Hi.
I am currently considering using diskless clients for a MythTV video distribution system. KnoppMyth would be used for the server, and the clients would ideally be running a version of Knoppix as well.
The clients that would be diskless would have identical hardware inside them (EPIA ME-6000 mobos with silent PSUs). The client machines would also be 'sealed-box' PCs, using a large LCD monitor for the output and an ATI Remote Wonder as the input device. (if someone can tell me how to make this remote control able to switch the machine on from cold, if it cannot do this already...). I will also use a standard keyboard and USB mouse when configuring the clients for the first time.
The client machines, when built, would be hidden away to prevent tampering and to create an aesthetic look. I would consider adding an external DVD drive to allow DVDs to be played and music CDs to be used, but this would have to be separate from the main system unit. If I was to implement an external DVD drive for each of the client machines, which one would you lot suggest? I know various models can be slowed down permanently (by using a utility that manipulates the firmware... Pioneer certainly offer this for their drives).
Basically I need to know:
a) How do I configure the KnoppMyth server to support diskless clients (using PXE)?
b) How do I configure a Remote Wonder for use in Linux, for use as an input device for MythTV and make it capable of controlling the 'power button' functions of the PC?
c) How should I go about connecting up a DVD drive as an external device? It should be as quiet as possible (whether by default or by modification)
d) Can anyone suggest how to make MythTV load on startup and enable automatic logon?

I would prefer the main boot files to be read-only on the server, and only allow writing on the 'home' folder. (Basically make it run as though it was on a CD). This will hopefully prevent any problems from arising out of people fiddling (namely my brother and dad...)

Also, can anyone shed any light on the best tuner cards to use for the server? I am considering using three or four tuner cards. Analogue terrestrial transmissions are due to cease in 2006, and as the house is already wired up for digital satellite (and digital terrestrial), I would like to take advantage of these. I know that the satellite option will produce the best picture, and possibly make set-up easier (as digital terrestrial is proprietary to Europe, apparently... thereby suggesting that more developers will have written support for digital satellite tuner cards), but they also cost almost twice as much for the tuner cards! As I am using so many tuners, I will need cards that keep the signal in digital form and write the signal directly to disk as MPEG2. (The EPIA ME-6000 mobos in the client machines have MPEG2 hardware acceleration... does anyone know if Linux drivers exist, and if so, are they included in Knoppix?)

Many thanks,
Simon