Considering switching from MCE when HD extender is released

[surge]

With the news of the HD Extender, I am considering switching from MCE to SageTV. I also like that SageTV supports QAM.

I do have a few questions that may answer if switching would be beneficial in my scenario.
My main MCE machine is in the basement and the Extender is connected to the TV so I skip problems related to video card drivers.
The extender doesn't have DIVX/XVID support so Transcode 360 helps out.

Can SageTV with an HD Extender work in the same fashion and does it support DIVX/XVID?

My specs:
P4 HT 2.4
1 Gig RAM
80 Gig C:
500 Gig D:

4 tuners:
1 Hauppauge 500 (dual tuner)
1 eVGA NVTV dual tuner (not the newer DUALTV which was already discontinued)

thanks.

edit:
it seems that the NVTV dual tuner is not supported under SageTV
Vista doesn't either so regardless, I'd need to replace that card.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by surge

Can SageTV with an HD Extender work in the same fashion

Yup, server in the basement, Extender by the TV.

...and does it support DIVX/XVID?

I think the only official comment is here:
http://forums.sage.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=27530

But I think MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 would be a safe assumption. FWIW, with the SD extender, SageTV automatically transcodes most formats into something supported by the extender. I assume the same will be true of the HD Extender except that the HD version should support more codecs natively.

[IanJohnson]

I'm thinking of switching from MCE to Sage as well especially because of the extender's ability to stream DVDs. Here are my concerns-

I see that the new beta can play DVR-MS files. Will it be able to show my 900GB of MCE recordings in the recorded TV section with metadata?

Is there any customization that provides the functionality of My Movies? I don't want my DVDs thrown in with the rest of the videos, I like having a separate library with covers, box sets, series, single titles with multiple discs, descriptions, etc.

The one thing I'm pretty certain I will lose is control of my Sony XL1B changer. It's a short term problem because I want to get all those discs moved to HDD eventually, and since I only paid $100 for it I don't mind eventually making it obsolete.

Ian

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by IanJohnson

I'm thinking of switching from MCE to Sage as well especially because of the extender's ability to stream DVDs. Here are my concerns-

I see that the new beta can play DVR-MS files. Will it be able to show my 900GB of MCE recordings in the recorded TV section with metadata?

It's possible to pull in metadata, I'm not sure about getting it into the recordings list, try a search, I know this has come up several times.

Is there any customization that provides the functionality of My Movies?

SageMC is probably the most polished customization, but if metadata is your primary concern, then there's an import for the stock STV that imports metadata from DVD Profiler.

I don't want my DVDs thrown in with the rest of the videos, I like having a separate library with covers, box sets, series, single titles with multiple discs, descriptions, etc.

DVDs (so long as they are DVD structures and not converted to another format) are listed separately from other imported video files. I think we (the community) are still slowly working on improving the handling of box sets, series and the like.

The one thing I'm pretty certain I will lose is control of my Sony XL1B changer.

There's a thread on that, I don't think it's made it anywhere yet.

[nebulink]

It appears there are a few of us looking to transition from MCE to SageTV.

I am going to setup a test box this weekend to test the functionality of SageTV compared to MCE. Or at least the things I use within MCE. The only problem I will have is the inability to test the extender.

Also, it appears that teh UIRT is unavailable. This seems rather odd since it is a must for most people.

[toricred]

Originally Posted by nebulink

It appears there are a few of us looking to transition from MCE to SageTV.

I am going to setup a test box this weekend to test the functionality of SageTV compared to MCE. Or at least the things I use within MCE. The only problem I will have is the inability to test the extender.

Also, it appears that teh UIRT is unavailable. This seems rather odd since it is a must for most people.

The USBUIRT is in stock at http://www.usbuirt.com and http://www.pcalchemy.com/product_inf...emote-controls

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by nebulink

Also, it appears that teh UIRT is unavailable. This seems rather odd since it is a must for most people.

What do you mean by "unavailable"? Based on the above reply, I thought you meant it wasn't available in the SageTV store, but it is listed as "is in stock and available for delivery".

- Andy

[toricred]

And I didn't look at the Sage store because of the same assumption (besides I can't stand to look there until the HD extender is available because I'll just start refreshing hoping for an early release).

[nebulink]

Ooops! Sorry about that. I checked yesterday and I thought it was on back order.

in the picture I do not see the 2 additional ir blasters. I assume there has gotta be a way to control 3 set top boxes of the same type with this device, correct?

Thanks in advance for the help.

[ke6guj]

regarding controlling 3 STBs. The USB-UIRT blasts out the front of the unit for the first zone. To conrol 2 other zones, you would need to purchase/build your own IR blasters that would plug into the stereo jack on the side of the unit. The UIRT does not come with any extra blasters.

[Opus4]

If the STBs can be configured to use differnet IR code sets, you won't need extra emitters.

- Andy