Hacking MythTV (ExtremeTech) (Paperback)

~ Jarod Wilson (Author), Ed Tittel (Author), Matthew Wright (Author), Justin Korelc (Author)
Key Phrases: mythtv user, mythtv setup, master backend, Fedora Core, User Job, Jarod Wilson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Want control? Build your own MythTV PC.

You don't do stuff like this to cut corners. You do it because you want what you want?and because it's fun. And a personalized MythTV is so much more than a PVR. You can combine HDTV, DVD, all kinds of music, radio, photos, even a plug-in videophone module. All you need is a little Linux know-how, assorted software components and plug-ins, an adventurous nature, and this book to tell you how it all goes together. Voil?he entertainment hub of your dreams.

Learn to do all this and much more:

• Choose HD capture cards and sound drivers.
• Install and configure MythTV.
• Build your program guides.
• Use xine to add DVD menu support.
• Pass raw digital streams to an external decoder.
• Do cool things with your remote control.
• Hack your own themes.
• Export MythTV .nuv recordings to other formats.

A companion Web site provides even more of the know-how you need.

Visit www.wiley.com/go/extremetech for links, updates, news about recent developments in MythTV, and resources shared by other readers like you.

From the Back Cover

Want control?

Build your own MythTV PC

You don't do stuff like this to cut corners. You do it because you want what you want—and because it's fun. And a personalized MythTV is so much more than a PVR. You can combine HDTV, DVD, all kinds of music, radio, photos, even a plug-in videophone module. All you need is a little Linux know-how, assorted software components and plug-ins, an adventurous nature, and this book to tell you how it all goes together. Voilà—the entertainment hub ofyour dreams.

Just a few ways to have fun

Learn to do all this and much more!

1. Choose HD capture cards and sound drivers
2. Install and configure MythTV
3. Build your program guides
4. Use xine to add DVD menu support
5. Pass raw digital streams to an external decoder
6. Do cool things with your remote control
7. Hack your own themes
8. Export MythTV .nuv recordings to other formats

Companion Web site

Visit www.wiley.com/go/extremetech for links, updates, news about recent developments in MythTV, and resources shared by readers like you.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (August 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470037873
• ISBN-13: 978-0470037874
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #315,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars an aggregation of widely-available info, January 18, 2007

By	J. Lohmeyer - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

a more accurate title for this book would be "installing mythtv"

i was ultimately disappointed by this book, as having "hacking" in the title led me to believe this would provide technical insight into the various modules of mythtv.

instead, what is presented is essentially an aggregation of info that is widely available on the net. there is *very little* new insight presented. it is more of a how-to for installing and setting up mythtv on a fedora box- yet again providing little technical details. i expected new insights into setup possibilities and what a lot of the setup options mean and control, not a nearly word-for-word description from the rollover info in mythtv-setup.

as an example (not verbatim, but accurate to the experience):

Use OpenGL for timing: if selected, this option will use opengl for timing.

great. but what does that mean for the average user? what are the pros and cons?

in summary, if you run a FC box and want a hard-printed copy of basic mythtv setup and some additional info about plugins, then buy this book, but if you are looking for new insight or looking to truly "hack" mythtv, save yourself the money and disappointment and start googling.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good general guide., January 9, 2007

By	Gary Delaney (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book is a good guide if you want to get MythTV up and running. It however lacks real detail with respect to the underlying technology. Detail is lacking in areas such as transcoding, optimising the software encoders etc.
The book will suit a user who has not been exposed to MythTV but lacks the depth for the experienced MythTV user.

31 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Set yourself free from Commercial PVRs, October 9, 2006

By	Jeffrey Heaton "Jeff Heaton" (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

You can get Tivos for only a couple hundred dollars. Many cable companies offer Tivo-like services for only $10-$20 extra a month. Why would you want to undertake building your own PVR(Personal Video Recorder)?

It is not to save money. If you want to save money, your best bet is just to buy a commercial PVR. It is about control! Cable companies are putting additional controls on PVRs. Sporting games can often only be kept for a preset amount of time. Certian channels request the cable operator to only allow you to fast forward at 2X through their commercials. And perhaps most importantly, what you record is locked away in your PVR's internal proprietary video format.

None of these issues exist with Myth TV. Myth TV is open source. It is designed to have the features that its user base wants, not the features that the cable company and station providers want you to have. It can export to a variety of open formats, which allows you to play your recorded movies from any of your home computers using regular software. You can easily move your recorded video to devices such as an iPod, Archos, or other video player. You are in control.

Additionally, there is no subscription fee. You download your channels from an open channel server. You do not need to pay some PVR company a monthly fee.

Unfortunately, installing a Myth TV setup can be somewhat difficult. You have to decide on your hardware. Maybe you don't want a computer tower sitting in your family room. If so you need to decide on some of the newer computer cases that are no bigger than the average DVD player. What type of video capture card do you need? The book walks you through your hardware choices.

Software is another issue. You can use one of the Linux distributions that is already designed to support Myth TV, or you can roll your own setup. The book discusses how to setup for Myth. You will need other packages, such as MySQL, a Linux distribution, and other packages. This is all covered by the book.

The book does a very good job of stepping you though each process and not assuming you are already an expert.