Sage 7.0 Wishlist

[bialio]

I love Sage. It's the best DVR solution that I've ever come across, and is so extensible and customizable that I can't ever see any provider DVRs or Windows MCE being able to compete.

Having said that, like many I have a few concerns about the future. I don't know if the Sage we have today will cut it in 3 years.

Things I'd like to see in the next major version of Sage - ie I'd be willing to pay for these:

• Media Center : Integrated support for HD DVD and Bluray
• Support for EVR in Vista
• Integrated codecs that take advantage of NVIDIA and ATI hardware acceleration (probably required for HD DVD and Bluray anyway)

Any other big features out there that the next big version needs?

btl.

[bjkiller]

support for MD-API for SAT/CABLE cards

[CarlR]

I would love to see some support for a multi-user environment. By multi-user I mean more than 1 person viewing the recorded content. A few issues I've run into . . .

1) There are some shows that both my wife and I like that we don't necessarily watch together. When one of us watches the show it gets marked as watched and drops off the list of recorded shows (assuming the watched flag is used as a filter).

2) There are some shows that I like that my wife doesn't like (and vice versa). While this doesn't bother me too much, she complains that she has to scroll through all those extra shows to get to the "real" shows that she wants to watch. It would be good to have another flag to filter these shows by "user" or "watcher".

Forgive me if there is already a simple solution to these issues - I haven't been using SageTV that long.

[sainswor99]

Here's my addition:

• Custom categories for filtering, including custom headers.
• Tighter integration with the Media Center from the UI perspective.
• Importable playlists from popular mp3 apps like WMP, Itunes, WinAmp
• Customizable Guides per tuner

I'm sure others have similar ideas...

[evilpenguin]

Originally Posted by CarlR

• Media Center : Integrated support for HD DVD and Bluray
• Support for EVR in Vista
• Integrated codecs that take advantage of NVIDIA and ATI hardware acceleration (probably required for HD DVD and Bluray anyway)

I can understand why everyone is so jazzed about HD DVD and BD, but I think SageTV should stay away from it until the software matures. Let PowerDVD/Cyberlink/nVidia/ATI/MS deal with the growing pains and then SageTV can jump in once the beaten path has been established.

[morikaweb]

Here are some of the things I'd pay for in order of how badly I want them:

• Integrated system for launching games/emulators without going to the desktop.
• Better integrated support for remotes (Less dependency on third party software running in the background).
• Intrgrated remote controlable web browser (I'd pay extra just for this! Opera anyone?)
• Better integrated codec’s with Nvidia/ATI hardware support.
• Built in FPS readout.
• Built in DVD ripper.

[FidgetyRat]

Originally Posted by CarlR

2) There are some shows that I like that my wife doesn't like (and vice versa). While this doesn't bother me too much, she complains that she has to scroll through all those extra shows to get to the "real" shows that she wants to watch. It would be good to have another flag to filter these shows by "user" or "watcher".

This has been something I have been hoping for since sage 3. Hell, even third party UIs such as MC still don't have this capability.

1] For me, hands down support for 24h time format in the USA. Years later and you still have to be European to not use the horrible-inefficient-ass-backwards 12h time system.

2] It would also be great to see changes in the sageplayer to allow web radio streams natively without having to configure nasty third party software as well as opens the door for MVP radio.

3] Compatible licensing. MAC->PC->Linux. Its all the relatively the same software after-all. Thats what makes Java beautiful.

[jdamore]

Originally Posted by sainswor99

• Customizable Guides per tuner

I'll Second that! Remapping channels from a different provider is a big pain in the...

[bialio]

Originally Posted by evilpenguin

I can understand why everyone is so jazzed about HD DVD and BD, but I think SageTV should stay away from it until the software matures. Let PowerDVD/Cyberlink/nVidia/ATI/MS deal with the growing pains and then SageTV can jump in once the beaten path has been established.

While I don't disagree about the maturity of the software, if Sage offered a HDM movie playing platform that is better then what's available now (PowerDVD is pretty awful) that'd open up a lot wider market for Sage - which is a win win for all concerned!

btl.

[jasongrimme]

* ability to select an imported media type to scan (i.e., only re-scan imported picture directories)
* be able to stream alternative a/v streams to placeshifters/extendters (SlimPlayer)

[frontlinegeek]

I put my "votes" behind HD-DVD/BD support and independant tuner configurations.

I have need neither at this point but would be ecstatic to see them there. HD/BD first I might add as I have no forseeable need for the independant tuner trick.

