Hardware requirements

[mwild]

What hardware would be best for a Linux version of SageTV to operate most like a TIVO (i.e., directly connected to a TV)?

Specific questions I have are the following:
1. How do I choose a video card with TV out that will work well under Linux.
2. Can I operate the system via TV or will I need a separate monitor?
3. What are the audio issues (connections needed)?
4. Would I be better off building a server and getting media extender?

I have installed Linux on 386 before and SageTV on Windows XP, but still a relative novice at both. My wife has bought in to using SageTV on a PC, so I am ready to build a dedicated box that will work with TV as well as PCs.

Thanks

[GbrNole]

i'd be more inclined to go with option #4

the great thing about using windows to install sage is that video drivers and codecs are better developed in a windows environment, however the media extenders level that playing field and if the future HD extender can be as painless as the MVP is now then i'm all for a linux install.

[Arawak]

You don't need much, really.

I have run both the server and client on a Athlon 2400 with 500megs RAM, and a low end NVidia card with an svideo tv-out for watching TV.

I would buy a good low profile case that works well for a HTPC system, and then get a pretty basic P4 class CPU/motherboard. I suspect that a dual core might be largely wasted on this application, so I'd stick with a single core CPU. Audio depends on how much of an audiophile you are are... I find the audio jack of my motherboard's builtin sound card to be perfectly acceptable.

Arawak