Purchasing STV for first time.. Question about Version 7 in bundle.

[makko]

Hi There,

I'm not really sure if this is the correct forum for this thread but it seems like the most appropriate. Mods feel free to move to a more suitable forum.

Anyway, I'm planning on buying the HD Theater 300 bundle that includes the SageTV media centre version 7 software.

At the bottom of the product page it tells me that I need to have version 6.6 or later to install the bundled software. I currently don't have any version of SageTV and version 6.6 isn't avaialble in the store.

Should I just go and buy the STB and Sage v7 individually from the store?

Thanks in advance..

EDIT: I just noticed that it has the same message at the end of the stand alone STB product page. It's obviously just notifying the user they need software for the STB to work and not to install the newer version of STV. Can somebody clairfy this please? Thanks

[pjpjpjpj]

If you buy the bundle, you get the extender and the software license. There may be some confusion in the online store because v7 just came out of beta. I am sure that the bundle gets you the license to use v7 at this point, though I suspect you are free (if you wish) to install v6. Regardless, the bundle will get the software license for your server computer, and an extender to use at a TV set.

The extender does not "need" the software to operate - it has a standalone mode that allows you to have access to media on your network, internet content (i.e., youtube), etc. The software is a PVR application - it allows you (assuming you have a TV tuner attached in some way) to schedule, record, and play back TV. It also has all of the standalone features (media access) built into it.

So, assuming you want this PVR capability, you need to buy the software. If you want an extender so you can access it on a TV set, you need the extender... and the bundle saves you money.

Hope that helps.

[makko]

Got it now..

Thanks pj

Really getting excited about STV now.. just a little nervous about all the setup/configuration that will be required!

[GKusnick]

That asterisked footnote applies to this statement:

The SageTV HD Theater 300 also allows you to watch live or recorded HDTV*.

...

*Requires SageTV Media Center version 6.6 or later and a compatible HD TV Tuner

So as pj says, you need the software in order to watch TV on the HD300. This is an accurate statement, and V7 counts as "version 6.6 or later".