Buy new:
-9% $27.23
Delivery Tuesday, September 3
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$27.23 with 9 percent savings
List Price: $29.99

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
FREE International Returns
No Import Fees Deposit & $14.09 Shipping to France Details

Shipping & Fee Details

Price $27.23
AmazonGlobal Shipping $14.09
Estimated Import Fees Deposit $0.00
Total $41.32

Delivery Tuesday, September 3. Order within 23 hrs 36 mins
Or fastest delivery Friday, August 30
In Stock
$$27.23 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$27.23
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$7.29
Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less See less
$15.02 delivery September 13 - October 4. Details
In stock
$$27.23 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$27.23
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Ships from and sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Other sellers on Amazon
New & Used (17) from   $4.00
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the authors

Stewart Smith
Follow
Michael Still
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Practical MythTV: Building a PVR and Media Center PC 1st ed. Edition

3.0 3.0 out of 5 stars 17 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$27.23","priceAmount":27.23,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"27","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"23","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"PqJ%2FH4s1tdVgBzjika7aUGGMi8%2FGt6O7EkZU%2B8XnB7wzlS7d5a07lK4D0OvZtv8hTSXmH4MHUlJzB%2BgV7DycPGRUQ71vvDLR0xLf2z3PJ0oxxwUJTERlLL0hQkQW8IvRvTI%2BsYjRMAI%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$7.29","priceAmount":7.29,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"7","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"29","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"PqJ%2FH4s1tdVgBzjika7aUGGMi8%2FGt6O7ySVYX9QuQI3joRlpSqLduvFDYkcJJmzv8k5NCYFybQmIk7iJgn4lYlaPGLvJbjtMP3Zgcw8LmNkZL1goRNs8%2BCY%2B%2FsOkBzUV5SK2O5fXcRAqihh0LdaWSypZB7YGxaD6zoR9t%2F%2B1ceY%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

MythTV is a powerful open source personal video recorder (PVR) application that runs on Linux. Developed for several years by volunteers, it offers a stable and extensible platform for automating all of the things you would expect from a PVR, and much more.

Practical MythTV: Building a PVR and Media Center PC takes a project-based approach to implementing your own MythTV setup. You get to pick and choose the functionality you want to install for your PVR, and will learn the details of everything from selecting hardware to advanced customization.

You will learn how to record your favorite television shows, store your DVDs for later playback, create a music library out of your CD collection, and even use your PVR for voiceover IP. Your PVR wouldn't be complete without a remote control or the ability to play back content to other TVs in your home. You'll learn how to do both of these things in this book. You'll even learn to how to utilize your Xbox as a remote front-end to play back content.

Beyond these basics, you will learn advanced techniques like commercial detection and skipping, auto-expiring content, creating your own themes for MythTV, and utilizing plug-ins to do things like display weather conditions, RSS feeds, and photo slide shows.

Previous slide of product details
  1. ISBN-10
    1590597796
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1590597798
  3. Edition
    1st ed.
  4. Publisher
    Apress
  5. Publication date
    May 8, 2007
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    7.01 x 0.83 x 9.25 inches
  8. Print length
    384 pages
  9. See all details
Next slide of product details

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Still released his first open source project in July 2000 and has been actively developing ever since. He has had a variety of articles published by IBM DeveloperWorks, and once made a tux out of fairy lights! He is the author of The Definitive Guide to ImageMagick (Apress, 2005). Michael grew up in Canberra, Australia, and now works for Google and lives in the Silicon Valley with his wife and two kids. Michael is a past committee member of AUUG, Linux Australia, and the linux.conf.au 2005 committee.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Apress; 1st ed. edition (May 8, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1590597796
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1590597798
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.01 x 0.83 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.0 3.0 out of 5 stars 17 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
prevPageText
  1. Stewart Smith

    Stewart Smith

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

    See more on the author's page
  2. Michael Still

    Michael Still

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Michael Still released his first Open Source project in July 2000, and has been actively developing ever since. He has had a variety of articles published by IBM DeveloperWorks, and once made a Tux out of fairy lights. He is the author of the recently published "Definitive Guide to ImageMagick" from Apress. His gym program states his exercise goal as "develop laser death vision". Michael grew up in Canberra, Australia but now lives and works in Silicon Valley for Google with his wife and two kids. Michael is a past committee member of AUUG, Linux Australia, and the linux.conf.au 2005 committee.

    See more on the author's page
nextPageText

Customer reviews

3 out of 5 stars
17 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Furball
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book...
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2009
Verified Purchase
Got this to install MythTV on an old PC with a PVR-150 MCE TV Tuner. Even though the book is more than helpful...it is several revisions behind the current version of MythTV which you can get for free. You do not get a copy of the version of MythTV they talk about in the book. This will need to be found on your own.

Even after reading the book and following the steps...still had trouble getting Mythbuntu/KnoppMyth/MythTV to work properly to record a program...any program at all. Working nights...I record shows with an old PC to watch at a later time. Not only did MythTV not record ANYTHING at all...the log showed where it did.

The problem with MythTV...even for someone like myself who has been around computers since the late 70's...is not this book...but the program itself. Unlike some of the Windows PVR programs...MythTV forces you to jump through WAY TOO MANY HOOPS with WAY TOO MANY STEPS to simply record a program. The Windows PVR program I use allows me to record a program in 4 steps or less...rather than requiring me to configure every aspect of every program every time I want to record something in MythTV. This is why I went back to Windows XP and the freeware PVR program I was using before. For some reason...the designers of MythTV have never heard the saying that less is more.

