Best add-ons or changes for default sagetv install...

[t4uecker]

hello -

after much poking and probing around these forums i'm finally installing and configuring my sagetv system. before i replace our current (tivo-based) system, i'm setting up the sagetv system on a standalone computer to get the kinks ironed out. so far, i have the default sagetv installed and working properly. i have a couple of the hd extenders on the way, so the next step will be getting one of those working with a plasma we have that's located remote from the computer (hopefully it'll be straightforward).

in the meantime, i'd love to hear about some of the changes/add-ons that people typically make to the default installation. i'd like to get the most out of this system and would appreciate learning from the experience of those of you who've been using this for a while.

high on my list is some form of commercial skipping functionality for watching (not archiving) tv shows and it seems that comskip + comskip monitor is suggested as a good option. i've also seen references to sagemc and am wondering if that's also a recommended change -- can't quite tell what the pros/cons are for that.

any other changes or add-ons that come recommended?

(i looked for a thread that might have already discussed this but couldn't find one...if i've overlooked one i'm happy just to be pointed to it).

thanks,
tu

[Brent]

There a lots of add-ons for the default interface and you can find them listed out pretty well in this thread

Before you do that though might I recommend you take a look at the SageMC replacement interface. It is an excellent "add-on" that includes so much more than looks. You can read a primer on SageMC I wrote here.

Regardless of what you choose to do, you will need Comskip or Showanalyzer to do the commercial skipping. Those can be found at the link I posted at the top of this post or feel free to read this how-to on getting commercial skipping all set up in SageTV.

If you choose SageMC I recommend:
NetFlix for SageMC
SageMC Video Tools v3.0
Video Editing for Sage
Remember that lots of those plugins listed under the default interface are built-in to SageMC such as comskip monitor, multi-speed continuous FF/RW etc.

If you go with the default interface (not SageMC) I recommend
Multi-speedContinuous FF/REW
Dynamic Customisable Main Menu
Video Editing for Sage

There's lots more, but those are the ones I could come up with after a very long day at work.

[GKusnick]

I don't have any specific add-ons to recommend, but I do have a few general suggestions:

Take the time to get familiar with the stock UI before getting too involved with customization. If something goes wrong, you'll need to be able to tell whether an add-on is to blame or if it's a bug in the core program. That's harder to do if you don't know the core program very well.

Don't go overboard trying out every add-on under the sun. The more random stuff you try and discard, the more likely you are to destabilize your system. Stability (in my opinion) is much more important than cool features, so pick a few add-ons you think you'll actually get some value out of and be content with that.

Before trying an add-on, look up the author's post history, especially in the Studio forum. If he asks sensible questions, understands the answers, and generally seems like he has a clue, then great. If not, ask yourself whether you really want to trust your recordings to this guy's code.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

Take the time to get familiar with the stock UI before getting too involved with customization. If something goes wrong, you'll need to be able to tell whether an add-on is to blame or if it's a bug in the core program. That's harder to do if you don't know the core program very well.

Don't go overboard trying out every add-on under the sun. The more random stuff you try and discard, the more likely you are to destabilize your system.

Very good advice Greg. Another thing to know before doing any change such as new SageTV version or new add-on - any change at all. Back up your SageTV settings before doing any of these things. There's more than one way to do this and my way might be a bit overkill, but it allows me to easily undo anything that messes things up. Here's my backup method learned from others on these forums:

BACKING UP SAGETV

• Exit SageTV and if you are running SageTV as a service, be sure you stop the service as well.
• Open Windows Explorer and head to your SageTV install folder (typically something like c:\Program Files\SageTV\SageTV
• Add a new directory and name it something like C:\Program Files\SageTV Backup\
• Copy the SageTV\SageTV directory to your backup directory. I save a different backup for each time I upgrade so I can go back a few versions if needed.
• That's it. If you ever need to restore your last version, just copy from the backup directory to SageTV\SageTV\ directory.

[Polypro]

I love the stock UI and use the following imports:

Dynamic Customizable Main Menu (A must)
Close Media File
CPU/Motherboard Monitor
IMDB Search
Info Pop Up (Caller ID)
MiniGuide
Weather On Main Page

Like above, get to know Sage/Stock UI first, add one at a time - checking functionality, and make backups (but I have 0 problems with the above imports).

P

[Fastrack]

I have the following installed, and I've put them in the order of greatness

Web Server - MUST have - you can schedule/delete shows from anywhere
Dynamic_menu - must have!
MultiFunctionStop - gives you multiple options when pressing stop
WPonM_0.4 - Weather on the Main Page for default STV
MPTimeJumpV0.6 - Allows you to jump to a certain place in the video or to the end etc..
Auto_Compress - Favorite based compression!

miniguide_plugin
VideoEditV0_2_10
imdb_search_import - This import is very handy but doesn't seem to work all the time.
CpuMotherBoardInfo - Not much use but handy to see your system resources
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