HD200 Stock

[bits]

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

I think if SageTV were to stop selling them, permanently, they would remove the listing from their store now that they are out of stock. a la

My 2

That could still happen. STV may want to still sell them but there may be things out of their control that ultimately leads to them not selling them any more.

I am not predicting that HD200 sales are no more....I am just tossing out speculation like so many of the folks in this thread. And as each day, each week, each month of silence goes by, certain speculations become a little more probable.

[Fuzzy]

But what about all the private beta tester that have been using the HD237 since mid January when they started testing with the v7 closed beta? Oh.. whoops.. nevermind... Yeah, there's probably no more extenders.. I can see plenty of reasons why sage would want to get out of the extender market. I think we can all agree that the HD200 was a dismal failure in the market. Everyone knows they are trying to do everything they can to copy Microsoft...

[ranger]

I subscribe to the theory that the electronics component shortages have caused the HD200 shortage. The problem Sage now faces is whether they try to update to a new model with parts that are in short supply or try and source alternate parts for the existing device. Either will be hard to do. This is just a bad time to try and build electronic devices. Everybody is running short on components and scrambling to find alternate sources. The hardware design team where I work has been working extra for nearly a year to keep up with the component shortages.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by bits

No I do not, so given the available information, which is nearly 3 months of being out of stock with zero explanation, I would submit that ybrew and I have about the same probability of being right or wrong. BTW my question was legitamate and well intended.

You do realize that each shipment of extenders have taken about the same amount of time to arrive. Seach back in the forum and look at the dates.

Gerry

[sleonard]

And its common knowledge that Sage Inc. does not say anything at all until the day that the new product is available. So their silence means nothing.

S

[JetreL]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

But what about all the private beta tester that have been using the HD237 since mid January when they started testing with the v7 closed beta? Oh.. whoops.. nevermind...

Fuzzy,

I see now we shouldn't of let you in the special club. Please accept this as your notice of dismissal to the special double secret beta tester group. Please return all equipment that you obtained from your membership;

Equipment List:
(1) SageTV integrated PlasmaTV
(1) SageTV integrated LCD TV
(1) SageTV Integrated Interactive True 3D Projector
(1) SageTV integrated BluRay players
(1) SageTV HD237 Wireless CDMA/GSM Extender w/ Car interface
(1) SageTV integrated Iphone & Ipad combo set
(1) SageTV on a stick USB - with specialized compression algorithms to store 1 hour Super-HD video/audio in a 1 Mb file.

While we appreciate your efforts within our group we also feel that this betrayal of trade secrets violates the terms of agreement that you took upon acceptance of said group. You have 10 days to comply or we will begin legal proceedings as outlined in the terms of agreements.

Hope you are well,
Jetrel
Under Secretary to the Membership Review and Renewal Department
SageTV Special Double Secret Beta Tester Group

[wayner]

Originally Posted by bits

I am just tossing out speculation like so many of the folks in this thread. And as each day, each week, each month of silence goes by, certain speculations become a little more probable.

Each day that goes by means that we are getting closer to the next version of the extender, assuming that there is one. It is pre speculation on my part but the longer the extenders are OOS the higher the probability that there is a new model on the way.

The HD200 was introduced (and available for purchase) in early December of 2008. That was 20 months ago which is at least one generation in the life of these types of harware.

One thing that might be nice would be to have a basic and deluxe version of the extenders at different price points. Say a slightly slimmed down version of the HD-200 that would sell for about $100 and an HD-300 with all of the bells and whistles that would continue to sell for $180 or so. Some folks use extenders with non-HD TVs so they may not need things like digital audio, HDMI, component etc and would be willing to pay for an "extender-lite".

[ybrew]

I absolutely don't have any more information than anyone here. Probably a lot less!

But I've been with Sage since June of 2005. Back then I was evaluating Sage & BeyondTV and reading up on MythTV. The original Hauppauge MVP Extenders are what tipped the scape in Sage's favor.

I've got two HD100s. No HD200s (yet). I know others have been around longer than me, but in the time I've been here, Sage hasn't let me down yet.
I could be wrong about the extenders. I certainly hope I'm not, as I really need a couple more. I'd prefer to order some HD300s, but gotta see what becomes available first and how much available spending money I have when something becomes available.

