Subj : Slimmed down Debian
To   : Ky Moffet
From : Barry Martin
Date : Mon Aug 26 2019 10:05:00


Hi Ky!

 > I semi-recall the Ubuntu folks were blaming the problems on Gnome, so
 > with 18.04 they started using KDE.  ...Well, apparently I had that
 > wrong: "Ubuntu 18.04: Unity is gone, GNOME is back-and Ubuntu has never
 > been better"
 KM> Yeah, Unity was not well-received. Then again, Gnome3 is why
 KM> Cinnamon and Mate exist.

What some people don't like others do like.  ...I had to install Gnome
Tweak Tools on the systems running Ubuntu 18.04 because the 'new way' is
just to have a clock displaying the hours and minutes.  Admittedly few 
people need the accuracy of seconds but I find their display handy to 
verify I didn't lock up something, or something huge just grabbed all 
the CPU cycles termporarily.



 > I'm running Ubuntu 18.04 on a few systems here, though I will admit
 > those systems are 'hefty': fast multi-core CPU, 8- and 16 GB of RAM,
 KM> How fast is fast? It chugged on a 3GHz quad-core. Haven't tried
 KM> it on the i7. (Amazingly, the Closet doesn't have anything
 KM> inbetween.)

This one has a AMD FX-8320 8-core @ 3500 MHz with 32 GB of RAM (in 
hindsight would have been fine with half that).  OS on a 250 GB SSD 
'cause I hate waiting for the thing to reboot when I did something 
stupid to cause a lockup or other issue.  Storage HDD is 3 TB.

The MythTV Server is an AMD FX-8300, 8-core, 3300 MHz with 16 GB RAM.  
Actually it started out with 32 GB but one stick was faulty which 
between that and me learning about GPT and IOMMU -- umm, provided a 
plethora of annoyances.  While waiting for the replacement RAM (only a 
few days!) I did get Ubuntu and MythTV installed and running; between 
seeing this system (with the FX-8320) monitoring the server (FX-8300) 
never getting anywhere close to 16 GB decided to leave the replacement 
RAM out and eventually use it elsewhere.



 > etc.  The test on older hardware will be starting shortly with an
 > upgrade project. I will admit to probably sticking with Ubuntu even if
 > the older systems are sluggish as their main function is to run MythTV,
 KM> Isn't MythTV defunct? (not that I'd care; I still run XP for
 KM> everyday!)

MythTV is alive and well -- just finished a project with a gentleman in
New Zealand to copy recordings from a old server to new (old databases
are not directly compatible with then new).

The Mythbuntu option has been discontinued.  Was an abbreviated version
of Ubuntu, just enough to let MythTV run.  Now it's a MythTV app added
to the OS.

MythDora was a competitor to MythTV several years ago.  That ended 
around ten years ago and I switched to MythTV.


 KM> If I were to set up a media server, I might look at Kodi.
 KM> https://kodi.tv/

I had looked at Kodi two or three (maybe three or four!) years ago and 
seemed too complicated: seemed had to go down through several seb-menu 
levels to get to the TV shows portion.  I wasn't too thrilled with that;
the other person using the system here would have never figured it out!


 > which once loaded seems to run properly on (up to a point) older
 > hardware.  Just easier for me to run a constant set: all the same OS.
 > Well, then there is the Raspberry Pi's!
 KM> Have you tried Rasbian? Debian for RPi.
 KM> https://raspbian.org/

Yup! :)  Actually had used an RPi 3 (B?) as a Frontend.  Because of 
antenna -- later found out more tuner -- issues was running two 
Backends: BE1 and BE2.  (The new/current one is BE3 -- isn't my naming 
convention clever?!)  Was having troubles with pixelation: sometimes one
Backend would have a high-loss recoding while the other was essentially
fine.  Antennae were about 10' apart but may have been enough to miss
the tree branch waving in the wind, record on a tuner bettwe suited to
that channel, and other variables.  So rather than moving our rumps to a
Frontend looking at the other Backend where we usually watched TV had a
computer looking at BE2 and the RPi looking at BE1 - flip source on the
TV.

New system - BE3 - was partially an expensive experiment.  I had read
the Hauppauge 1609 tuner was better at resolving varying signal issues
(so pixelation) but never found any specifics: microvoltage, signal
threshold levels, etc.  Everything was empirical.  Gee thanks: the old
tuners are supposed to work too.

Finally found some information which seemed to verify the 1609 tuner is
what I probably needed -- take deep breath and build new system.  Needed
one anyway.  ...Plugged the antenna input into the splitter for BE1's
tuners and test.  New system records "98%" while the old systems are
definitely less.  (Meaning there is a little bit of pixelation while the
other two have significantly more when is windy, etc.)

....There are 'flaws' in my reception setup which I can't do too much 
about.  Trees tower over the house.  Have to have the antennae in the 
Storage Area on the second floor -- we'll just say discussions to put 
outside where they belong were met coldly.



                        ¯                          ®
                        ¯   Barry_Martin_3@        ®
                        ¯                 @Q.COM   ®
                        ¯                          ®


.... Hot Date! Is an accomplished tv-watcher.
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