[mythtv-users] appletv

[James]

> On 11 Jun 2022, at 11:03 am, Gary Buhrmaster <gary.buhrmaster at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> On Fri, Jun 10, 2022 at 5:18 PM Simon <linux at thehobsons.co.uk> wrote:
> 
>> Apple TV (AKAIK) runs iOS,
> 
> Actually tvOS, but it is a closer relative to iOS than to macOS,
> but there are differences (some, but not all, can be abstracted
> away (the obvious difference is touch screen entry vs remote
> control)).
> 
>> and there’s a real biggie for FOSS, you *might* not be able to do it legally anyway !
>> 
>> I recall reading that this was the reason for something (I can’t remember what now, it was a while ago) not being available for iOS.
>> I don’t recall how, if at all, this got resolved. And clearly it will vary between different FOSS licences.
> 
> It is complicated.  And in summary GPL and the Apple
> app store(*)(**) do not mix well.  While the FSF's opinion
> is not definitive (you should always consult your own
> legal team), FSF has stated that the Apple app store
> violates your rights under the GPL.
> 
> So, as I recall, for GPL, the issue is that if *any* developer
> which holds any GPL copyright claim on the code (and
> for most larger projects there are many developers
> who have contributed under the GPL) claims that the
> app is not respecting the GPL (because of the signing
> and prevention of modification restrictions) and the
> developers are not willing to dual license the code,
> Apple will remove the app from the store and devices
> because Apple respects IP requirements.
> 
> There is also the issue of codec support.  Apple will
> not (knowingly) distribute apps which contain codecs
> to which a license to use is not provided.  And while tvOS
> itself has support for some codecs, it does not support
> all that one may encounter, and the IP owners of codecs
> have had apps removed from the store that violate the
> license requirements (the workaround for that is pay
> the license fees, but that, of course, means a company
> with bookkeeping and IP lawyers available, and the
> app is not free unless the company can afford one of
> those unlimited use licenses (typically many millions)).
> 
> There is nothing to prevent someone from writing an
> entirely new app that implemented frontend like capability
> (perhaps using the services api) which is not using any
> existing (MythTV) GPL code, but that is likely a larger project,
> although both leanfront and the qml mythfrontend (and
> the now dormant torc) apps may provide inspiration as
> to what such an app might look like (although as they
> themselves are GPL you would need to talk to those
> authors about actually using any of that code with
> relicensing).
> 
>> I recall reading that this was the reason for something
>> (I can’t remember what now, it was a while ago) not
>> being available for iOS.  I don’t recall how, if at all, this
>> got resolved. And clearly it will vary between different
>> FOSS licences
> 
> There are a number, but perhaps the most well known
> to this community would be VLC.  And it was resolved
> by getting the appropriate copyright holders to dual
> license their code (GPLv2 (or later) or MPLv2).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> (*) And Apple's walled garden means that you need
> to use the app store for deployment (at least unless
> some of the proposed regulations that require the
> equivalent of support for sideloading are passed).
> 
> (**) Apple also allows businesses to have private
> distributions, but while the Apple enterprise license
> cost is nominal, the requirement to have at least 100
> employees (which Apple will (repeatedly) audit),
> and the requirement to specific the device IDs for
> your employees for deployment (i.e. you can only
> deploy to your org), and (depending on your state)
> business license fees from minimal to close to
> $1000/yr make that option another non-starter for
> most.
> 

I need to see if I can, then a tarball of what I did. You may take the tarball and do what you will (GPL). I envisage you building your own app, testing it and never proceeding.
I'm not going the App Store route.
My wife asks "If you've such a thing about apple, why do you drive a macbook" The reason is nice hardware. I've never seen a track-pad that lets you drag a window (well I have - a track-pad with buttons)
James