LinHES Forums :: View topic - KnoppMyth Reference Platform

Thanks for that thoughtful reply.

Any plans to build a reference platform based on mATX (baby dragon)? Assuming the other components were the same, only the mobo would need testing, right?

I was looking at:

Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS
and
BIOSTAR TForce6100-939

I really need and want the smaller footprint, so I think that will hold me up from using Myth in the meantime.

Just curious, but have you considered water cooling on the KRP Dragon? ...

I noticed the MSI motherboard supports IR. Does the reference spec use the mb IR port as a receiver/blaster?

I noticed that the Dragon is gone from the mythic.tv web site.

Does this mean the new generation is coming?

If so, you will have a customer. I just bought a HDHomeRun and am very happy with it. Now I need a full Dragon type system and a small frontend only mini-Dragon (with HD display capability).

I have been waiting on the Core2 and 500GB prices to drop but would rather buy a fully tested silent machine instead of DIY.

We are working on some modifications of the v1.1 spec as well as a new v2.0 spec. The Dragon page was not showing up because all v1.1 systems have been bought, but I'll put something up so people don't panic and think we're going away

That's great to hear! Just keep in mind that the most expensive part about HDTV playback is some combination of CPU and video card. A playback-only system would cost less than a record-and-play system, but not very much. You could drop the tuner cards certainly, but if you drop the optical drive then you may have a less-pleasant installation experience on that system. You could get a smaller HDD, but you may end up paying more per GB for a smaller drive.

We're testing out different optical drives and HDDs up to 750GB. The concept for the next generation of Dragon is that we'll list options for things like video cards and drives, and let people pick and choose which components they want to use. Automation that is currently tied tightly to the results of KRPAutoDetect.pl, which gets a hardware profile to compare against the spec, will be generalized to support different hardware configurations.

Currently, I plan to stick with IDE for v1.2, but I don't yet know if v2.0 will have IDE or SATA. There are Core 2 Duo boards with two IDE connectors on them, but I'm seeing many more boards with just a single connector, and I fear that things like CD ripping will go badly if both drives are on the same cable.

The big question is, of course, "when?" I don't have a useful answer for you yet, but obviously we'd like to get a new design out before the peak holiday buying season. (Although January and February seem to be our store's peak season, since geeks like you and me get money for the holidays, since our families have no idea what to buy us

January and February seem to be when that gift money turns into hardware.)

Starting to get offtopic here, but there is at least one port of MythTV to MacOSX so that your Mac Mini can work as a frontend. Google for mythtv osx and you'll come up with some results.

I have setup some small clients for my living room and others I am doing diskless FE. nharris if are interested I can send you the specs.

Author:	wonkyturk [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 1:32 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: microATX equivalent?
Thanks for that thoughtful reply. Any plans to build a reference platform based on mATX (baby dragon)? Assuming the other components were the same, only the mobo would need testing, right? I was looking at: Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS and BIOSTAR TForce6100-939 I really need and want the smaller footprint, so I think that will hold me up from using Myth in the meantime. I'd rather not, but thought maybe I could use an XP based system until the drivers catch up on the Linux/Myth side of things. Don't think I'm at a level where I could contribute to development otherwise.

Author:	Human [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 2:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: microATX equivalent?
wonkyturk wrote: Thanks for that thoughtful reply. wonkyturk wrote: Any plans to build a reference platform based on mATX (baby dragon)? Assuming the other components were the same, only the mobo would need testing, right? We do not currently have plans to make a micro-ATX version of Dragon. Even if we could instantly pick a compatible micro-ATX motherboard, we'd need to evaluate it for compatibility with the heatsinks we use in Dragon, and we'd need to evaluate a micro-ATX case for its noise and heat characteristics as well. wonkyturk wrote: I was looking at: Foxconn 6150K8MA-8EKRS and BIOSTAR TForce6100-939 We tested ATX boards from Foxconn and Biostar, and they had regular failures that led to corruption on the HDD. I wouldn't pick those brands as my first choice. See what MSI has in a micro-ATX form factor first. wonkyturk wrote: I really need and want the smaller footprint, so I think that will hold me up from using Myth in the meantime. Take a look in the Tier 1 thread on the forum to see if anyone has listed micro-ATX boards. Maybe you'll find one that is compatible with your goals. We are working on a new KRP system with a smaller footprint, but it's still in the design phases at this point and may not be built to handle HDTV playback.

