Options for distribution

[AC-T660]

Hi, I'm currently a BTV user, but have been considering switching to Sage for some time. Not too long ago I upgraded my DVR to be HD compatible, but that had some negative consequences as well.

My old system had a graphics card with VGA, DVI, and S-Video out. I used the DVI to attach to my living room HDTV (although at the time I wasn't recording HD) and attached the S-Video out to a RF modulator to send the signal through my house wiring to the other TVs in the house.

Now with my new setup I got a motherboard (XFX nforce 750a) with onboard VGA and HDMI/DVI (one or the other). I added a HVR-1600 to record OTA HD and just picked up a HD-PVR to record from my dish network box. That all works fine, but the downside is now I've got to figure out how to pipe the display out to my other TVs.

I'm sure there are many ways to do this, but I'd like to keep it cheap if I can. Here are a couple ideas I had:

1) Add a graphics card with HDMI (or DVI) and S-video out.

This would be relatively inexpensive, but I think I would lose the audio through HDMI that I'm getting with the onboard output. Also when having multiple outputs I think I've got to clone them to the resolution of the lowest device which would be the S-video output. When I did it on my old system I went in the display properties and attached the "s-video monitor" when I wanted to use a different TV and disabled it when I used my main TV, adjusting the resolution as necessary in either case. That was a pain, but since I didn't do it all the time it was tolerable.

2) Get a Sage Extender.

This option intrigues me the most because it looks like I wouldn't have to mess with the video settings on the main box. It looks like there are limitations though.

The Hauppauge Media Extender has a good price and I could output the S-video into my RF modulator to the other rooms. To control it from the other rooms I guess I'd have to get a wireless IR extender. But if I'm reading it right, I wouldn't be able to playback anything that was recorded in HD over the extender without transcoding first. Apparently that can be done on the fly from what I see browsing the forums. How well does that work and is it a big deal to set up?

I'm assuming the SageTV HD Theater (STPHD200) can play back recorded HD, although I'm not sure what format Sage records HD in. I don't have a second HDTV at this time, so don't really need the HD output from the extender. Again I'd need the IR extender to control it from other rooms. Also the price seems a little steep for what I want to use it for.

What I don't want to do is fish ethernet cable through all my walls to be able to add an extender to each room.

3) Put my old PVR-350 back in the DVR and try to get S-Video out to work

From what I've read this isn't a good option.

4+) I've found lots of other options of different VGA or HDMI distribution or converter devices, but they're all either expensive or would require me to lower my resolution.

Anyway, I thought I'd just put this out there and see what people thought my best option is, especially since I'm not very familiar with the extenders.

My system:
XFX nforce 750a mobo
AMD Phenom X4 9550 Quad Core Processor
4GB RAM
Hauppauge WinTV HVR-1600 model 1101
Hauppauge HD-PVR 1212

Thanks much!

[MitchSchaft]

You need to search the forum to get all your answers. But, to keep it simple, get the HD200. It will do what you're looking for.

Btw, I also have the XFX 750a with a Phenom 9500 :P.

[AC-T660]

Thanks MitchSchaft. I apologize if I'm asking newbie questions, but I have searched the forums quite a bit. I assume it's a little tougher finding (or understanding) the answers since I don't have the software or equipment. For example, a lot of places people say to watch HD over the MVP you have to transcode on the fly. But not having Sage I can't tell if this is an automatic thing, some configuration I'd have to set up in the options, or some add on program I'd have to install. Anyway, I don't need the answer to that, it's just a rhetorical question to point out some of the reason for my ignorance.

My two basic questions are will one or both of the extenders work for my setup? And is there a better option?

1) From what I read a lot of people are using extenders, but it looks like they are mostly, if not all, done using the intended method - run cat5 from DVR to the room the remote TV is in and install the extender there. I can't see why they wouldn't work in the method I want to do instead (locating the extender right by the DVR and then modulating to RG6 cable), but maybe I'm missing something.

