[mythtv-users] Voom integration

[John Sturgeon]

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Kyle Rose wrote:

| I sent VOOM (the high-def satellite network) an email requesting
| information about integrating their receivers with MythTV.  As
| expected, they gave the usual stock response about their own (no
| doubt proprietary and DRM'ed-up) DVR to be available sometime later
| this year, something I am of course not interested in at all.
| Perhaps some of you can hammer them with similar requests so we can
| get at least one reasonable high-def feed from a US satellite
| provider.
|
| Cheers, Kyle
|
|
| Here's what I sent (approximately):
|
| As the new owner of an HDTV with little in the way of local
| programming, I am interested in your service: however, I would
| consider this only if I can integrate your receiver with my
| Linux-based MythTV (www.mythtv.org) DVR/media center setup.  I am a
|  developer who is interested in contributing time to getting your
| receivers to work with MythTV, but only if the receiver can give me
|  access to unencrypted high-def ATSC/QAM/other streams through a
| firewire or USB port.  Even better would be if your receiver could
| accept an ATSC/QAM stream in the other direction and decode it to
| DVI/component video, so the MythTV box would not need to spend CPU
| cycles decoding compressed video.  Please let me know if you are
| interested in helping me pursue this.
|
|
| And here's their response:
|
| Thank you for contacting VOOM. While our current receiver will not
| be compatible with your DVR/Media center setup, we do have a new
| feature of VOOM coming out this Summer. The latest advancement from
| Rainbow DBS will be the rollout of our VOOM HD Home Media Network,
| expected this year. Built specifically for VOOM this groundbreaking
| service will feature an HD digital video recorder [DVR] that can
| record and playback HD video programming in its intended format.
| For VOOM customers, a whole house solution will be achieved when
| this HDTV-capable DVR is combined with the VOOM HD Home Media
| Network's networking capabilities, which will allow customers to
| link televisions, computers and other entertainment devices so that
| programming, music and photos can be enjoyed throughout the house.
| Additional key features of the VOOM HD Home Media Network will
| include: - Standard DVR functionality: stop, start, rewind and
| fast-forward at the touch of a button. - Separate television
| control: pause and rewind a program on one television, while
| continuing to watch the same program on another television. -
| Record and play - whenever: record a program in one room and play
| it in another, at any time. - "Follow Me": pause a television
| program in one room and then continue watching the same program in
| another room. - Content organization: organize recorded content in
| folders and set parental controls that download automatically to
| each television in the house. - Music and photos: upload both music
| and photos from a computer, which can then be managed through
| on-screen television menus and enjoyed anywhere in the house. If
| you have any further questions please give us a call at
| 1-800-GET-VOOM and once again thank you for contacting VOOM - HDTV
| Delivered!
|
I think what people are going to have to keep in mind is that whenever
you're dealing with a third-party HDTV receiver, ultimately (if the
current FCC proposals prevail), the broadcast flag is going to
restrict the content that will be available for MythTV to record.  The
only way that I know of to receive HDTV content, and record it, now
and *in the future* (that's the operative part of that sentence) is to
capture it OTA with a PC capture card, and currently, the only capture
card going that works in Linux is the pcHDTV HD-2000.  Get it while it
lasts folks.

- --
John <><


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