Category — MythTV

Well, it has been a rollercoaster of a journey over the past few months. While the dissolution of zap2it Labs knocked the wind out of the DIY DVR community, SchedulesDirect and MythTV made a strong comeback. Now, it is time for MonolithMC, Inc. to do the same.

So, I am proud to announce the new MonolithMC.com!

The look and feel of the website is a complete change from before. White with black lettering makes reading easier on the eyes while the wider typeset allows for more content on fewer pages. Fewer pages means easier navigation and less clicking. For the same reason, a Tech Specs page has been created which outlines the hardware and software found in every Monolith model.

The new website is riding on top of a complete revamp of the MonolithMC, Inc. infrastructure. The MonolithMC, Inc. database now completely drives all aspects of the business from finances and inventory sourcing through order placement and user support.

The user portion of the site is in development which is intended to give users complete control of their Monolith experience. From order placement and shipment tracking to system configuration and technical support. While this vision is broad, progress is being made quickly.

This is a lot of talk, but where do you currently stand?

Good question! Well, we currently have a configuration page which lets customers specify their entertainment center setups (Cable box make and model, antennas, etc). From there we generate a configuration script and customized installation instructions. Benefits to this method include:

• Reduced setup time
• More familiar configuration interface (webpage vs. MythTV setup)
• Logging of configuration selections for better suppport from MonolithMC, Inc.

With the new configuration and automated features in the pipeline, MonolithMC, Inc. developers have been able to focus more on product improvements rather than “keeping the lights on” of daily business operation. We’ve already seen time improvements in many of our processes and reduced support time - so we’re glad to announce some more good news…

All new Monolith Media Centers will ship with the acclaimed Ubuntu Linux 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon Operating System.

Congratulations to the team.

Additionally, business intelligence has suggested we reconfigure our product lineup based on customer and market trends. The new lineup features two models - MonolithMC: 4200+ ($699) and MonolithMC: 5200+ ($899). All models are dual tuner with HD upgrades available. While we apologize for dissolving our single tuner model to those considering purchasing, we feel the new lineup will better fit the majority of our customer’s feature and support needs.

We hope you will enjoy the improvements in both presentation, support and product evolution and we will keep you updated as more advancements are made. As always, please let us know what you think.

Cheers!

September 1st, 2007 will mark a tipping point for the Do It Yourself (DIY) PVR Community.

Starting tomorrow, Tribune Media will discontinue its free zap2it channel guide service. This service, which MythTV and many other popular software titles was dependent on, will no longer exist. To fill the void, a non-profit company called Schedules Direct has been created by several members of the PVR community. Currently, Schedules Direct provides channel guide data for $5 / month with a goal of $20 / year in the near future. Creation of this entity is a big step forward for the community by ensuring the availability of guide data and encouraging the growth of Open Source software. Congratulations to all those involved.

With the creation of Schedules Direct, a subrelease of MythTV has been announced (0.20.2) which will includes the integration of Schedules Direct along with several other features and bug fixes. More information on the release
All current MonolithMC customers can follow the upgrade instructions

In addition to the DIY PVR community hitting a major milestone, MonolithMC, Inc. is announcing the next generation of its product line. Welcome MonolithMC - v.2.0. This release incorporates software updates, hardware updates and company improvements, including:

• Ubuntu Feisty 7.04 - the award winning Ubuntu release yet
• MythTV 0.20.2
• Schedules Direct integration
• 1GB Ram Standard
• AMD 5200+ X2 Dual Core Processor Upgrades Available
• Bigger and Cheaper Hard Drives - up to 750GB!
• Lower prices on all MonolithMC units - starting at $599!
• MonolithMC Support site is now Live!

We look forward to the continued success of MythTV, Ubuntu and the Open Source community and once again congratulate all those who have contributed!

Zap2It Labs is shutting down Sep. 1st. Thankfully, members of the DIY DVR Community have come together to form Schedules Direct which will offer the same XML based TV service. There will be a charge for the service which is initially set to $15 / 3 months, and the owners “expect pricing to drop by the end of the initial term. Our goal is $20/year.”

The upside to this is that the feed and the grabber are both maintained by the community, increasing functionality and efficiency.

As always, all MonolithMC’s will receive an update to adapt to these changes, once they go live.

Stay tuned!