MythTV Plug-ins

MythArchive

DVD image creation from recorded shows (including proprietary video formats) and MythVideo files are handled through the MythArchive plug-in. Archives include program meta-data (title, description, cut list) so that content may be transferred or copied between systems without losing such all-important information. This was formerly the task of MythBurn shell scripts, but has been retired in favor of a Python script and better mythfrontend user interface integration.

Using the MythArchive plug-in, you can create DVDs with or without themed menu structures, add new themes to existing titles from any accessible video collection, create auto-play DVDs, transcode and trim commercials from MPEG2 recordings, and re-encode resolution for DVD playback on commercial players. Single or dual-layer DVDs are supported with an option to erase re-writable disks, and you can create an ISO image that you can then burn onto DVD on any machine with a working DVD burner.

A simple XML file controls re-encoding profiles for the automated conversion of audio or video formats.

MythBrowser

Native support for tabbed Web browsing is provided by the MythBrowser plug-in. In addition to conveniently-tabbed windows, MythBrowser responds to mouse-driven events with a right-click pop-up menu and customizable keyboard and remote control bindings for navigating the 'Net. There's even a basic bookmark manager included for categorizing your favorite sites.

Configuration is simple and summarized in the following options: default page zoom, default browser (can be changed to, say, Firefox or Konqueror), scrollbar visibility, page scroll toggle and speed and of course add or edit bookmarks.

MythControls

Settings for keybindings were previously handled through the MythWeb plug-in or by fiddling with the MySQL database in which such bindings are stored - that is, until the MythControls plug-in came along.

MythControls makes these settings accessible directly to the frontend client as a plug-in instead of as an integral portion of the frontend configuration settings (before it was built-in and mandatory, today it's optional). Keyboard controls may be mapped according to personal preferences so that less time need be spent learning keybindings. This means you can spend that time training MythTV to respond to whatever control inputs you desire instead.