Open Source Project

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by wayner

Why couldn't you run online streaming apps on a NUC? Especially if you use Win 8.1 or Win 10 as I think there are Metro apps for the main streaming services? Or you could also do them through a browser on a NUC.

Does anyone actually write Window 8.1/10 Metro apps? (joking .. ducks)

[valnar]

Originally Posted by stuckless

Does anyone actually write Window 8.1/10 Metro apps? (joking .. ducks)

10 years from now that will be like somebody asking for a Microsoft Bob app.

[7up]

Could you run Win8/10 streaming apps on a NUC? Sure, but I don't think an 300-500 dollar extender should be the primary target or is something which is going to help SageTV grow.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by 7up

Could you run Win8/10 streaming apps on a NUC? Sure, but I don't think an 300-500 dollar extender should be the primary target or is something which is going to help SageTV grow.

I don't disagree with that, I was just pointing out that this is not a disadvantage for a NUC.

[7up]

Agreed

[lesbell]

Originally Posted by matterofrecord

As a programming outsider I would say one thing about the direction you take (I say this because I see so many coders that assume everyone else is as computer literate as they are). Sagetv and sagetv client are going to be free soon. Being $free is going to attract new people to sagetv ( especially from media portal, wmc and npvr ). For new people to commit serious attention to sagetv we need a clear, easy web-presence ( not some code repository where we ask people to compile their own code ). We need an easy setup-guide/procedure and I think the simplicity of having only one official version ( there can be plenty of unofficial forks etc but we should keep it simple for new people coming to sagetv.). In short we should make sure that the sagetv system is an easy system to enter with few barriers, be they technical ability or sheer bewildering complexity.

Amen! The streaming video/audio/DVR/PVR world has an intimidating amount of jargon which can be quite overwhelming for the newbie. Heck, I'm a 40-year programming veteran with all kinds of weird expertiese, but the few times I've had to look under the hood of SageTV in order to fix some local compatibility problem (I'm in AU) I've been left longing for the good old days when you turned the TV on and just waited for the tubes to warm up.

I would just about _kill_ for a secret decoder ring that makes sense of all the jargon; I suspect one of the most useful contributions someone could make - even starting before source code is available - is a glossary of all the jargon and some basic diagrams and documentation of the Sage architecture.

[pjpjpjpj]

Jeff, any chance you would put out the original (presumably written in Word) user manual, minus the legal stuff and all, that we could use as a basis for making an updated instruction guide? Whether that became a downloadable document or was parsed out into an online wiki, it would save a lot of work.

I totally agree people could use a glossary/dictionary of terminology.

I don't know any programming code and don't have a ton of time, but my contribution could be working on instructions for new users. I'm a rare bird who has a logical engineering mind but a strong English background so I am pretty good at writing "for dummies" instructions (takes one to write one )

[loomdog32]

Open Source!!! I just randomly decided to check on the Sage forums and got a great surprise.

Tho I have stopped using Sage for a Windows Media Center / Ceton Echo setup; with the apparent EOL of the Echo, this is great news!!


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-010-_-Product

I have a couple of these devices and they are not too bad. They are currently $225, $325 if you go the Win 8.1 route. VESA mountable. I am sure there are cheaper hardware options, but for size vs usability these are awesome...

Placeshifter for Android.... That would be a game changer!! Being able to access everything Sage on my phone...

I had a pretty stable setup for CableCard (copy freely) and HD-PVR for copy protected channels. Being able to go back to that with Placeshifter for Android, that is a no brainier.

[AzJazz]

This is amazing news! I have looked into other options, but I always come back to SageTV.

I can't wait to see what happens.

[SWKerr]

Originally Posted by loomdog32

Open Source!!! I just randomly decided to check on the Sage forums and got a great surprise.

Tho I have stopped using Sage for a Windows Media Center / Ceton Echo setup; with the apparent EOL of the Echo, this is great news!!


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-010-_-Product

I have a couple of these devices and they are not too bad. They are currently $225, $325 if you go the Win 8.1 route. VESA mountable. I am sure there are cheaper hardware options, but for size vs usability these are awesome...

Placeshifter for Android.... That would be a game changer!! Being able to access everything Sage on my phone...

I had a pretty stable setup for CableCard (copy freely) and HD-PVR for copy protected channels. Being able to go back to that with Placeshifter for Android, that is a no brainier.

I got the LIVA 2GB\32GB version a few weeks ago for $99 and it also works great for SageTV and Kodi. I was surprised at how quick it really was. I had used a Raspberry Pi for Kodi and the playback was ok but the interface was slow...
The LIVA is a great little box and has Wifi and a wired network connection.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856501007

[ChrisNH]

We need to get this running on a Rasberry Pi. It can become our $35 HD300..

[Dargason]

Honestly, I don't see the excitement over the Rasberry Pi... By the time you get the storage, power supply, case, etc, you've spent about the same as a mini-PC anyway. Not that I'm against it, it's just I think I'd rather have a more plug-and-play solution.

