Most of the time we see a side-by-side comparison of MythTV and say.. an XP MCE Box, we're really getting "apples and oranges"; MCE boxes are all pre-configured by an integrator, with all the bugs worked out, and a single combination of hardware. By contrast, MythTV requires the user to configure certain settings to make it run... not to mention the need for a free program guide.

Unlike Tivo or XP MCE, MythTV users have traditionally been on their own for program guide data, relying on Tribune's Zap2it Guide for the nightly downloads that make their scheduling functions work. The upside: Zap2it is free. The downside: You have to fill out surveys every so often, there are no guarantees, and there are many exciting new offerings that Tribune isn't likely to include in its free site (like the movie listings they introduced with Microsoft about a month ago). Sooner or later, MythTV users are going to miss out on new data offerings or even content streaming because no company is willing to offer the subscription-based companion services to a Linux audience who's used to getting everything for free... until now.

A California startup named TechnoVera has made a deal with Tribune Media Services to license their data services (including movie show-times and more) to be hosted for the Linux Audience on LxMSuite.com. The novel part of this? While Tivo implements user-tracking, pop-up's and banner ads, LxMSuite will be giving their subscribers new themes and even additional features and functionality each month. And they are promising that the net proceeds from each $5/month subscription will go to sponsor Open Source Development (presumably MythTV). They plan a "Bounty-Vote" system, which they liken to a "Software Survival Game", where you can spend your bounty votes against a feature or for it. A subscription-based service offering for Linux Media PC users might sound like a bit of a gamble, but the guys at MythTV seem to have responded well, posting a rare interim release (MythTV 0.18.1) to avail all its users of the new functionality.

TechnoVera's President Sean M. Kelly thinks this is more about the big-picture: "This is a turning point of Linux as an open-architecture MediaPC platform. MythTV is a powerful tool in that arsenal, and consumers usually want that... we believe the audience will respond,... they'll want freedom in their choice of file-formats and functionality." There are already commercially available products on the market based on MythTV (Australia's D1, for example), and at least two other companies are planning MythTV-Based Products this year. What Tribune and TechnoVera are doing is completely different because they are putting the pieces into place that could help make other companies' Linux Media boxes more marketable. Kelly specifically outlined TechnoVera's plans to offer cooperative partnerships to Linux box-sellers (like D1 and Telly): "Often-times, the user base of a single vendor is too small to justify spinning up these kind of services". TechnoVera plans to help startup groups "piggy-back" onto their growing audience (presumably with a piece of the subscription revenue). Meanwhile, KnoppMyth creator Cecil Watson has developed a hardware platform for a turnkey, MythTV-based Media PC.

In the near future, I'll be publishing interviews with notable personalities within the Media PC scene like MythTV founder Isaac Richards and the Editor of Home Entertainment & Design Magazine, Brent Butterworth. We'll discuss the significance of this announcement and what it could mean to not only the world of Media PCs but to the world of Home Theatre in general.

You can expect an official press release from Tribune Media Services within the next couple of days.

In the interim, if you're a dedicated MythTV user, you may want to consider upgrading to version 0.18.1 and signing up with LxMSuite.com for the pilot period to evaluate their electronic program guide data service and help fund open source development. Don't forget, you'll have an opportunity to vote on what functionality you'd like (or not like) to see added to the application. I'm going to head over and sign up right now.