Author:	afrosheen [ Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:51 pm ]
Post subject:
Just curious, but have you considered water cooling on the KRP Dragon? It kills noise, you get an adjustable 120mm fan, and depending on the case, the radiator+fan for the system can be either internally or externally mounted. It'd also only add about $110 to the system price (plus the headache of building it, but really, it's not that bad). I installed the Thermaltake Bigwater SE in my main workstation and my brother loved it so much when he came to visit he ordered one for himself when he got home. Average temps of an Athlon64 3200 is 89F, and that's with the fan set to the lowest setting (barely a whisper, I'm guessing 18dB). I realize it's kinda far out but with the reliability, silence and 'cool factor', it's something that may be worth considering.

Author:	Human [ Wed Mar 08, 2006 10:32 am ]
Post subject:
afrosheen wrote: Just curious, but have you considered water cooling on the KRP Dragon? ... We consider every cooling method, even peltier coolers, but we wanted the reliability and worry-free use of a good fan-based CPU cooler. We originally tried the 120mm version of the Zalman cooler we ultimately chose, and it seems to work just as well as the 90mm version, with only a slight hint of additional noise. The 90mm version has the added bonus of not killing the CPU during the shipping process The 120mm version and the 90mm all-copper version exceed the AMD spec for cooler weight. Incidentally, we turn down the adjuster on the 90mm fan all the way to slowest speed, and all our heat-related testing has been done with that nice quiet setting.

Author:	jacqueusi [ Mon May 22, 2006 8:02 am ]
Post subject:
I noticed the MSI motherboard supports IR. Does the reference spec use the mb IR port as a receiver/blaster?

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Author:	Human [ Mon May 22, 2006 8:47 am ]
Post subject:
jacqueusi wrote: I noticed the MSI motherboard supports IR. Does the reference spec use the mb IR port as a receiver/blaster? There are headers on the motherboard for IRDA, which we don't make use of, but it's a good suggestion

Author:	afrosheen [ Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:39 pm ]
Post subject:
I don't mean to revive a dead thread, but I've been thinking. Since the new Intel core duos are getting much cheaper, and the power consumption and heat are both way down on them, is it time to consider a KRP Samurai as the Dragon's brother? Personally I love AMD64's but just curious as to whether or not they've been taken into consideration.

Author:	Human [ Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:01 am ]
Post subject:
Great minds think alike We are indeed looking into a Core 2 Duo system, since it has just about the same power consumption as the Athlon64s and is more powerful. Whether it'll be Dragon 2.0 or some new thing is up in the air.

Author:	nharris [ Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:21 am ]
Post subject:
I noticed that the Dragon is gone from the mythic.tv web site. Does this mean the new generation is coming? If so, you will have a customer. I just bought a HDHomeRun and am very happy with it. Now I need a full Dragon type system and a small frontend only mini-Dragon (with HD display capability). I have been waiting on the Core2 and 500GB prices to drop but would rather buy a fully tested silent machine instead of DIY.

Author:	Human [ Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:17 am ]
Post subject:
nharris wrote: I noticed that the Dragon is gone from the mythic.tv web site. Does this mean the new generation is coming? We are working on some modifications of the v1.1 spec as well as a new v2.0 spec. The Dragon page was not showing up because all v1.1 systems have been bought, but I'll put something up so people don't panic and think we're going away Quote: If so, you will have a customer. I just bought a HDHomeRun and am very happy with it. Now I need a full Dragon type system and a small frontend only mini-Dragon (with HD display capability). That's great to hear! Just keep in mind that the most expensive part about HDTV playback is some combination of CPU and video card. A playback-only system would cost less than a record-and-play system, but not very much. You could drop the tuner cards certainly, but if you drop the optical drive then you may have a less-pleasant installation experience on that system. You could get a smaller HDD, but you may end up paying more per GB for a smaller drive. Quote: I have been waiting on the Core2 and 500GB prices to drop but would rather buy a fully tested silent machine instead of DIY. We're testing out different optical drives and HDDs up to 750GB. The concept for the next generation of Dragon is that we'll list options for things like video cards and drives, and let people pick and choose which components they want to use. Automation that is currently tied tightly to the results of KRPAutoDetect.pl, which gets a hardware profile to compare against the spec, will be generalized to support different hardware configurations. Currently, I plan to stick with IDE for v1.2, but I don't yet know if v2.0 will have IDE or SATA. There are Core 2 Duo boards with two IDE connectors on them, but I'm seeing many more boards with just a single connector, and I fear that things like CD ripping will go badly if both drives are on the same cable. The big question is, of course, "when?" I don't have a useful answer for you yet, but obviously we'd like to get a new design out before the peak holiday buying season. (Although January and February seem to be our store's peak season, since geeks like you and me get money for the holidays, since our families have no idea what to buy us January and February seem to be when that gift money turns into hardware.)

