Opinion on the HD200

[eded9698]

1-The video is bad in stand alone mode watching a DVD.
2-It does not respond to the power button after gonig into sleep mode.
3-It ran out of memory after reading my very large music collection.
4-Sagetv fixes to these problems is to down load beta software. Paying customer are not beta tester.
5-It still can not play Blu-Ray movies

[dadof4]

I've got two...both work great with the beta software.

Rich

[ltljrt]

I have to comment that if I aimed to only keep devices without bugs, I would've also returned my router, my GPS, a cellphone, and a wii this Xmas.

I spent 3/4 of a day upgrading numerous devices after the unpacking stage (including the HD200). The HD200 had/has some issues for me as well (standalone mjpeg playback and invalid directory issues), but what computer based device doesn't? I'm glad to see continuous current development along with access and timely responses from those at SageTV; I prefer to keep seeing the beta images coming..

[Brent]

Originally Posted by eded9698

1-The video is bad in stand alone mode watching a DVD.
2-It does not respond to the power button after gonig into sleep mode.
3-It ran out of memory after reading my very large music collection.
4-Sagetv fixes to these problems is to down load beta software. Paying customer are not beta tester.
5-It still can not play Blu-Ray movies

#1 isn't correct. Video in standalone mode works great - just as it does in extender mode.
#3 - definitely an issue which unfortunately will be difficult to overcome. I agree that's a problem though.
#4 - this is simply a silly comment. Its in beta to work out any last minute bugs - if you're uncomfortable with the beta, wait another few days until it is released out of beta. For me it's pretty darn stable regardless.
#5 - And why should it? Was there some advertising that told you it would somehow?

I'm all for voicing opinions, but the "don't buy this" sort of thread title is a little over the top in my opinion. I bet you'd have no trouble selling your HD200 if your unable to resolve your issues though.

[opusinteractive]

Originally Posted by eded9698

4-Sagetv fixes to these problems is to down load beta software. Paying customer are not beta tester.
5-It still can not play Blu-Ray movies

Whenever I buy a fresh-to-market, user upgradeable gadget, I fully understand that it has not undergone testing in every single configuration environment. A fine example - Apple has no shortage of money to put into testing the iPhone, yet there have been many, many firmware upgrades to fix issues. I like the newest whiz-bang techie stuff and this comes with the territory.

For #3/4 - As Brent said, it's always a good idea to calibrate your expectations to what the company you are doing business with is actually promising to you.

I'm quite happy with my HD-200 and it appears that the vast majority of members of this community feel the same.

[Motofreak75]

Originally Posted by eded9698

1-The video is bad in stand alone mode watching a DVD.
2-It does not respond to the power button after gonig into sleep mode.
3-It ran out of memory after reading my very large music collection.
4-Sagetv fixes to these problems is to down load beta software. Paying customer are not beta tester.
5-It still can not play Blu-Ray movies

Sounds like you need a couple of Flaming Homers or Moes, and learn what RTFM means !

[joe123]

Originally Posted by ltljrt

I have to comment that if I aimed to only keep devices without bugs, I would've also returned my router, my GPS, a cellphone, and a wii this Xmas.

It is a sad day when the norm is to expect such bad and lousy software.

Worse is when bad sofware is defended by comparing it to other lousy software.

[cychou]

Originally Posted by Brent

#1 isn't correct. Video in standalone mode works great - just as it does in extender mode.

Brent,

Not to impose on you. I am very curious about the upscaling function of HD-200. Can you run the HQV Benchmark (SD version) on the HD-200 and publish the result?

[cychou]

Originally Posted by Motofreak75

Sounds like you need a couple of Flaming Homers or Moes, and learn what RTFM means !

Originally Posted by joe123

It is a sad day when the norm is to expect such bad and lousy software.

Worse is when bad sofware is defended by comparing it to other lousy software.

Well said!

Not that I think SageTV is bad and lousy software. But I do think everyone is free to speak about how they feel about SageTV as long as it does not involves flaming other users in the forum.

No hardware or software is perfect at this day and age! However I am more curious about the Good and Bad on HD-200, so I think this kind of debate is quite healthy.

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by joe123

It is a sad day when the norm is to expect such bad and lousy software.

Worse is when bad sofware is defended by comparing it to other lousy software.

How about if I compare it to hardware, then? If a design flaw is discovered in my car, I damn well expect a recall notice and a free repair. What are you going to do, refuse the repair on the grounds that it should have been bug-free in the first place? That's just silly. If they offer a fix, take it. The fact that they're willing to fix bugs is a point in their favor, not an argument against buying the product.

[ltljrt]

For any that think software should be bug free, you may want to frequently check the CERT website for the daily list of vulnerablities your OS/apps have, never mind the feature bugs that exist in either. Updates are simply a part of life now.

You may also investigate your car's computer systems (from combustion control to safety systems) are current - and then pay for having them upgraded.

