I’ve been using MythTV for about 2 years now and at times its been a challenge to keep it running. One of the reason I keep coming back to it is that I find it to be the easiest PVR to use. Recently a usability study of MythTV was done by Interactive Digital Television Laboratory on its v0.19 release. The results were really impressive and in retrospect I shouldn’t be surprised. MythTV has come along way since I’ve been using it and is now a very user friendly. I’m especially inspired since its all been community drive and a great example of power of open-source.

I think one of the reason it is so easy to use is that it doesn’t feature and DRM to get in the way. If you want to play MP3 it will, from almost any location and with minimal hassle. If you want to copy a DVD it will, without any legal disclosure or MPAA alarms going off. Recently its added the ability to download video podcasts which really makes me question why I still keep my cable service. Overall MythTV is really setting the bar for where PVRs need to be in terms of functionality and freedom.

You find the original article here and the complete usability report here.