Using the network

videdot uses the network for several essential services, as well as to provide extra features to the community of users:

Listings

We collect the programme information over the network. We're using the XMLTV format, since it covers what we need and there are free grabbers for gathering the information.

Recommendations

By collecting anonymised user behaviour we suggest useful programmes to others, based on what they have recorded or asserted they like.

Home networks

Your videdot box should be able to offer the content it holds to other connected devices in your home - your desktop machine, for example. What is needed here is covered by Sharing, and Wireless fun below.

Sharing

Plugins allow anyone to extend videdot to hook into just about any file-sharing network to find programmes you missed. We're writing a bunch ourselves as well, but the serious work here will wait until after Release One.

This has taken a step forward, and I'll soon publish a proposal for doing peer-to-peer stuff cleanly for any apps under Be-like systems. That way we can write the interface to each p2p network once and get back to the interesting work of using the networks.

Streamed media is just a special case of sharing, but particular plug=ins may want to behave differently depending on the nature of the connecting medium (wired, wireless, local, remote). How much functionality a plug-in offers to which users is a matter for the plugin, but all plugins will rely on common authentication and permissioning (including letting all users do anything, if they so choose).

There's an interesting nut to crack in terms of veracity of information sourced over the network, with reputations and so forth.

Network subscriptions

Extending the concept of live queries out to the network. Some things you will just want to watch for.

This is related to the concept of broadcatching, but in the no-click recording manner we already use for other rule-based recordings. You do not need a different set of rules for what you want to watch, just more sources of listings (in particular RSS feeds of fetchable programming).

Collaboration

If you know in advance that you're unable to record something (because it clashes, your aerial has broken, whatever), should your box appeal to the network to find a kind soul to record it for you?

Wireless fun

Fast-enough wireless networking is getting common enough to be worth some special attention. More news in future, I have some fun ideas, from steroidal remote controls, to local distribution and general walkabout freedom.

In truth the wirelessness doesn't really change the way it works, just adds cool things you can do with it. Notably I'd quite like to sit in the garden and remain connected, with a fast PDA and the right network, you're laughing, streaming, scheduling, whatever. Attention will be needed to make a decent interface for small devices, but that can follow once the basic network stuff is working.

You get quite a lot for free once you have addressibility and open, well-understood protocols...