HTPC with FreeBSD
Sunday, January 04 2004 @ 02:53 CET
Contributed by: tingo
This project will show my efforts to build a Home Theater PC (or HTPC for short) with FreeBSD. The goal is to have the necessary hardware and software into this machine so that I can
- watch and record TV
- listen to radio channels
- play DVDs
- play digital video (many formats)
- play digital music (mp3, ogg, etc.)
- control it with a remote control
It will be network connected. Nice extras will be the ability to show pictures from the hard drive or a card reader.
Useful links to look at: the PVR hardware database, the Linux HTPC How-to, eBox and eboxy, Freevo, MythTV, VDR, xawtv, DVR (for Linux), Russell Pavlicek's "Building a Linux-based time-shifting box",
Don't forget that the FreeBSD Handbook has a section on setting up TV cards.
Things I need:
- nice sleek computer case
- computer (barebone system, mainboard?) with sound, TV out, network
- I will use the MSI Hermes 845GV barebone system with a black case
- Status: TV out tested. Here are the current quirks: NTSC mode only, currently I don't know how to change to PAL. On my TV, only a b/w picture. this might be because my TV is too old for S-video signals.
- storage: large HD or raid? (local HD for now)
- TV card (aquired: Pinnacle PCTV Stereo)
- Status: a working PCTV tv card aquired. Tested with xawtv = ok, fxtv = ok. Radio not working yet (tested with xmradio and tuneradio).
- remote control (aquired: serial connect, came with TV card)
- Status: tested with lirc - working. Configuratiion of a working setup next.
- DVD player (writer also?)
- either a combo DVD player CD-RW burner or a DVD player. Will be added later.
FreeBSD, video drivers: VideoBSD and
BT848 / BT878 driver
and the SAA7134 driver and applications for FreeBSD 5.x, and more.
12 comments
Moro MC
http://moromc.dyndns.org/article.php?story=20040104025335200