Author:	nharris [ Tue Oct 24, 2006 11:26 am ]
Post subject:
Human wrote: We are working on some modifications of the v1.1 spec as well as a new v2.0 spec. The Dragon page was not showing up because all v1.1 systems have been bought, but I'll put something up so people don't panic and think we're going away Good to know... you might want to just add what you said above to the site. Human wrote: That's great to hear! Just keep in mind that the most expensive part about HDTV playback is some combination of CPU and video card. A playback-only system would cost less than a record-and-play system, but not very much. You could drop the tuner cards certainly, but if you drop the optical drive then you may have a less-pleasant installation experience on that system. You could get a smaller HDD, but you may end up paying more per GB for a smaller drive. Gotcha. I still want a small box for the bedroom. Something like the Mac mini would be nice (~$500-600 with HD output). I routinely wonder if anyone has installed KnoppMyth or similar on a Mac mini with success, but I can't find any results with Google. Maybe a Via Eden or such would get the job done. Also, all I would need is a DVD-ROM drive on the client. Human wrote: We're testing out different optical drives and HDDs up to 750GB. The concept for the next generation of Dragon is that we'll list options for things like video cards and drives, and let people pick and choose which components they want to use. Automation that is currently tied tightly to the results of KRPAutoDetect.pl, which gets a hardware profile to compare against the spec, will be generalized to support different hardware configurations. Currently, I plan to stick with IDE for v1.2, but I don't yet know if v2.0 will have IDE or SATA. There are Core 2 Duo boards with two IDE connectors on them, but I'm seeing many more boards with just a single connector, and I fear that things like CD ripping will go badly if both drives are on the same cable. The big question is, of course, "when?" I don't have a useful answer for you yet, but obviously we'd like to get a new design out before the peak holiday buying season. (Although January and February seem to be our store's peak season, since geeks like you and me get money for the holidays, since our families have no idea what to buy us January and February seem to be when that gift money turns into hardware.) Thanks for the great info on your direction. I am especially glad to hear that you will have more ordering options in the future. I will continue waiting for a while and see what happens. One question... why not SATA for the hard drive? I thought Linux support was mature now.

Author:	afrosheen [ Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:02 pm ]
Post subject:
Starting to get offtopic here, but there is at least one port of MythTV to MacOSX so that your Mac Mini can work as a frontend. Google for mythtv osx and you'll come up with some results.

Author:	nharris [ Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:08 pm ]
Post subject:
afrosheen wrote: Starting to get offtopic here, but there is at least one port of MythTV to MacOSX so that your Mac Mini can work as a frontend. Google for mythtv osx and you'll come up with some results. True, but there are a lot of documented problems (no SPDIF out, etc...). I have an Intel iMac and I have yet to get the frontend running. It hangs trying to connect to my KnoppMyth backend. I have not tried installing KnoppMyth directly on the box however. That would be interesting... since the new Mac BIOS should support a Linux install.

Author:	sinspot1 [ Tue Oct 24, 2006 6:23 pm ]
Post subject:
I have setup some small clients for my living room and others I am doing diskless FE. nharris if are interested I can send you the specs.

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Author:	nharris [ Wed Oct 25, 2006 6:12 am ]
Post subject:
sinspot1 wrote: I have setup some small clients for my living room and others I am doing diskless FE. nharris if are interested I can send you the specs. That would be great! I tried to send you a PM with my email address... not sure if it got through. Let me know. I need one client which is HD capable to drive a 1080p LCD TV with optical SPDIF passthough... the other could be SD. Thanks again!