HDTV on a Macbook with MythTV

Mini HOWTO setup MythTV to watch HDTV on a Mac:

This is a brief reference on how I setup MythTV for local HDTV broadcast stations (it works the same for unencrypted cable channels)

1. install Debian (or Ubuntu)
   • since this is just the backend a slow computer works well, mine is a 866 Mhz P3


2. buy a HDHomeRun device from silicondust.com
   
   • they also provides detailed instructions
   • connect a UHF antenna (8vsb) or connect it to cable (qam256)
     


3. add debian-multimedia to your /etc/apt/sources.list (not needed on Ubuntu)
   
   • deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org stable main


4. install mythtv
   
   • aptitude install mythtv-backend
     


5. get an account with Schedules Direct
   


6. setup the MythTV backend
   
   
   
   • /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend stop
     
   • su - mythtv
     
   • mythtv-setup
     
   • tell mythtv to use the local IP address so that it works for frontends on other hosts
     
   • comment out bind-address in /etc/mysql/my.conf to let mysql talk to frontends on other hosts
     
   • For a headless backend you can run the mythtv-setup over ssh to a remote X-windows system like X11 on a Mac or Linux desktop
     
     • ssh -Y mythbackend-box
       
     • su -
       
     • /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend stop
       
     • chmod a+r /home/username/.Xauthority
       
     • su - mythtv
       
     • export DISPLAY=localhost:10.0;export XAUTHORITY=/home/username/.Xauthority
       
     • mythtv-setup -O Theme=blue -O Style=Windows -O ThemePainter=opengl --geometry 800x600+20+20
       
     • mythfilldatabase
       
     • /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend start
       


7. install MythFrontend on a Mac (needs > 1.6 Ghz CoreDuo CPU for HDTV playback)
   

That's it! Now have fun getting to know your new MythTV software.