HD200 vs HD300...

[joelinkup]

Yikes... I got so much help over the past day or so with a question about "Online Content" in the software section I decided to ask one more question here that I have always wondered about... I have 4 HD200 Boxes... and 1 HD300 Box... The HD200 Boxes have performed PERFECTLY for MANY YEARS and I still use them every day... The HD300 Box is another story... I originally got one and it broke after about 4 months... I sent it in and Sage replaced it with another HD300 Box... That one worked for about 2 months... So, I gave up... and just continued with the HD200's which have NEVER failed me... I know someone who wants to get SageTV going... and I know you can buy used stuff (HD200's) and that is great... But, there is a possibility of getting new HD300's coming soon... However, my experience with the HD300's has NOT been good... I would sincerely appreciate any thoughts you have on this matter... Was I just unlucky twice with the HD300???... or do I have something here with the HD200's being ROCK SOLID... that is, more so, then the HD300's... BTW, the problem with the HD300 is always failure to start... and then finally when it starts the video is blue/red and blurry... and then it shuts down... it MAY finally get going after 20 minutes but then next time the same program over again... etc... THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP...

[graywolf]

The HD300s run hot. We turn it off when we are not watching and haven't had problems with them. Haven't had problems with the HD200s either and we leave those on for the most part.

Some have put the HD300s on usb cooling pad/fans which they say have helped them

[tvmaster2]

The HD300's have a proprietary breakout cable of some sort, don't they? For that reason alone I prefer the HD200 - and, knock on Ikea-imitation-wood, my HD200's have never stopped working...

[will]

I guess I've been lucky. I never had any real issues with my HD300s. Though I did have a HD200 fail on me but it was covered under warranty (the HDMI port died). The biggest issue I had with a HD300 was having to hard reset it once after it locked up (it was bizarre).

The HD200 does have some nice features over the HD300:

1. No breakout cables if you need component (I use component with my SlingBox)
2. Ability to use HDMI/Component and the S-Video/Video connectors at the same time
3. The simple black box can blend in better with certain furniture pieces.

However, the HD300 can do some things better too:

1. Support for decoding DTS audio (nice if you don't use a receiver with your HD300)
2. The UI runs faster/smoother - though I only notice the difference when using the video browser
3. Smaller
4. Faster start-up time.

I guess I've been lucky but I've had really good experiences with both the HD200 and HD300 (never owned a HD100; I hear those had reliability issues). My gut tells me that you just had some bad luck with your HD300s.

[wubdich]

The most important feature of HD300 in my case is "wake on lan (WOL)". HD300 can wake up your SageTV PC when it is in power save mode. Saves a lot of energy in my case. SageTV PC has not to run 24x7 anymore which was the case when I used HD200. Just to mention: Planned recordings are waking up the SageTV PC also.

Up to now I have never had any issues with HD300. I keep my fingers crossed.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wubdich

The most important feature of HD300 in my case is "wake on lan (WOL)". HD300 can wake up your SageTV PC when it is in power save mode. Saves a lot of energy in my case. SageTV PC has not to run 24x7 anymore which was the case when I used HD200. Just to mention: Planned recordings are waking up the SageTV PC also.

Up to now I have never had any issues with HD300. I keep my fingers crossed.

what setting do you use in Windows to let Sage HTPC sleep?

[wubdich]

I'm using the balanced power plan of Windows 8.1 (Turn off the display: 5 Minutes - Put th computer to sleep: 10 Minutes) with advanced options "Sleep / hibernate after = never" and "Sleep / allow wake timers = Enable". In Device Manager the option "allow this device to wake the computer" and "Only allow a magic packet to wke the computer" is set on tab "Power Management" of Network Adapter. Wake on LAN might have to be enabled in BIOS also. SageTV is running in service mode. SageTV PC is located in a store-room to keep the living room nice and tidy. ;-)

[KryptoNyte]

Originally Posted by wubdich

The most important feature of HD300 in my case is "wake on lan (WOL)". HD300 can wake up your SageTV PC when it is in power save mode. Saves a lot of energy in my case. SageTV PC has not to run 24x7 anymore which was the case when I used HD200. Just to mention: Planned recordings are waking up the SageTV PC also.

