An interesting and somewhat depressing read on AnandTech....

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=637

For me, I'll be satisfied relying on the analog hole left by the component out on my digital box. An IR blaster and a set of component cables connected to my digital receiver are good enough for me. Even with the quality stepdown when you go from digital to analog and back to digital it's still pretty excellent IMHO. My Myth box is used for so much more than just a DVR that it will always have value in our house.
-daveycanuck

I think clear QAM access was the exception rather than the rule... I know some people have said their Comcast service provided extended basic via clear QAM, but my FiOS service certainly doesn't. I agree that any resolution of analog hole will be fine by me. I'll get HD stuff over the air or via, ahem, other sources.

I hope the greedy f***** get everything they want. I hope they lock down TV recording and time-shifting so hard that nobody can watch their shows. Only when Joe Six-pack discovers he can't record the Sunday game anymore will the s*** start to fly in Washington. And maybe we'll get some balance again.

_________________
Do you code to live, or live to code?
Search LinHES forum through Google

Actually it's not quite clear how many cable companies want this in the near term. Clearly Comcast does but perhaps not others so quickly.

Many people stick with extended basic on cable because it doesn't require a box. They like that they can run RG6[59] and screw it on the TV. Even if this box just decrypts (no special remote/interface) its a hassle for people. Something that can break/not work which forces one to deal with lousy customer support.

Analog cable is a competitive advantage they have over satellite that perhaps they are not eager to give up just yet.

Ouch!

_________________
Marc

The views expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.

VOD. For MythTV to stay viable is dependent on it's ability to handle different VOD's that are available.

Do you mean cable-provided VODs, cause if so, you know that's not going to happen.

If you mean something like Boxee, that lets you play various sources like Hulu and video podcasts and even torrents, you are likely on to something.

As more people realize they don't have to subscribe to cable to watch plenty of programming, the need for a DVR decreases, even for over-the-air stuff. And MythTV's strong point is its DVR component--its other media playback components pale in comparison to xbmc or Boxee, in my opinion.

Cable VOD is going the way of the Dodo bird. Netflix, hulu, heck every network has VOD. Why do I need to record 30 Rock, when I can watch it on NBC.com the next morning anyway? Why do I need to rent/snail-mail netflix, when half my queue is available VOD?

Live sporting/awards events would always be the exception. But mythtv creators always put LiveTV people in the unrespected/unsophisticated 'channel surfer' catagory. Any features we ask for always gets push way back, imo.

Myth needs to evolve and addapt or it will die. If I can't get my VOD solutions thru Mythtv, I will search for another solution. But I am hopeful and confident that Myth will grow where it needs to.

It might be as simple as a flash enabled browser that is remote friendly! That would likely get more then half of all VOD web content to my TV.

The new web browser in 0.22 will work with flash and be remote friendly from what I hear.

_________________
R6: ASUS M2NPV-VM motherboard|4 gig or RAM| AMD 3800+ dual core processor|1 TB HD|Nvidia 8600GT graphics card|HDHomeRun|PVR-1212 |Zotac Ion AU frontend

this would be a step in the right direction. But not the entire
solution. Heck it's not all Myth's fault either, it's DRM not playing nice with linux. But the browser would be a first step.

Pretty OT, but Nintendo just made the "Internet Channel" for the Wii free to download. It's an Opera browser with Flash. First site I visited was Hulu, but it's a no go.

The Wii's Opera browser uses Flash 8; apparently Hulu used to support Flash 8, but no longer does. And from what I understand, Adobe won't license newer Flash versions to Opera for use in their embedded browsers.

I wonder if this has something to do with the fact that a user-friendly interface for Hulu on the TV scares the networks.

_________________
MBE/FE: R6, P4 2.8 GHz/2 GB/2 TB, GeForce 6200 512 MB, PVR-150, Cisco RNG-100 cable box
FE: R6, P4 2.0 GHz/1 GB, GeForce4 MX 420 64 MB, diskless netboot

PlayOn just introduced a version for the Wii that lets you access Hulu, CBS, etc., from the Wii. (It already let you access those items from an Xbox 360 and a PS3.)

Of course, to get PlayOn to work you need that off-topic OS...

playOn with Wine? I wonder?

Another advantage to MythTv is that to have it, I have a PC hooked to my TV and it doesn't have to be an overpriced off the shelf media center kind. I long ago separated the frontends and backend and recently set up my frontends so they can dual boot windows. Now I can boot into windows for the DRM stuff (mainly netflix watch instantly) and my young kids can play their computer games in the livingroom rather than the office.

Sure its frustrating having to constantly find the ways and means to get the programming I pay for from the cable company into my mythtv, but there is and will always be a way!