MythTV 0.25 Released, New HW Acceleration and Audio Standards Support 144
unts writes "The highly configurable Linux PVR, MythTV, has reached the 0.25 release, over 500 days after the previous full release. New features include VAAPI support, E-AC3, TrueHD, and DTS-HD audio, the ability to control other home entertainment devices via HDMI CEC and additions to the API to allow HTTP live streaming. The release notes for 0.25 don't reflect the release status at the time of writing, but should contain most of the relevant changes. MythTV can be used as a backend (recorder) and frontend (viewer), but can also feed other frontends such as appropriate versions of XBMC. Hopefully the new HTTP streaming API will lead to even more ways to get your video fix."
User Guide anyone? (Score:5, Insightful)
I think MythTV is in dire need of a more polished and coherent UI. And a comprehensive user and installation guide.
New tech feats are ok, but they'll probably make the whole thing even less useable.
Re:User Guide anyone? (Score:4, Insightful)
And a comprehensive user and installation guide.
Thats my biggest issue with F/OSS - poor or missing or flat out wrong and outdated documentation...
Re:Netflix (Score:4, Insightful)
Good luck with that. I'm pretty sure they're trying to kill netflix not get them more subscribers.
Re:huh? (Score:5, Insightful)
1.I no longer frequently use the video and music plugins, since so much content is streaming over the Internet or other devices. I have some old DVD/BluRay rips still on it that I sometimes watch.
2. I no longer use it to watch any DVD's, for the same reason above, AND the DVD player in it sucks at playing 50% of the DVDs I have, and it doesn't play BluRays.
3. I still use it constantly for the TV recording features. It's still the best DVR by far than any thing else out there, F/OSS, or commercial. Yes, I understand, lots of you college kids and hippy-types watch everything on Hulu or wherever else on your laptops in the coffee-shops, but I like recording shows, watching them later THAT SAME NIGHT or the next night, AUTO-SKIP commercials, on a big 65" TV in HD. All my HD content is from an antenna - I only watch network shows, no cable, don't need it. So it works perfect for that.
Re:User Guide anyone? (Score:4, Insightful)
I see a 0.25 version number. I am like this isn't a full featured project. Then I have to step back and go. Well it is open source. They hate giving it a version 1.0 label until they get everything they wanted done.
Re:User Guide anyone? (Score:5, Insightful)
In a nutshell.
The larger picture is, the programmers often ACTIVELY reject offers of critical help on interface design and usability, not to mention requests to streamline the installation of basic hardware such as remote controls. For instance, the Mythbuntu page for using ATi Remote Wonder remotes [mythtv.org], which were immensely popular and are still readily available in retail packaged alone or with ATi's capture boards including the All-In-Wonder HD line. Setup for these things is a nightmare - command line garbage, edit this or that file, go see "this other page" to find out how to get all the buttons working.
Would it REALLY be hard to set up a script that could enable the necessary settings? Of course not, they've done it for a number of the other remotes by outfites like Hauppauge. But because scripting that isn't "sexy" and some of the programmers are still acting all butthurt about ATi not having open drivers before AMD bought them out, none of the MythTV or Mythbuntu team want to get off their ass and integrate such a script into the main trunk even if someone from the outside submitted it.
It's shit like this that hinders F/OSS adoption by the larger population.
Re:User Guide anyone? (Score:4, Insightful)
I've been using it since 0.17 and it's been "fully functional" as far as I care since then.
I don't think it's ever going to penetrate the commercial space now ; digital TV has made it much easier to make products with PVR features and you can get devices that are basically an HDMI dongle with an SD card slot that perform the significant function (stream recording and playback), you have the likes of Ubuntu TV and the built in OS that most digital TVs seem to have these days.
I cut my teeth on Linux with MythTV though - at the time, I had to use Gentoo to get the bleeding edge kernel support for my DVB hardware. I learned a lot. I'd guess it's still a reasonable way to learn something about Linux, even if it's much easier than it used to be. Which is another way of saying it's a hobbyists project.
Re:User Guide anyone? (Score:2, Insightful)
See, this is precisely the standard shitty linux user attitude that causes problems.
The ATi stuff I have, I've had for years. Under a Windows install, it worked great - STILL DOES in fact. F/OSS evangelists in my area are always trying to get me to "switch over" to a MythTV / Mythbuntu-based system, which I've tried a few times (no harm to slap in an alternate hard drive and test the build for the sake of testing).
You didn't even look at the wiki page I pointed to, to see all the different sets of instructions for multiple different distributions and specific issues on each. You just went straight into your bullshit about ATi being "a vendor best avoided since the bt879 days" which is twofold stupid considering (a) all you're doing is trash-talking and (b) I wasn't even talking about capture cards, I was talking about remotes, which operate completely independent of the capture hardware.
Your own description of the situation seems to highlight why a lot of people still have a considerable amount of "skepticism" when it comes to ATI. ATI has been a "vendor best avoided" since the bt879 days.
And your attitude shows why anyone who already owns ATi equipment is going to say Fuck You in return and go about their business, most of them never to try F/OSS alternatives again since you are acting like a bunch of stuck up pricks poo-pooing existing and widely used hardware.