Hi! Newbie here, need help with search.

[StereoInstaller1]

So, I am starting on building a LinuxMCE install.

As you can guess from my screenname, I am a car stereo installer, been at it since 1980.

I have been building windoze PCs since about '96, so I know a bit about hardware and such.

Here is what I have started with:

Core: Dell Dimension 2400. 2.4Ghz P4, 2GB DDR, 80GB IDE, 2X 300GB IDE, standard. Needs 2nd NIC in gigabit Ethernet, plus a GB router. Planned on SATA card and 2TB in SATA drives, need to know what controllers are supported, lots to learn!

Wiring will be CAT5E, claims GBE capability. I have 1500 feet or so, no run longer than 100'.

Media Directors: (2 so far)

HP/Compaq low profile mini ATX boxes, dual core 3.0Ghz P4, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 80GB SATA (500GB SATA in 2nd box) PCIe 16x Nvidia 8300 256mb low profile cards, made by ASUS, sold by Dell. SATA DVD burner from LiteOn.

Here are my big questions:

First, is the Hauppague PCIe (4x, IIRC) HD DVR1250 supported? I seem to find no mention of it here, but this $50 card seems slow in XP Pro, is it supported in Linux, and will it change channels faster? Digital channels QAM'd over cable suck, takes a full minute or more to change between channels!

I mostly want to be able to catch the wifes' soaps in DVR fashion, maybe some discovery channel too.

Does anyone know if my Harmon Kardon AVR140 receiver is controllable via LinuxMCE?

Can I use the tuner cards in the media directors (assuming they actually work in Linux) to capture for the whole house?

Can I burn DVDs from the network?

Can I use the 80GB of .WMA music I have already ripped (from CD, LOTS of time!) on LinuxMCE?

Can I use the hard drives in the media directors to store media?

I would like to use the MD to do email and internet...are multiple users supported?

So, yeah, any support/ideas, whatever you might have, but the biggie is those DVRs...cheap, local, with remotes and FIT inside this tiny case so I really want to use them.

Any questions you might need answers for in car stuff, feel free to hit me up. I would be glad to do what I can!

Luke

[totallymaxed]

So, I am starting on building a LinuxMCE install.

As you can guess from my screenname, I am a car stereo installer, been at it since 1980.

I have been building windoze PCs since about '96, so I know a bit about hardware and such.

Here is what I have started with:

Core: Dell Dimension 2400. 2.4Ghz P4, 2GB DDR, 80GB IDE, 2X 300GB IDE, standard. Needs 2nd NIC in gigabit Ethernet, plus a GB router. Planned on SATA card and 2TB in SATA drives, need to know what controllers are supported, lots to learn!

Wiring will be CAT5E, claims GBE capability. I have 1500 feet or so, no run longer than 100'.

Media Directors: (2 so far)

HP/Compaq low profile mini ATX boxes, dual core 3.0Ghz P4, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 80GB SATA (500GB SATA in 2nd box) PCIe 16x Nvidia 8300 256mb low profile cards, made by ASUS, sold by Dell. SATA DVD burner from LiteOn.

Here are my big questions:

First, is the Hauppague PCIe (4x, IIRC) HD DVR1250 supported? I seem to find no mention of it here, but this $50 card seems slow in XP Pro, is it supported in Linux, and will it change channels faster? Digital channels QAM'd over cable suck, takes a full minute or more to change between channels!

Look here for info on the support for the hvr1250 under linux; http://linuxtv.org/wiki/index.php/Hauppauge_WinTV-HVR-1250

I mostly want to be able to catch the wifes' soaps in DVR fashion, maybe some discovery channel too.

Does anyone know if my Harmon Kardon AVR140 receiver is controllable via LinuxMCE?

As far as i can see the HVR140 does not have RS-232 so you would have to use IR.

Can I use the tuner cards in the media directors (assuming they actually work in Linux) to capture for the whole house?

Supported TV tuner cards can be located in MDs using MythTV and can be accessed from other MD's.

Can I burn DVDs from the network?

You can burn DVD's from any optical drive in any MD and store the iso to any storage you have configured in any part of the home network.

Can I use the 80GB of .WMA music I have already ripped (from CD, LOTS of time!) on LinuxMCE?

yes you can use WMA content... as long as it is not protected by DRM.

Can I use the hard drives in the media directors to store media?

Yes you can

I would like to use the MD to do email and internet...are multiple users supported?

You can do email from any MD's KDE desktop... multiple users are supported.

So, yeah, any support/ideas, whatever you might have, but the biggie is those DVRs...cheap, local, with remotes and FIT inside this tiny case so I really want to use them.

Any questions you might need answers for in car stuff, feel free to hit me up. I would be glad to do what I can!

Luke

[StereoInstaller1]

Wow, Andrew, thanks for such a detailed report!

Turns out my little HP boxes already have a GB ethernet controller onboard...how sweet is that? SANDRA says that my Ethernet is a Broadcom "Extreme"...good, I hope.

I hope this video card is up to running a 32" LCD, I am on a tight budget for this project, and seriously, we only watch 4 or 5 hours a week of TV total, as a family of 4.

So, hopefully you have some questions about car audio/security so I can help in return.

Thanks!
Luke