Up to now I have never had any issues with HD300. I keep my fingers crossed.

I have a wake-on-lan tool on my phone, so that when connected to the LAN, I can wake the server even for an HD200, or an HD300 on a wireless extender.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wubdich

I'm using the balanced power plan of Windows 8.1 (Turn off the display: 5 Minutes - Put th computer to sleep: 10 Minutes) with advanced options "Sleep / hibernate after = never" and "Sleep / allow wake timers = Enable". In Device Manager the option "allow this device to wake the computer" and "Only allow a magic packet to wke the computer" is set on tab "Power Management" of Network Adapter. Wake on LAN might have to be enabled in BIOS also. SageTV is running in service mode. SageTV PC is located in a store-room to keep the living room nice and tidy. ;-)

thanks, but what in Sage allows the PC to wake? Does Sage have wol built-in, so when a recording time approaches Sage wakes up the PC?

[wubdich]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

thanks, but what in Sage allows the PC to wake? Does Sage have wol built-in, so when a recording time approaches Sage wakes up the PC?

Sage TV is using a timer to wake up the PC to do planned recordings. The timer can be seen via "powercfg /waketimers" in cmd.exe (has to be run as administrator).

[KryptoNyte]

As the computer goes to sleep, SageTV sets a system timer to wake the system based on the next scheduled recording.

EDIT: thx wubdich - I'm always a day late and dollar short

[will]

Originally Posted by wubdich

Sage TV is using a timer to wake up the PC to do planned recordings. The timer can be seen via "powercfg /waketimers" in cmd.exe (has to be run as administrator).

Didn't know you could that; what a cool feature. I can see how that saves money.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wubdich

Sage TV is using a timer to wake up the PC to do planned recordings. The timer can be seen via "powercfg /waketimers" in cmd.exe (has to be run as administrator).

via the windows "run" command? Not sure I follow how to get where you just said...

[wubdich]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

via the windows "run" command? Not sure I follow how to get where you just said...

Have a look here: Start a Command Prompt as an Administrator then enter "powercfg /waketimers"

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wubdich

Have a look here: Start a Command Prompt as an Administrator then enter "powercfg /waketimers"

thanks

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by wubdich

The most important feature of HD300 in my case is "wake on lan (WOL)". HD300 can wake up your SageTV PC when it is in power save mode. Saves a lot of energy in my case. SageTV PC has not to run 24x7 anymore which was the case when I used HD200. Just to mention: Planned recordings are waking up the SageTV PC also.

Up to now I have never had any issues with HD300. I keep my fingers crossed.

ah, so this concept is moot using HD200's then?

[wubdich]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

ah, so this concept is moot using HD200's then?

If you want to suspend and resume the SageTV PC "yes" - if you are willing to run SageTV PC 24x7 "no". Of course you can use Wake-On-LAN via a smartphone app as KryptoNyte mentioned. But that''s another story. HD300 will send Wake-on-LAN pakets when connecting to SageTV PC - HD200 can't do this as far as I now. Everything else was fine when I was running HD200.

[joelinkup]

