[mythtv-users] MythTV as a retail product

[daryl faulds]

Hi,

Maybe I can help move this topic ahead, I'll snip and
add to you post:

mpgordon at comcast.net wrote:

In the past few days the excitement to bring the
MythTV application to a wider audience has increased
with discussion about the ability to deliver MythTV as
a retail product. MythTV is a great product and the
developers should be proud of their creation. 

I guess what I am trying to say is that the current
development environment is informal and is not
structured to support a successful business model. I
am not suggesting that the current model is wrong all
I am saying is that the model is not structured for a
business environment even for open source standards. 

I too have entertained the idea of starting a business
based on bring the MythTV product to the retail
market. Putting aside the initial investment capital
require to establish a successful business (small or
large) the following are some of my observations. 

A team of individual would be required to define a
well though out business plan that must include the
following:

· Who is the customer? What market will the business
try to capture, high-end customer or lower end
customers.

I am not sure. The market may include hobbyists and
high-end customers. But without some work I am not
convinced there is any market at all. There is quite a
lot of competition already in time-shifting of content
(BeyondTV, SageTV, TiVo, Replayer, Hauppauge
WinTV2000, PVR cable boxes and VOD).

· Once the customer has been identified, what are the
customer requirements? MythTV is packed with lots of
really great features but are these features really
what the customer wants? For example mythgames is a
nice feature but do customers really want to
intergrate their gaming system with their HTPC,
especially when you can buy a Playstation for ~$150
that can support a variety of games (Action, sport,
etc).

As was noted in the posts on the topic, some of the
desirable features have intellectual property rights
issues. CSS is just one of them.

· The team will have to deliver one or two features
that will distinguish MythTV from other companies like
Tivo. These features would fill a want of the customer
as well as being useful to targeted customer.

Unfortunately, the feature that may distinguish MythTV
is that it won't work for the average user. 
 
· Understanding the customer will allow the team to
identify the appropriate hardware requirements.

The hardware needs of MythTV are pretty minimal as
long as one stays with the hardware encoders. Mostly a
user would want something that is quiet and small.
 
· Understanding the customer will allow the team to
put together an appropriate support model. Customers
will require a certain level of support for the
product; no support is not an option in any business
model.

That's why the classes idea was raised. Tough thing
with that model is you have to teach linux as well as
MythTV. Pretty daunting to me.

· A development plan needs to be put in place to
refine those features that will be included in the
product’s first software release. I am not saying that
MythTV is not refined but there are bugs and issues
that would not be acceptable to the average customer.
A bug tool needs to be used to track issues and
outstanding bugs.

That's the support aspect raising its head again.

· The team will be require to put together a Quality
Assurance test plan to not only make sure that that
the product meets the customers requirements but also
to ensure that the product is stable.

Here is the Achilles heel of MythTV. There is
currently a need to scrape the TV listings off other's
Web sites, Zap2it for example. Without control of the
listings and the potential for real profit from that
control, the product fails.
 
· The product needs to be marketed, produced and
delivered to the customer. 

The team of individual need to be committed to the
business and focused (resisting temptations to feature
creep). 

It is my opinion that the team is not required to be
centralized to a single geographical location.

Probably better if it were not centralized.

My point of this post is that starting a business
based on a MythTV product is more than message board
discussion, simple organization and buying a bunch of
PCs to create a successful business. The market needs
to be analyzed and business goals set. Much of the
discussions have been focused on HW and how to
minimize the cost of the MythTV product and maximize
profit (HW costs are important). One aspect of the
system that is being overlooked is the software, does
it fit the targeted customers requirements and
stability expectations? 

If there are others that share my same ideas and
thoughts and wish to discuss further feel free to post
discussion or send me a private e-mail.

I would happy to respond and discuss further. I have
had some experience in putting tech projects in place.
IN my opinion MythTV has an advantage in that it is a
good product and could be developed as a win-win for
everyone involved. For now it is probably good to keep
any discussions very open. At a minimum Isaac Richards
needs to see and put in his licks.

Daryl


	
		
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