Linux.com :: Three MythTV Linux distros compared: My Series 1 TiVo is getting old, so I am planning an escape route based on MythTV, a free software system that turns an old computer into a personal video recorder. This week I tested three MythTV-specific Linux distributions: KnoppMyth, MythDora, and MythBuntu. I found MythDora the best overall fit for my needs -- but there are important distinctions between the three that may lead you to a different decision.
My curiosity toward MythTV-specific distros was touched off by MythBuntu's latest release earlier this month, Public Alpha 3. I run Ubuntu on my primary desktop machine, and had a relatively painless experience installing MythTV on it courtesy of the official repositories. Only while waiting for the MythBuntu ISO image to download did I decide to check out its competition.
MythBuntu Public Alpha 3 is based on development builds of Ubuntu 7.10 "Gutsy Gibbon," and provides users with MythTV version 0.20.1. It is available as a 423MB ISO image via BitTorrent download.
MythDora 4 is built on top of Fedora Core 6, also providing MythTV 0.20.1, and is available (via direct download only) as a 1.0GB DVD ISO image or as two CD-sized ISO images.
KnoppMyth R5F1 is built from scratch using pieces of Knoppix 5.0 and Debian Sid; it comes with a slightly older version of MythTV -- a patched version of 0.20 -- and is available through BitTorrent as a 584MB ISO.
I tested all three distros on two configurations: an Intel-based test machine with both analog and digital capture cards, and a VMware virtual machine through which I captured the lovely screenshots littered about this page.
Once you burn a disc and pop it into the optical drive, all three contestants follow the same basic playbook: install the operating system, set up MythTV's back end, then launch the MythTV front end. But, as always, the devil's in the details.