tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69731152008-06-11T08:34:55.471-07:00Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-74972161211250622182008-06-11T06:48:00.000-07:002008-06-11T08:34:55.500-07:00

For the past six months, I've been content with Ubuntu 7.10 and mythtv 0.20. Very stable, very smooth solid HD playback, no recording glitches. Everything I could ask for. When Ubuntu 8.04 came along (along with an upgrade to MythTV 0.21) I resisted for a bit. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Maybe it was just an excuse, but after deciding to set up a second front end upstairs, I also

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-34426721055730662992008-02-29T14:59:00.000-08:002008-02-29T15:05:33.031-08:00

Well, I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've been a busy camper, and this blog hasn't quite risen to the top of my todo list in a while. I was re-reading my past posts, and noticed that the theme has been my thoughts about switch from Fedora Core to Ubuntu. An update is that I made the switch a few months ago, and haven't looked back. Ubuntu comes with all the mythtv packages that I

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-57008803117502978132007-06-08T06:36:00.001-07:002007-06-08T06:42:46.747-07:00

I just ran across a new distribution of mythtv in a box (along with MythDora and KnoppMyth) called MythBuntu and I plan on giving it a test run this weekend. The project is currently in alpha. One nice thing is that they offer a live cd version so that you can simply drop in a disk and run a mythtv frontend anywhere you want (we'll have to see how well that one works!). Lirc is not available yet,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-6751592112620933232007-06-07T06:49:00.001-07:002007-06-08T05:48:45.963-07:00

I'm making the switch to Ubuntu. After being a faithful Fedora Core user since FC1, I'm making the big leap.  I'll post progress reports as I go through, and when I'm done, I'll post a tip to MythTV Tips.Technorati Tags: mythtv, ubuntu,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1155218446198427452006-08-10T06:57:00.000-07:002006-08-10T07:45:52.996-07:00

I just got back from a vacation with the family. 2,000 miles in two weeks with a four and seven year old in the back. Of course, no major road trip would be complete (or even possible these days) unless you provide some kind entertainment. When I was a kid, that consisted of hours on end of singing "I've been working on the railroad", and playing every possible variant of I-Spy (I spy

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1151675117764081072006-06-30T06:25:00.000-07:002006-06-30T07:06:48.206-07:00

When Fritz Attaway starts out the entire debate with this line: Attaway:"Digital rights management is the key to consumer choice..." He then goes on to explain how by being able to control the content, and how it can be distributed, and used, the movies studio's can get a return on the millions they made to make a movie. See how much better that is for us? It occurred to me that he really

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1150896772646835892006-06-21T06:32:00.000-07:002006-06-21T06:40:46.730-07:00

I got my EFF Action Alert in my inbox this AM, and sure enough, the broadcast flag has jumped up again. This is the text from the newsletter: "The Communications, Consumers Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006 is a monster name for a monster bill -- in its latest form, it contains 159 pages of densely plotted telecommunications reform. But while politicians struggle with its major

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1150152544801537272006-06-12T15:49:00.000-07:002006-06-12T15:54:02.610-07:00

Major League Baseball says that users of placeshifters like Slingbox are lawbreakers. According to them, if you are remotely watching a baseball game that is being broadcast at your home, you are stealing from the local cable/satellite companies that paid to broadcast in the area you are watching the game. Read More: Major League Baseball takes swing at Sling Media | CNET News.com My two

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1149207505336270792006-06-01T17:08:00.000-07:002006-06-01T17:18:25.346-07:00

Not much going on lately, except that now that the summer is here, I get to clear out the backlog of shows that I recorded but didn't watch. Including the entire season of Alias! It should actually be a fun summer. I find my viewing habits have changed so much with MythTV (or any PVR for that matter). I don't feel the need to 'keep up' with shows any longer, with the exception of a couple

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1147732831827579182006-05-15T15:40:00.000-07:002006-05-15T15:41:33.880-07:00

Who knows. There might be Tivo-aoke, or something, but it's fun to dream... And now.. I give you: MythKaraoke If only MythTV could open and close my garage door... Wait... It can?Tags: mythtv, pvr, media, home automation

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1147473074858322692006-05-12T15:31:00.000-07:002006-05-12T15:33:15.093-07:00

"SageTV Media Center today becomes the first full-featured personal video recorder/media center software product to offer placeshifting capabilities enabling users to access their live or recorded TV, music and photos on any PC when they are away from home." Huh? First? I call bullshit. MythTV has been placeshifting music and videos for years. Is it the fact that it doesn't "placeshift"

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1146405629489303302006-04-30T07:00:00.000-07:002006-05-05T10:04:13.923-07:00

Hacking MythTV Jarod Wilson, author of the renowned 'Fedora MythTV Setup Guide' (a.k.a. "Jarod's Guide") is now author of a book "Hacking MythTV" soon to be available. I haven't read the book but if Jarod's writing and technical ability come through in the book half as well as his guide, then it should be very well received. Good Luck Jarod!

