adjust opacity of guide?

[aweber1nj]

So I just hooked-up my first HD300, and for the most-part I think it rocks. I have a few nits to pick with it -- mostly the remote -- but that's a different topic.

When displaying the programming guide (and I think some of the other overlays), the guide data is not opaque enough. That is, it's hard to read the guide and see the info because the Live TV program that's currently playing is too apparent behind it.

Any way to adjust how "dark" or really "less see-through" the guide screen/overlay should be?

Thanks,
AJ

[GKusnick]

There's an Opaque Panel Theme in the plugin repository that may help.

[aweber1nj]

Awesome...I'll check that out.

As a side question: is there a subset of client-plugins that can be installed on a HD300, or should I assume that anything listed can be installed on any STV Client (including the dedicated h/w)?

[GKusnick]

In extender mode, the extender's UI executes on the server, not on the extender hardware. Only the screen updates and media playback are handled locally. So as a general rule, all plugins should be fair game, unless they specifically depend on features of the client UI that don't appear on the extender (such as codec selection screens, for instance). And obviously any plugin that runs external programs (media players, web browsers, whatever) will run them on the server, and any windows those programs open will appear on the server's display, not on the extender.

Standalone mode is a different story. In that case the UI runs directly on the extender hardware, and no plugins are supported (although it is possible to create custom skins for the standalone UI).

[aweber1nj]

Awesome info, Greg, thanks.

Is that true for a STV Client [license] running on a Windows PC as well? Would seem like a waste of local PC resources if it's only used for the media playback.

Thanks again,
AJ

[GKusnick]

SageTV Client executes the UI locally. Placeshifter executes it on the server. See the FAQ for more info.

[aweber1nj]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

SageTV Client executes the UI locally. Placeshifter executes it on the server. See the FAQ for more info.

Sorry, but now I'm confused (I read the FAQ).

Is the HD300 running "Sage Client" or "Placeshifter"? Because I thought it was the full "Sage Client", which means, according to the FAQ, everything is running locally on the HD300, right?

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by aweber1nj

Is the HD300 running "Sage Client" or "Placeshifter"?

Neither. SageTV Client and Placeshifter are software clients that run on PC hardware. Extenders are hardware appliances that run device-specific client code in firmware.

All types of client (hardware or software) present the same SageTV UI and give access to the same functions. But that doesn't make them all instances of SageTV Client, which is a specific type of software client.

Extenders (operating in extender mode) are like Placeshifter in the sense of being a thin client where the bulk of the code executes on the server, and only the screen updates happen locally. SageTV Client is a thick client that executes the bulk of the code locally, and only the database accesses are referred to the server.