[mythtv-users] Is it going to get harder and harder to get the content we want in MythTV?

[Johnny Russ]

The recent posts about Blu-ray, and this announcement today from
Microsoft (Microsoft
PBDA platform<http://www.engadget.com/2008/09/12/microsofts-pbda-platform-makes-big-content-happy-should-make-t/>),
bring up the ominous feeling I have had for some time that it is going to
get more and more difficult to get the content I want in MythTV. I quote
from the link:

"In short, this system enables the "PC-TV hardware ecosystem to integrate
virtually any free or premium TV service into Windows Media Center," which
keeps content guardians ultra-stoked while giving consumers more choice when
it comes to TV tuning. Essentially, PBDA gives OEMs and tuner-makers the
ability to develop and ship wares for WMC "regardless of geographic location
or television standard."

I would rather not have the discussion turn into a Microsoft bashing
session, but I would rather like to know where people see MythTV going over
the next 10 or 15 years as the platforms for TV distribution go through the
changes we see coming. It seems to me that, excluding OTA content, all the
rest of the content is heading into protected, encrypted platforms. I have
never been pleased with the setup of recieving a digital signal, then
letting the cable box decode that to an analog signal, just so I can
re-encode it again. But it seems like even that will become more
problematic, rather than easier, as things move forward. Are MythTV users
always going to be stuck hacking various devices to get something half way
decent? Or is there any hope that MythTV could integrate into one of these
new delivery systems like Tru2Way, one of these MS PBDA cards, or whatever
it is that comes along?
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