Fresh Install - What do I download?

[Brian B]

I haven't used this program in quite a while. What do I download and install first, so i can get started. I tried the Sage MC Installer, but it doesn't seem like there is any way to run it. Am I missing something or did I need to install something else first?

In other words, what is the best way to get to the current version?

Thanks,
Brian

[Opus4]

When you refer to "Sage MC", do you mean "SageTV Media Center" or the custom SageMC interface? "SageTV Media Center" is usually just referred to as "SageTV", but yes, "SageTV Media Center" is the installer you would need before you can use any type of SageTV client. There are versions for Windows, WHS, Mac, and Linux.

SageTV is available on the downloads page.

- Andy

[Brian B]

Ah, I was in a different download area...If I don't plan to use any of the recording/TV functions and strictly use Sage to playback DVD, movie, and audio files does this change which software program I should download?

I was going to d/l the Media Center software. Also, is my old activation from years ago still valid with this software?

Thanks,
Brian

[carlgar]

Originally Posted by Brian B

I was going to d/l the Media Center software. Also, is my old activation from years ago still valid with this software?

Probably not, depends on what version you purchased. If you purchased version 5 then you should be able to run version 6.

If you purchased version 4 or earlier you need this upgrade license http://store.sagetv.com/Merchant2/me...tegory_Code=SS

[Brian B]

All I have is an order #, a license key and links for d/ling beta software on my confirmation. I don't have any actual software, so there is no way to know which version I had. I thought all the future upgrades were supposed to be free upgrades?

Brian

[GKusnick]

There was never any guarantee that upgrades would be free forever.

Look at the Beta Progress Report thread to find out when V5 was released. If you bought your license before that date, you didn't buy V5.

[Brian B]

It was well before that date and when I installed the program it said so. However, now that I've got it installed, I've had some problems. I pointed the picture folder to several folders with .jpg files and it says "no picture files..." etc. I deleted and re-added a folder deeper in the tree, but I still get the same issue. Do I need to update something? If so, which update?

Also, I'm not able to get any video files or DVDs to work. I have DVDs stored in video_ts folders. Is that acceptable? Do I need to add codecs or something? The video files are not recognized either.

I've been reading through the manual and it makes it seem so easy, but nothing seems to be working except for the music files.

It asks to refresh and I click OK and nothing seems to happen.

Would appreciate any help or suggestions.

Thanks,
Brian

[Opus4]

What types of paths are you using for the import directories where the files aren't getting imported? If they are network paths, are you using service mode? For this combo, see the info starting on p. 14 in the v6.3-B PDF manual regarding setting the service user.

- Andy

[Brian B]

Here is a more detailed account of the issues.

Initially I did not have service mode activated.

1) The local drive that contains the pictures were not recognized.
2) The local drive that contains the video files were not recognized.
2) A mapped drive contained the music and DVDs. The music WAS recognized, but not the DVDs.

I activated service mode. Now...

1) The local folder with the pictures works.
2) The local folder with the videos works.
3) The server with the DVDs says "0 DVDs."
4) The music no longer works and says "No music files were found in any of the Media Center Import Directories for Music."

Refreshing the media does nothing.

What now?

Also, is there any way to automatically start up in the Media Center mode?


Thanks,

Brian

[GKusnick]

You can't use mapped drives in service mode. Use UNC paths instead.

Go to Detailed Setup > Advanced > Load at Windows Startup to control startup options.

[Brian B]

Now I get this error: "Win32 Error=0x42d trying to startup the SageTV Service." If I click OK then the program seems to start up normally.

Also, the DVD recognition mysteriously began to work and only one music drive is recognized, but only 2 of 5 folders are seen.

Seems like a lot of quirky behavior. What am I doing wrong?

Brian

[Brian B]

More problems:

DVDs show up in the graphic display with duplicate folders for the same movie. I eliminated nested folders with the same name on the drive and currently have it in the manual's suggested nested format with Movie title and Video_TS underneath and the folder.jpg right below the title. However,
the movie will not play from either of the phantom folders that Sage creates and even though PowerDVD plays the film fine. I refreshed and these folders still show up even after a computer restart and a Sage restart.

Any suggestions on this issue?

Brian

[Opus4]

You've described a lot of weird results & I'm not sure where they are all coming from.

What exact version of SageTV did you download & install? Did you download it from the SageTV downloads page?

Do you have a license for that version of SageTV, or are you running in trial mode? I believe you said you have a pre-v5 license, above.

Go to System Information (use the Info command on the Main Menu, or go to Setup -> Help -> Sys Info)... what version does it say for SageTV and the STV?