[autoboy]

Improved codec Support with hardware acceleration
Multi user environment
Imporved media center functionalities other than TV recording
Analog (or HDMI but that can be stopped with HDCP protection) HDTV capture card

[pat_smith1969]

Originally Posted by jdamore

I'll Second that! Remapping channels from a different provider is a big pain in the...

I will give that a third vote. It seems insane to me how "rig-a-marole" (read "jerry-rigged") this setup is, on a quality product like sagetv.

Let me add

Quality, built in, method of sorting/displaying ripped DVDs. The default method is just plain miserable. In my mind this is the worst part of SageTV. MCE has had MyMovies for years now. I have had to use "Folder View" since I started using sage. I know there are a few thrid party solutions out there but they are kinda a pain, a built in method of sorthing by Jenre, actor, ect. (all information gotten from IMDB or the like) would do wonders.

In that new builtin method of viewing ripped DVDs add good support for episodic content (i.e. some way to organize series of tv shows, like the X-Files).

[KarylFStein]

* Rework the UI to be prettier and easier to get right to what you want (maybe have "novice" and "advanced" views). I'd like the weather on the front page like in SageMC.
* Animated weather maps.
* CableCard support, (of course I guess you'd need some sort of consumer product first!)
* Easier way to set up/manage QAM tuners.
* Netflix "Watch It Now" support.
* HD extender (well, hopefully before 7.0)

[mayamaniac]

Most of these requests are from previous wish list for SageTV 6.x, such as:

-Multi-User
-Multi-Guide
-Sports mode
-Stop ANY Recordings immediately (not setting to Watched or Don't like)
-Live TV Only Mode, no recordings/buffering for those that still like to channel surf.
-DVD (Ripped to harddrive) playback support on Placeshifter.
-Custimizable Rescanning of Import Media, not just a global one that rescan everything.
-DVD Burning, built-in
-Update mplayer, many users said SageTV is using a really outdated version.
-Make SageTV Client licenses installed on Server side like Extender licenses.
-Better way of setting Video Conversion Start and End time, entering the values in seconds is retarded.
-Multi-Core (CPU) support on transcoding.

I think Blu-Ray/HD-DVD support is inevitable, so I'm not gonna put it on the list. I'm sure when the time comes, SageTV will support it along with Vista's EVR.

[Humanzee]

*Audio CD player/ripper/encoder/archiver
*Built in forum reader.

[cortechs]

What i'd love to see is:

- 100% translation of the UI. As it gets better en better with every version, it's not full proof yet (lots of sub-menu not yet translated). In my case, I'm talking about the french version! It's a pain in the butt for my folks who come from a generation where they didn't learn a second language.

- Support for radio on the MVP clients (I only use clients at my parent's). But most of all, DVB-S radio would be best but i could settle for internet radio if i can manage an easy way to get the streams and all the radios my parents listen to.

- At the very least, still on the radio part, i'd like to be able to use the Mytheatre plugin to listen to DVB-S radio.
For now, if your "tv" channel doesn't have a video stream in it you just get a black screen with the no signal label on it. It would be great in the channel settings to select whether your channel has video or only music and in the later case, display a big thumbnail of the radio channel.

Hope sage tech-team is reading this threat thou.

Regards,

Cortechs.

[Deacon Crusher]

Blu-ray and HD playback via extender (of disk in drive on server at a minimum, but better if supports that and supports rips that have no security on them.)

extender with available drive bay that one could drop an LG multi-format drive into.

DVD ISO format playback and XBMC style display of avialable movies

parental controls by show and or by folder or imported movie/video/item

allow easy button driven archive show episodes to a folder (so I can easily see in a folder structure the shows I have organized that way)

some method of better support for recording HD from cable/satellite, but this may be out of Sage's control.

thanks

[Khristopher]

Originally Posted by FidgetyRat

1] For me, hands down support for 24h time format in the USA. Years later and you still have to be European to not use the horrible-inefficient-ass-backwards 12h time system.

Can you enlighten me as to whats so horribly-inefficient and ass-backwards about the 12h time system?

As for feature requests:

1) Picture-In-Picture - I have yet to come across a piece of HTPC software that did this (or did it well).

2) Distributed Functionality - The ability to setup a 2nd Sage Media Server with additional TV tuners to record shows, and to be able to watch those shows from the 1st Server, Client or Placeshifter. (My current motherboard only has 2 PCI slots on it which gives me a maximum of 2 PVR500s or 4 tuners. A second similar machine would double the tuners available to 8)

3) Listen to music while watching TV - There are many times I wish I could watch something on TV, but listen to something in my music library.

[tmiranda]

Khris,

You can do #2 already. Search on "network encoder".

I'd like to see:
- ISO support
- Internet radio support (on extenders too)
- Better search

Tom