Well, after almost 2 years of dedication to the KnoppMyth distribution, I'm making the switch to Mythbuntu. Why? Well, in addition to the larger support community, the base distribution is less "modded," making it a bit easier on myself to upgrade to future Ubuntu releases. The Mythbuntu site asserts new versions will be released along side normal Ubuntu releases... KnoppMyth has been a wonderful package, but the upgrade process has always been a bit messy.

So what's this mean? My HTPC will be out of service for a couple (possibly several) days. Friends won't be happy that videos and MP3s aren't being served, but they'll have to wait until the revamp is complete. I'll be adding a "new," DVD burner to the box in order to utilize the MythArchive plugin that I've never actually used. I'll also be connecting the HTPC to my new Sony SXRD KDS50-2020 HDTV. One of the reasons for the revamp is because of the problems I had with HDTV support in my KnoppMyth distro. I really hope this may solve the problem, or at least make it a bit easier to solve. I had hell of a time trying to upgrade my Nvidia drivers for my FX5200 in KnoppMyth.

Wish me luck!

Well, I saved myself a shit-ton of time last night by being a little patient, unlike my usual self. My PVR150 remote control was completely unresponsive, not just within MythTV, but even using irw to troubleshoot the problem. I was receiving no IR signal at all! I tried restarting all lirc/lircd processes, re-compiling lirc-0.8.2, and fighting with some IR cables, all to no avail. No lirc settings were changed, but I had modified a few display settings (which should have had no effect on my IR device).

Moments away from installing the latest KnoppMyth build, I decided to re-seat the PVR150 card, just for the hell of it. I shut down the system, removed the card from the case and MythTV Setup, and restarted once again. I re-seated the card and re-applied my configuration with success. After reconnecting the IR cable(s) and trying it out, it finally worked! I'm not sure whether the mini-jack connector was grounding out on part of the case (which it could have been, considering how close the card & cable head are to the case edges), or whether the re-seat and re-configuration did the trick, but something fixed the problem. I'd certainly give re-seating a try, even before re-compiling lirc, if you're having hardware/software problems with lirc or your IR device.

Well, it had been a long time in the making, but my MythTV box (based on the Knoppmyth distro) has finally been tweaked to my satisfaction. The project originally began as an initiative to create a Digital Jukebox in place of the 5-Disc CD changer I had previously utilized, but it quickly turned into a more robust, versatile system that I now use for all of my home-media needs.