Once MythTV is as easy to use as some of the Windows PVR programs...they will get a great following. Sure it's free...but when the program will not do what it claims...I would rather pay for TIVO or use Windows PVR/MCE. At least those will work and not let me down.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Andrew D Stairs
1.0 out of 5 stars Sorely need a update
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2011
Verified Purchase
The amount of tips I did pick up were few and far between. I had to refer to the Wiki when this book had only three lines of text to cover what was a huge job. But on the other side it spent pages and pages dealing with loading the software that with the current release is so simple and takes Min's.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Blake Watson
2.0 out of 5 stars Almost Completely Worthless
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2008
Verified Purchase
Look, I'm not going to say that these guys didn't try, or that this is a cynically written attempt to cash in on something, but this book is as close to worthless as I can imagine.

Now, again, this is not entirely the authors' fault. MythTV is highly dynamic. What's true today isn't true tomorrow. I'm a journeyman MythTV builder, and a lot of what I've learned in the painful progress I've made simply does not apply any more.

That said, a lot of stuff =hasn't= changed, and it's here where the book falls apart. They should have started with the basics of content flow, i.e., where is the media coming from? Because that's the first thing you need to know before you even decide if MythTV is right for you. (Over the air content, for example, is easily handled by Myth, while controlling a set-top box from a cable, satellite or fiber optic company is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.)

While support has been added since this book was written, the stuff they actually did mention that has been part of MythTV since its incpetion is not well covered. For example, to set up your MythTV backend, you have to select from various capture card types. There are V4L, MPEG2, DVB, etc.--how about explaining what these are? No explanations is the norm, and when there is an explanation it's often simply restating the on-screen text without actually clarifying.

Six months of having this book and I've never once found an answer to a question I had. Now, I don't go looking for product specific stuff, because (as I said) there's no way they could cover that, but just basic joints and cogs and so on.

See, the thing about MythTV is that if you have just the right hardware and a simple enough setup, it might take you fifteen minutes to set up. If you don't, it could take you weeks to set up, or you might never be able to do it.

To be useful, this book really should have explored =how= to troubleshoot. They couldn't do the actual troubleshooting for you--there are too many things that can go wrong--but they could tell you about the utlities and hardware settings that allow you see where your problems lie.

Maybe they just didn't have the space. But, as I say above, it makes the book almost completely worthless.
29 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
S. Berkvens
4.0 out of 5 stars A good way to get to know MythTV
Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2007
Verified Purchase
This book is a good way to get to know MythTV if you have no previous knowledge about its details. The book discusses one major concept per chapter and is full of screenshots, which makes it easy to follow. Nearly everything you would want to know is discussed, making the book quite complete.

One thing that I hoped the book would discuss in more detail is the choosing of the hardware. It has some general guidelines and tells the reader which hardware the authors of the book have, but it does not really offer guidance when you need to select your hardware.

One thing in particular that the book does not discuss at all is hardware for receiving DVB-C, which requires hardware with a CI (Common Interface) slot and one or more CAM modules (at least, this is required in Europe). This is really a pity, because this is one of the most complex choices that have to be made when selecting your hardware.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kevin Blanchard
5.0 out of 5 stars Great overview
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2007
Verified Purchase
I had been playing with Knoppmyth already to get a feel for MythTV and see if I wanted to use it to replace my TIVO. There are so many options and features that I was looking for a good book to cover an overview of MythTV and talk about install options/pitfalls etc. in more detail from a practical standpoint.

This book addressed many of my concerns and questions I had going into reading the book and helped me follow through and a make a fully educated decision in moving forward with building and installing my new MythTV box.

For anyone considering MythTV or looking for a good guide to get it up and running, I highly recommend this book.
11 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Golffies
1.0 out of 5 stars No useful guidance from that book.
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2015
Verified Purchase
In 2007 I bought Michael Still's book and thought that my still beginner level with Linux at the time was the main reason why the book was not useful for me. I was wrong. Nowadays, having had the Linux DVB-S HTPC up and running for many years, I can testify that I never got useful guidance from Michael's book.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Robert Brummer
2.0 out of 5 stars Technischer Stand von 2007
Reviewed in Germany on April 16, 2012
Verified Purchase
Der Verlag hat das Buch zwar 2010 neu aufgelegt, aber die enthaltenen Informationen sind größtenteils noch Stand 2007 - das sind in der IT gefühlte Jahrhunderte!

So ist z.B. das Buch auf MythTV V0.20 aufgebaut. Aktuell wäre jetzt (Anfang 2012) V0.25. Das sind gute 5 Jahre Rückstand gegenüber der aktuellen Entwicklung. Die enthaltenen Infos und Scripte sind folglich nur bedingt einsetzbar.

Neuere Themen wie z.B. HDMI, CEC, HD+, Smartcards, CI, CI+ kennt das Buch gar nicht. Es ist bestenfalls als Grundlage für den theoretischen Unterbau geeignet. Aber allein schon vor der ersten eigenen HW-Auswahl ist bereits umfangreiche, eigene, neue Recherche erforderlich.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Mr. James Slinger
4.0 out of 5 stars Practical MythTV
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 31, 2009
Verified Purchase
MythTv is a huge collection of computer programs which enable one to build something like a Sky+ device for Freeview, Freesat, cable TV or analog TV. The idea is that it can record TV programs (or radio programs) and stream them at will to TV sets or to other computers. The latter is very useful to families who have the odd computer littered about the house. Also, the user can easily transfer recordings to DVD. The computer programs are notoriously complicated and this book is a useful guide through the complexities. It is a bit out of date inevitably because progress in this field is very rapid. None the less I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the idea. I should add that the computer programs are "open source" and are available for a free download which includes a computer operating system. (That means that the user can use the box as if it were a normal computer when it is not doing its recording job.) Of course, being open source, there are lots of other applications that can be downloaded for free. MythTV, Mythbuntu, Linux, Freeview, Sky+ and Freesat are trade marks.
Report