[OT] Media Centre OS

[Chris Kloiber]

On Wed, 2004-05-12 at 15:36, Edward wrote:
> I quote from an online magazine article I was reading:
> 
> "Linux can do everything Media Centre can do, but no one’s gone out and 
> made a dedicated distro that does all this, and has a nice 
> consumer-friendly interface. Sure the installation will be harder -- 
> much harder -- but there’s plenty of PC tech people with the savvy to 
> sort out that end of the bargain."
> 
> Do you guys know of anyone thinking or contemplating doing this with 
> Linux? Microsoft Media Centre can only be bundled with certified PC's, 
> meaning I could basically never sell one, because my company is too 
> small fry for Microsoft, but what if there was a Linux distro that is 
> *JUST* set up for media content?
> 
> If no-one is doing this already, what do you think interest will be in a 
> project like this?

There's interest I'm sure, One is the MythTV project.
www.mythtv.org but there are others.

Unfortunately US Law prohibits it, as there can be no legal DVD player.
Software patents and copyright issues prevent inclusion of many other
Video and Audio formats without paying royalties and/or license fees per
copy. This is unlikely to appeal to commercial entities as linux is
known for it's freely redistributed nature, and that commercial entity
may be made to pay royalties and fees for those unsold copies, which
would be a losing proposition for all.

-- 
Chris Kloiber