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What to people use to configure MythTV?
http://forums.linhes.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=15446		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  grante [ Fri Jun 01, 2007 2:18 pm ]
Post subject:  What to people use to configure MythTV?
What do people really use to configure Myth?

I find the GUIs on the myth setup utilities pretty much
unusable[1], so I often just change things by entering mysql
queries. I've tried using webmin's mysql module: it works, but
it too is rather clunky, and I'm not really all that keen on
installing extra stuff on my KM box.

I'm unable to get MySQL's query browser to build, so I've not
been able to try that.

I have used mysqlnavigator, and it works very nicely for
viewing, but when I try to change something it objects with a
message like this: "Table 'settings' doesn't have primary key.
You must manually delete or update any record". It also seems
unable to insert a row in a table (at least I'm unable to
figure out how to make it do that).

It's been abandoned for years and years, so I've pretty much
written it off.

Can anybody recommend a decent MySQL table browser that allows
simple changes to be made (insert/delete/edit a row in a
table)?

Preferably it would be something that doesn't require anything
to be installed/run on the KM box (other than the existing
mysql server).


[1] Some widgets are completely off-screen, others overlap
and/or don't render legibly or it's impossible to enter the
desired values using a remote. Navigation using the remote is
also pretty tortuous.

I've tried running the setup programs on a remote X display so
that I have a keyboard for entering values. While that solves
one problem it introduces another one: it makes the UI so
sluggish it's a nightmare: hit enter, wait 2-3 minutes for
display to redraw, rinse, repeat. It doesn't solve the
problems with things overlapping and being off-screen.
Author:  grante [ Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What to people use to configure MythTV?
grante wrote:
I've tried using webmin's mysql module: it works,


Oops, I take that back. Webmin no longer works (though it used
to). It now complains about the settings table not having a
primary key and refuses to edit the table.

Is there some reason that the settings table doesn't have a
primary key?
Author:  md10md [ Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:37 pm ]
Post subject: 
I've used phpMyAdmin when I simply don't want to change each thing individually. Has worked pretty good so far.
Author:  silentmic [ Sat Jun 02, 2007 4:54 am ]
Post subject: 
I use Aqua Data Studio from http://www.aquafold.com/. Version 4.7 is free, unlike the latest version 6, so that's what I use.
Author:  thornsoft [ Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:57 am ]
Post subject: 
I use an IR keyboard ($29). Once you size the GUI so that it fits on the screen, it works great.
Author:  grante [ Sat Jun 02, 2007 3:15 pm ]
Post subject: 
thornsoft wrote:
I use an IR keyboard ($29). Once you size the GUI so that it fits on the screen, it works great.


How do you "size the GUI"?

I've got X adjust so that the root window fits the screen with about 1 pixel "extra" on each side. The problem is that the widgets are often just too large to fit within the size of the root window. On many of the setup screens the "next" "back" buttons at the bottom are completely outside the window.
Author:  grante [ Sat Jun 02, 2007 3:17 pm ]
Post subject: 
silentmic wrote:
I use Aqua Data Studio from http://www.aquafold.com/. Version 4.7 is free, unlike the latest version 6, so that's what I use.

Thanks for the pointer -- I'll give it a try.
Author:  slowtolearn [ Sat Jun 02, 2007 3:24 pm ]
Post subject: 
grante wrote:
thornsoft wrote:
I use an IR keyboard ($29). Once you size the GUI so that it fits on the screen, it works great.


How do you "size the GUI"?

I've got X adjust so that the root window fits the screen with about 1 pixel "extra" on each side. The problem is that the widgets are often just too large to fit within the size of the root window. On many of the setup screens the "next" "back" buttons at the bottom are completely outside the window.
On my TVs I adjusted the height/width/offsets in Utilities/Setup -> Setup -> Appearance -> Screen Settings (2nd page of Appearance).
Author:  thornsoft [ Sat Jun 02, 2007 4:36 pm ]
Post subject: 
grante wrote:
I've got X adjust so that the root window fits the screen with about 1 pixel "extra" on each side. The problem is that the widgets are often just too large to fit within the size of the root window.

Maybe your DPI needs adjusting? That's in the xorg stuff (with the modelines)
The visual elements definitely should fit on the screen, or something's wrong.
Author:  grante [ Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:33 pm ]
Post subject: 
thornsoft wrote:
grante wrote:
I've got X adjust so that the root window fits the screen with
about 1 pixel "extra" on each side. The problem is that the
widgets are often just too large to fit within the size of the
root window.