Hello...
I will explain my usage of SageTV regarding this matter... I have 4 HD200's & 1 HD300... As mentioned before the HD300 has been broken or a long time... All 4 of the HD200's work perfectly for MANY years... OK... So, I am using ONLY the HD200's in 3 rooms... 1 is an extra... I have a SageTV server in the basement with a Hauppauge card in it for OTA... It will record 2 shows at one time... The server is an older Acer Box... This is how it works... and this is WHY... The server is set to Sleep after 1 hour... via Windows... There are MANY shows to record... SageTV V7 runs as a service... The server is sleeping... When a show is needed to be recorded the server AUTOMATICALLY wakes up... the show is recorded... if the show or shows are less then 1 hour then the server goes back to sleep after 1 hour... if over 1 hour then when the shows are done the server goes back to sleep right away... OK... now if the server is sleeping and you start up an HD200 the server will AUTOMATICALLY wake up... and stay awake for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as you use it... EVERYTHING is AUTOMATIC... I do NOT use any magic packets... I just use WOL on the server via Windows V7... here is where the issue at one time came into play... at one time I had an old Linksys router and ALL WAS GREAT... then I purchased this new Linksys router... the fancy one (still sold) that is about $300... the BEAST... it was great EXCEPT it would NOT let my SageTV server sleep or wake up... I sniffed it and found I could see the problem... I returned it... I bought a Netgear FANCY router again ($300)... I thought that would fix the issue as I have lots of Netgear switches... did NOT work... would not let my SageTV router sleep and would not wake it... same as the new Linksys... so I put the old Linksys back and all was OK again... So, I purchased my first Asus Router... RTA87R/U... this time NO PROBLEMS... and the sniffer showed no problems... So, for about 6-8 months that is my new router... PERFECT... SageTV server sleeps... wakes... sleeps... wakes with need to record... sleeps... wakes with HD200... sleeps... and NO Magic Packet... Just standard WOL... Just thought I would let you know what my experience has been... It was my router that was causing the issues and it was miserable discovering that was the problem... Sniffing was my way to figure this out as best I could... and just by chance the Asus does the job... PERFECTLY... what is wrong or different about the other routers I do not know...

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by joelinkup

Hello...
I will explain my usage of SageTV regarding this matter... I have 4 HD200's & 1 HD300... As mentioned before the HD300 has been broken or a long time... All 4 of the HD200's work perfectly for MANY years... OK... So, I am using ONLY the HD200's in 3 rooms... 1 is an extra... I have a SageTV server in the basement with a Hauppauge card in it for OTA... It will record 2 shows at one time... The server is an older Acer Box... This is how it works... and this is WHY... The server is set to Sleep after 1 hour... via Windows... There are MANY shows to record... SageTV V7 runs as a service... The server is sleeping... When a show is needed to be recorded the server AUTOMATICALLY wakes up... the show is recorded... if the show or shows are less then 1 hour then the server goes back to sleep after 1 hour... if over 1 hour then when the shows are done the server goes back to sleep right away... OK... now if the server is sleeping and you start up an HD200 the server will AUTOMATICALLY wake up... and stay awake for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as you use it... EVERYTHING is AUTOMATIC... I do NOT use any magic packets... I just use WOL on the server via Windows V7... here is where the issue at one time came into play... at one time I had an old Linksys router and ALL WAS GREAT... then I purchased this new Linksys router... the fancy one (still sold) that is about $300... the BEAST... it was great EXCEPT it would NOT let my SageTV server sleep or wake up... I sniffed it and found I could see the problem... I returned it... I bought a Netgear FANCY router again ($300)... I thought that would fix the issue as I have lots of Netgear switches... did NOT work... would not let my SageTV router sleep and would not wake it... same as the new Linksys... so I put the old Linksys back and all was OK again... So, I purchased my first Asus Router... RTA87R/U... this time NO PROBLEMS... and the sniffer showed no problems... So, for about 6-8 months that is my new router... PERFECT... SageTV server sleeps... wakes... sleeps... wakes with need to record... sleeps... wakes with HD200... sleeps... and NO Magic Packet... Just standard WOL... Just thought I would let you know what my experience has been... It was my router that was causing the issues and it was miserable discovering that was the problem... Sniffing was my way to figure this out as best I could... and just by chance the Asus does the job... PERFECTLY... what is wrong or different about the other routers I do not know...

sounds great. can you note what your settings are for power management and advanced power setup? Also, 32 or 64 bit W7 instal.
Thanks

[routerunner]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

I have a wake-on-lan tool on my phone, so that when connected to the LAN, I can wake the server even for an HD200, or an HD300 on a wireless extender.

In case you are not aware I've implemented the WOL feature on all STV extenders including the MediaMVP as part of the Squeezeslave plugin. Even if you are not interested in the music media player capability you will get the WOL feature included as standard

Hope it helps
Eddy