TechCom0018

I need help setting up Mythbuntu 8.04 on my desktop. I been planning this desktop project for over a year now, and I'm having some trouble with the Mythbuntu set up. I already have a year membership with Schedules Direct.

Here's is my new Desktop Specs:

Desktop: Dell Dimension 4600 (about 4 years old)
Proceesor: Intel P4 2.40 GHz
RAM: 1.25 GB
DVD-RW: Pioneer 20x DVD+/-R DVD Burner
CD-R:Lite-On LTN4865 48x Max
HD1: Maxtor Diamond Max 8 40GB ATA/133 (Windows XP - 15.2 GB and Mythbuntu - 23.0 GB (Dual Boot) (Total HD size - 38.2 GB)
HD2: Western Digital Caviar SE 500GB Ultra ATA100 (NTFS format) (500 Gb Free Space)
Graphics Card: nVIDIA GeForce 4 MX 440 w/AGP8x (Dell)
Tuner Card: Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 MCE Dual TV Recorder Tuner Card w/ MCE Remote 253 PCI Interface

Here's more Info:
Mythbuntu: http://www.mythbuntu.org/
Myth TV: http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
TV Tuner:
http://mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Hauppauge_PVR-500
MCE Remote:
http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/MCE_Remote

Here are the problems I'm having with MythTV (on Mythbuntu):
1) My TV Shows are in black, white, and is snowy.
2) MCE remote is not working.
3) Channels not labeled.
4) TV Listing not working (and I have a membership with Schedules Direct).
5) When I turn off my PC, and my DVD+/-R driver tray is open, it won't close automatically like my CD-R driver does.

Here's what I would like to be able to do with MythTV ( on Mythbuntu):
1) Be able to play a DVD Movie via my DVD drive.
2) To copy all of my CD's and DVD's onto my 2nd 500GB HD and be able to play them back.
3) Be able to schedule my TV recordings, store my TV recording on my 2nd HD, and be able to record 2 different shows at the same time.
4) Be able to use pulgins (like, MythWeather, MythNews, MythBrowser, etc)
5) Be able to my Laptop to control and/or changes things on my desktop via a very secure remote access.
6) Be able to remotely print from my Laptop to the printer connected to my desktop (like I can do in Windows).

After spending time and money on this Desktop Project I would like it to work properly. So if anybody could help me out I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks .

TechCom0018

Can anybody help me with my Mythbuntu setup?

Monster RO

1) Not to certain on this one. Check this page here: http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Hauppauge_PVR-500 . If you still can't get it to work properly than try posting to the mythtv-users email list for more help.
2) In order to use any remote, LIRC must be installed and running. Check this page for more details: http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/MCE_Remote
3) Most likely this is connected to your problem in question 4.
4) In order for the TV Listings to properly show your listings, you need to setup your listings source, then download them into the database. Check this page for more details: http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/Video_Source
5) This is most likely a hardware issue. Some drives will close properly, others will not.


I'm going to answer these out of order because some are related and make more sense this way.
1) You need two things to do this. The first is a package called libdvdcss. The second is the MythVideo plugin. libdvdcss must be installed first and should be installed via the Synaptic package manager.
4) Most plugins can be found and installed via the Synaptic package manager. In order to get some to work some setup needs to be done in the MythTV frontend.
3) Scheduling recordings is done by creating a recording schedule. Doing this requires that your listings are available and up to date. See answer to #4 above.
Recording 2 different shows is just a matter of having your capture card setup correctly. MythTV will then decide on which input to use as it needs to.
Storing your recordings on your 500GB HD is actually really easy. Before you get started on it you should change the file system from NTFS to either EXT3 or XFS. XFS will work better with large files, 1/2 hour recordings can be up to 1.5 GB, while EXT3 has better cross compatibility with MS Windows. This can be easily done through a tool called gparted, look for it in your applications menu. Personally I would set the mount point to /mythtv, this way it will be easier to find. The best way to to get Mythtv to use the HD is to change Myths default recording directory so that they all go onto the HD from the very beginning. This can be done from within the mythtv-setup application under Storage Groups.
2) The DVDs can be done with MythVideo and the CDs with MythMusic. Before doing so you need to go into each plugins setup from within the MythTV Frontend and set the default directorys to /mythtv/video for MythVideo and /mythtv/music for MythMusic. See http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/MythVideo for more info on MythVideo and http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/MythMusic for more info on MythMusic.
5) There are two ways of going about this. The first if straight SSH. By setting up the
server and just logging in you are able to make use of a secure terminal that will allow you to do most anything. However doing it this way requires that you know how to do stuff with your computer via a command line interface, although this can be a good way to learn.
The other option is to use MythWeb. MythWeb provides a website that is generated by your computer that gives you some abilities to controll MythTV. Mostly it includes setting up recording schedules and watching shows that have already been recorded. This interface is not initially secure but can be secured either via a simple username/password combo in conjuction with an SSL connection or with an SSH tunnel. See this page for more info: http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/index.php/MythWeb


Hope all this helps.

TechCom0018

Thanks for the advice Monster RO and I would have replied and tell you how thing were going, but I have a new problem with Mythbuntu. One day my desktop was on when my power went out and Mythbuntu was in screensaver mode. So the next time I turned on my desktop it powered up and was working just fine, until Mythbuntu started loading up and keeps freezing up at its startup screen . I've rebooted it like 5 time and did a complete shutdown a few time and it still freezing up. I'm not sure if it's locked up, because it was shutdown while in its screensaver mode ? But it will not longer go to my desktop or to myth TV. The only option I can see is deleting the Mythbuntu partition, on my HD, and reinstalling Mythbuntu. But I rather not do that if possible. So do you know how I can fix this problem. Also I think that Mythbuntu can't, for some reason, connect to the X server. Thanks for your help .

TechCom0018

Now it just stays at the Mythbuntu startup screen for hours with no change and then it sometimes freezes up or the background goes dark, with the circle pointer icon still spinning. I have a feeling that this startup screen is an error and the real desktop screen is be hided it.

TechCom0018

Here's some screen shoots:


This is the Startup Bar


This is the Startup Screen (This is the screen that stay on for hours and sometimes freezes)


This is my desktop screen (This is the screen I'm tring to get to)

Also I only seem to be able to start Mythbuntu in Failsafe GNOME mode.

TechCom0018

New Screen shoot:

Now this picture is a little hard to read, but sometimes when press Ctrl->Alt->Backspace I see a box titled "Unlock Keyring" for a few seconds.



But I can't type anything when it shows up.

Motoxrdude

Head over to http://www.ubuntuforums.org. They will be of more help.

__________________
RIP Mom 9/17/55-02/22/08.

TechCom0018

Another new screen shoot:
Now this is what happened before the other stuff.



bottom text says "Starting the Desktop Manager"

TechCom0018

After my last posting, things got worse and I had no chose but to delete my Mythbuntu partition and reinstall Mythbuntu . So I reinstalled Mythbuntu and so far everything work fine, except for the TV Listings and have some trouble setup my LIRC remote and IR Transmitter, see 1st posting for remote info . So thanks to everyone who tried to help me with my setup problem, and I still need some help getting my Mythbuntu up and running.