So many newbie questions! Hope you guys dont mind....

[pratik97]

First of all, TIA for all the great advice on this forum already. Here is my setup:

Windows XP Professional
Hauppauge PVR-250
Radeon 9200
Samsung 120 gig HD
Kingston 512 MB RAM
S-Video to Toshiba 50" HDTV

I get SageTV to run properly and outputs great but I have a lot of little questions... Hope you dont mind the great length.


1) I just set it up yesterday and everything was running fine. Today it seems as though the audio is a little off. Its around a millisecond behind which is kind of annoying. I did restart the machine but I seem to still be getting the same problem. Any suggestions?

2) I have the WinTV2000 software that came with my Hauppauge card and the remote. When I press the "GO" button on the remote I have the option to either play WinTV2K or the WinTV32. I want to get SageTV to open up by hitting the power button. I looked into the config selection but couldn't get it to work properly. Don't quite understand what it means to hold down the keys and press the button. Tried it several times but coudlnt get it. I have the silver remote with the PVR-250 and I can press the top left green button to close the program but not to open.

3) I'm currently running the trial version of 15 days to see if I really like Sage TV. In the trial you get no guide, correct? Currently the machine is in my family room and doesn't have the wireless Internet hooked up to it just yet. You need a connection to the Internet for the guide to work, right?

4) I tried to record something on the schedule. Its kinda hard to do considering there's no names for any of the programming. Nevertheless, I still tried to do it and I got nothing. This was a scheduled recording. I pointed the video library to the proper folder but didnt see anything. I have the trial version of SageTV. Do I need the SageRecorder or can I even record in the Trial version? I know while setting up a new setup you can enter "TRIAL" as an access code but I can't enter that, it goes straight to "Don't have an access code".

5) Say I am interested in purchasing this program, which version do I want? The SageTV or the SageRecorder? Kind of confused between the two. I'd assume SageTV because that is what I am using now.

6) I have a digital cable/HDTV box from Comcast in the family room. Currently, I have it set that the cable straight from the wall goes into my machine and another goes into the cable box and t.v. if I'm not using my box. How would I set it up to utilize my box as getting the digital cable and HDTV signal? There's a cable wire going into my box and then into the t.v. Where in there would that be wired into my box for the digital?

Thats all for now.

[malore]

1) In the detailed setup options under the audio setting you can adjust the playback delay.

2) You need to edit the irremote.ini found in the Windows directory.
In the [default] section:
GRNPOWER={run(C:\Progra~1\FreyTe~1\SageTV\SageTV.exe -awake)}{mode(SageTV)}

3) Without the guide it isn't much of a trial. You need to get an Internet connection to see what you're missing.

4) Redo the Setup Wizard. When it asks for the code, type TRIAL. It looks like a button, but you can actually type.

5) If you want a program guide, and to be able to sit back and let you programs get recorded automatically in an intelligent manner, then get SageTV. If you just want VRC functionality then SageRecorder will do the trick.

6) To access the digital channels you would have to hook the output of the box to your computer.

[trevorst]

I have Comcast cable also.. What I did was spring for an extra cable box at $5 a month and let that feed the PVR. That way I have full HDTV going out from the 5200 straight to the TV and the other box handling all the recording with an Actisys ir unit changing the channels on the PVR cable box. Works sweet.

[sudipto]

You definitely want the SageTV version WITH THE GUIDE !!! If SageTV (with Guide) is considered a 100, I will give SageRecorder (without Guide) a 10 at the most.

Without guide data what you have is a clunky digital VCR ... NOT a real PVR