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MythTV Allows Multiple Front-Ends On Wide Range of Platforms
As the DVR becomes a much more pervasive performer in home theater setups, the level of excellence demanded by the general consumer seems to continue to rise. The open source project MythTV has been in this arena for quite a while, and now offers the ability to have multiple front-ends on your MythTV install on a wide range of different platforms. Able to run on Windows XP, Vista, Xbox, and even an Apple iPod, the new flexibility is sure to interest many consumers (and many competitors).
Anyone familiar with MythTV knows that it can use multiple front ends. A port to Windows or Mac sounds good because the monopoly makes some hardware difficult to use. It's not such a great idea if you want control of your media.
To the MythTV dev team. Thanks for the sweet product. It wasn't a 1 click install-setup, but it was well worth the time. MythTV makes watching tv bearable, sometimes useful. (especially now that Science channel is on basic cable)
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
MythTV doesn't enforce any DRM of any kind like the broadcast flag. Anybody familiar with MythTV knows that....
This space is not for rent.
MythTV is growing increasingly irrelevant
You would be wrong about that. The same jail the media conglomerates would like to keep you in confounds all DVR dev's. That's why an IR Blaster is important. It takes care of all that for you. Yeah, there's some compromises to piping in the video from the back of the cable box, but I just want to watch it at a convenient time so a little down-scaling doesn't bother me one bit.
And if HDMI becomes the standard
Most of you have only yourselves to blame for this because the vast majority are gladly buying into HDMI. VGA works good, digital-out works best. And guess what? No drm!!
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
Calling MythTV impractical and irrelevant is overly pessimistic. In the digital cable, MythTV isn't very useful; however for those of us who use analog cable (which will be the majority of Americans for a while), MythTV does have some life left. Just like VHS isn't dead as it is being slowly phased out over the next decade. Maybe there will be some progress made in the next few years.
As for me, I don't plan on getting digital cable anytime soon because I don't plan on getting an HD TV soon. Yeah HD is great but I'm waiting until they settle on a few things. First it was 720p, then 1080i, then 1080p for the sets. The resolutions that are recorded vary between the three and some broadcasts are just upconverted and not recorded in HD at all. For port connections, there was component, then DVI, then HDMI. I'm pretty sure that some people like my parents and grandparents have not plans on getting with the HD revolution either.
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
MythTV also works fine in the non-US parts of the world where DVB-T is pretty much standard for digital terrestrial broadcasts.
I have never used MCE nor Tivo but I have used the cable companies DVR and now I have MythTV. To be honest, it isn't easy enough yet for everyone to install but it is getting easier. If you are looking for a all-in-one setup, it is a lot easier than before with projects like MythDora and KnoppMyth. Why I picked MythTV over a simple DVR was the fact that I have wanted a network, and I currently have 4 clients and one server with ability to record 4 shows simultaneously. I didn't look at MCE because I didn't think it had this capability. Has there been any progress in this area?
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
The problem with Tivo is that they control the box, you don't.
When THEY want to remove functionality (e.g. 30 second instant skip) THEY just do so.
When THEY decide you can't record this particular program THEY simply prevent you from recording it.
When THEY decide that you can't keep a recorded program longer than a handful of hours THEY delete it for you.
If you feel that makes Tivo a better unit then I respectfully disagree. I find that behavior far more distasteful than a system that's a bit harder to use but works the way I want it to.
And the most interesting part of this is that you always had these rights with VCR's. Only with DVR are these freedoms being chipped away one bit at a time, and AFTER you've bought the d@mn Tivo box!
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
In the digital cable, MythTV isn't very useful; however for those of us who use analog cable (which will be the majority of Americans for a while), MythTV does have some life left.
So basically you pay the cable company to get the channels you can get over the air? In my area, there's just over two dozen channels left on analog cable - the local networks, a few pbs channels, and a handful channels that nobody cares about (QVC, HSN, a couple of Spanish channels - not the big two of Univision and Telemundo, the local gov't channels, etc.). If I went OTA, I could actually get a few channels I couldn't get from cable (granted, most of those are networks from a different city, but still).
Just like VHS isn't dead as it is being slowly phased out over the next decade.
Have you been living in a cave for the last couple of years? New releases are not put out on VHS anymore. Most studios stopped completely in 2006 after a phase-out and almost all the rest have stopped since. The only thing left for VHS is home recording and films that are now completely out of print (no new VHS being produced and not released on DVD).
Personally, I'm not getting into the HD craze for the foreseeable future, either, but I'm also not stuck in the 90s.
End of line..
First it was 720p, then 1080i, then 1080p for the sets.
And given that the highest broadcast resolution is 1080i, and has been specified as such for at least a decade, do you expect this trend to continue?
For port connections, there was component, then DVI, then HDMI.
It's not as if they took away the older ones when they added the new ones.
Breakfast served all day!
Well Jack Valenti's corpse, maybe. Unfortunately the senator from disney is still in office.
If I ran for congress, I would never win as my platform would be to roll back copyrights to 15 years and gut the patent system.
Let people innovate, for crying out loud.
The entertainment industry has been dragged kicking and screaming from one bucket of money to the next.
CDs will kill the Music industry! Billions of dollars later...
VCRS will kill us! Billions of dollars later...
DVDS will ruin the movie industry! Many, many more Billions of dollars later...
repeat ad nauseum
And to the cens0r below. I record them on the Charter DVR and then move them to the computer. HD and everything.
So, the only extra thing you need to be able to use your home-rolled HD DVR is an HD DVR from your cable company. Gotcha.
This guy's the limit!