But mainly like BCJenkins said - if Sage was going to stop selling extenders, I'd imagine they'd quit advertising them.
I (like everyone here) would love for Sage to respond to this thread and let us know exactly what's going on, but that's not the way they operate. They haven't done that at all that I remember over the last 5 years, so while I may like things to be different, they've go their reasons for keeping silent and the best I can do is simply be patient and check here frequently for updates.

[MCE-Refugee]

The problem with having no stock for over three months & no explanation is that one begins to fear the worst concerning the financial health of Sage. Maybe they cannot get credit from their suppliers or perhaps they cannot get finance from their bank to make a down payment on an order.

If the hardware extenders are a good revenue stream for Sage then it's madness not to have any stock for so long. They must be losing potential new customers every day who are about to buy in to the Sage TV ecosystem & then discover that a key differentiator is unavailable.

A clear statement regarding when hardware extenders will again be in stock & available for order would quash such worries.

[bcjenkins]

I agree - I don't think the secrecy is to their advantage. BUT any of those thoughts never entered into my mind.

B

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

I agree - I don't think the secrecy is to their advantage. BUT any of those thoughts never entered into my mind.

B

Yeah, I certainly am not worried about the health of SageTV, LLC. Especially with SageTV7 out, they are currently bringing in above normal income, due to upgrade licenses. BTV's failing is bringing in more customers than before as well. If they had CableCard in the bag, they'd be pulling in from MCE users as well... IF..

[emotionnotion]

I for one just do not understand the silence; I guess being only 2 months into the Sage experience makes me a little more cynical.

SageTV 7 is great but I believe the extenders make it world-class offering stability and playback capability that the competitors cannot match. The new UI pulverises Windows Media Centre and is openly extendable with a fanatical support base.

I understand the need to protect new product developments from the competition but surely, it is not too much to ask, to receive clear news on the current or future extenders along with underlying reasons for the delay.

I enquired nearly 3 months ago for the HD 200's and was told 6-8 weeks; an answer that is still to be determined; its only luck in acquiring 2 HD 200's second-hand and, a belief that this system is the right system to partner my Sonos implementation that made me continue.

The Sage community rocks; it deserves a better communication model than this if, this media centre is to take its place at the top of the pile that is.

I personally do not care whether its the HD200 or HD300 and cablecard for Europe is no big deal but I do want to see this product flourish; where else can you get the same experience as Sage without using several PCs?

[wrems]

No wonder Sage doesn't have any HD200's left; emotionnotion has 200 of them

[emotionnotion]

I wish, I could make a killing on the onsale then

[emotionnotion]

Ahem, yes a typo. I don't love them that much!

[wayner]

Originally Posted by emotionnotion

I for one just do not understand the silence; I guess being only 2 months into the Sage experience makes me a little more cynical.
...

The Sage community rocks; it deserves a better communication model than this if, this media centre is to take its place at the top of the pile that is.

I understand where you are coming from as I was in the process of transitioning from WinXP Media Centre to Sage about two years ago when the extenders were also out of stock for many months - then the HD-200 appeared in early December of 2008.

I would say to trust Sage - given all of the work on Sage7 they are not winding down the company. Not commenting on "vapourware" is their way of doing business and it has some benefits. As has been mentioned there are shortages of many components and I personally think it is extremely likely that there is a new model coming given the length of the delay and the hints in some of the release notes.

[Brent]

I start each day by reading the posts in this thread. Lots of chuckles seeing the same speculation back & forth.

SageTV isn't going away. And they don't talk about things before they are ready to sell/release such things. The one time in recent memory they strayed from this was the Hulu built-in announcement at a past CES and that didn't work out for them. Just have patience to see what happens - that's my plan at least

[cat6man]

Originally Posted by Brent

I start each day by reading the posts in this thread. Lots of chuckles seeing the same speculation back & forth.

SageTV isn't going away. And they don't talk about things before they are ready to sell/release such things. The one time in recent memory they strayed from this was the Hulu built-in announcement at a past CES and that didn't work out for them. Just have patience to see what happens - that's my plan at least

what he said..........patience people (the past is prologue)

[wayner]

Originally Posted by Brent

And they don't talk about things before they are ready to sell/release such things. The one time in recent memory they strayed from this was the Hulu built-in announcement at a past CES and that didn't work out for them.

What about the "server-on-a-stick" story that you broke a year or two ago? That seems to have died.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by wayner

What about the "server-on-a-stick" story that you broke a year or two ago? That seems to have died.

yep that one too. It didn't seem to get a lot of interest at the time so it may have caused them to shift gears for the moment.