[mythtv-users] On the verge of giving up

[Michael T. Dean]

On 09/19/2007 12:59 PM, David Brodbeck wrote:
> On Sep 18, 2007, at 5:24 PM, Michael T. Dean wrote:
>   
>> IMHO, MythTV is a very expensive DVR solution--it costs a /lot/ of  
>> time
>> to learn what you need to learn to make it a good DVR and to keep up
>> with support, maintenance, development/changes for upgrades, etc.
>>     
> I think this depends a lot on what your learning curve is.  For  
> someone who's new to Linux, it's going to be steep and they'll spend  
> a *lot* of time.  In fact, I don't think I'd recommend building a  
> MythTV system to someone who didn't have any Linux experience.
>   

When I first installed MythTV, I had been building my own distribution
of Linux from source using my own build approach for over 5 years (it
was initially an LFS system, but had changed over the years to be
completely different).

Still, I spent a /lot/ of time learning what I needed to learn to even
get started building my Myth box.  Researched hardware, purchased
hardware, installed system, configured MythTV, determined MythTV with a
PVR-350 wasn't worthwhile, purchased new hardware, reconfigured MythTV,
...  There's nothing like the first time you installed MythTV.

How long does it take to get a cable-company-provided DVR?  Maybe a
2-minute phone call.

Have you ever heard of a TiVo-user having to rebuild his recordedseek
table?  I haven't.

How often do you see messages on the cable-company forum asking for help
upgrading from version 28 to version 29 of the DVR?

Just because you're used to doing something for your Myth box doesn't
mean that the TiVo users out there are doing the same thing for their
systems.  I think we MythTV users tend to forget about all the time we
put into MythTV.  If you're thinking to yourself, "But I never put any
time into MythTV," think about what you're doing now...  Reading the
MythTV mailing lists to keep current, help others, learn more about
Myth, ...

> If you *do* have Linux experience, the core parts of MythTV really  
> aren't much harder to install than any other app, these days.  I had  
> my first system up and running and able to record within a couple of  
> hours, and my last reinstall took less than an hour.  Actually, the  
> most time-consuming part is getting LIRC to work, which isn't a  
> MythTV package at all.

I'd have to say that the most time-consuming part is getting it to run
the way you want it to run and keeping it running that way. 
Configuration is still a challenge--and requires a great deal of time
spent learning.

Mike