[mythtv-users] MythTV and BitTorrent?

Dewey Smolka dsmolka at gmail.com
Fri Jul 18 05:42:27 UTC 2008


On Thu, Jul 17, 2008 at 11:42 PM, Will <will at st0rage.org> wrote:
> You don't seem to differentiate between copyrighted works and things
> that are public.

Neither do Hollywood attorneys.

I suspect my opinions on what ought to be considered fair use are very
close to yours. But neither I nor the community at large is willing to
put the MythTV project at risk to fight that battle.

> Do you suggest that MythTV no longer allow users to record shows just in
> case? ;)

No. I suggest anyone using MythTV to participate in the community to
improve the capabilities and flexibilities in time shifting and/or
format shifting legally acquired content.

I also suggest users refrain from discussing on official forums the
ways and means of activities that allow the suspicion of less than
legal behavior.

> Sites like http://www.legaltorrents.com/ are useful, and I find it
> surprising that MythTV would 'strongly discourage' the use of this
> useful open source protocol.

I don't disagree that BT is an extremely useful and powerful tool. And
I don't think you'll find that Myth discourages in any way your use of
the protocol for whatever reason.

Nobody is telling you not to enjoy all the wonderful content on
legaltorrents, and nobody is going to inquire about or censure you on
your Father Ted collection (which mysteriously has the station
insignia of a channel not available at your home).

Further, nobody is telling you that you can't develop your own code to
integrate legaltorrents into your Mythtv system.

The list owner, however, has made it clear that discussion of
integrating BT into Myth is not welcome on this list, and most of us
here respect that wish and understand perfectly why it is a valid
concern.


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list