[mythtv] Brainstorming a new idea for the program guide

[Mythtv]

Surely if the proponents of this idea were prepared to spend actual
money to provide hosting of the data, it would be better spent on TVDB
itself rather than by trying to produce a replica of it?

 

The idea of distributing the content and therefore the workload has some
merit, however I for one would not be a big fan of a half-baked
bittorrent solution.  To do it properly would be a considerable piece of
work, and quite frankly - I think it would be easier all round to just
fix the problem at the source (i.e. invest in TVDB) if there is genuine
interest in the concept.

 

Finally, you probably need to consider the legal ramifications of
distributing this kind of content.  Arguably it is all copyrighted
material, and is being distributed without permission.  Presumably the
operators of TVDB have their own legal advice and that's their choice,
but I can't really see the Mythtv project getting into the content
distribution game.

 

 

From: mythtv-dev-bounces at mythtv.org
[mailto:mythtv-dev-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of Jay Merrifield
Sent: Wednesday, 23 September 2009 3:21 AM
To: Development of mythtv
Subject: Re: [mythtv] Brainstorming a new idea for the program guide

 

lol, there's a reason I asked the mailing list before I started coding.
So it sounds like this is a no-go without some kind of real cheap source
of the files. I'm certain TVDB would allow us to grab their images and
host them somewhere else to reduce the load on them, especially if we
give them credit (think a byline somewhere, or a watermark on the
images). So then it comes to where could we host the images? And how
much would it cost? 

Bittorrent is definitely a solution especially since with htpcs, they're
often always on. A lot of media software uses bittorrent to download all
kinds of files off the internet. I think the largest downside to that is
the problems with configuring a bittorrent client properly in this day
and age of NATs and routers and the backlash of people who say that the
bittorrent client is destroying their internet connection. 

Another idea is storing it in a cloud like Amazon S3, but again, that
costs money. I'm wondering if anyone has ever considered an approach
like the "Premium Themes" of PS3. Where the normal service is free, but
if you want a few nicer perks and cool flashy gizmos, you pay a little
bit of money. Though I have no idea how to avoid people viewing this as
opening pandora's box where slowly more and more new features are moved
into the "premium" category while the free users get left in the dust. I
know there was huge backlash when myth was moved to schedules direct.

3rd idea would be getting a corporate sponsor. Having a large
organization with tons and tons of bandwidth donating some of it to us.
Like maybe if we approached google or someone else who supports open
source software and getting them to donate some space for us to push the
envelope in terms of features. 

All in all this feature isn't complicated to do, it's just the economics
of the matter.

Thoughts?
Jay

On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 1:05 PM, Stuart Morgan <stuart at tase.co.uk>
wrote:

On Tuesday 22 Sep 2009 17:47:38 Jeff wrote:
> Perhaps tmdb will have to implement a subscription fee for the HD
artwork,
> but could provide lower-resolution artwork for free.  I'm sure there
will
>  be users that complain about a fee, but at the same time, there will
be
>  many who understand the economy, and that servers, electricity, and
>  internet bandwidth all cost money, and would be glad to subscribe to
their
>  services for the HD artwork -- especially if it's a choice between
"We
>  have to do this, or shut down..."

I suspect that the core users of TVDB with applications like XBMC would
rather
it died that pay anything for it. It's simply their pattern of
behaviour, they
don't understand (or care) that these things need to be paid for.

--
Stuart Morgan

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