MythTV for Linux

MythTV is a Free Open Source software digital video recorder (DVR) project distributed under the terms of the GNU GPL. It has been under heavy development since 2002, and now contains most features one would expect from a good DVR. It is a great alternative to TiVo and can easily be deployed by a Novice on a PC or Mac. Combining MythTV, Linux (or Mac) and your favorite hardware, you can have a powerful Subscription Free Digital Video Recorder.

Just a few MythTV features :

• Pause live TV
• Schedule programs to record
• Watch one program while recording another
• Manage your digital library of music and video

(new features are being added all the time. MythTV does far more than what will be covered here.)

MythTV is not a device. MythTV is not an Operating System. MythTV is software that runs under Linux or Macintosh.

You can buy a prebuilt DVR already running MythTV and use it as a TiVo like device without having any knowledge of Linux or the underlying operating system. Several companies sell MythTV based devices.

topics to add to this wiki page

- mythmote - android app

MythTV's MySQL Database

Look for 'mythconverg' in your MySQL database. The mythconverg database is used by MythTV.

• /var/lib/mysql/mythconverg/

Connect to MySQL from command line

mysql -p mythconverg
describe channel;
select * from channel;

and so on. Those are just some examples. Knowledge of SQL language necessary. Warning: Messing around the mythconverg database can wipe out your entire MythTV installation.

From the command line you can make a copy of the mythconverg database to be used for analysis and experimentation without the risk of impacting the live database.

cp -pr /var/lib/mysql/mythconverg/* /var/lib/mysql/mythconvergcopy/

troubleshoot

mythweb - no frontends selected

error: Mythweb finds no remote controllable frontends

The common cause of this is lack of an entry in /etc/hosts for the IP address of the mythtv BE hostname. Make one for the loopback and for the IP. Backend IP needs to be static.

scheduled recording doesn't show in Media Library / Recordings

Sometimes happens when user is watching the program even though it was scheduled to record, and specifically if the user pauses livetv during that time - also when the same tuner is being used to record as the user is watching, or on a single tuner system.

Online Resources

• MythTV, Open Source DVR - the Official MythTV web site.

• MythTV Digital Tuner Cards reference
• mythtv.org forum

• Searchable Mailing List Archive - many users have been helped installing and using MythTV though advice given on the MythTV mailing list. This is a searchable archive you can use to find answers from questions already asked and problems solved.
• MythTV Community Forum - Although there is no official MythTV forum, this is the most widely used community in web format. Many users prefer this to the old mail list format.