[mythtv-users] xbmc mythbox thoughts

Robert McNamara robert.mcnamara at gmail.com
Fri May 22 15:57:28 UTC 2009


On Fri, May 22, 2009 at 8:32 AM, Johnny <jarpublic at gmail.com> wrote:
> There is work being done to make XBMC server as a unified PVR
> frontend, see: http://www.xbmc.org/wiki/?title=GSoC_-_Unified_PVR_Frontend.
> I think that mythtv is one of the main frontends slated to take
> advantage of this new capability. I have read people talking about it
> in the forums. However I just don't see XBMC supplanting the standard
> frontend. The mythtv devs would basically be relinquishing control of
> a major portion of the mythtv project to another group. XBMC simply
> has a different set up goals and priorities than mythtv and it is
> highly unlikely that both groups would have the same vision for the
> work. Like others have said much of the UI features of XBMC will be
> there in .22. The way I see it going forward is there will always be a
> standard mythfrontend. If the XBMC unified pvr architecture works out
> then there will certainly be a mythtv fronted as part of that. Maybe
> mythbox will be involved, or maybe it will be made obsolete by it. As
> usually there will advantages to using XBMC and different advantages
> to using the standard frontend.

I agree with all of this 100%, particularly with the notion that the
two project cultures are a bit divergent.  I don't see anyone throwing
out the frontend, and while the .22 version of MythUI will lack a few
of the animation features found in XBMC skinning, it's only out of
desire to get .22 out in a reasonable span of time. That stuff is
still coming-- the non-animation UI stuff from MythUI is quite good
(with tons planned over the next two versions).  Having played with
XBMC and mythbox quite a bit, I don't want to disparage the XBMC folks
or the scripts author, but they are two very different applications
with very different goals (and cultures/philosophies).  Mythbox makes
for a reasonable way of watching TV and recordings in XBMC, but that's
as far as it goes for the moment.  There are dozens, if not hundreds,
of frontend settings that pertain to the behavior of the backend,
recording schedules, etc. that don't have analogs in XBMC.  Suggesting
that the frontend be throw out in favor of XBMC + mythbox is a bit
like suggesting we throw out our cars in favor of segways-- They just
don't both accomplish the same thing.

Robert


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