On a related topic, I think an Android port of the client would be great. I expect there are a lot of old phones and tablets that could have a second life as an extender for almost nothing.

Also, I'm looking forward to just getting a copy of linux placeshifter to run on my chromebook.

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by Dargason

Honestly, I don't see the excitement over the Rasberry Pi... By the time you get the storage, power supply, case, etc, you've spent about the same as a mini-PC anyway. Not that I'm against it, it's just I think I'd rather have a more plug-and-play solution.

On a related topic, I think an Android port of the client would be great. I expect there are a lot of old phones and tablets that could have a second life as an extender for almost nothing.

Also, I'm looking forward to just getting a copy of linux placeshifter to run on my chromebook.

For the Pi it really depends. If your TV has an available USB port you don't need the PS. Storage is relatively cheap unless you need lots of it. Yes, it does all add up but I believe in the end it could function more like an extender and less like a full blown PC.

As for old Android phones and tablets I would be hesitant to support anything less than Android 4.0. That by itself leaves out many, if not most, of those old cheap Android devices.

[Dargason]

As for old Android phones and tablets I would be hesitant to support anything less than Android 4.0. That by itself leaves out many, if not most, of those old cheap Android devices.

Agreed, but fast forward about 1 year to when there could conceivably be something working, and I'll bet there are a lot more suitable devices gathering dust. Android 4.0 came out end of 2011, so by 2016 it'll be 4 years old.

For the Pi it really depends. If your TV has an available USB port you don't need the PS. Storage is relatively cheap unless you need lots of it. Yes, it does all add up but I believe in the end it could function more like an extender and less like a full blown PC.

I expect that either a mini-PC or a Raspberry Pi could be configured to be equivalent in terms of 'extender-like', though a mini-PC would give you a bit more flexability (I'm assuming.) Wouldn't it be neat if you could create one of those Linix install CDs that would install a functioning SageTV client on a variety of hardware?

[valnar]

Originally Posted by Taddeusz

For the Pi it really depends. If your TV has an available USB port you don't need the PS.

As an owner of a couple of Pi 2's, that is not correct. The newer ones need more juice. No one is going to buy an old Pi anymore.

My biggest issue with the Pi is nothing is integrated. You could have a collection of things sticking out of it like a USB WiFi, USB FLIRC or IR receiver, HifiBerry Digi+ for S/PDIF, etc. For those who care, it's not exactly pretty.

Give me the Cubox or Hummingboard any day. The only downside is the developer community isn't as big.

The only reason I even own a Pi2 is because some developers decided it would be best for Rasplex. If "Rasplex" was available on any other platform, I'd switch.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by valnar

Give me the Cubox or Hummingboard any day. The only downside is the developer community isn't as big.

Possibly a second issue: remember the Ceton Echo? That used an iMX6 chip as well. I never got reliable play of interlaced HD content or high bitrate H.264 video when I was trying to use it. While they didn't call out Freescale by name, it was awfully clear that they weren't getting a lot if support from them to get video playback working properly.

[valnar]

Originally Posted by reggie14

Possibly a second issue: remember the Ceton Echo? That used an iMX6 chip as well. I never got reliable play of interlaced HD content or high bitrate H.264 video when I was trying to use it. While they didn't call out Freescale by name, it was awfully clear that they weren't getting a lot if support from them to get video playback working properly.

Very good to know. Yes, the CPU/SoC would need interlaced support of course.

[ranger]

Originally Posted by SWKerr

I got the LIVA 2GB\32GB version a few weeks ago for $99 and it also works great for SageTV and Kodi. I was surprised at how quick it really was. I had used a Raspberry Pi for Kodi and the playback was ok but the interface was slow...
The LIVA is a great little box and has Wifi and a wired network connection.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856501007

I've got both the LIVA and a Minix Neo Z64. Of the 2 I like the Minix best, primarily because it came with Windows 8.1, but I also think the video playback is a bit better.

[sundansx]

Wow this is great news. I think that the new intel compute stick would be great for an extender. Running linux it is around $100. I just setup the sage client on a Asus Bay-Trail box (little thin client) and was very impressed at the speed of everything. I think it is pretty close in responsiveness to the local client (on same machine as the server) running on a higher end haswell quad core.

[waynedunham]

Originally Posted by sundansx

Wow this is great news. I think that the new intel compute stick would be great for an extender. Running linux it is around $100. I just setup the sage client on a Asus Bay-Trail box (little thin client) and was very impressed at the speed of everything. I think it is pretty close in responsiveness to the local client (on same machine as the server) running on a higher end haswell quad core.

I was very interesting in this when the news first came out about its pending release.
I'm still interested, but cautiously. The couple reviews I've read haven't been all that good. I'm waiting to see more reviews and hopefully one centered around media rather than computing tasks and games, which seem to be the main focus of the few reviews I've read so far.

If it will work out for running SageTV on then it would be great as something to throw in your bag for travel.