XP or Win7 for SageTV+HDHomeRun?

[sagmhe]

I know and like XP -- and have no experience with Windows 7.

Which is the better choice for running SageTV Media Center with Silicondust's HDHomeRun?

The computer (when it arrives) is intended to be a dedicated DVR (to replace an old ReplayTV 5500).

[paulbeers]

Originally Posted by sagmhe

I know and like XP -- and have no experience with Windows 7.

Which is the better choice for running SageTV Media Center with Silicondust's HDHomeRun?

The computer (when it arrives) is intended to be a dedicated DVR (to replace an old ReplayTV 5500).

If you are using it for playback, then I recommend Windows 7. For a headless server, Windows XP.

[Rico66]

I wouldn't install an 8 year old OS on a new machine. It's one thing to keep an old system on XP, if it's running fine (never touch a running system...), but this doesn't apply to new installations. In the long run you'll get better support with the latest versions of the OS.

[Taddeusz]

I want to upgrade my headless server from XP Pro to Windows 7 Pro but I'm waiting for SageTV to have stable Windows 7 support before I make the switch.

Right now Windows 7 works fine as a client with the addition of the native recording patch and the ability to use the Microsoft's video decoders but it sounds like recording isn't quite consistent yet.

[valnar]

Originally Posted by Rico66

I wouldn't install an 8 year old OS on a new machine. It's one thing to keep an old system on XP, if it's running fine (never touch a running system...), but this doesn't apply to new installations. In the long run you'll get better support with the latest versions of the OS.

ehh, it depends on the software. The OS is really unimportant compared to what you want to do with it. If you're going to primarily run software designed for the XP days, then XP is best. Vista/7 just hacks it up and throws it all over the place. I for one have had a lot of problems with Windows 7 in my few weeks of playing with it - although I spent a lot of time on sites like Doom9, AVSForum, videohelp, etc. Most of that software is not designed for Vista/7.

[Rico66]

Originally Posted by valnar

ehh, it depends on the software. The OS is really unimportant compared to what you want to do with it. If you're going to primarily run software designed for the XP days, then XP is best. Vista/7 just hacks it up and throws it all over the place. I for one have had a lot of problems with Windows 7 in my few weeks of playing with it - although I spent a lot of time on sites like Doom9, AVSForum, videohelp, etc. Most of that software is not designed for Vista/7.

In the short run yes. But if you think about keeping a system for a couple of years, then this changes quite a bit. Or you can start a new install sooner or later.
Of course, if you mainly run software that's a couple of years old, then I'd go for XP. My comment was really geared towards a new system=new hardware.

[blueroom]

I have a dedicated SageTV PC (3 tuners) and HDMI playback. XP was just not up to the video decoding but Vista was. I bought the family pack for Windows7 and recently installed it (clean install) on the PC described in my signature.
It was much easier to install on Win7 then Vista or XP.

[Fuzzy]

I would recommend 7, especially since you will be running playback on the machine. The ONLY quirk is UAC, because sage does not work within it's guidelines. however, if, when you install sage, put it in its own directory (C:\SageTV), and not in the program Files, it will not be a problem. The built-in Microsoft DVD-DTV Video Decoder is VERY good.

[sagmhe]

Originally Posted by blueroom

I have a dedicated SageTV PC (3 tuners) and HDMI playback. XP was just not up to the video decoding but Vista was. I bought the family pack for Windows7 and recently installed it (clean install) on the PC described in my signature.
It was much easier to install on Win7 then Vista or XP.

Thanks for all the replies.

Except for the video decoding issue, my preference is to stay with XP, as the computer will be a dedicated HTPC (no need for the latest Microsoft Office, etc.). Given that Microsoft is still providing updates for Windows 2000, I think they'll do the same for XP for many years.

Also, my understanding is that Vista performance is much worse than XP, and that Windows 7 is only slightly better than Vista (per PC World tests) -- which suggests that overall XP is faster than Windows 7.

Are there any downloads for XP that deal with the video decoding issue?

[mistergq]

+1 to XP

This is no comparable to running Windows 95 to Windows XP when XP came out. XP was diffinitely the way to go.

99% of hardware can run on XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Also, with the business world refusing to switch to Vista or Windows 7, I think xp will have more life for awhile here.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by sagmhe

Given that Microsoft is still providing updates for Windows 2000, I think they'll do the same for XP for many years.

Windows 2000 ends next year. And there will be no service packs-only security updates. And no IE 7 either.

." We will of course continue to keep our Windows 2000 SP4 customers secure with security updates through the life of Windows 2000 (through 2010). There are a few other differences between the two support models which you can read about at the lifecycle site. You may also want to read my previous post about Windows’ lifecycle.

Service Pack support for Windows ends 24 months after the SP release and at that times ends the previous SP support.

So, with the release of XP SP3, we begin the end of support clock for XP SP2. Since the Windows product family provides 24 months of support for the previous service pack, this would mean that XP SP2 will end 24 months following the release of SP3. Windows XP Service Pack 2 will end on July 13, 2010. These support dates can be found on the Support Lifecycle website.

Mainstream support for XP ended April 14, 2009. Extended support retires April 8, 2014.



Gerry

[sagmhe]

Originally Posted by gplasky

Windows 2000 ends next year. And there will be no service packs-only security updates. And no IE 7 either.



Service Pack support for Windows ends 24 months after the SP release and at that times ends the previous SP support.



Mainstream support for XP ended April 14, 2009. Extended support retires April 8, 2014.



Gerry

Thanks for all the replies.

My plan is to use XP on the HTPC computer unless Windows 7 is a better platform for SageTV (because SageTV will be the main program running on the HTPC).

Will SageTV run satisfactorily on XP?

Is it necessary to download any special software so that SageTV will run properly (or better) on XP?

[Fuzzy]

SageTV will run just fine 'out-of-the-box' on xp or win7. In most situations, you will get better video playback performance with win7, because of the improvements in the media rendering (EVR).

Cost. in the long run, shouldn't be much of a factor either. Odds are, if you have windows on the other computers in your house, you'll eventually upgrade them to 7 (and yes, unlike Vista, 7 IS an upgrade), so you would be a prime candidate for the 'Family Pack' at ~$140 (3 copies of Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade).

The only thing I would recommend if installing Sage on Win7, would be to NOT install it in the default location (C:\Program Files\SageTV) as Win7 will protect that path, and make configuration more complicated. Instead, put it somewhere else (C:\SageTV). This is easy enough to do when installing Sage the first time, and will lessen any configuration problems. (FYI, this is a SageTV issue, and not a Win7 issue, as Sage simply isn't designed well, security wise... it keeps configuration and plugins in the Program directory, instead of in a user space location, so Win7 'saftens' it up for them).