[mythtv-users] MythTV vs. Windows Media Center

[Richard Morton]

ok, so you raise some interesting points and I think you maybe missing
the point of a DVR.
DVRs and MythTV in particular is designed for you to watch recorded
content, this is so that the scheduler knows it has exclusive access
to tuners for recording otherwise programmes may not get recorded
because a tuner is unexpectedly unavailable (someone is watching
livetv) and to optimise the schedule this was the last showing of that
particular show.

With MythTV you simply tell it everything you want to watch; Install
the data-mining plug-in that was recently announced on this list.

My MythTV has lots of rules some of them do the following:
 - record shows that have been announced but not aired yet.
 - record all new shows
 - record all shows with a specific actor or of a specific genre
 - record all Formula 1 but prefer an HD recording of it.

This is of course something that builds over time but what you end up
with in a few short weeks is an impressive library of shows that you
_want_ to watch and programmes that I timeshift by playing shortly
after broadcast start (i.e. I am often running a little late) but
before the programme has finished (chase-play).

What does this mean? You watch TV on your terms, not at the
broadcaster whim of scheduling. Very quickly we came to agree with the
developers that LiveTV is an rarely used function (I use it to test
the tuners are working and _nothing_ else).

Now, in the UK we are fairly fortunate of having high-quality
free-to-air tv on digital terrestrial and satellite, and we dont have
cable and therefore no video on demand, but Myth becomes your video on
demand system

And there is plenty to watch anyway and if I want to watch a new film
we rent it, buy it or go to the cinema.

R