.NET vs. Java

[ptaylor]

I'm a programmer at my day job... Mostly C# and PHP recently.

I've seen some really bad Java programs in the last few years.. You know the kind -- memory hogs that run really slow, even on a 2.4 Gig Xeon dual processor server with 4 Gigs of RAM...

I honestly thought that Java was the problem, but here I am running a Java PVR app that runs great on an old P3 machine. Perhaps it was simply the Java programmers that were the problem in so many cases that I've seen in the past.

Not to put anyone down, but I just tried out the latest beta version of a competitor's PVR product which appears to be mostly .NET based now.. (The latest release version isn't, but the new beta is...) Well, it now requires about 100 MB more RAM (from what I've read) than previously, and is such a lumbering beast that I can't see running it on my P3-733 w/ 256 MB of ram... Their app has a web interface, but I was viewing Live TV and attempting to use the web interface at the same time to update some settings.. Well, audio kept working, but video halted for about 10 seconds or so when bringing a page up.

I'm not sure if they are just new to .NET and aren't that good at it yet, or what...

Anyhow - Just thought I would give some credit to the Frey guys... I used to be very anti-Java and pro-.NET... I may just have to reverse that decision...

Paul

[Opus4]

I probably have absolutely NO idea what the other PVR program is that you are talking about, since SageTV is all I've ever used.... Beyond what I just said, don't forget that you are talking about a beta version that may still have a bunch of debug code in it. A release version may still have higher system requirements, but it is hard to make any judgements about performace based on beta versions. Some even have bugs.

- Andy

[ptaylor]

Aye - I hear you... A minor annoyance that I've had with this other PVR company is that every beta I think that I've ever gotten from them has had trouble with my remote.... They get it right for the release, but not the betas...

So, perhaps it simply is Beta issues and/or debug code... But, 100 MB of additional memory from one Release version to the next Beta version is a BIG difference.

Of course, I have a server license for both products now.. I can't imagine using both of them though...

Wouldn't it be nice if Sage offered some sort of "competitive upgrade"? Where you could trade in your "insert competitor here" license in exchange for a discount on their server, or perhaps a free network client... (I still need to buy that... I think my wife's trial license runs out today)

Paul

[mikejaner]

I probably have absolutely NO idea what the other PVR program is that you are talking about, since SageTV is all I've ever used.... Beyond.......
LOL

I agree. Any software using that much memory is probably using debug code. Although I have to say .Net is picking up at a rapid pace this year and beyond. TV is a perfect realm to test this technology due to most of this being a user interface wrapped around Hauppauge driver calls. What's great is we are getting a wide range of users from other countries like Great Britain, GB. PVR software other than the one mentioned by ptaylor are using .Net and use much less memory, while running pretty well. Others use technology some of us consider to be a myth. TV has gotten fun for me now that I can record what I want.

;-)

[mlbdude]

Actually the head developer for that product when asked why this was so responded that most of that was .Net. I think .Net just takes whatever is there but would probably (hopefully) free it up if another program was needing it.

[ptaylor]

I think that it would probably run decently if I had more RAM on that box.... I would have thought 256 would have been enough to be able to watch TV, though..

Both Sage and this competitor have their pros and cons... I guess what matters most is that Sage works well on my hardware, though...

Paul

[salsbst]

Both virtual machines are great and use similar memory management schemes.

The problems are in the applications people develop.

[jominor]

Originally posted by Opus4
I probably have absolutely NO idea what the other PVR program is that you are talking about, since SageTV is all I've ever used.... Beyond what I just said, don't forget that you are talking about a beta version that may still have a bunch of debug code in it. A release version may still have higher system requirements, but it is hard to make any judgements about performace based on beta versions. Some even have bugs.

- Andy

I develop and have used many betas. I have to say, I've rarely, if ever, seen any program that was significantly faster or used significantly less memory after the final went out. Unless performance was specifically targeted in a point release.