Maybe your DPI needs adjusting? That's in the xorg stuff (with
the modelines) The visual elements definitely should fit on the
screen, or something's wrong.


If I increase the DPI, then the fonts all get smaller and
become difficult to read. Basically, I really have no desire
to do setup stuff using the TV and remote control as the
interface. That seems to me to be a fundamentally flawed way
to do anything more complex than select and watch a program and
then delete it. There's too much "stuff" for a screen that
small, and the required navigation and data entry is too
complex for something like a TV remote control.

It's probably fine if you've got a 45" TV running at a native
resolution of 1920x1080, and you don't mind having a
keyboard sitting on your coffee table. But on a 15-year old
analog TV and a remote-control it's tortuous.

I'd much rather run the setup programs from some other machine
that has a keyboard and a display that has a resolution higher
than 600x400.

Overriding the geometry when running the backend setup program
on a remote X server mostly works, so the only problem is the
sluggishness of running Qt on a remote display (it's sluggish
enough on the local display, and it just gets worse on a remote
one).

I never have figured out a pleasant way to do frontend
configuration or scheduling. Mythweb is OK for the latter, but
navigation can be pretty awkward. For example: returning to
the program listing after scheduling a recording never seems to
return you to the same place in the listings.

I'd be pleased as punch if the setup was done via ssh using
text-mode programs (e.g. ncurses) or just involved editing text
files. But I'm probably in the minority. ;)
Author:  bruce_s01 [ Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:50 am ]
Post subject: 
You could try using VNC, then you are able to access the GUI remotely.

Bruce S.
Author:  grante [ Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:18 pm ]
Post subject: 
bruce_s01 wrote:
You could try using VNC, then you are able to access the GUI remotely.


That would help the sluggishness and solve most of the
data-entry issues, but then we're back to the problem of
widgets being off-screen.

The best solution is obviously to buy a new HDTV so that
everything fits on-screen.

I just finished setting up an HDHomeRun tuner, and it's
brilliant. Now I just need an HDTV and an upgrade to my box so
I can actually decode/output HD. :)

For now, SD program streams play back perfectly using the
PVR-350 HW decoder, and I've currently got a userjob that
transcodes HD recordings into 480i so I can play them back on
the 350 as well. Transcoding from 1080i to 480i takes about 68
minutes per hour.
Author:  slowtolearn [ Sun Jun 03, 2007 4:32 pm ]
Post subject: 
grante wrote:
If I increase the DPI, then the fonts all get smaller and
become difficult to read. Basically, I really have no desire
to do setup stuff using the TV and remote control as the
interface. That seems to me to be a fundamentally flawed way
to do anything more complex than select and watch a program and
then delete it. There's too much "stuff" for a screen that
small, and the required navigation and data entry is too
complex for something like a TV remote control.

It's probably fine if you've got a 45" TV running at a native
resolution of 1920x1080, and you don't mind having a
keyboard sitting on your coffee table. But on a 15-year old
analog TV and a remote-control it's tortuous.
You must spend a helluva lot more time in the setup screens than I do :wink:

A combination of adjusting Height/Width/Offsets and thornsoft's suggestion of adjusting DPI makes everything fit on the screen on my TVs, and quite readable. I also use VNC from my laptop on occasion, works well. I use a keyboard in setup if I need to adjust a path or command, otherwise the remote handles everything I need it to do.

Are you having trouble with specific setup pages or all of them?
Author:  ffrr [ Sun Jun 03, 2007 6:04 pm ]
Post subject: 
grante wrote:

I never have figured out a pleasant way to do frontend
configuration or scheduling. Mythweb is OK for the latter, but
navigation can be pretty awkward. For example: returning to
the program listing after scheduling a recording never seems to
return you to the same place in the listings.


Using the back arrow in my browser seems to get me back where I started every time
Author:  manicmike [ Sun Jun 03, 2007 6:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: What to people use to configure MythTV?
grante wrote:
What do people really use to configure Myth?


Use mythweb. Fire up another computer on your network and surf to your mythbox on a web browser.

You can change everything you mentioned there.

Latest versions (>= R5E50) also have the primary display vnc'd, so you can access the screen remotely.

Regards

Mike
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