[mythtv-users] Advice please: school mythtv project

[Nick Rout]

On Wed, Apr 28, 2010 at 2:05 PM, Phil Wild <philwild at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I have built a mythtv system for my children's primary school.
>
> Each classroom currently has projector/interactive whiteboard as the
> display device. Unfortunately, everything is MS Windows based and
> there is no way of changing that. I have had a play around with xbmc
> and the windows port of mythtv and both are not ideal so I have
> decided not to use a frontend.
>
> I have a backend running on a small PC with 1TB of disk storage and a
> Nova-T 500 dual DVB-T card installed.
>
> I have modified the css files under mythweb to remove all icons/menu
> options for settings (just using visibility: hidden), mythvideo, etc
> etc so that the only functionality available within mythweb is
> recording and viewing recordings. Mythweb is secured so that only the
> teachers can get into it. Once in however, anyone can set up recording
> schedules or delete recordings. You can still get into the guts of
> mythweb if you know the full URL (e.g. mythweb/settings etc).
>
> The teachers (once instructed how) will be able to record TV via
> mythweb, then display it in their classrooms using the streaming
> capability of mythweb and VLC under MS Windows.
>
> All recordings are automatically commflagged and if all goes well with
> some samples (I am in Australia) I may switch on automatic transcoding
> with removal of the commercials (haven't quite figured out how to do
> this yet but guessing it is all in the wiki). As vlc is being used, I
> am guessing that I should probably de-interlace as part of the
> transcoding process. Is this the best way?
>
> And now the questions...
>
> Has anyone done something similar and if so, what was the reaction
> within the school? Was it well received and used?
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions on further improvements to what I am
> doing, or ideas towards something better than myth for this if it even
> exists?


My first thoughts are on legality. Then again IAAL. In NZ law, which
may be different in Oz, it is only legal for A to time-shift for "A's
personal use or the personal use of a member of the household in which
A lives or both"