I am a Linux Newbi and I have pretty much given up trying to get DVR/PVR working on my Linux Desktop.

SageTV was bought out by google and I can't find any Linux desktop version to replace it.

BeyondTV, what I am using on the Windows side, doesn't appear to be available in a Linux version.

And, MythTV completely stumped me.

I am not interested in all the bells and whistles.

I need step by step instructions as to how to to get from initial install to seeing Live TV with the Tuner card (ATI Radeon 9200 Series Native Driver only), Then I want to download a TV Guide and be able to set up recordings.

A couple of questions for you:
1) What distribution are you using? (You profile says Ubuntu 11.04, but I don't like to assume.)
2) Is the machine going to be a backend only (i.e. just the recording server), a separate backend and frontend (i.e. client viewer only), or both a backend and a frontend?
3) Can you confirm that the Radeon 9200 has a TV tuner (maybe the output of lspci)? I googled but just came up with a video card only version, which will only allow output, not input for recording.

Beyond that, I googled and found this for Ubuntu (note there is a "Part 2" link at the bottom).

Also, the Mythtv Wiki is pretty helpful. Anyway, I installed a frontend and backend on the same machine (so no network setup stuff) and the process went something like a) install mythtv and its dependencies, b) run /usr/bin/mythtv-setup, c) get a subscription to Schedules Direct (which provides TV Guide information).

Another option would be to download and install a Mythtv specific distro like Mythdora, Mythbuntu, or LinHES (Formerly known as KnoppMyth).

I am not quite sure what is required to do what I want...

Yes, I am using Ubuntu 11.04

The box is a Stand-Alone Desktop sitting behind the HD TV. It should do it all.

The 9200 series came with and without Tuner Chips. The Windows Catalyst says its RV280 256MB and the 9250 version. The Linux side just says it's a 9200.

I no longer have the box but apparently it was part of the "All-In-Wonder" series.

I also found the wiki... But, as I alluded to I have information overload and a lot of raw data.

Installing the program isn't that hard.

Configuring it, that's another story.

Figuring out where all the plaes to tweak and how to tweak them is a lot harder for an old fart who is spoiled by Windows.

Try following the Ubuntu specific guide I linked to. If you run into an issue, come back and specify what the error was and at what step. I'm happy to help walk you through this. But I can't really give you a step by step process any better than what is in that link.

Do you know if your radeon card is working properly (i.e. displaying graphics to the TV and recording video)? You can check the record function by hooking up the cable or satellite signal, then just do cat /dev/video0 > test.mpg. Hit CTRL+C to cancel the recording after 20 seconds or so. Then open it with a media player like mplayer and you should get a recording of whatever channel the tuner was set to.

Also, can you post here the output of lspci and cat /var/log/syslog?

Will check when I get home.

Most Python and Linux sites are blocked at work.

At least it seems that the ones with the promising comments are.