What Would You Ask SageTV?

[aflat]

1. Like many people, I'm curious about Netflix. Hulu I guess, but I think Netflix is much more willing to integrate with everyone who asks, so can Sage ask?
2. See #1
3. See #1
4. See #1
5. Did I mention #1?
6. What does he think about companies pulling out of the extender business? Especially considering how well the HD100/200 have been received.
7. In light of companies pulling out of the extender business, did Sage do the right thing with the HD100/200(please say yes!)? Are they a decent money maker, or is it break even so they can make money on the software?

[reggie14]

I'm guessing five topics to cover, rather than five specific questions. Really, this is just my sneaky way of suggesting much more than my quota of 5 questions. But, I figure you're going to basically generate your own list of questions after you read all the suggestions on this board anyway, so hopefully this gives you some ideas.

As you know, I've been a relatively vocal critic on the issue of the HD100 failures. I really would like to get Sage to publicly address that issue, and given Sage is a rather niche player in the IT industry, I think this interview may be the only time to put them on the spot. They really haven't made any comments on the defects themselves; they really only announced their repair program. I think it's a important question to have answered even if the expectation is that they'll say this is nothing out of the ordinary. Mainly, it puts their credibility on the line, in case December comes along and we discover everyone with a December 2007 extender has had to either repair their HD100 or upgrade to an HD200.


User Interface
The default user interface for SageTV has come a long way since SageTV version 1, but the visual appeal of that interface remains one of the most complaints of the software by its users. Frey Technologies has encouraged and enabled user-driven projects, such as SageMC, to enhance and customize the interface, but the recent announcement by SageMC’s lead developer that work is being scaled back highlights a weakness to that approach. Is Frey Technologies working on revamping the SageTV user interface? If so, what are the goals of that effort? Aesthetics? Usability?

Digital TV Conversion
The transition to digital TV is beginning to affect everyone. Over-the-air users must purchase new TV tuners to continue using SageTV. Even cable TV users are beginning to see their service transitioned to all-digital service, requiring QAM tuners and/or cable boxes and channel changing devices, such as IR blasters. How will the PC-based DVR industry, and SageTV specifically, be affected by this transition? Do you think Frey Technologies is well-suited for the digital TV environment, or does Microsoft have the upper hand with their support for CableCard? Is Frey Technologies working on anything to make setup and configuration in the digital age easier (e.g., easier channel remapping process, improved IR blaster support).

Online Video
Support for online video providers, such as Hulu and Netflix, has been a hot topic of discussion lately, and not just amongst SageTV users. At the CES Expo, before the Boxee-Hulu war broke out, Frey Technologies demonstrated Hulu support within SageTV, but obviously the environment has changed since then. With Hulu’s new position on streaming through third-party software, are we likely to see Hulu support in SageTV anytime soon? Is Frey Technologies working with any other online video provider to add support? How important is online video support in products like SageTV?

HD100 Reliability
There have been at least 27 HD100 failures reported on the forums. Thus far, all seem to be power supply failures, with nearly all users reporting bulging capacitors on their power supply boards. While Frey Technologies has introduced a repair program to help affected customers with out-of-warranty HD100s, there remain questions about the scale and cause of the problem. Have most problems resulting in HD100s returns been caused by power supply failures? If so, have these failures been the result of faulty capacitors, which have plagued the consumer electronics industry since 1999? What are you doing to fix the afflicted units? Is this an indication of a manufacturing defect in the HD100?

HD Extender Development
This topic also relates to interoperability. Frey Technologies first gained media extender support through a user-driven effort on a third-party hardware device: Hauppauge’s MediaMVP. Frey Technologies later officially supported the MediaMVP extender. However, Frey Technologies chose to development and market their own media extenders capable of high-definition video playback rather than supporting existing media extenders available from other sources. Did Frey Technologies ever seriously investigate or consider supporting the Linux-derived D-link extender, or the more recent Popcorn Hour device? Why did Frey Technologies decide to design and develop the HD100 and, later, the HD200? Does Frey Technologies see any value in supporting third-party media extenders in the future?

Transparency and Interoperability
SageTV has long enjoyed a very active plugin and customization community, which Frey Technologies has fostered with open APIs and SageTV Studio. However, while one plugin developer has dared to decrypt the mysteries of the wiz.bin file, access to recording information appears to be limited by the proprietary nature of this database format. Has Frey Technologies considered moving towards a more open format? Do you believe this could open to door to new plugins and foster better interoperability between media applications?

[Clift]

Has SageTV ever considered a closed system for a backend server... This may be something closed like cablecard that would "guarentee" operability with any cable system in the US

Any plans to update the UI?

[kingwr]

Add another vote for the UI question. Specifically, does he see the current stock UI as a feature of SageTV or a current limitation in the product.

Also, is the plan to design and implement a new OOTB UI, or to merge in SageMC-like capabilites along with advanced UI capabilities and then spur user development of UI alternatives.

[pjpjpjpj]

1. The hulu/netflix issue - is it on the horizon or have legal issues tabled it?

2. The "TV power button not being on the extender remote" issue -any chance that a new one might someday be released with this added (or might it be added for the HD300 some day)? I hate that I have to keep that second remote handy just to turn the TV on and off.

