Turning HD PVR's STB On

[Diego Garcia]

Is there a way to configure Sage to turn on the STB dedicated to an HDPVR? Or must I leave the STB running all the time?

[aflat]

Most STB can be configured so a channel change will power it on, you'll have to go into the settings on your STB.

[PiX64]

If i remember right there is a STBKeepAlive app floating around on the forums as well. I used that at one time for my DishNetwork STB...

[davephan]

I think SageTV users in general leave the set top boxes powered on 24 x 7. I don't think you'll save any money by turning them off. When you turn the set top boxes off, they really aren't off. The power light is off though. If you unplug the set top box from power, then it is really off. But when you plug the set top box back into the power, then you might have to wait 20 - 30 minutes for the box to be re-programmed.

Dave

[doc]

There's also the option of sending a prefix code before the channel numbers.

My old remote had a blue button that would turn the box on if it was off, but if it was already on it wouldn't do anything. If you have a button that will do this, you can use that as the prefix code.

Using the on/off button wont help as if the box is already on - it will turn it off.

[Diego Garcia]

Interesting. How do you configure Sage to send prefix codes? Or an HDPVR?

[doc]

Originally Posted by Diego Garcia

Interesting. How do you configure Sage to send prefix codes? Or an HDPVR?

Page 162 of the manual

[Diego Garcia]

WHAT?!? Read 162 pages of a manual?!?

Thanks for the tip.

[doc]

I'd have looked it up on my own server but I'm 11,000 miles from home

[sic0048]

I leave mine on 24/7. You would be surprised how little difference there is in the power usage between standby and on. I've decided just to leave mine on all the time because it isn't worth messing with it to save 2 cents a year.

[Diego Garcia]

Sounds like a not very good design for the STB .

Thanks for the info. I'm on a long-term kick to reduce power consumption in my house, 'cause I currently pay $0.47 per KWh on the margin. In part because of three servers and a saltwater aquarium that I run 24/7/365.

[sic0048]

If you don't have one already, you might be interested in getting a Kill A Watt metering device. You can plug just about anything into it and it will let you know how much power it is really using. It works really well and help give your true power usage which can help you decide if devices need to be replaced with more power efficient devices, or simply turned off more often.

You could plug your STB into it and see the difference between "On" and "Standby" and make your own decisions based on your equipment.

Obviously my 2 cent difference was an exageration, but there isn't much difference.

[Diego Garcia]

I own one. It's one of my favorite gadgets.

I didn't mean to jump on your point, and I believe you when you say there's little difference in the power draw for the typical STB between the "on" and "off" states. But that just says to me that it's improperly designed, from a power consumption point of view.

There's been an idea floating around the California legislature to require all "home" electronic devices to draw no more than 1 watt in their "off" state. There are times I think that would be a good idea, if properly implemented.

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by Diego Garcia

I own one. It's one of my favorite gadgets.

I didn't mean to jump on your point, and I believe you when you say there's little difference in the power draw for the typical STB between the "on" and "off" states. But that just says to me that it's improperly designed, from a power consumption point of view.

There's been an idea floating around the California legislature to require all "home" electronic devices to draw no more than 1 watt in their "off" state. There are times I think that would be a good idea, if properly implemented.

No offense taken at all. I really didn't take your comments to be negative in the least. I just thought a KillaWatt would be helpful - obviously it is!