i finally got mythtv installed and working. i think. it’s not the latest version, but it’s what was in the ubuntu repositories and i’m lazy. so hopefully, i will actually get “match of the day” recorded. i almost did tonight, but there was issues with the fact that my system clock was still set for “america/chicago” timezone. luckily, they replay it tomorrow morning.
there’s nothing pleasant about installing mythtv. i really don’t like the ui either. it also records (even when it should just be copying the mpeg-2 file off the air) into a weird container format. i’m not sure what the point of that is. (update: this turns out to not be true. the mpeg-2 is actually stored as an mpeg program stream. it’s only mpeg-4 and analog captured video that is in the nuv container. they just still use the nuv extension on the file name even though it isn’t. why do they have an extension on the filenames anyway?)
another key bit of information is that your dpi should be set to 100-ish or else the fonts overlap. you also shouldn’t have your display resolution at 1920×1200 or else it’s excessively slow. i setup the mythtv user’s desktop so that it uses 1024×640 (why are computer monitors 16:10 aspect ratio?). the digital t.v. here broadcasts 720×576 anamorphic (like pal dvds) which is 1024×576 when unanamorphiced (word?).
1024×576 non-anamorphic should have been the choice for initial mpeg-2 based digital t.v. in the u.s. well, really 1024×512, but if they insist on retarded 16:9. eventually i’ll get my full atsc rant out of my system.
i was able to record this show “forty years of f***” on bbc one. it’s pretty interesting. it’s unbelievable that the broadcast networks here are less sensored than the u.s. (why is it the boob tube if you can’t show boobs?), but run by the government. you just haven’t to wait until after 22:00 or something. unedited movies with no commercials over the air. nice. my personal preference in the u.s. would still be that they shouldn’t show any movies edited. if you can’t show it, you can’t show it.
upcoming this week is also a bbc special “when lineker met maradona“. looks like it wil be good.
Why do we have filename extensions?
We would probably need to extend this to what’s in a (file)name?
Perhaps the clue is it is a “clue”. Don’t we humans
expect a crutch, typically visual, to aid us in identifying what
something represents? Don’t we endlessly categorize everything in a
feeble attempt to keep up with things and what they represent? So the
traditional use of filename extensions is the obvious and
conventional use for indicating file type. Interestingly, it is also
incorporated into software for the same purpose. Pretty high tech,
huh. You would think software might detect from the content. Nope,
most assume that the file type represented by the extension is
accurate and attempt to process as such. As we know, frequently other
information is embedded into a filename. For example,
july4thpicoflakemartin.jpg would be easily interpreted as “July
4th picture of lake Martin in an image format of jpg”. You
could really even remove the “.” except the convention
over the years would suggest otherwise. When the filename isn’t
enough, we start creating directories with name conventions to
further give meaning to the data. All this just to give “clues”
to what the file of data represents! Since humans are the ultimate
consumers, I don’t think the visual clues will ever go away, even in
the software world. However, we continue to try.
in this case, filename extensions were completely pointless as it’s more of a database situation. the filenames are already random numbers to the average user.
depending on filenames for type is what has caused a lot of problems for microsoft and internet explorer.