FiosTV and SageTV Setup

[jasmithvr6]

I'm a long-time Sage user dating back to v2.1 and have upgraded over time to v5.1 to take advantage of OTA HD. Since the last upgrade (which took place some time ago), the HTPC has been ROCK SOLID stable for as long as I can remember. First I want to thank Sage for keeping my WAF at an all-time high for such a long period of time. That being said, I have decided to roll the dice and revamp my entire Sage setup.

My current setup consists of a stand alone HTPC with a P4 2.4ghz, Intel 865PERL MB, ATI 9800Pro VC, on board SPIFA sound, 1gb RAM, Seagate 500gb HD, 2 PVR-250's, 1 Fusion Lite 5 OTA HD all running on XP SP2. A tired machine to say the least, but it's worked great so far. I also have a separate file server that houses all the movies, pictures, music, etc that stream to the HTPC. The server is a Celeron 2.4ghz, ATI 9600XT VC, 1gb RAM, mix of Seagate and Western Dig HDs equal to 1.2tb also running XP SP2. My existing provider is Time Warner Cable (TWC), but that will soon change as there's a new kid in town and his name is FiosTV.

The new Sage setup will be an extensive project and one that involves "downtime" of the existing HTPC. WAF is critical, particularly during primetime show season so "downtime" must be minimized. FiosTV will be installed on 10/21, so I'm trying to get as much premilinary work done as possible. That being said, here is what I am looking to do:

• Convert existing file server into Sage/file server. The Sage server will be used to record all TV shows, stream movies, music, pictures, etc to the TV's. Sage server will run Fusion Lite 5 OTA HD card from HTPC and a pair of HVR-1600's using both ATSC and NTSC connections.

• HTPC will convert to a Sage Client. There are reasons for doing this vs using an HD100. 1. It has a DVD player built in, which avoids adding another piece of equipment. 2. Allows me to surf the net. 3. My 5yr old knows how to work it better than I do. 4. It's paid in full.

• Connect an HD100 to second TV and stream from Sage server.

This all sounds pretty easy, although in migrating from TWC to Fios, it adds a new element to the equation, particularly in the form of STB's and mulitple IR blasters. So here are my questions.

• I confirmed with Verzion that the Buffalo market is 100% digital (no simulcasting) as of April 2008. In order to receive any TV signal I must have either a STB, a digital adapater (quasi-STB), a CableCard or a QAM tuner built into my TV. Since the 1600's support QAM, can I simply plug the Fios coax directly into the ATSC connection and receive clear QAM/local channels?

• If the above is true, I would only need to run 2 STB's to fire my NTSC tuners. I assume I plug one blaster into each tuner card and then duct tape the blaster to the front of each STB. Can someone confirm? Also, what issues are there in running 2 Hauppauge IR blasters? How does this compare to the USB-UIRT device? Does it matter if the STB's are the same or different?

• What do I need in order to get the old HTPC machine configured to run Sage Client? Is there additional software I need to buy or does v6.4 include a copy of Client?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by jasmithvr6

Since the 1600's support QAM, can I simply plug the Fios coax directly into the ATSC connection and receive clear QAM/local channels?

You should be able to, but you'll have to wait and see what FIOS actually puts out on unencrypted QAM. The locals should be there though.

If the above is true, I would only need to run 2 STB's to fire my NTSC tuners. I assume I plug one blaster into each tuner card and then duct tape the blaster to the front of each STB. Can someone confirm? Also, what issues are there in running 2 Hauppauge IR blasters? How does this compare to the USB-UIRT device? Does it matter if the STB's are the same or different?

You can't use two Hauppauge IR blasters. Hauppauge's software only supports one at a time. So, you'll need to get a USB-UIRT, or at least some other IR blaster. USB-UIRTs can control more than one box, but it can get a little complicated. You can buy and plug in extra IR transmitters into the USB-UIRT box and use multi-zone control. The Sage manual provides a link to a forum post about how to do this. It might be easier just to use the Hauppauge blaster and a USB-UIRT.

Alternatively, I think the USB-UIRT actually can control multiple boxes without doing the multi-zone thing if they use different IR codes.

What do I need in order to get the old HTPC machine configured to run Sage Client? Is there additional software I need to buy or does v6.4 include a copy of Client?

Presumably you have one copy of SageTV Media Center, and nothing else. You'll need that license for the server, so yes, you will need to buy a SageTV Client license.

[r00st3r]

I am out in CA and currently have Fios on 2 HDHomerun units (4 tuners) to my Sage Box (Dell Inspiron 531). I get all locals and I Starz channel and the music channels. You pay channel if you get one, will vary. Quality is excellent. I wish I could get more channels.

[nlancaster]

I have been looking into this to get ready for next years end of analog broadcasting. According to Verizon in my area everything will be encrypted except local channels. Just like what rooster is getting. So I am probably going to go with 2 or more of these to get me up and running on digital only. put it all in a closet and forget about it.

[jasmithvr6]

Presumably you have one copy of SageTV Media Center, and nothing else. You'll need that license for the server, so yes, you will need to buy a SageTV Client license.

I actually have a copy of SageTV Media Center pre-v6.0 and a copy of v6.4, which I purchased through the upgrade program. So in theory I should have two legitimate Sage licenses? If not, I assume I just pickup a Client license for $29.95 from the store and install as instructed?

[jasmithvr6]

Originally Posted by nlancaster

I have been looking into this to get ready for next years end of analog broadcasting. According to Verizon in my area everything will be encrypted except local channels. Just like what rooster is getting. So I am probably going to go with 2 or more of these to get me up and running on digital only. put it all in a closet and forget about it.

My understanding is that digital is not the same as encrypted HD. It's true that Verizon will be switching over to 100% digital in all markets by year-end. What that means is that analog sets will no longer receive a signal (similar to the digital conversion for OTA in February). The digital conversion will provide digital SD as well as digital HD. Any TV will be able to receive a digital SD signal with the use of a STB, digital adapter, Cablecard or QAM tuner. In order to view encrypted HD, you need to run an HD STB. The HD-PVR comes into play only to record encrypted HD from the STB.

This may be old news, but wanted to make sure you knew it was going to take more than a pair of HD-PVR's to meet your needs of the digital conversion. Here's a helpful link that explains all this in more detail.

http://www22.verizon.com/content/fio...=S&POEId=VU1SP