[mythtv-users] Special needs dad with MythTV hardware questions

Joseph Fry joe at thefrys.com
Mon Nov 25 07:34:45 UTC 2013


>> ....  If I no one is willing to throw me
>> a bone I may have to go through the shameful process of buying a Tivo
>> Roamio instead. :’(
>
> I am a proponent of MythTV, but sometimes, other things
> just have to have higher priority.  Your special needs child
> probably needs, and probably deserves, as much time as
> you can provide.  If you want an additional hobby, or need
> a distraction, MythTV could be it.  Sometimes you *do*
> need that other activity to stay sane.  Otherwise, go the
> easy to support way (TiVo, CableCo STB), and spend that
> time with your child.  It is just TV, and your child is, well,
> your child.

I don't know how important a role television plays in your household,
but I know that even 'normal' kids (I hate that word but how do you
properly say that they are not 'special' needs kids) can be quite
demanding when it comes to television.  I have a friend who's special
needs daughter will literally hurt herself in a tantrum if a
commercial she doesn't like interrupts her favorite shows.  They have
switched to DVD's altogether simply because they can easily swap disks
quickly rather than trying to calm their daughter who doesn't
understand that her show will be back on in a few minutes.

I have been pushing mythtv at him for a while now, showing that he can
record her shows, insert cut points at the commercials so they don't
play, and then set up a playlist and have an entire day of programming
available... and he can change it up instead of going insane watching
the same dozen or so DVD's over and over again.

Another thing to consider is that mythtv will serve up your video
collection as well as tv.  Rip all of your movies to your backend, and
never worry about your kids ruining a $20 disk.

Finally, folks love to call mythtv a hobby... and it certainly can be.
 However, if you have a few evenings to get it working "good enough",
you don't really need to spend additional time on it.  Most of the
folks who spend a lot of time on it are doing so because they have the
time and it is a hobby to them... and most of the folks in this list
are probably in that category.  For every one of them, there is
someone still running a system they built 5 years ago and haven't
touched since.  They don't comment on this list much because to them,
it's not a hobby.


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list