The New York Times has a decent article up about MythTV, the Broadcast Flag, and Filesharing up. While it’s fairly high level, and some parts are wrong (Bittorrent letting you download a 1 hour show in minutes for example: I’ve downloaded plenty of TV shows and it’s not that fast, trust me) it’s not a bad article.

Even mentions the EFF and how they’re going to fight the Broadcast Flag, which may or may not put a stop to some of the filesharing. I agree with parts – I own Alias, 24, Sports Night, and every season of the Simpsons available on DVD. Purchased them and everything. I don’t mind buying TV I love (though it drives my wife crazy why I buy TV shows on DVD for shows I’ve already seen). But the government regulating even more the TV that comes over the air on what I can record, and how long it stays recorded for I start to have issues. It’s one thing if we’re talking about pay TV, say the Sopranos. But when I miss a week or two of 24, what is the issue if I download it?

If I miss an episode of 24, and I can’t download it, there is a good chance I am done watching for the season. Especially with serial shows like Lost, 24, Alias, and Desperate Housewives. Is it worth it to Big Media to not allow me to download and lose me as a customer for the entire season? I don’t think they always see the forest for the trees.

I’ll be buying a pcHDTV card for my MythTV box prior to July 1st when the Broadcast Flag goes in to effect. Maybe even two since hard drives are cheap now.