[mythtv-users] Special needs dad with MythTV hardware questions

Greg Tippitt gtippitt at gmail.com
Sun Nov 24 16:19:11 UTC 2013


Well said Eric.  - Bravo!

A TIVO has lots going for it.  My first DVR was a series 2 DirecTV
Tivo that we used for 9 years.  I had upgraded the hard drive a few
times, and we were still watching shows that we had saved for more
than a year after we cut off our DirecTV service and switched to
MythTV and OTA.  I've still got shows on my MythTV that I FTPed off
the TIVO before I finally tuned it off

The "Peanut" shaped TIVO remote is one of the best designed remotes I
have ever held.  Every button is placed so that the most used ones are
the easiest to use.  It is the best for use with a single hand of any
remote I know of. After a few weeks with that remote, I could navigate
most functions by touch without ever looking at the remote, which is
really cool when you've got the lights dimmed watching a movie and
want to back up a bit to see something again.

I don't know about the newer TIVOs, but the older ones  were a great
"hobby" as well.  They were really progressive in releasing their
development kit for users to develop add-on for the PC to interface
with the TIVO.  I started using Linux because of playing with my TIVO.
 There were lots of add-ons for Linux and Windows.  I had used Unix
and Xenix many decades ago, but had worked with OS/2 and Win2K for
several years before my retirement and never worked with Linux.

Playing with the Linux command line on the TIVO and writing a few
scripts got me interested in Unix/Linux again.  I got to reading and
heard about a new Linux distro that was being talked about online, and
ordered the CD for Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron".  Installing hacks on my
Tivo, led me to Ubuntu and MythTV was the only DVR software I have
seen, for which I would give up my 10 year old TIVO.

Good Luck,
Greg

On 11/24/13, Eric Sharkey <eric at lisaneric.org> wrote:
> On Sat, Nov 23, 2013 at 8:57 PM, Gary Buhrmaster
> <gary.buhrmaster at gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Sat, Nov 23, 2013 at 8:47 PM,  <mythtv-users.jim-j at mamber.net> wrote:
>>> ....  If I no one is willing to throw me
>>> a bone I may have to go through the shameful process of buying a Tivo
>>> Roamio instead. :’(
>>
>> I am a proponent of MythTV, but sometimes, other things
>> just have to have higher priority.  Your special needs child
>> probably needs, and probably deserves, as much time as
>> you can provide.  If you want an additional hobby, or need
>> a distraction, MythTV could be it.  Sometimes you *do*
>> need that other activity to stay sane.
>
> And while any DVR allows watching TV on your time schedule, MythTV, as
> a hobby, is also fairly schedule flexible.
>
> You may never reach the point where you say "My MythTV is perfect,
> there's no tweak left that could possibly improve it after this
> point.", but all of those tweaks can wait.  It's not like being on a
> sports team and needing to meet up with other people at specified
> times.  If a child suddenly needs you *now*, you go to the child now,
> and worry about improving remote control latency tomorrow, or next
> week, or next month.  Unless your power supply just caught fire, it
> can wait.
>
> Eric
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