3. Any thoughts of adding some current most-used customizations to the default, the way the malore menus were added back in the day (and some other things from old versions of Sage that are now in the base model)? Examples: dynamic custom menus, tuner renaming, caller ID, multi-function stop, etc. (I know comskip can't be put in for legal reasons, so I wouldn't ask).

4. Is there any chance that future releases of SageTV might require an increase in your server specs, from the current level? There are a small fraction of us who have crappy old computers that work fine now (watching on extenders only) and would have to buy a new PC just because of this....

5. While I really don't care about the UI issue (slickness), I guess I would be curious to see if they are considering making changes in future releases, just so I can forewarn my wife that she might have to "adapt".

[tahoetim]

tahoetim, I think your fellow SageTV forum members could answer every single question you asked if you post it in a separate thread. I'll try at least

Brent, I am fully aware that the answers from forum members exist for my questions. I want to hear from Sage. Isn't that the point of this exercise???

[Taddeusz]

I realize Frey does not want to include some kind of comskip for legal reasons but how about at least supporting EDL files without requiring an add-on? Leave it up to the user to decide whether to and how to implement commercial detection but have support built-in.

[tchapin]

I'm in agreement with many of the questions above:
- default STV / SageMC
- better support for online streaming video
- plugin infrastructure


I'll add:
- what about built-in support for internet radio like Pandora, Slacker, and whatnot?
- Why does SageTV think that the best policy with regards to it's customers is to not interact with them? There's little to no official communication coming out of Sage about anything.
- Ever going to redesign the website?
- Thoughts on making the new customer evaluation and purchase process easier. Currently, there's little to nothing on the Sage site to help customers and it gets pushed onto the forum.
- Thoughts on whether SageTV is (or should be) more for techies or for the average consumer.
- Are you ever going to advertise?

Todd

[QueOnda]

Originally Posted by tchapin

- Are you ever going to advertise?

Todd

Or sell in regular stores. BTV sold in Fry's (of course BTV is a bit easier, needs less tech savyness).

[bastafidli]

I would like to hear about his thought on using platforms such as NVidia ION for future versions on Sage and therefore supplying the hardware with the sage client eliminating thus need to develop firmware for "custome" extenders.

[mayamaniac]

1. Jeff, do you have a girlfriend or wife? If yes, can you dump them so you can focus more of your time on SageTV? :P

Kdding aside..

1. What's in the future for SageTV. What is in development?
2. Is multi-user feature in development?
3. Will there be a recall on the HD100?

[Lucas]

To the questions above, I would also ask if it possible to implement a DTS decoding solution on the HD200/HD100. ie Decode the DTS stream in video files and output stereo PCM or AC3.

[DaveW42]

My questions have largely been asked by others (e.g., full Hulu/Netflix support). But one question that I have not seen deals with whether the hardware reliability issue affecting HD100 users could also potentially affect HD200 users. Another question deals with whether Sage would consider putting together a side application that would enable users to perform Sage related tasks on a separate PC application, rather than being restricted by the Sage interface that has been optimized for remote controls. For example, this application could provide a GUI that would enable you to create playlists quickly by using your mouse to drag and drop, click checkboxes so that all selected items could be put on a playlist or deleted or whatever. It would be nice if this GUI app could also provide a window into wiz.bin, so we could see what is going on there and potentially make changes (e.g., if I made a mistake and told Sage that I watched a show when really I hadn't, but the file has already been deleted).

I would also make sure to tell the Sage developers that they have been doing a great job and that we really appreciate their efforts.

Dave

[gjvrieze]

HD100 Extender First thing.

Where they see Sage going in the near and far future.

[reggie14]

Brent-

After reading what you posted today on the HD100, I have one more suggested question to add to my already long list of questions (it's sort of covered by my previous list, but I'll state it here explicitly). I'd like to know what types of HD100 defects Sage is fixing, and what defects they'll offer a discount on the HD200 for. People have been saying the $60 repair fee is higher than what some people on these boards think is fair because Sage is also repairing things that are more expensive to fix than just the power supply problem. I don't have a big problem with the repair fee, but I'm guessing that's not the reason it's $60. I suspect Sage only has the spare parts to fix the power supply.

[LehighBri]

Brent - based on your first post, sounds like today is the deadline to submit questions. When is your interview and when should we expect answers from you, either here or on geektonic or on twitter? Appreciate all you do!

[Brent]

Originally Posted by LehighBri

Brent - based on your first post, sounds like today is the deadline to submit questions. When is your interview and when should we expect answers from you, either here or on geektonic or on twitter? Appreciate all you do!

I haven't set the interview date/time yet. But soon.


To everyone: Get your questions in today if you have any that you haven't given to me either in this thread or via e-mail or DM. - I'll be compiling them and ask as many of them as I can. More info coming eventually

[johnnytyler]

OK I give in:

1) Support for HD audio from blu-ray or at least conversion to LPCM as mentioned by narflex, will this require a new HD extender (HD300) for support?

2) Agree with UI changes, although I am interested in the new Phoenix api and am looking forward to what that brings

3) Reread #1

4) Reread #1

5) Reread #1

[tmiranda]

Why is 42 the answer?
Where is Jimmy Hoffa?
Did the US really land men on the moon or was it a hoax?
Will using SageTV make me more appealing to hot women?
Is MeinMaui's kid right?
How many more Terminator movies will there be?

[Brent]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

Why is .....

Always the jokester now aren't ya. But you never know what he might answer either