January 30, 2005
Freevo 開發者訪談
Freevo 是個非常棒的一個 FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) 計畫，而 O'Reilly 旗下的 LinuxDevCenter 邀請 Freevo 的核心開發者 Rob Shortt 等人進行了訪談，詳細內容可參考 [Freevo: Freedom For Your TV]。
Freevo 以 SDL 與 Python 打造，目標是建構一個 Media Center 的平台，除了 TV 功能外，也支援 PVR 錄影，透過 Python 撰寫的眾多模組，可以很快的整合新功能。值得一書的部分是 Freevo 支援 XMLTV，這是一個針對 TV 應用的 XML 處理。
O'Reilly 的記者也提到 Freevo 與另一個著名的計畫 MythTV 的差異，我們得到的回應是這樣：
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Dirk Meyer: MythTV uses QT, which uses X. Freevo should also run on a frame buffer, a DXR3 or something else. The next difference is MythTV depends on a MySQL database. Freevo always was a GUI for external programs. There was never the idea to build a TV application like MythTV inside Freevo.
Rob Shortt: MythTV has the live TV time-shifting nailed, and for that I am envious. While Myth has the advantage in [this], I think Freevo does a better job of other media handling.
Freevo tends to be a more nimble program, or I should say "platform." This has to do with us not using a data server like MySQL or depending on Apache for the web interface. Instead, we use a combination of caches, object serialization, XML files, and SQLite for persistent storage, and our own lightweight web server using Twisted.
Aubin Paul: MythTV is exceptional, and I admire much of what they've done. But I don't like some of their design choices. For example, why would I run X-Windows on my TV?
- Freevo 不需要 X Window System，而 MythTV 需要
- Freevo 不需要 MySQL 支援 (使用輕便的 SQLite)，而 MythTV 需要
- Freevo 不需要複雜的 Apache (使用小巧的 Twisted)，而 MythTV 需要
- Freevo 的 software stack 較 MythTV 精簡許多
迴響