- Andy

[Brian B]

Originally Posted by Opus4

You've described a lot of weird results & I'm not sure where they are all coming from.

What exact version of SageTV did you download & install? Did you download it from the SageTV downloads page?

Do you have a license for that version of SageTV, or are you running in trial mode? I believe you said you have a pre-v5 license, above.

Go to System Information (use the Info command on the Main Menu, or go to Setup -> Help -> Sys Info)... what version does it say for SageTV and the STV?

- Andy

I downloaded the installer from the link you posted earlier in the thread.

I'm running in trial mode because my license is pre-v5.

Versions are: SageTV V6.3.10.166
SageTV3.xml (Version 6.3.10.2 February 26, 2008)

Here is an update on operation:

1) Still get the Service ERROR message on startup.
2) Photo viewing from local drive/folder WORKS.
3) Videos from local drive/folders and from networked drives/folders WORKS.
4) Networked DVD folders WORK however, there are duplicate entries that ERROR out. For instance, I have Children of Men and it shows up 3 times, once with a picture (that WORKS), and two others that error out. Initially, the folder was not set up correctly on the network drive so I fixed it, so it was Title, and Video_TS with folder.jpg underneath. This one WORKS, but the other two do not. Error message: "ERROR (-2): Files selected for playback are no longer on disk."
5) Music is erratic at best. I need to know the best way to set up directory structure. Currently I have it like this: Genre/Band/Album/Songs. This does not seem to work. Do I need to eliminate one of these folders so that the information is properly recognized. For instance, I have Rock/Genesis/Wind&Wuthering/etc. Sage does not list any Genesis albums even though there are 10 or so underneath the Genesis folder.

Btw.... thanks for all the advice and help. I want to know if I can make this successfully work well enough for my wife to use Sage before the trial is up.

Brian

[Opus4]

I suggest that you contact SageTV tech support.

You might want to try a completely new installation of SageTV. This FAQ might help with that. You can backup the entire SageTV folder before uninstalling & deleting the old installation directory. That backup will save your old wiz.bin & channel logos, among other things you might want to keep, but do not re-use the old properties file. I wouldn't even try re-using wiz.bin until you have things working. After that, you can look into restoring wiz.bin to restore your TV viewing history & so on.

- Andy

[Brian B]

Originally Posted by Opus4

I suggest that you contact SageTV tech support.

You might want to try a completely new installation of SageTV. This FAQ might help with that. You can backup the entire SageTV folder before uninstalling & deleting the old installation directory. That backup will save your old wiz.bin & channel logos, among other things you might want to keep, but do not re-use the old properties file. I wouldn't even try re-using wiz.bin until you have things working. After that, you can look into restoring wiz.bin to restore your TV viewing history & so on.

- Andy

1) DVD issue resolved itself--it might have just needed to update.
2) I don't use the program for TV at all, so a new install is not a big deal.
3) Do you have an answer to the best way to organize the music folders? What are other people doing? I do not get nested folders showing up that are 3 or more folders deep, however I'm now showing 669 albums instead of the 221 or so from before.

15 days isn't really enough of a trial period especially when the program doesn't even work from the start.

Also, how do I contact tech support if it comes to that?

Thanks again,
Brian

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by Brian B

3) Do you have an answer to the best way to organize the music folders? What are other people doing? I do not get nested folders showing up that are 3 or more folders deep, however I'm now showing 669 albums instead of the 221 or so from before.

The import file scanner should scan all subdirectories for an import dir.

It should take a few minutes to scan all the imports, but it doesn't usually take hours.Maybe you simply have some files that are taking a long time to read/parse & SageTV is having a problem with them.

15 days isn't really enough of a trial period especially when the program doesn't even work from the start.

The trial is now 21 days.

Also, how do I contact tech support if it comes to that?

The easiest to find links are in my sig lines & on the main index page of this forum; the 'subforum' titled "Request Official SageTV Technical Support".

- Andy

[Brian B]

My directories seemed to have straightened out, but certain DVDs are not recognized. I noticed that these are specifically ones that are directly under the Movie Name and don't have a VIDEO_TS folder, however others that seem similiar DO work.

Also, does Sage not play .ape files? Is there something to get it to play them as a good portion of my music was recorded with Monkey's Audio.

I will put in a support request for the first issue and the message I get on startup.

Brian

PS Also, I have only 4 days left on my trial. Is there a way to get an extension?

[Brian B]

Putting one of the DVDs it didn't recognize under a VIDEO_TS seemed to fix that problem. If that is all it is, then I can just fix the three or four that weren't working....For any who have had the same issue.

Brian