[mythtv-users] Has anyone tried integrating Broadcast machine with mythweb

[Mr. Demeanour]

Nick wrote:
> Dewey Smolka wrote:
>>> Just a heads up.
>>> 
>>> This list does NOT support or condone rebroadcast of recorded 
>>> materials via the public web or torrents. This means that any 
>>> talk of integrating BT clients into MythTV, or seeding Myth 
>>> recordings is STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. <snip.
> 
>> This seems a bit strong.
>> 
>> I have associates who are involved with video activism - teaching 
>> people to make effective political use of video, and producing 
>> activist documentaries and news material. Because of the nature of
>>  the material, they have litle hope of getting it screened by 
>> mainstream TV and cable channels (and anyway that's not what they 
>> want); so they are distributing their work via BM and Democracy 
>> Player.
> 
> As a happy user of MythTV, I have not interest in using the program 
> to help make political statements.

Nor do I, and nor do my associates. And BTW: video activism doesn't
necessarily imply "political statements".

> There are more than enough avenues for people to distribute 
> 'activism' documentaries (blogs, podcasts, YouTube) that they have 
> produced.

Indeed. Such as (for example) BM/Democracy Player.
> 
> Voluntarily adopting a position against piracy helps keep MythTV 
> 'friends' on side (people like Radiotimes and others that co-operate
>  in providing free and easy to use listing data).  Taking on the 
> mantle as 'freedom fighters' will only mean crackdowns, and that's 
> not in anyone's interest.

I have no real problem with people wanting to take "a position against
piracy" (especially if their own earnings might be at stake!)

I do have a problem with censoring discussion of a proposed integration
with a video-source that relies on BitTorrent, simply because some
people happen to use BitTorrent technology in an infringing way.

It so happens that BitTorrent is exceptionally well-suited to
self-publishing of video. It doesn't rely on high-bandwidth centralised
servers, so it makes it possible for film-makers who can't get a
broadcaster to screen their material, to still be able to have their
material seen.

It's a shame that TPTB are treating BitTorrent as a whole as an
intrisically-infringing technology. There would be infringement, were it
used to seed material that had been captured off-the-air; but it seems
perfectly reasonable to me, to wish that Myth might be able to treat a
torrent as a video *source*. There'd be nothing intrinsically infringing
about that.

Of course, it remains theoretically possible for anyone to re-distribute
what they have captured, whether using BitTorrent, or DVD-R, or a
high-powered transmitter. MythTV is not technology that facilitates
that; that is possible because of the protocols and software that
underlie MythTV.

So I don't see the point in being so defensive. But it's not my thread,
or my list, and I'm not a film-maker; so I'm perfectly content to drop
it. I just think it's a shame that people are adopting this posture.

-- 
Jack.