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Today's show:
For this episode, we're going to take another look at the world of Home
Theater PCs, but from a Microsoft Media Center point of view.
Then we'll look at the other side of the spectrum with a discussion on
the open source system, MythTV.
But First:
Cable plans HDTV launch in 2006 (UK)
Finally,
after listening to our podcast on virtual surround systems an executive
at Dolby Laboratories contacted us through their PR firm and asked us
to look at their virtual surround system known as "Dolby Headphones"
and "Dolby Virtual Speakers". This technology is similar to what we
worked on at SONY in that the work is done on the encoding of the
material. There is a demo online that works any standard set of
headphones you have. Check it out!
We hope to talk more about this technology in the future.
HTPC Overview
Back in May of 2005 (Podcast #8), we talked about what an HTPC should do for you... "The
Home Theater PC is all about convergence - one device that takes the
place of several others. Your basic HTPC should provide functionality
that would eliminate the need for:
DVD Player
CD Player
MP3 Player
Radio
TV Tuner
TV Recorder (Tivo/DVR)
The
availability of a reasonably priced DVD-ROM drive is what really made
the HTPC market come alive. The combination of hardware and software
found in even a basic PC can produce stunning progressive scan DVD
video, rivaling even the most expensive DVD players."
Media Center PCs
Not to be outdone, Microsoft introduced their Windows XP Media Center Edition
for the purpose of creating Windows based HTPCs. There are 17
brands listed at Microsoft's website, and countless others not listed,
that all sell HTPCs using Windows MCE. Out of the box, all these
deivices should be able to:
- Sort, store and display pictures (with background audio)
- Sort, store and play digital music files
- Function as a DVR (Record, Pause, FF/RW Live TV, including OTA HDTV)
- Play DVDs
- Access Video on Demand from the Internet
- Play PC based games
- Run PC based programs, including web browsing
- Stream content throughout the home, using Windows Media Center Extender devices
What they cannot do, is:
What is Myth TV?
MythTV is a GPL licensed suite of programs that allow
you to build the mythical home media convergence box on your own using Open
Source software and operating systems.
Basically it works like any other DVR. You can pause
live TV, fast forward, rewind and record live TV from MPEG-2, MJPEG, DVB or HDTV
capture devices. With some extra hardware Myth TV can control set top boxes from
DBS and Cable companies. Myth TV even has a program guide that is downloaded
from Zap2It.com.
Great where do I buy one? You don't have to, its
free! But its not for the faint at heart. This is the software equivalent of
those old Heath Kit TVs. Basically you need a dedicated computer running LINUX.
You can either download the source and compile and configure it or you can
download precompiled versions of the software configure it. Systm.org produced a
video on building a Myth TV box that will be a great help to
you.
So
why would I want to go to all this trouble when I can buy a Tivo or get a DVR
from my Satellite or cable provider? Well the Myth Box goes beyond what a
typical DVR does. If you build/install the optional modules your myth box can
include:
- MythGallery, a picture-viewing
application
- MythVideo, a media-viewer for content
not created within MythTV
- MythDVD, a DVD viewer / ripper
- MythMusic, a music playing / ripping
application which supports MP3 and FLAC
- MythGame
- MythWeather
- MythNews, a RSS news grabber
- MythBrowser, a web browser
- MythWeb, which allows you to control
your MythTV system using a web browser. With MythWeb, you can schedule
recordings, delete files, change keybindings and more. With proper security, you
may even schedule a program over the Internet and have it immediately acted on
by the scheduler.
- MythPhone, phone and videophone using
SIP.
The website refers to the project as The mythical
convergence box that's been talked about for a few years. Another big plus is that multiple Myth Boxes
can be networked together so that shows recorded on one box can be viewed on
another. Each box can be built for as little as three hundred dollars. This is NOT a project for beginners! If you
don't know what LINUX is don't bother. Even if you know what LINUX is you should
be comfortable with compiling software. Here are some links that will help you should you want to take on this
challenge:
How
to Build a Myth TV Box Wiki
Systm
Episode 2 MythTV
Step-by-step
guide to building a MythTV System on Fedora Core 4 w/Atrpms
More background and system requirements can be found here
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