[mythtv-users] Picking up DVB-T2 HD channels with TBS6280 capture card

[Simon Hobson]

James Stocks wrote:

>I'm on the fence between being very pleased that TBS have bothered 
>to consider Linux, yet being a little annoyed that I've paid for 
>claimed Linux support that evidently isn't complete yet.

I know what you mean. For me, "supported" means that it either works 
with a stock kernel (preferred), requires installing the "non-free" 
firmware package (still OK), or at a pinch has a completely automated 
process that builds a binary blob that works with a stub already in 
the kernel. This card is a long way from that, so for me I'll wait ...

But, on the other hand, it would be easy to be too negative and leave 
vendors feeling that it's too much hassle and just not bother in 
future.

I'm not a developer and I've no idea how hard (or otherwise) it is to 
do, but my feeling is that the free software community needs to make 
it easier than it appears to be at the moment to bridge the gap. One 
of the constant complaints is about lack of support for the latest 
hardware, but I can completely understand the reasons some vendors 
may have for not wanting (or be able) to do a completely open driver. 
I don't think either side wins if dogma gets in the way of supporting 
new hardware.

Applying a pragmatists hat, closed software (or closed drivers for 
hardware) isn't going to go way any time soon. We (collectively) need 
to figure out how to accommodate it for those that need it, without 
compromising those who (for valid reasons IMO) aren't prepared to be 
tainted by it.

-- 
Simon Hobson

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