[mythtv-users] MythTV presentation at WSFII

Dewey Smolka dsmolka at gmail.com
Mon Oct 3 03:51:32 UTC 2005


Nice job, Mike.

I think you hit on a number of great points, especially the DRM and
the fact that a person can build a Myth box out of parts that would
otherwise be thrown away. I built my first one on an AMD K-6 2 -- not
a very functional system but I just wanted to prove to myself that I
could get it running and see how it worked before I started investing
in hardware. My current box is a P3 700, and rock-solid.

I also agree that the time you had was not nearly enough to really
drill into what Myth is and why we get so excited over it. That being
said, everything you mentioned was important, and nothing you said was
unimportant, and that is a whole lot more than 95% of presentations
that I've sat through.

I was a bit curious though when you mentioned businesses selling
pre-built Myth systems and Myth accessories. I've seen systems for
sale on ebay and such, and have seen some pretty poorly disguised Myth
systems sold through dodgy web sites, but am unaware of any
(legitimate) company making a real go at it.

Selling and servicing Myth systems is something I've had in mind for a
while, but I've been put off by a number of concerns. One of the
larger problems -- program data -- has been addressed by LxM, but I'm
still terrified of running into IP issues.

Namely, whatever my opinion, DMCA is Federal Law here in the Land of
the Free (TM), and Myth is full of potential violations. Yes, I know
it's ridiculous, but there's no way (that I'm aware of, at least) to
play DVDs, archive DVDs, play or achive copy-protected non-CDs, or
record protected broadcast content on Linux without violating this
law. In addition, because of the recent Grokster decision, a seller of
Myth could potentially be held liable if someone records a TV show
with a Myth and then sticks it on the internet.

While much of this is specific to the US, I'm just wonderin g if you
know how people are getting around this or protecting themselves from
it. I have absolute confidence that Myth would win if these things
were ever tried in court, but I don't have the time or money to be the
test case.

Anyway, I didn't mean to ramble on at you, but just to congratulate
you on a job well done.


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