===== MythTV on FreeBSD =====

===== Introduction =====

[[http://www.mythtv.org/|MythTV]] is an open source PVR software project.

It is well-known in the Linux world as a complex application with many dependencies, difficult to install.  The %%FreeBSD%% ports system simplifies much of the process, but there remain components that must be set up manually.  This page attempts to walk you through the tough parts.

===== Hardware =====

%%MythTV%% can work with %%HDHomeRun%% ethernet connected tuners from Silicon Dust.  They are simple to set up and work well.

%%MythTV%% is also designed to utilize V4L to access video input devices (encoders, tuners). At this time %%MythTV%% works best with USB DVB-S/C/T cards supported by ''%%multimedia/webcamd%%'' because webcamd provides an V4L userland implementation. See [[/WebcamCompat]] for a list of known working cards but any DVB card supported by webcamd should work fine in %%MythTV%%.
There are also drivers available for Hauppauge cards (''%%multimedia/pvr250%%'' and ''%%multimedia/pvrxxx%%'') but they only provide a non standard driver interface which does not work with newer %%MythTV%% versions >= 0.23.

Have a look at [[/HTPC]] for a list of all DVB drivers.

===== Dependencies =====

%%MythTV%% is flexible and modular which gives you the possibility to separate frontend and backend and have them on different machines.

**Frontend:** ''%%multimedia/mythtv-frontend%%''
  * X Server (ideally using a video card that supports %%XvMC%%)
  * LIRC-compatible remote (optional)
**Backend:** ''%%multimedia/mythtv%%'' (also requires an X-Server and monitor for the Setup or use display forwarding)
  * %%MySQL%%
  * Tuner (optional)
  * Storage for recordings (optional)

===== Setup =====

Install %%MythTV%% from the port:

<code>
# cd /usr/ports/multimedia/mythtv
# make install
</code>

Setup the mythtv database:

<code>
# mysql -uroot -p < /usr/local/share/mythtv/database/mc.sql
</code>

Configure the backend:

<code>
# mythtv-setup
</code>

Start the backend:

<code>
# echo 'mythbackend_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
# /usr/local/etc/rc.d/mythbackend start
</code>

===== MythTV on PC-BSD =====

If you prefer an better out of the box experience you should give [[http://www.pcbsd.org|PC-BSD]] a try because they have a %%MythTV%% PBI with an install script.

See: http://wiki.pcbsd.org/index.php/MythTV