This is a brief reference on how I setup MythTV for local HDTV broadcast stations (it works the same for unencrypted cable channels)
- install Debian (or Ubuntu)
- since this is just the backend a slow computer works well, mine is a 866 Mhz P3
- buy a HDHomeRun device from silicondust.com
- they also provides detailed instructions
- connect a UHF antenna (8vsb) or connect it to cable (qam256)
- add debian-multimedia to your /etc/apt/sources.list (not needed on Ubuntu)
- deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org stable main
- install mythtv
- aptitude install mythtv-backend
- aptitude install mythtv-backend
- get an account with Schedules Direct
- setup the MythTV backend
- /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend stop
- su - mythtv
- mythtv-setup
- tell mythtv to use the local IP address so that it works for frontends on other hosts
- comment out bind-address in /etc/mysql/my.conf to let mysql talk to frontends on other hosts
- For a headless backend you can run the mythtv-setup over ssh to a remote X-windows system like X11 on a Mac or Linux desktop
- ssh -Y mythbackend-box
- su -
- /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend stop
- chmod a+r /home/username/.Xauthority
- su - mythtv
- export DISPLAY=localhost:10.0;export XAUTHORITY=/home/username/.Xauthority
- mythtv-setup -O Theme=blue -O Style=Windows -O ThemePainter=opengl --geometry 800x600+20+20
- mythfilldatabase
- /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend start
- ssh -Y mythbackend-box
- /etc/init.d/mythtv-backend stop
- install MythFrontend on a Mac (needs > 1.6 Ghz CoreDuo CPU for HDTV playback)
That's it! Now have fun getting to know your new MythTV software.