Re: Linux media server/PVR - What tuner? Soundcard?

Noozer wrote:
Looking at building a Linux based media PC/PVR. I'm currently using Windows MediaCenter 2005 with an ATI Theatre 550 based PCI TV tuner (harware encoding). I also have available a MSI TV@nywhere Master PCI card TV/Radio tuner (software encoder) and a USB 2.0, dual tuner Adaptec 3610 TV/Radio tuner.

Are any of these viable under Linux? Most likely will be running OpenSUSE 10.1.

What is the preferred hardware for a Linux based PVR?

For that sort of information http://www.linuxtv.org/ is a good starting point.

Also interested in hearing what sound cards work well. I've got a AuzenTech Xplosion! PCI soundcard (Support SUCKS - avoid at all costs) with optical output to my home theatre. This card does hardware Dolby Surround and DTS encoding on the fly. I don't see any Linux drivers on the Auzentech website.

The manufacturer's website is usually the last place to look for Linux drivers.

The card is based on the CMedia CMI8770 chipset.

Check http://www.alsa-project.org/ to see if that chipset is supported by the latest ALSA drivers. Note that ALSA is included with all current distributions, so you won't likely need to download the drivers from that site.
.