[NCLUG] MythTV Questions

[DJ Eshelman]

Jeez- I need to get a new antenna or something; I'm only ever able to 
get some fuzzy channel out of Cheynne. 

Anyway, More to the point, it's just not worth the trouble it would 
take, is the point I'm going for...

I /can/ with most content, unless it's a PPV thing that only allows 
transfer over HDMI, go ahead and play it thru the Component video output 
and record it onto a MediaCenter PC.  Some people even go to the trouble 
of editing out commercials with that setup, and it's fine; but there's 
no quick way to record content at 1080i/p tuning directly from 
DirecTV... yet.  Some insiders tell me that they are working on a 
universal tuner that you could buy to be able to use your MC PC to 
manage your television viewing/recording /if/ the channel was allowing 
that sort of thing, but that's the issue- some channels won't want that 
capability to exist.  I'm sure the shopping network doesn't really care, 
but HBO might...
It seems to me that any system that allowed the users to simply choose 
would get more subscribers, but Big Business doesn't think that way.

I'll also mention that the DirecTV HD DVR isn't that bad- it allows you 
to stream content from a UPnP server, and you can even choose to expand 
the hard drive via a eSATA connection if you crave more storage space.  
Unfortunately with the encryption, that drive will only ever work with 
that one unit, so if your DVR dies, you always loose your recorded 
content, something I didn't bring up as an obvious gripe I have and why 
I would /love/ to be able to have the same quality 1080p, Dolby Digital 
recordings able to stream to whatever device in the house.  Yes, you can 
call it a 'jail cell' if you want but on the whole, I enjoy and am 
willing to pay for things like Discovery Channel in HD.  It's a product 
that's available, and I'm cool with paying for it.  I'm not diluting 
myself in thinking that just because I like using some 'free' software 
products, that quality broadcasting is going to be the same way.  I've 
seen 'free' broadcasting and trust me... it's just not cool.  UHF was a 
movie, not real life...   You're of course entitled to your opinion on 
that, and if you're comfortable with the programming that the channels 
you can get over the air provide, then get on with your bad self.  I'm 
just saying that I don't care for it, I know there's better out there 
and I'm willing and able to pay for having that content delivered to 
me.  I'm not trying to quash a rebellion here, I'm just paying for a 
service that provides a higher level of quality.

*That brings up another question I had* does Myth or any other 
open-source system support recording in Dolby Digital or even DTS?  I'm 
just curious, and very ready to move on with the discussion from the 
technology end of things.

I didn't mean to offend anyone, just offering the other side of the coin.

-DJ

Brett Johnson wrote:
> On Tue, 2008-02-19 at 08:47 -0700, DJ Eshelman wrote:
>   
>> First off-  never since the day I moved to Fort Collins eight years ago, 
>> have I gotten an over-the-air signal, SD or HD.  I've just never been 
>> motivated enough.  Are you people seriously telling me that you are not 
>> only able to get the whopping 3 English speaking channels we can 
>> actually get here, and you're miffed that the gov'ment is taking that away?
>>     
>
> Heh, that's funny.  In the 17 years I've been in FTC/Windsor, I've never
> had anything *but* OTA TV.  I currently get good reception for 12
> english-speaking channels (16, if you count the duplicate analog/digital
> signals I get for channels 2,9,12. and 22).
>
> Personally, I couldn't care less what cable/dtv do, since I'll never
> subscribe to them just to watch TV.  But I do care about OTA broadcasts.
>
>   
>> Now, there is a problem that I have currently, and it's a bigg'n-  You 
>> can't just take a true HD recording from a source like DirecTV HD or 
>> Cable HD and put it on a Myth box.  You also have no way to extract 
>> (digitally) recordings from the Linux-based DVR's these companies 
>> provide-
>>     
>
> Hmm, so you're irritated at the jail-cell the cable company (or dtv)
> puts you in then?  Me too -- it's the main reason I'll *never* subscribe
> to cable/dtv service.
>
>   
>> *meh* I say to broadcast 
>> television in general.
>>     
>
> Yet, you say "*meh*" to those of us who prefer not to share your nice
> comfy cable/HD jail cell.  Well whatever, different strokes & all that..
>
>