Mythbuntu 8.04 Release Notes

Features

  • Frontend can be run from the live CD
  • Complete installations(Backend, Frontend, Backend/Frontend, etc)
  • Xfce4 Desktop Environment
  • Easily upgrade from Ubuntu Hardy to Mythbuntu
  • Custom Mythbuntu MythTV theme
  • GUI setup of LIRC
  • Setup MythTV optimizations through MCC
  • Diskless Server setup through MCC

Upgrade notes

People upgrading from earlier Mythbuntu/Ubuntu releases should read the Upgrade Notes.

Changes from Mythbuntu 8.04 RC

No major changes have taken place between the Release Candidate and the Final Release.

Changes from Mythbuntu 7.10

Major changes:

  • MythTV 0.21
  • Diskless Server
  • New Mythbuntu Frontend theme
  • New Website theme

MythTV improvements:

Themes:

  • All themes are modularized into their own packages, so systems can be further streamlined
  • Community themes. All of Justin H.'s wonderful themes have been included by default.

Mythbuntu Control Centre:

  • A new diskless tab was added to MCC where you can create images for diskless clients and maintain them. Make sure to check out the documentation for this feature on mythbuntu.org.
  • Tweaks for RTC video timing and the IVTV driver were added to MCC. You can now activate these via the Advanced tab in MCC.

LIRC:

  • Transmitter selection support is available for all devices but the PVR-150.
  • Add support for include statements in auto-generated lircrc files. It is now possible to include a reference to a customized configuration file when using mythbuntu-lirc-generator
  • Use include statements for remote configuration files to nicely organize /etc/lirc/lircd.conf
  • Customizable options for remotes which are not included.
  • DKMS support. If you have modules that get upgraded after 8.04 comes out, you can patch them via lirc-modules-source manually, or grab a lirc-modules-source from a future Ubuntu/Mythbuntu testing release and simply install it without any manual patching necessary.

Gfxboot:

  • We have merged our installer menu with the Ubuntu installer menu. This means that we now have an option for "Only Ubiquity". This lets you boot right into the installer.

Totem:

  • Totem can speak MythTV now for playback. Install it from Hardy and activate the MythTV plugin.

Windows Frontend Installer:

  • MythTV Player 0.4.2 is included on the live disk. You can use this player to access your MythTV content from windows. For more information see the MythTV Player website.

Minimum System Requirements:

  • 1.0 GHz x86 or x86_64 Processor
  • 192 MB of system memory (RAM)
  • 2 GB of disk space (Frontend Role)
  • 20 GB of disk space (Backend Role)
  • Graphics card capable of 1024x768 resolution
  • Supported TV Tuner Card (Backend Role)

Recommended System Requirements:

  • 2.0 Ghz x86 or x86_64 Processor*
  • 1024 MB of system memory (RAM)
  • 10 GB disk space (Frontend Role)
  • 80 GB+ disk space (Backend Role)**
  • nVidia 128MB Graphics Card w/ TV-Out or equivalent***
  • Supported TV Tuner Card (Backend Role)

* A 3.0 Ghz processor is recommended for frontend installations using HD video due to the increased load upon decoding. A lower end processor can be used however with multiple functions on a single machine (ie - Frontend/Backend Install) it is not recommended. For h.264 HDTV broadcasts at least a 2GHz dual core cpu is required

** 80 GB of disk space allows approx 70 GB of usable space for media. However with HD Format it is recommended to use 160 GB HDD or larger.

*** Although nVidia is recommended, ATI, VIA, or Intel graphics cards are supported and will work. Currently, nVidia provides a higher level of support. Also the graphics recommendation is based on HDTV capable output processing.

Note: A good estimate for converting hard disk space to hours of recordings are as follows:

  • Standard Definition (Analog) 2.2 GB / Hour
  • High Definition (HDTV) 7 GB / Hour

Please report any bugs through Launchpad and seek support via the Mythbuntu forums.