[mythtv-users] IPad and mythtv.

[Nick Rout]

On Fri, May 28, 2010 at 12:33 AM, Phil Linttell
<phil.linttell at rogers.com> wrote:
>
>
> On 10-05-23 08:00 AM, mythtv-users-request at mythtv.org wrote:
>> Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 20:41:36 -0500
>> From: jedi <jedi at mishnet.org>
>> Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] IPad and mythtv.
>> To: Discussion about mythtv <mythtv-users at mythtv.org>
>>
>> On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 12:25:38PM +1000, Jean-Yves Avenard wrote:
>>
>>> > On 22 May 2010 04:55, jedi <jedi at mishnet.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> > >   Neglecting the fact that the iPad is locked down into Steves Walled
>>>> > > Garden, the iPad itself has some severe limitations. Without hacks and
>>>> > > workarounds, it's not really suitable as a "frontend" device. If it
>>>> > > could do BD streaming and handle MPEG2 and divx as well then it would
>>>> > > be another matter.
>>>> > >
>>>> > >   The shiny frontend is not quite enough.
>>> > You're very narrow minded here when it comes to technical solutions
>>> > around what the iPad supports.
>>>
>>     Of course I am. I want my devices to play the stuff I already have
>> lying around rather than trying to shoehorn everything to suit all of
>> the limitations of Apple hardware.
>>
>>
>>> >
>>>
>>>> > >
>>>> > >   A liberated JooJoo probably has more potential. The newer Archos
>>>> > > tablets might also have some potential. An Android app might be useful
>>>> > > if not now than in the near future when something catches up HW wise.
>>>>
>>> >
>>> > If you could go past your philosophical/emotional stance and stayed on
>>> > a technical level it would add much more to the discussion...
>>>
>>     Apple's hardware is crap and is intentionally limited. There's nothing
>> "emotional" about that. That's purely objective. I really don't get why you
>> bother to make excuses.
>>
>>     The UI is interesting but the platform in general is locked down and is
>> very limited in what it supports.
>>
> Maybe what mythtv needs is a streaming plug-in that can be configured to
> do on-the-fly transcoding according to different mobile device screen
> resolutions, available bandwidth, and codec support (and potentially
> control protocols.)  There's a whole variety of mobile devices and
> embedded TV front-ends these days, and it's simply not practical to do
> static transcoding of all recorded content to each potential target.  In
> my own house, I have Sony PSP's, Nokia smartphones, iPod Touch devices,
> Android, Windows and Linux netbooks.
>
> The iPad is just another limited device, with specific codec,
> performance, bandwith, and display characteristics and represents a
> current small and specialized market - one which is clearly growing,
> certainly, but as it grows it will diversify dramatically, as well.
>
> It would be a shame to invest a load of development into support for a
> single device, when each one of us probably has a number of different
> mobile devices capable of streaming video, but which today each have to
> be uniquely supported.
>
> There are, of course, several projects which do on-the-fly transcoding
> today, such as AirVideo and various UPnP servers....  and MythWeb....
> and Myth already does streaming via it's UPnP support.... perhaps we
> should start with developing a list of requirements and evaluating
> potential technology starting points?

Surely the use of a transcoding uPnP server like FUPPES is the way to
go. Requires no change to the backend, simply point the uPnP server at
your recordings and videos directories and tell it what you want it to
transcode to.