Preparation

Since our ReplayTV has died, we considered some replacement options. We've decided to use MythTV as a replacement.

Of course, it's not quite that simple--there seem to be quite a few steps to even get to the point of getting started. The obvious thing is choosing hardware for the new computer. I did a fair bit of research to try and find some of the best, most-used, and most-liked components. The computer components will be arriving soon.

We spent the weekend reorganizing the living room with new furniture to accomodate the new equipment. A new A/V rack makes the room feel much more open and comfortable. While everything was in disarray, it seemed a good time to run the network cable under the rug. It needed to go from the living room (for the new MythTV computer) out to the office to plug into the hub for Internet access. Also with everything pulled out we did some spring cleaning: clearing out garbage, picking through magazines and stuff like that.

I didn't expect to spend much time preparing to build the system, but somehow their ended up being a lot more to do than I thought.