[mythtv] Whats the deal with usability

[Justin Hornsby]

On 16/01/07, Imran K <gururug at gmail.com> wrote:

> What are the main issues (wholistically) that prevent myth being deployed
> smoothly and easily.
>

1. The user, not reading the docs before starting.

2. The user, glibly making assumptions about the application (see above)

3. Some distros packages, doing mad things like randomising mysql
passwords and not telling the user what the password is.

4. Folks lumping lirc, xmltv, drivers & mysql into the same hat as
mythtv.  Mythtv itself is very easy to install.  You need some smarts
to configure mythtv, but it's not what I'd call difficult.

Usability... for day to day usage, MythTV is very easy to use.  Maybe
some things could be  arranged a little better or more logically but
it's still a damn sight easier to configure mythtv than it is getting
to grips with an apache config IMHO (which in turn is another thing
that causes users frustration).

The above statements typify why distros like Knoppmyth are so popular
- it's still far & away the easiest and quickest way to get a working
MythTV box, but only if it supports your hardware.  Then again you
won't be disappointed if you read the docs before setting out on your
journey, right?

Never mind the 'is myth easy?' discussion - you'll never know until
you try it.  Get reading the official documents, absorb them then read
some more, THEN have a go.

Besides, all too often the 'reviews' of MythTV look at the application
as the sum of its constituent parts.. "I couldn't get the remote
control working" would not be the fault of mythtv, for example.  They
also have a tendency to compare myth to other pvr platforms (like MCE
vs MythTV).. they're totally different animals.  One is a restrictive,
closed source, inherently limited and costly application, the other is
not.  Never mind the press, just get on with it!

Regards,
Justin.
-- 
Justin Hornsby
Moderator of www.mythtvtalk.com
email: justin(dot)hornsby(at)gmail.com
web: http://www.juski.co.uk