[mythtv-users] Supporting schedulesdirect.org

[Jeff Wormsley]

George Galt wrote:
> While we would all rather have the data -- or just about anything else
> -- for free, I don't see it as unreasonable that we pay something for
> the information and for the convenience of having that information
> integrated into MythTV.  

Re-read my post, I didn't say that the data wasn't worth paying for, I 
simply said it was the second worse of the possibilities.  As in the 
following:

Best.......: Free, easy to get data (what we used to have with Zap2It)
Next Best..: Free, hard to get data (screen scraping)
Next Worst.: With cost, easy to get data (SchedulesDirect)
Worst......: No data

Of course, some people would swap the two in the middle.  These people 
probably bought Tivo at one point, or paid for MCE, being the type who 
first think to buy rather than build (ok, probably a gross 
generalization there, but there really is a difference in mentality 
between those who think first about buying a solution and those who 
think first about avoiding spending anything).  Personally, I spend 
enough on the hardware, I don't want to be bothered with having to pay 
for listings, if I don't have to.  I may very well have to, and if the 
inevitable screen scraping solutions prove to be too much of a pain, I 
may well do so.  But I'll have to be convinced they are a pain first, 
because I will always take the free path first (why else do I run Linux 
and MythTV, rather than Windows Media Center?).

> While one can certainly argue that the
> information is out there and that one has already paid for it -- I get
> it through my cable provider and in my daily newspaper -- but it isn't
> in a form that can easily integrate into MythTV.  I'm happy to pay for
> that convenience, though I'd rather not have to use PayPal, but that's
> just personal preference.

I have a problem with PayPal as well, although I have an account and 
have used it on occasion.

I guess my point is that TMS is making a mistake in charging for the 
data (even if they are charging SchedulesDirect, who in turn charge us). 
  Too many people will cry foul, and screen scrapers will return, and 
they will be right back to where they were before Zap2It, with their 
servers being overwhelmed by scrapers, and having their coders re-write 
the presentation layer weekly to try to stop the scrapers from working. 
  If running Zap2It was such a PITA, then let SchedulesDirect take over 
that function, but they should have given them a free license to the 
data, for the reasons given above.  It would be worth it to them.

Jeff.