[wplug] I dream of summer and MythTV

[Vanco, Don]

Random comments from a TiVo bigot below....

	I already had 2 TiVos (1 Series One Stand Alone, 1 Series One
DirecTiVo) and had been hacking them pretty much since day one, so I had a
pretty high water mark for MythTV to sway me off the TiVo.  It didn't make
it.
	My hardware was an ATI Radeon 8500DV and SB Audigy in a Genuine
Intel MoBo based P-III 800 system.

Lance Tost [ltost at pobox.com] wrote:
> On Wed, 4 Feb 2004, Beth Lynn wrote:
>> http://www.mythtv.org/modules.php?name=MythInfo
>> 
>> It's all so exiting but I fear it may be just hype.
>> 
>> Has anyone played with MythTV?
> 
> I asked this same question several months ago but didn't get much
> feedback.  
	I didn't reply at the time, but I messed with the 1.5 release on a
P-III 800.  I didn't have anything nice to say, so I didn't :)

> Depending on your spare hardware, you can easily spend as
> much or more on
> this as you would a tivo or replaytv but it has some
> advantages (as well as disadvantages).
	Very true - a refurb Series One TiVo (and believe me that's the one
you want)  and lifetime service will cost you aboot $450 - easily less than
a decent video card and other required bits if you don't have them laying
aboot.... (although you will need to spend an additional $60 for a network
interface)

I know the following comments are not saying "TiVo doesn't / MythTV does...
but I want to let folks know exactly what you _can_ do on a TiVo..
> Pros:
>  - plays mp3s (or ogg vorbis if I had em) at no additional cost
	There is a fairly full version of mplayer for TiVo

>  - you can rip your cds to disk (I haven't tried this under
> myth yet since
	You can rip elsewhere and send to TiVo vie the network...

>  - I can rip my DVDs to disk and have all my movies available on any
> frontend (assuming I have enough disk space)... a pefect rip is over
> 5GB... Using DIVX or XVID, that can be cut down to around 650MB
> keeping pretty good quality
	TiVo tools allow you to remove, edit, and re-insert video to your
TiVo in 4 different qualities of video and you can transcode the audio in
any of several formats (including AC3).
	A 2 hour movie in AC3 consumes aboot 3.2GB.
	TiVo tools allow for easy "TiVo stream to DVD" (with full, albeit
rudimentary, DVD menu generation).  While no one will comment on it openly -
the tools to do this basically allow you to go from .ty (TiVo stream) to
.vob (DVD format) and vice versa.  The implications should be obvious....

>  - I could burn shows to dvd if I had a dvd burner
	It's a 4 step process under TiVo and sadly requires about 2.5x disk
space for a given show 
e.g a 30 minute Chappelle's Show:
~700MB TiVo native .ty stream
~60MB "key" file that allows for visual editing
~500MB .ty.vob file that results from the edit process (key file _can_ be
deleted at this point, as can the original .ty)
~500MB .VOB file that is now "DVD ready" (actually, the DVD generation will
likely combine the elemental .ty.vob into a larger .VOB consisting of
several smaller shows)

>  - I can play old-school games on any fontend via xmame or
> other emulators
	TiVo does not have this feature, and don't know that it ever
will.....

>  - I can have limited access via the web to record new shows
> and manage existing recordings
	TiVo has a fairly rich web interface, including the ability to
"undelete" shows - some as far back as 60 days depending on your TiVo
usage....
	The TiVoWeb has full "remote emulation" that can be quite fun when
someone else has the physical remote.

>  - I can record as many stations simultaneously as I have
> capture cards (currently two)
	TiVo will take 2 inputs and record from them.  I cannot see why
you'd ever need more than two... but I suppose there would be that
once-a-year time when there's 3 good shows on at once.

>  - mythtv-users mailing list is *really* active... it's still being
> heavily worked on. 
	Ditto for tivo - on the TiVo AVS forums and
http://www.dealdatabase.com/forum/

>  - Nobody knows how many times I watched the Janet Jackson
> boob shot over and over again
	It's a button on the TiVo remote to go back 13 seconds...

>  - If you know C++, you can contribute any features you want to it
	Likewise for TiVo hacks to some extent..

Other thumbs up for TiVo
	- intelligent show recording (start / stop time flexibility, season
pass management, priority, ability to ignore repeats or record at alternate
times based on "conflict)
	- search tools (actor, channel, keyword, director, genre,
combination)
	- buffer control (my TiVo always has an hour of something buffered)
	- tools for photo management
	- tools for backing up your TiVo OS are excellent (there's a web
module!)  You can essentially recover the OS onto _any_ hard drive (but
depending on your backup you _may_ lose all content).  An OS only backup
will easily fit on a single CD
	- people have taken TiVos to 4 drives, and crazy huge ones at that
(albeit via serious hacks)
	- you can manage it fully via the Internet if you have the
connection

> Cons:
>  - There are still some glitches -- the occasional hang or
> choppy video.
	People do have issues in TiVos, but rarely.
	I have heard of far more synch issues with MythTV (video
leading/lagging audio)

>  - Takes a fair bit of Linux knowledge to get functioning properly
	TiVo hacks can be somewhat ethereal for the noob - but Jeff Keegan's
book is excellent, and only one portion of the software included needed
upgrading for my DTiVo (because I bought a cache card)

>  - makes you watch too much tv (but so would a tivo)
	I'd argue that - I watch less, and I watch _exactly_ what I want.  I
watch more shows in less time, and I watch them when (and how often) I want
to...

>  - Interface can be klunky if you don't have a good remote
> with the right buttons -- most remotes can be learned by lirc though
	Likely one of the biggest benefits of the TiVo - control and
interface are excellent.

Other thumbs down for the TiVo
	- no "dial in" capability if you're on the modem only connection (as
I am)
	- requires subscription (but the benefits outweigh the cost IMO)
	- you will need additional hardware based on your intended use
(possibly more storage space and the aforementioned network card)
	- drives over 130GB require a substantial kernel mod that is not for
the noob (but c'mon, dual 120GB drives gets you crazy storage space)
	- while it's not something you're likely to fall into without
clearly knowing that you're beyond your skills - you can easily turn a TiVo
into a boat anchor with the wrong actions
	- some TiVo tools (or versions thereof) are better (well, easier to
use since they have a GUI) on Windoze than under Linux - but you _can_ do it
_all_ under Linux.

	I would say that if you _have_ to spend money on something - for me
it would be another TiVo.


	So..... anyone other than me also looking at "Free to Air"
Satellite??   :)  I have a WinTV DBS card, but have yet to find five minutes
of time to get it into a system and connect it to my dish.....  This would
certainly have me re-visiting MythTV.....

My $.02
_Don_