[mythtv-users] Why cant we make a STB?

[Brian Wood]

On Wednesday 04 February 2009 16:51:18 Travis Tabbal wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 4, 2009 at 4:38 PM, Mitch Gore <mitchell.gore at gmail.com> wrote:
> > The Apple TV is far from ideal, it requires a hackish job that only
> > handles MPEG2 what I really mean is a box like the Sage Extender but
> > exclusively for Myth.
> >
> > http://www.sagetv.com/hd_theater.html
>
> I expect that box is probably the same chipset that powers the PopcornHour
> with some special software for the UI. So it probably has all the same ups
> and downs as the PH. It's a good chipset, but can we even get the chips
> without 10K quantities? I think you're understating the costs involved to
> roll our own hardware.

Things like UL and FCC certification require a lot of money and time. This is 
the sort of "invisible" cost to making your own hardware device that most 
people ae totally unaware of.

If you want to make your own for your own use OK, but once you start selling 
them to consumers you have opened up a large Pandora's Box. Support is a 
major cost factor as well. I doubt the developers here would want to get into 
that business.

-- 
beww
beww at beww.org