SageTV Media Extender is rebranded MVP?

[VikingCrown]

Hello everyone, I am gurrently a dissatisfied GBPVR user and I am considering switching to SageTV. My current setup includes a Hauppauge MVP which i got from radio shack for like 40$ I have a few questions about the SageTV Media Extender . . .

First is it just a re-branded wired version of the Hauppauge MVP?

Second, If it is a rebranded Hauppauge MVP, is it the new wireless version just without the wireless card?

Third, if it is the new one, does the ethernet port still run at half duplex and does it nativly support divx?

Finally, what are the advantages of using the SageTV Media Extender Vs. just getting the client license for the MVP I already own.

I know this is a lot of questions, and I did try and search some of them, but i wasn't having much luck. If i'm just being a dumb newb then please tell me.

Regards,
Brian

[amg]

Originally Posted by VikingCrown

First is it just a re-branded wired version of the Hauppauge MVP?

Second, If it is a rebranded Hauppauge MVP, is it the new wireless version just without the wireless card?

Third, if it is the new one, does the ethernet port still run at half duplex and does it nativly support divx?

Finally, what are the advantages of using the SageTV Media Extender Vs. just getting the client license for the MVP I already own.

The Media Extenders are Hauppauge MVPs. The support for non-MPEG2 is done by the server software as the MVP does not support anything but MPEG2.

If you have an MVP already, just get the Media Extender license, NOT THE CLIENT LICENSE.

[dflachbart]

Originally Posted by VikingCrown

Second, If it is a rebranded Hauppauge MVP, is it the new wireless version just without the wireless card?

I received mine (wired) yesterday. It is revision H2, and includes the SPDIF-out ...


Dirk

[VikingCrown]

I thought they looked like Hauppauge ones. I thought the new MVP's played Divx files nativly I have an old one which I know does not. Also I am really interested in if the New MVP's run at 100 Full Duplex, can anyone speak to that?

[JUC]

AFAIC new and old MVP's run at full duplex. It was only when using Matt's plugin that 'some' people had to run at half duplex. When using the mvp with the built in sage support both the new and old versions of the MVP run 100 Full Duplex.

Now--neither the old or new MVP's (wired or wireless) play Divx natively. They do however play them by transcoding the files on the server side. This does take some CPU power though. My athlonXP 2000 I have in my server can't keep up with the divx transcoding but can when transcoding .vobs audio.

So--if you are using sage's built in support--you should be able to run at full duplex with your older MVP (I am). And-no-upgrading to a new MVP will not give you native Divx playback.

One thing to note--the new MVP's come with SPDIF outputs which once sage works things out--will allow you to play .vobs and pass throug the AC3 audio without transcoding it first. Currently, the audio is still transcoded for some reason.
Hope this helps,
JUC

[VikingCrown]

Originally Posted by amg

The Media Extenders are Hauppauge MVPs. The support for non-MPEG2 is done by the server software as the MVP does not support anything but MPEG2.

If you have an MVP already, just get the Media Extender license, NOT THE CLIENT LICENSE.

I don't see a media extender license in the store, all i see are client licenses for the MVP. Why don't I want that?

[gplasky]

You DO want the client license for the MVP. You DON'T want a client license for a PC. And your client license for a MVP can also be used with Placeshifter, just not at the same time.

Gerry

[davephan]

Originally Posted by JUC

AFAIC new and old MVP's run at full duplex. It was only when using Matt's plugin that 'some' people had to run at half duplex. When using the mvp with the built in sage support both the new and old versions of the MVP run 100 Full Duplex.

Now--neither the old or new MVP's (wired or wireless) play Divx natively. They do however play them by transcoding the files on the server side. This does take some CPU power though. My athlonXP 2000 I have in my server can't keep up with the divx transcoding but can when transcoding .vobs audio.

So--if you are using sage's built in support--you should be able to run at full duplex with your older MVP (I am). And-no-upgrading to a new MVP will not give you native Divx playback.

One thing to note--the new MVP's come with SPDIF outputs which once sage works things out--will allow you to play .vobs and pass throug the AC3 audio without transcoding it first. Currently, the audio is still transcoded for some reason.
Hope this helps,
JUC

I am considering buying a media extender to playback DivX. I have an Althon XP 2800 (1 gig memory and 1 TB IDE 7200 disk). Is this enough horsepower for playing back DivX through a media extender? If I want to playback two DivX recordings at the same to with two media extenders, how much CPU would I need to do the transcoding?

Is there a way to offload the media extender transcoding process to another computer? I used to offload automatic commerical skipping processing with another computer - it kept the older P3 computer very busy, but it did reduce my main SageTV computer's load.


Dave

[tmiranda]

Before upgrading my Sage server I had a 2.4 GHz Celeron w/512 MB RAM. When watching DivX on a single MVP the CPU was close to 100% Most of the time the picture was fine but in some fast action scenes it got a little jerky. Running ComSkip or ShowAnalyser was a non-starter, it pegged the CPU and the MVP became totally unresponsive.

Not very scientific, but I would guess that my old server was close to minimum specs for DivX transcoding.

[ChePazzo]

I LOVE my MVP (wired). Works great. In fact, if you have an MVP already and have never used Sage, it is worth the extra money for Sage so you can use it with the MVP.

Originally Posted by VikingCrown

Finally, what are the advantages of using the SageTV Media Extender Vs. just getting the client license for the MVP I already own.

Most other questions were already answered, so . . . .

The MVP is a solid-state device with no moving parts and is very small. It is quiet. If you just need to connect composite a/v (or s-video), then this will prevent you from having to install an entire PC next to your TV.

You really want the client if you need HD or digital audio output to TV. Otherwise, stick with the MVP.

Also, remember that the MVP is cheap. For ~$100/TV, you can enable every set in your house to share the same VOD content! In fact, go buy a DVD, rip it to your server, and now every TV in your house (with an MVP) can view the DVD with full menu support!! Put the DVD away where it won't get lost or scratched up (works GREAT for kid movies).

Stay away from wireless, though, if you can. I've heard some good experiences with wireless, but I think those are only in a perfect world. Wireless just isn't a great video streaming medium.

[jbarr]

http://PCAlchemy is an excellent source for wired and wireless MVP's as well as the client software.

[stevech]

Originally Posted by jbarr

http://PCAlchemy is an excellent source for wired and wireless MVP's as well as the client software.

at least for the wired MVP + software, I calculate that buying from SageTV's website is a wee bit cheaper than PCalchemy ($5 less).

Lots of other good stuff on PCalchemy though.

[FidgetyRat]

Does the wired MVP (both sage or hauppauge) work with sage6 beta? I am really considering getting an MVP but i NEED AAC support otherwise I cant use it.

[jbarr]

Originally Posted by stevech

at least for the wired MVP + software, I calculate that buying from SageTV's website is a wee bit cheaper than PCalchemy ($5 less).

Lots of other good stuff on PCalchemy though.

I guess it's when you visit the site, because when I purchased my SageTV licenses, they were $5.00 LESS that SageTV's Web Store....

[FidgetyRat]

I just purchased the MVP license last night from alchemy for 24. I believe sage wants 29