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1145663500101508342006-04-21T16:49:00.000-07:002006-04-21T16:51:40.103-07:00

How to customize MythTV's menus in MythTV Tips. Link: MythTV Tips Tags: mythtv, linux, howto, tutorial

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1145663277693470062006-04-21T16:45:00.000-07:002006-04-21T16:47:57.706-07:00

MythTV's new Edit Keys feature explained, along with a tutorial for re-mapping keys. Link: MythTV TipsTags: mythtv, howto, tutorial, linux

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1145322011692407822006-04-17T17:57:00.000-07:002006-04-17T18:00:11.693-07:00

I'm introducing a new section of the site: MythTV Tips. I'm kicking off this blog after assembling several questions (both mine, and from others) about how to actually use MythTV. There are SOOOOO many features in MythTV, some documented well, and some.. not so much. I am going to use this site to publish my personal tips, tricks, tutorials for MythTV. Feel free to comment with any questions

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1144960298843688222006-04-13T13:31:00.000-07:002006-04-13T13:33:54.650-07:00

Just caught this on PVR Wire: Orb Networks has released their new DVR Everywhere software, allowing TiVo users to access content directly from their Series 2 box anywhere in the world over an Internet connection. Not sure why the good folks over at PVR Wire say that this would work with "Presumably any other networked PVR", everything I see on the site says 'TiVo only'. It's really a pity,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1144781730194365442006-04-11T11:55:00.000-07:002006-04-11T11:58:42.546-07:00

I just ran across this site: StormLogic, LLC's MythTV Store - Contributed Code where there are a few bits of interesting code for MythTV. The two I find the most interesting are DVB Fixer Scripts: "DVB fixer scripts v1.1, used to automate the manual process of using an HD-3000 card with the DVB drivers" and mplayer-resume.pl "mplayer-resumer.pl, a wrapper for mplayer that remembers where you

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1144709715510062912006-04-10T15:55:00.000-07:002006-04-11T12:02:40.530-07:00

HD capable, USB 2.0 DVB tuner for under £30. Wow... I'm not sure if any Linux Drivers would support this, but I love the idea of the HDTV PC tuner coming down in price. Link :Sub-£30 Digital TV mini receiver HDTV ready PVR - PVR Wire

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1144173066044647112006-04-04T10:41:00.000-07:002006-04-10T12:29:08.360-07:00

I was reviewing my MythTV Schedule for tomorrow (Wednesday) and noticed something strange. Usually, there is a conflict between Law & Order (NBC 9pm - 10:01pm) and Heist (ABC 10pm - 11pm) due to the infamous 'Tivo Busting' one minute shift in the schedules (the last minute of Law & Order overlaps the first minute of Heist). But on this night, there was no conflict. Why? Because Lost (ABC 9:00

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1144080488064556312006-04-03T09:08:00.000-07:002006-04-03T09:36:36.346-07:00

O.K. Maybe I took liberties with the title, but Bruce Shankle does a side-by-side comparison between Windows MCE, and MythTV. It's not a feature comparison, but rather an installation, ease-of-use, comparison. He does get a bit into what he considers his key feature (the ability to watch and rip a DVD) where MythTV is the clear winner. My favorite quote from the article: I try again, same

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1143508253186858022006-03-27T17:10:00.000-08:002006-03-27T17:11:33.160-08:00

A bit bland and watered down, but that's kind of what I would expect when writing an article for the masses.  When MythTV is presented in this context, it seems like there might actually be future for it in the 'consumer' space.Link: MythTV Invades Realm of Cable and TiVoTechnorati Tags: mythtv, htpc, computers, linux

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1142904253956964482006-03-20T17:24:00.000-08:002006-03-20T17:25:08.363-08:00

Joshua Paul blogged about Fair Use over at O'Reilly Digital Media. I jumped over to the link he mentions in his blog and found a wonderful description (and an 8 page booklet with more detail) of Fair use. "Fair Use is the right, in some circumstances, to quote copyrighted material without asking permission or paying for it. It is a crucial feature of copyright law. In fact, it is what keeps

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1142865395728169502006-03-20T06:36:00.000-08:002006-03-20T06:37:29.560-08:00

I was cruising AVSForums when I ran across a thread from somebody complaining that they were having a hard time setting up their MCE PC with just an HD (ATSC) capture card. Lo and behold, after a bit of digging, I confirmed (for myself at least) that it is indeed true. That in order to set up High-Definition in MCE2005, you must have an NTSC tuner installed. Here's the snippet from Jay P.

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1142693715916205722006-03-18T06:54:00.000-08:002006-03-18T06:56:22.426-08:00

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has done a great job fighting for the consumers rights in a digital age.  As a member, I've been very proud to support this organization and what they have accomplished.  Currently they are trying to get the word out about the Sony BMG Settlement.  Here's a snippet from their newsletter: EFF's campaign to help music fans claim their share of the Sony

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6973115.post-1142275657964319902006-03-13T10:45:00.000-08:002006-03-13T10:47:37.973-08:00

I'd more consider this a media backend server than a desktop.. strange headline.  I think folks are finally getting it right with the disk space.  The initial estimated street price will be $8,000.  The smart buy would be to buy an empty system and fill it as you go.  My reasoning is that with the constantly dropping price of storage, you should always buy just what you need, when you need it. 

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13210209217043211940noreply@blogger.com