The next MythTV "InstallFest" is scheduled for March 31st, and will be limited to members of GNHLUG and selected students of NHTI on a modified First-Come-First-Served (FCFS) basis. This is a modified FCFS because we want to be fair to both NHTI, who has graciously worked with us to put on this event and is making their facilities available, as well as our own members. There will be other, and larger, "InstallFests" in the near future (we hope).

Before we start: A disclaimer...

Although we have done a lot of testing, investigation, trials, etc. we can not guarantee any type of success with an individual system. You may bring a system to the "InstallFest" and walk away with a set of cold iron. If you follow our instructions we feel confident that this will not happen, but there are no guarantees. These are, after all, computers.

Hello,

This is the main page of the Greater New Hampshire Linux User's Group series of MythTV "InstallFests". We realize that we have a wide range of people who may hear about this and wonder if MythTV or the "InstallFest" is what they want to do, so we took the path of "Minimal/Maximum" information. This page is the minimal, and is linked to point to the maximum information.

• To find out what MythTV is and what it can do for you, go to the MythTV pages

Enough said.

• What is an "InstallFest" and why, in a Free and Open Source Software Group am I being told exactly what to do?

An "InstallFest" is a mass installation, and therefore has to be more "standardized". The group has held a pilot "InstallFest" at the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, and has had a measure of success. We are now opening it up to members of our group and selected students at the school. In the future we hope to open it up further to even more of the public, and to make it "Real Easy" to build one of the MythTV systems.

If you already know what MythTV is and you have determined you would like to have one then please study this page:

• Bring recommended hardware configuration

We realize that the system recommended may not be the system that you have laying around the house, but we do recommend that the system you put together fit your plans for how you are going to use it. Realize that this system is an appliance, like a telephone or heating system. You should not think of it as a "dual boot" system or a way for you to learn Linux. To reach its maximum potential the system will be on all the time. You may want to consider systems that are lower in electrical usage.

We are sure that most of you will figure out ways to use any extra memory or CPU that your unit has left over. Probably you will soon need more disk space. Fortunately there are things like "network storage" and external USB drives.

In particular think about the video card that you will be using to display your TV. We recommend GeForce 6000-series video cards. They come in both AGP and PCIe, can be found in fanless varieties (for quiet running), and are fairly inexpensive.

For a list of hardware suppliers both Internet based and local, please see the MythTV page.

• Get some of the recommended tuner cards

Likewise the tuner cards and mechanisms we are recommending are known to work with MythTV, and we have actually installed them and tested them before. Others may work, and we may introduce these over time, but in order to increase the likelihood that everyone goes home with a working unit, we have to limit the configurations.

Remember that MythTV can handle several tuner cards, but each one takes a certain amount of CPU power to have it working at the same time. Some cards have hardware that takes the load off the main CPU, but some do not. And High Definition TV usually takes both more CPU to encode and decode as well as more disk space to store the video.

Also if you are watching "live" TV thought the MythTV box, it uses one tuner card to do that. If you want to record two other shows at the same time, you will need three tuner cards.

• Get one of these remotes

Maybe you are not a couch potato, but even if you are not, you can control all of the functions of MythTV with one of these remotes. Again, others work but these are the ones that are "tried and true".

• Have it all installed physically

Please do not show up with fifty boards in a cardboard box and ask for a screw driver. We would like to step everyone through the software installation and get people home on time, so we ask that you have all the hardware installation done ahead of time. If you do not know how to take a PC box apart and stick some boards into it, please find a friend of your children who can do this for you, or take your PC to your friendly neighborhood PC store and pay them to do it for you. Either way, it would be good to run on your system afterwards and see if your currently installed operating system still works, and if it sees the boards. If you do not have a currently installed operating system, don't worry, you will have one soon.

And if you get your system to the "InstallFest" and a board is not seated right, we will get out a screwdriver to help you. It is just that we can not do this for everyone, and we will frown on people showing up with the boards still in the cardboard box and not installed in the computer.

We will have monitors, USB keyboards and USB mice at the "InstallFest", so you do not have to bring those. We will also have the ability to hook OTA and a cable provider (although not necessarily yours) to your system to test it out. But we will be able to help you set it up for your home situation before you leave.

• Fill out this form

No one likes filling out forms, but we would like to know a little bit about you for our files...oh, sorry, shades of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" came back to me.

What we really need is information to make sure that we can help you set up your MythTV box for your cable provider and your area. We also want to make sure that your configuration will work before you stuff it in the back of your car, drive a long distance and carry it up a flight of stairs. We will not be using this information for anything else, will not be selling it to any vendors nor even adding you to our wonderful, witty, interesting GNHLUG mailing list. We will let you do that for yourself.

We also are limited in space, and we want to know how many are coming and how much space we need. If you sign up, then do not come, PLEASE call us to tell us so someone else can take your place.

• Fill out Zap2IT page

This information needs to be filled in so you can receive FREE program information about the programs that you would like to record. It is simple and takes just a few minutes, but you may want to read the MythTV pages first.

• Follow the directions to NHTI arriving there on time

Again, we would like to step everyone through at the same time. This allows people to help each other, and make sure that we finish in a reasonable time. We have families too, and they like to eat supper at a particular time. We expect the "InstallFest" to last no longer than 5 P.M. Many will leave sooner.

• Demonstration of how to use it (some people may never have experienced Tivo)

We will start the "InstallFest" with a brief introduction of MythTV itself, for those people who have never seen it. This will help solidify in people's minds why they are doing the steps as they go through the installation.

And by having this demonstration at the beginning of the "InstallFest", people will be able to leave as soon as they are satisfied that they are "installed" instead of waiting for everyone else to finish installation and tuning.

• Perform Installation

We will be installing Fedora Core 6, a version of the Linux Operating System and layering on top of that MythTV code, then finishing up the configuration of the software for you system, your tuner cards and your TV source for your area. This is why we need you to fill out that form and to fill out the Zap2IT page.

• Take home working MythTV

Enough said.

• Hook up

We assume you will be able to do this. Remember that if you have two tuner cards you will have to have a splitter to allow you to hook your one cable line or OTA antenna to the two tuner cards.

• Tweak to your Cable company

We expect that we will be able to do this before you leave the "InstallFest" with the information that you have filled out in the form on the web. But you may find that you have to re-configure your system. This is what the pad of paper is for.

• Enjoy

And may the remote be with you!

And now, to repeat the disclaimer:

Although we have done a lot of testing, investigation, trials, etc. we can not guarantee any type of success with an individual system. You may bring a system to the "InstallFest" and walk away with a set of cold iron. If you follow our instructions we feel confident that this will not happen, but there are no guarantees. These are, after all, computers.

And thanks to all the people who helped to make this possible.