MythNetVision to cure borked MythTV hacks

posted Jan 13th 2010 1:00pm by
filed under: home entertainment hacks

Another group of developers has stepped up to the plate in the never-ending attempt to integrate online streaming video with MythTV. The new plugin is called MythNetVision and aims to bring streaming and downloading video functionality both easily and legally. That means without violating the terms of service of the providing website.

We’ve seen so many attempts that fell short it’s easy to be skeptical about the chances of this plugin actually working. Plugins like MythStream and MythVodka worked only temporarily before breaking and never seemed to provide a reliable option. Many people have tried adding Boxee, Hulu Desktop, or XBMC integration by launching these separate packages via the MythTV UI but that’s far from a clean solution.

It looks like MythNetVision is taking a slightly different approach. Although not yet available, the designers have built the plugin in two parts. The frontend is a fully skinnable user interface that parses RSS feeds to provide the hooks needed to browse, search, and view video. Depending on the content, a browser may be spawned to play the video, it may be played within MythTV’s normal player, or a separate download thread can be launch with video following after the appropriate buffer level is reached. The RSS feeds come either directly from the provider, such as the Revision3 feeds, or a scraper can be written to provide custom RSS feeds from sites that don’t have them.

We’ve seen a glimpse of the progress and we’re optimistic that we’ll see a reliable plugin. Early adoption and user script contribution are the best way to help ensure this so keep an eye out for the public release of this package.



15 Responses to MythNetVision to cure borked MythTV hacks

  • no one says:

    yay first post I am such a retard…LOL

  • dave says:

    This is cool. I currently use a keyboard shortcut to launch firefox from my myth frontend, then surf to Hulu. Works, but somewhat inelegant.

  • ClutchDude says:

    /agreed vehemently

    MythTv seems to be achieving some sort of stability in other areas, thanks to many developers and debuggers out there.

    If MythTv can deliver online content reasonably and dependably, I’d throw just about any thing behind it settling the media box arena.

    I’m sure as heck going to volunteer my setup to help.

  • Dielectric says:

    @dave: you can play with the menu XML file to add a Huludesktop launcher, and nav around Hulu with the remote via lirc. Still a kluge, so I’m pretty excited about MythNetVision.

  • Pat says:

    MythFeed (available on the unofficial plugins) is another option for hulu that’s a little more integrated with Myth. It’s probably the sleaziest hack I’ve ever seen – basically it launches firefox with the correct URL and then uses xdotool to fake pressing the fullscreen button. But, well, it does work.

  • Robert says:

    http://svn.mythtv.org/trac/changeset/23123

    MythNetvision now included in trunk (though still a long ways from complete).

  • Hans says:

    Sorry, but I’ve given up on MythTV. It’s no longer a viable option for my tv viewing habits… for me, it’s all about boxee now. I love you, boxee.

  • Ben C says:

    You guys should check out the app I wrote to incorporate external media into the recordings screen. Not as robust as streaming by any means, but works great in eliminating the need for MythVideo: http://nowsci.com/mythmediamonitor/

  • Dave says:

    @Dielectric: Thanks, I’ll check it out.

    @Hans: Got any specifics? What did you dislike about Myth that you like about Boxee?

    A year ago I had to spend a lot of time maintaining my myth, usually while the inlaws visited. Now setup is easier, it has been rock solid stable since setup, and the feature set has richened considerably. I’m impressed with the .22 UI features.

  • farthead says:

    Problem is that mythtv has a crappy UI.

  • dave says:

    @farthead: For 0.21 I’d agree with you. Have you seen the enhancements introduced in 0.22? Now it can auto-download fanart and associate it with a particular show or episode, and the storage groups are such that it all makes sense and looks really professional. For me there’s been 3 big improvements in this release:

    1. Stability
    2. UI
    3. Native support for the HD-PVR, so recording HD from a cablebox or dish receiver works great.

    I think they’re heading in the right direction.

  • pixel says:

    Mythiplayer (http://code.google.com/p/mythiplayer/), based on the mythvodka code, works nicely for BBC iPlayer for me, here in the UK.

  • Chan Bilazzo says:

    Awesome Post! This is the type of info that should be around the web. Shame on MSN for not positioning this post higher

  • perde says:

    it’s all about boxee now. I love you, boxee.

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