1

(make sure your LAN DHCP is OFF on your original router!!)
(I do NOT mean turn off your ISP side DHCP if you need it   )

now the default core INTERNAL  IP address is 192.168.80.1 and I see no reason to change that
so..
anything you use on LMCE you enable DHCP it will find the gateway as 192.168.80.1 and be on the subnet 192.168.80.1/24 and it will still connect to the internet (via the core, then your router)

anything you don't want to tell Sarah about you configure manually to the subnet 192.168.0.1/24 with a gateway address of 192.168.0.1 then it will connect to the internet directly via your router

both networks can share the same switches the same cabling etc

all this works and seems to work well (as it should according to the laws of IP)
YOU get the security and controllability you want without tearing unnecessarily into the fabric of LMCE or driving the DEV's MAD

you DON'T need any V-LANS or special cabling BTW the whole point of TCP/IP is it is a ROUTABLE protocol!

hope this helps clarify a little
Gazzzman