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How to make a TV Antenna - New and Improved

I was looking though my logs a couple weeks ago for this site, and saw a lot of traffic to my How to make a TV antenna page.

I was suprised, since honestly it's not a page I had spent much time creating, it was really more just a plug for an interesting YouTube video I found.

It's time to do it right. I spent some time researching the topic to get consensus on the specifics of the best way to do it, then drew up some real instructions and created Google Sketchup based reference diagrams.

Since much of the traffic doesn't really seem to be MythTV related, so I put the updated howto on a new domain, TVAntennaPlans.com. In the two weeks it has been up, the site has already seen 670 vistors, well beyond my expectations.

Check it out, and digg it if you like it.

CommandIR 2 IR Blaster Review

CommandIR2 in a hand I've been running a beta release of the new CommandIR 2 for a little while now.  This is a device developed specifically for the Linux and MythTV market by Innovation One located in Ontario Canada. 

Innovation One provided MythPVR.com with a pre-release unit to beta test and review.

I evaluated the unit using MythDora (4.0) on my low power Via EPIA MythTV server.

For testing IR Remote functionality I used a StreamZap remote control and blasted IR signals at a Zenith DTT-900 Digital to Analog Converter set-top box and Toshiba TV.

The CommandIR 2 is a few things in one specialized USB hardware device:
    1.  Four IR blasters, which can be independently controlled
    2.  One on-board IR receiver
    3.  One wired IR receiver (optional)
    4.  Six software controllable LEDs

Zenith DTT900 Digital Converter Box

Analog Broadcast TV will soon be going away.

Even if you're not concerned about that yet, the upgrade to better (perfect!) picture quality and addition channels is well worth the upgrade.

In my case, the end result was going from 3 watchable over the air channels to 12, which all now have perfect picture and audio quality.

After much research, I decided to use my first of two government coupons on a Zenith DTT900 to use with MythTV.

All the Digital Converter Boxes on the market have some type of problem(s), but the Zenith seemed like the best of the bunch. Based on my usage over the past month, I am very happy with the decision and would recommend this device to anyone.

Here's how to get the Zenith DTT900 working with MythTV using a Serial IR Blaster.

How to Make a TV Antenna for HDTV

Build your own HDTV antenna out of a few coat hangers and a few parts from the hardware store. HDTV antennas do not need to be expensive or complicated. This excellent HOWTO was referenced on the MythTV mailing list.

Very much in the MythTV "build your own" spirit, this is worth a try if you use, or want to use, over the air HD. Use the comment form to let us know how you make out!

AppleTV 2 - Excellent companion to MythTV

Apple today announced the AppleTV 2, their second generation set-top device.

It’s time to give Apple’s TV product a second look in terms of it being a companion to a MythTV system.

Build an Energy Efficient Media Server

CaseHow much power does a home server suck out of the wall each year? My old media server used 80 watts. Last year I put together a silent MythTV Frontend (set-top box.) It only uses about 18 watts of power. What if a full fledged MythTV server were built on the same platform?
  • How much power could be saved?
  • Would the performance be acceptable?
  • How much money would it save in energy bills?
Motivated by my fairly new Kill-a-Watt power meter, I set out to build the system to answer these questions and see if the results would be a system I would want to stick with.

How to setup a MythTV Frontend

One of the joys of MythTV is that you can have the frontend and backend part of the system on different computers. Building a Myth Frontend is a great way to extend your MythTV system to more televisions yet still be able to access all your existing MythTV content. It's great in that it allows central recording and scheduling while allowing you to branch out to more rooms in your home.

Build a Silent MythTV Frontend

CaseHere's how to build a silent MythTV Frontend. This is an excellent way to build a low power, "set-top" box to extend your MythTV media server to additional TV's in your home.

First let's take a step back, and cover my motivations for taking on this project. Then we'll cover how I built it.

HDHomeRun Review

The HDHomeRun is a HDTV tuner unlike any other I have seen before.  It's an external dual HDTV tuner about the size of a VHS tape. 

What makes the HDHomeRun special is how it works. Instead of connecting by USB, the HDHomeRun streams two high definition (HDTV) MPEG2 streams over ethernet. Essentially it's a network attached HDTV tuner.  The HDHomeRun is certainly an interesting little device.

MythTV Remote - StreamZap Review

While looking for a good remote control for my Silent MythTV Frontend I stumbled upon the StreamZap IR Remote Control, and decided to give it a try.

The StreamZap PC Remote Control sells for around $30, which includes a USB receiver. That puts the StreamZap is near the bottom of the price spectrum once you factor in the IR Receiver.

I've been using it for a couple months now, have mentioned it a few times on the MythTV mailing list, and figured it's about time I wrote a review.

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