No analog extenders for sale?

[mgpaulus]

I am a long time mythtv user (since .16 or so), but I am thinking about switching over to sagetv, because I like the look of the HD300. However, I only have 1 HD tv in my house. The rest are all analog/SD.

I also happen to have 3 Hauppauge MediaMVP devices running mvpmc for my myth setup. I believe I can use them under SageTV, but I was wondering if there was/is a better extender I could/should be using for these older TVs? Or is Sage going to an HD only mentality?

Huh. Just looked at the HD300 again, and I see that there is a composite/component plug, which I guess will take a dongle and allow me to hook up to my old analog tv. Anyone know if it downsample HD to SD for these older tvs, or will I have to set up to somehow transcode HD to SD on the server?

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by mgpaulus

I also happen to have 3 Hauppauge MediaMVP devices running mvpmc for my myth setup.

Well first things first, Placeshifter licenses work with the MVP.

I believe I can use them under SageTV, but I was wondering if there was/is a better extender I could/should be using for these older TVs? Or is Sage going to an HD only mentality?

Huh. Just looked at the HD300 again, and I see that there is a composite/component plug, which I guess will take a dongle and allow me to hook up to my old analog tv. Anyone know if it downsample HD to SD for these older tvs, or will I have to set up to somehow transcode HD to SD on the server?

Yeah, you can use the HD300 on an SDTV, though you're stuck with Composite, no S/Video. And the HD300 is way, way better than the MVP, well worth it IMO if you're going to do any serious watching on a given SDTV.

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Yeah, you can use the HD300 on an SDTV, though you're stuck with Composite, no S/Video.

If you need S/Video, you can always look for a gently-used HD200, which included an S/Video port on the back.

[Tiki]

If you buy an extender from Sage, the extender license is included. On the HD200 and HD300, the "license" is actually built into the device (you don't have to type in a license key or anything). On the older HD100 and MediaMVP, you had to type in a license key on the server.

If you buy a MediaMVP somewhere else, you have to purchase an Extender/Placeshifter license from Sage to make it work. Sage uses the same license for either. Each license allows for 1 simultaneous connection to the Sage server. So you can have 2 MVP's and only one license, as long as only one MVP is connected at a time.

The MVP only supports limited formats. If you play a format not supported by the MVP, the Sage Server will transcode it for you on the fly (as long as your server PC is powerful enough).

The HD100, 200, 300 are all faster and more powerful and support more formats natively than the MVP, so they will work well even with a low-powered server. Each generation (300 is newest) is faster and more powerful than the one before. The extra power is noticable when it comes to things like drawing the UI menus and navigating. So, even if you don't use HD, there is an advantage to using these devices versus the MVP.

As someone mentioned above, the HD300 no longer has an S-Video output (component, compoiste, and HDMI only). So, if you need that, look for an HD200.

[bcjenkins]

Also, the HD300 will convert all supported video formats into the analog signal needed. This will allow HD content to be played on your SD televisions without strain on the server.

B

[autoboy]

The HD300 will also decode DTS audio into stereo for output over your TV speakers. That's important if you have any movies or files that have DTS tracks only.

The HD100 and HD200 lack the DTS decoding, though they can pass it to a receiver for decoding without issue.