[mythtv] How to receive a stream

[Joe Votour]

> On 10/1/06, CURTIS <curtis at koalatelecom.com.au> wrote:
>> What is the legals relating to developing an IPTV STB based on MythTV
>> and be
>> used in a commercial enviroment?
>
> "Commercial" is a problem. As MythTV is licensed under the GPL, you
> wouldn't be allowed to charge for the software itself, though you
> could charge for the hardware and service. Also, any changes or
> additions you make to Myth will have to be similarly licensed under
> the GPL.
>
> Even so, it's possible, but you would need to bear in mind that you'd
> also need some kind of server to stream to Myth.
>
> IANAL, however, so don't take my word as gospel on this. If I were
> you, I'd seek legal advice from a qualified legal professional.
> --

Not true, you can charge for GPL'd software.  The only restriction is that
you must offer to provide the source to anybody who purchases it, and
possibly anybody else who receives a copy of the binary.  I definitely
agree though, the OP should seek legal advice.

Having actually worked on a set-top box, MythTV might be difficult to
shoehorn into an existing set-top box design.  Yes, you can get Linux to
run on some of them, but from there, it becomes a matter of making the
set-top box cost effective.  Even a VIA EPIA type set-top box (and I have
seen a couple of them) can be difficult to make cost-effective from the
hardware side.  (But that's a completely different discussion.)

-- Joe


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