Use WHS as SageTV server and HTPC front end?

[rykr]

I know that the box will need to have some beef to it but it would be nice to not need a separate HD200 or a separate Sage client.

Has anyone tried this? I'm not talking about the special WHS edition of Sage but installing the regular Sage software on a WHS box.

Thanks

[MitchSchaft]

It's not recommended due to driver issues and stuff like that.

[PLUCKYHD]

I wouldn't do that at all. WHS is meant to be a server and that is it. Installing video codecs and such on it are not recomended or using it as a normal pc.

[gplasky]

It's been done and it's a mixed bag of results. And unless you have 2003 Windows server drivers it could be problematic. (Even with them there is no guarantee) For example directX needs to be installed. The latest Windows Media Player isn't even there and needs a workaround to install. (Needed for support of some plugins, i.e. Playon) And as mentioned by others that isn't what it was designed for. It's a headless solution for storing and serving up your media, backing up home PCs and remote access thru the Internet to your personal website or files. Running SageTV server on it is a good fit because it's generating your media files (tv recordings) to share. ANd if you are using a pre-built, major manufacturer WHS box (HP, etc) I can about guarantee the video graphics on the box will not be the best for supporting/watching HD recordings. As opposed to a $180 HD200 that for the most part is trouble free, no video/audio configuration and everything is decoded in hardware on the HD200. Add silence and no moving parts it makes me wonder why you would even want a WHS box sitting next to your TV making noise and blowing hot air out into your room.

Gerry

[toony]

I would agree with the above. If that's the route you want to go use XP. WHS is good for what it does. I tried to use it as a client and it crashed and crashed and fell apart until I gave up. It's not a power issue, I'm running xeon quad core procs crap loads of ram, hdd's etc... WHS just really did not work well.

Get an HD200 theyre ggggreat!

[SWKerr]

I do it today and it works well. One thing I found was when I moved my WHS to its permanent home, I tried using the built-in ATI 780G video and could not get it to work. I ended up putting in the nVidia 8600 from my test setup to get it to work. The newer ATI drivers may work now but I expect results will be mixed. WHS was not designed as a desktop and the driver pool probably reflects that. Your success will probably depend on your specific hardware.

[frontlinegeek]

I am successfully running this desired setup but even though it is working quite well , I would not recommend it as a first choice for the following reasons:

• Might not work with all video cards (780G from AMD/ATI Does work)
• DX9 is installed but may not deal with dshow filters properly
• No proper support for MCE remote. USB-UIRT is the fix but is expensive.

Otherwise, if these are not issues for you or you have already beat them, then go ahead. I am quite happy with the overall result but the frigging I went through was a little annoying. Where I now have an extra Client license, I still may go back to stuffing the server in a cubby somewhere again.

[rykr]

Thanks to everyone who replied. I'm still in the planning stages of things. I'm building out a home theater in the basement and will be putting all my gear in a closet under the stairs. There will no equipment out under the screen. BTW, can you drive a HD200 with a Harmony?

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by rykr

BTW, can you drive a HD200 with a Harmony?

Yes. The HD200 is in the Harmony db.

Gerry

[rizzo]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

I do it today and it works well. One thing I found was when I moved my WHS to its permanent home, I tried using the built-in ATI 780G video and could not get it to work. I ended up putting in the nVidia 8600 from my test setup to get it to work. The newer ATI drivers may work now but I expect results will be mixed. WHS was not designed as a desktop and the driver pool probably reflects that. Your success will probably depend on your specific hardware.

I have the same built in ATI drivers, and had the same problems as you at first. I found that the "Hardware Acceleration" tab in the display properties is where you need to go. After loading the ATI drivers, I always got strange errors about things not running, or being compatible, etc. Once I went into the the hardware acceleration tab and turned the slider all the way up (the default from a WHS install is +1 from the bottom) everything went fine, and the built in ATI graphics work great...even decoding h.264 uses less than 8% CPU with Arcsoft codecs using an HD-PVR.