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You've heard of MythTV, but have you heard of Freevo? Maybe you don't know anything about either. Both fall into the "compare it to a TiVO" category. O'Reilly introduces us to Freevo, which allows them to promote their programming in Python book, since it contains lots of Python code. :)
"Freevo, for me, stands for freedom and the power to do whatever I'd like with a TV interface," says Rob Shortt, a 29-year-old system administrator from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. Shortt is one of the main developers of Freevo.
Freevo is a media platform that brings together various applications for video recording and playback. Under its open format, the user can fully customize Freevo to suit his media viewing needs. Its main feature is its ability to schedule and record television broadcasts.
Krister Lagerstrom originally conceived of the project. The first release, in May 2002, consisted only of a blue screen and simple menu bar. Since then, Freevo has evolved beyond just recording TV broadcasts--it can play and manage other media like music, pictures, and even games. "It's relatively complete, and has far surpassed our original plans," says Aubin Paul, whose principal contribution to Freevo has been designing its user interface. The 26-year-old is a university student from Toronto, Ontario, Canada studying economics.
What is the difference between how Freevo works versus TiVo, similar devices, or software products like Windows XP Media Edition? Though its name sounds like a knock on TiVo, the Freevo developers emphasize that their project is more than software that turns a Linux computer into a digital video recorder (DVR). They refer to Freevo as a "platform" as opposed to a mere application. "It's important to note that almost everything in the system is a plugin, so you can essentially build your media center the same way you build a physical system," says Paul. "You can choose the applications, functionality, and interfaces you like."
Because Freevo is on an open platform, users can create plugins that do things TiVo and other PVRs cannot: for example, transcoding video, burning media files to CD or DVD, ripping and copying CDs and DVDs, viewing streams from the Internet, and file sharing. "I even have a plugin to check my voicemail," says Shortt. "Our open platform is our strength. It is also very easy to develop Freevo plugins." Full article with interview of Freevo Team
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