2) Is there a better way to convert my video to coax? Like a VGA to S-video converter, or a different video card, or something else I haven't thought of. I didn't mention I am using the Snapstream Firefly RF remote, so if I wanted to export the video out from the DVR through the house I could still control it with the firefly from a different room.

You (MitchSchaft) are saying to question #1, yes the HD200 will work. If anyone else has an opinion to add I'd appreciate that too.

thanks again.

[Clift]

You don't want to use the MediaMVP and transcode everything because that will put a HUGE burden on your sagetv server with having to be constantly doing transcoding, i.e. the CPU will be maxed otu or close to it whenever you are transcoding. The HD200 will output out S-Video if that's what you need and it will do so gracefully with no fuss. Another thing to consider is that the HD200 will soon support wireless-n USB adapters so your fear of running cat5 all over the house should go away. This is expected to happen within the next couple of months. The other thing to consider is that the HD200 is pretty much future proof in terms of HD standards that are out now, so if you ever upgrade another TV in the house to HD you will have that capability. You might also find that you can slowly upgrade all your TVs to HD200s over time to keep your (initial) costs low.

[wrems]

I have both extenders in my setup. Overall, the MVP works but IMO is flakey and can be a hassle. The HD200 has been flawless for me. One of the biggest things is UI response and user experience. The MVP in no way comes close to the speed of the HD200, not to mention PQ. An extender simplifies your setup.

MVP’s can playback an HD source as you surmised. The transcoding is done automatically on the fly at the server. You need plenty of power there to do this without a hitch.

In an HD200 environment the signal is pushed to the HD200 from the server and all the playback is handled at the HD200. No transcoding is done at the server, this situation allows you to have a weaker server and not sacrifice performance/quality.

If you had a couple of MVP’s trying to transcode HD signals simultaneously whilst running comskip and recording multiple streams you’ll quickly run into trouble with your server.

I don’t have experience with trying to use one extender in a central location and distributing the signal around the house. To me that sounds like far too much grief, and not worth the effort. I personally wouldn’t go there. Extenders are designed to be installed like a STB next to each TV. The extenders connect to your central server where your tuners and hard drives exist. So you would need 1 extender per TV where you want to access Sage. Extenders are basically plug and play much less hassle than client PC’s, and still offer all of your DVR capabilities. You’re not going to be surfing the internet with an extender, and you won’t be using a keyboard/mouse just a remote.

Both the MVP and HD200 currently require a cat5 drop at the TV. I know Sage is currently working on a wireless N dongle for the HD200. No idea when that will be available… If fishing cat5 is out of the question take a look at powerline and moca.

[aflat]

You could do a little of both to save a bit of cash now. Get the extender, and the cheap svideo out video card. Put the extender on your HDTV, then clone the video output on your server so that all the other output from the server will go to the svideo out, to pipe to your other SDTVs.

Once you get a new TV, or run ethernet, or have the cash, pick up another HD200. Really I would recommend the HD200 all around, but it might be easier on the wallet to do it piecemeal.

[SWKerr]

Get yourself one of these: VGA to S-VIDEO converter
http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2

You can take the output from your VGA out and plug it into the converter and then take the output from the converter to you RF modulator. From there it would work just as it does today. The only limit is that you can only set the VGA resolution to 1024x768 but that is fine for analog sets.

You will still likely need to get an Extender for your HDTV since the output on your PC will not be 16x9 or HD resolution. I have a dual monitor setup on my desktop and I can run one at 1920x1080\HDMI and the other at 1024x768 but I can not play Video on both. I can set it to duplicate the destop on both but then I can only select one resolution.

Basically the PC will control TV to the old analog sets and the Extender via HDMI for you HDTV. I do something similar today with my WHS. I have the Server in a closet with a USB-UIRT and use IR repeaters to control Sage remotely. I use HTPCs on my HD sets and not extenders but if I was buying today I would go with the extender.

I am a former BeyondTV user and you will enjoy the switch to Sage.