New user--help with various issues

[yacht_boy]

Hi all-

Finally took the plunge earlier this month and got myself all the stuff needed to make my desktop into a full-fledged HTPC. So far it's been a mixed bag.

I've got Sage configured to do most of what I want, but I'm struggling with the details.

My specs:
eMachines T3092 with AMD Athlon 2.17 ghz, 1.5 gigs RAM, PNY GeForce 5200 video card (nVidia chip) with SVideo and dual monitor out, Hauppauge 150, 160 gb main drive, 300 gb dedicated PATA drive for video, single-layer DVD burner

Sage v6.0.19.120 (upgraded from trial version of v5 with no real problems)

recording on 3.2 gig/hour DVD-quality setting

Sound: USB speakers (waiting on a better sound card from Amazon)

TV: 27" tube SDTV, nothing fancy

signal: Digital cable from a Motorola DCT2224 STB

First--Picture quality: I couldn't get any of the three programs (GB-PVR, BeyondTV, Sage) to display using VMR without extremely bad stuttering. I made the recommended registry tweaks and updated my quartz.dll. I used the trial version of the nVidia pure platinum driver. Nothing helped. I've switched to overlay rendering, which took care of the stuttering on Sage and GBPVR (Beyond TV gives me no pic on overlay, so it's out of the running). But now I have a very muddy, indistinct picture. Letters look blurry, it's hard to tell how many fingers people have on their hands, and the colors aren't fantastic. I've tweaked every setting I could find in the NVidia control panel, adjusted my TV's settings, tried the ChrisTV tuner controls, etc. Is there some magic setting I can use to make this picture sharp and crisp? When I had the signal running straight from the cable box to the TV it was much sharper. Also, Sage's menus are nice and sharp, just video is muddy.

Second--using the remote and the PC at the same time: This computer is my main work computer. It's in my bedroom, about 3 feet from my TV. Frequently, I or my girlfriend will be checking email while the other is flipping channels. But if I take the focus off sage to control my email program, the Hauppauge remote can't control Sage anymore. Instead, it will try to open various settings in whatever program is in focus. Any way around this?

Third--forcing Sage to open on the TV monitor: Every time I start Sage, it opens on my monitor, not the TV. This means I have to go to the settings, exit full screen, drag it over to the TV, and re-enter full screen. This also means that I can't use the SageMC .stv, because there's no "exit full screen setting" on SageMC, which is really too bad. I tried setting the TV as my main monitor, but then my desktop is on the TV where I can't use it. My card has a setting to a program launch full-screen on the TV and in a smaller window on the monitor, but this setting badly mangles the colors on the TV display, so I can't use it. Any help appreciated.

Fourth--resource use: If I'm running sage with no other applications open, I'll frequently see resource use spike to 40% or more. Is this normal? Is there a way to minimize this?

There are other minor details, but I'll start with these for now. Thanks in advance for your help!

Jason

[GKusnick]

If you want to be able to use the PC for other tasks while someone is watching TV, then you should consider getting a Media Extender to drive the TV's UI. Then you can run SageTV as a service, with no UI, and avoid all the issues you're having with the PC UI (losing focus, dual-monitor configuration, etc.).

You may also find that the Extender gives you better picture quality than you're getting from your 5200.

[yacht_boy]

Greg-

Thanks for the info. I hadn't thought of getting a media extender before but I think I can see the logic in that. This raises a bunch of questions.

-If I buy the Sage extender and eventually decide to switch to another software package, will the extender work with that package?

-What about IR controls? Will the Sage extender work with the Hauppauge IR blaster? I see that the Sage extender comes with a remote--will I have to ditch my Hauppauge remote? I'll eventually want to get a nice all-in-one remote. Will I be able to control the Sage extender with another remote?

-Why am I likely to get a better picture from the extender than a graphics card? Does this mean I could send the 5200 back?

-How about controlling sound? I want to run this through a decent Onkyo 5.1 surround sound setup, which is why I just bought the nicer sound card. Will the media extender give me comparable sound quality? Can I send the sound card back?

-I have a couple thousand Ogg files, and I was very excited to see that Sage 6 has ogg support. Is the media extender firmware upgradable? If so, any plans to include support for Ogg?

-Can I use SageMC with the extender?

Thanks!

Jason

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by yacht_boy

Second--using the remote and the PC at the same time: This computer is my main work computer. It's in my bedroom, about 3 feet from my TV. Frequently, I or my girlfriend will be checking email while the other is flipping channels. But if I take the focus off sage to control my email program, the Hauppauge remote can't control Sage anymore. Instead, it will try to open various settings in whatever program is in focus. Any way around this?

See my sig lines -- link #3 for the Hauppauge remote lets you use it w/o SageTV being in focus.

Originally Posted by yacht_boy

I hadn't thought of getting a media extender before but I think I can see the logic in that. This raises a bunch of questions.

-What about IR controls? Will the Sage extender work with the Hauppauge IR blaster?

The extender has nothing to do with the IR blaster -- SageTV on the PC controls the blaster.

I see that the Sage extender comes with a remote--will I have to ditch my Hauppauge remote?

The extender is a Hauppauge MVP... which comes with a Hauppauge remote, the same 45 button one you have now.

I'll eventually want to get a nice all-in-one remote. Will I be able to control the Sage extender with another remote?

Yes, but the MVP IR receiver is limited in terms of what IR protocol it can decode, so you'll need to tuse the same codes as the Hauppuage remote.

-Why am I likely to get a better picture from the extender than a graphics card?

Because the MVP has a hardware decoder intended to send a signal to SD TV sets, while the video card is made for computer monitors and doesn't do analog SD TV signals as well.

-Can I use SageMC with the extender?

The extender can use any STV, though there may be features here & there that work only on a PC instead of an extendrer. You would have to check the customizations' details in that section of the forum for such things to be aware of.

- Andy

[yacht_boy]

Thanks for the info. I dug around and found the long discussion on HDTV extenders and the D-Link debaucle. I think I'll eventually switch to an extender, but would love to get ahead of the game and get an HDTV extender for the HDTV set I'll eventually buy. Sure would be nice if someone at Sage would give us a tentative schedule for an HDTV extender.

Meanwhile, only one last question remains:

If I get the Sage Media Extender, can I safely return my brand new video and audio cards? That would free up cash for the media extender.

Thanks again-

Jason

[flavius]

Yes, you can.

[yacht_boy]

excellent-thanks!