Although dated, WIREDs article 'Histories worst software bugs' is interesting.
http://www.wired.com/software/coolap.../2005/11/69355

I appreciate seeing the accessible and documented betas coming.

[valnar]

Originally Posted by eded9698

1-The video is bad in stand alone mode watching a DVD.
2-It does not respond to the power button after gonig into sleep mode.
3-It ran out of memory after reading my very large music collection.
4-Sagetv fixes to these problems is to down load beta software. Paying customer are not beta tester.
5-It still can not play Blu-Ray movies

It is indeed a piece of crap. I can't believe you bought it.

Sell it to me for cheap and I will take it off your hands.

[TwistedMelon]

OP, I'll trade you a shiny brand new DVD player that will do everything you want except play BluRay movies. You can load unlimited DVDs full of music and it won't miss a beat - you don't even need to turn on your TV to control it.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by eded9698

1-The video is bad in stand alone mode watching a DVD.

Mine works fine.

2-It does not respond to the power button after gonig into sleep mode.

Mine does.

3-It ran out of memory after reading my very large music collection.

Yeah, that sucks, but I'm sure they're working on it.

4-Sagetv fixes to these problems is to down load beta software. Paying customer are not beta tester.

They call everything beta until the fixes have been confirmed by users who reported them.

5-It still can not play Blu-Ray movies

When was it ever advertised to play Blu-ray movies?

Originally Posted by cychou

Brent,

Not to impose on you. I am very curious about the upscaling function of HD-200. Can you run the HQV Benchmark (SD version) on the HD-200 and publish the result?

It's a flag-reading deinterlacer, don't expect much.

[joe123]

Originally Posted by ltljrt

For any that think software should be bug free, you may want to frequently check the CERT website for the daily list of vulnerablities your OS/apps have, never mind the feature bugs that exist in either. Updates are simply a part of life now.

Bill Gates has made a fortune by selling half baked software and the sad part is that the competitors who tried to sell good stuff got ran over.

What I am saying is that this is sad but true and it is true about every aspect of life.

I work at a research University and I can tell you that it is not in the interest of researches to find a cure because the moment they do, their funding stops. Find the cure and you end up without a job. Sad but it is the way it is. Why do you think cures for illness take so long to develop?

[Para]

Originally Posted by eded9698

1-The video is bad in stand alone mode watching a DVD.
2-It does not respond to the power button after gonig into sleep mode.
3-It ran out of memory after reading my very large music collection.
4-Sagetv fixes to these problems is to down load beta software. Paying customer are not beta tester.
5-It still can not play Blu-Ray movies

My DVDs play back on the HD200 in stand alone mode as well as they do on my upconverting Sony DVD player. Maybe you should check out your setup.

Can you describe your configuration so that we can try to help you out?

I have seen many posters who have some strong complaints when initially posting (that is generally what forums deal with - problems). But most of them finally get help here and find a solution.

[TwistedMelon]

To be fair, on my own setup, letting the HD200 scale a 480 source to 1920x1080i output looks a lot better than letting it output at 480p directly.

This is going to be extremely variable and depend on an individual's setup (mainly their display and its ability to render at various resolutions).

That said, I think the HD200's output at 1080i is in fact quite nice. I'm very interested to try the HD200 with a better TV with and without an outboard video processor.

I still think the OP would be better off trading his HD200 to me for the extra DVD player I have sitting here though.

Back to seriousness, for Music, especially any "large" collections, the best playback solution is Slim Center running on the same computer as SageTV and piping music to a SqueezeBox or Transporter. Add to that an iPod touch or Squeeze Controller for visual browsing and playback controls and you're set.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by TwistedMelon

Back to seriousness, for Music, especially any "large" collections, the best playback solution is Slim Center running on the same computer as SageTV and piping music to a SqueezeBox or Transporter. Add to that an iPod touch or Squeeze Controller for visual browsing and playback controls and you're set.

Agreed 100%. TV-centric systems just don't work well for music, IMO.

[eded9698]

Websters dictionary meaning of Beta:
a nearly complete prototype of a product (as software)

Sagetv should not tell paying customers that have reported and sent multiple emails to their support department that a beta upgrade of the firmware should fix the problems. Based on the definition of a beta it is not a fix to the problem.

If Sagetv needed beta testers I would have gladly take one for FREE.

To compare Apple and other companies firmware or service packs to Sagetv using customers to test there betas is not the same.

Also, to use the excuse that a company can not now every setup situation is correct. But their product should work in the situation they do know. And if it doesn't they should fix it with tested and approved updates.

[tedson]

I must admit it really bugged me when I found out that for the HD-200 to get the license it needs to run you MUST install the beta server software. And on the front page when you look at the information for the unit it says "Watching live or recorded HDTV requires optional SageTV Media Center Version 6.5 or later" notice how it doesn't mention that 6.5 is beta software. I was very reluctant to take my somewhat stable sage server and install a beta on it. Not a release candidate at the time, just a pure beta.

Having said that if you have one of these, install the beta everything. It fixes a lot of problems.