Recommendations for new Sage Build using Directv with HR20 DVR?

[woodix]

This is my first post and I'm a Sage newb but I've been trolling for a few days and know just enough to be very dangerous. So I wanted to ask a few questions before I started burning a hole through my Visa card.

Entertainment comes into the house via a 5LNB DTV dish with an HR20 HDVR and 2 SDTV STBs. My wife is insistent I keep the DVR in any new entertainment configuration b/c it's the only way she gets onDemand via Directv (and one of the chief reasons she wants us to convert back after our contract elapses). If I want to push SageTV to 5 displays (2 hd and 3 sd) and the server will run headless I anticipate having to purchase the following items. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

1) A fairly beefy quad core multi-gigabytes of RAM box with at least 1TB of local, fast storage in some sort of fault tolerant configuration.
2) A gigabit network backbone
3) 2 HD extenders and 3 SD
4) At least 2 HDPVRs to capture HD signals--one for HR20 and
5) a second HD STB from DTV
6) 3 analog capture devices to grab signals from the two analog STBs
7) Patterson software for controlling STBs
8) 2 USBUIRTs to control 5 STBs
9) A dump truck of cash to pull this off
10) A lot of time to configure and deploy
11) An extra bedroom to avoid my wife's wrath if it all comes tumbling down

With the exceptions of the final 3 items, how's my list so far?

The other thing kicking around in my head is to get 2 HD STBs from Directv and use my HR20 with a Sling player so that I can still get OnDemand for the wife but get 2 HD capable tuners at all times.

Thoughts? Criticisms? Endorsements?

Thanks,

wood

[kevine]

First, wait till all the new gadgets gets to your house, then send the wife on a 1 month cruise preferably with your sister.

Second and not kidding this time, leave the HR20 out of the picture. Let it record what your wife wants while you get the rig working. To me it's doing it own thing, you don't want to try to figure out what it's recording and trying to change channels on it while it is trying to record something else.

Originally Posted by woodix

1) A fairly beefy quad core multi-gigabytes of RAM box with at least 1TB of local, fast storage in some sort of fault tolerant configuration.
2) A gigabit network backbone
3) 2 HD extenders and 3 SD

7) Patterson software for controlling STBs
8) 2 USBUIRTs to control 5 STBs
9) A dump truck of cash to pull this off
10) A lot of time to configure and deploy
11) An extra bedroom to avoid my wife's wrath if it all comes tumbling down

Fine and keep the final 3 as a backup plan. You may not need the quad, especially if you get all HD extenders but if you got the cash, doing some comskip or video conversion go ahead.

I would get all HD extenders if you can afford it.

2 GB RAM is plenty

Originally Posted by woodix

4) At least 2 HDPVRs to capture HD signals--one for HR20 and

See note above

Originally Posted by woodix

5) a second HD STB from DTV

Get 2 of these return the HD20 later after everything is working.

Originally Posted by woodix

6) 3 analog capture devices to grab signals from the two analog STBs

Huh? I think you mean 3x3.

Have you thought about how your are going to split the signal or do you already have a multiplexer?

You can skimp on video card because it is headless.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by woodix

This is my first post and I'm a Sage newb but I've been trolling for a few days and know just enough to be very dangerous. So I wanted to ask a few questions before I started burning a hole through my Visa card.

Entertainment comes into the house via a 5LNB DTV dish with an HR20 HDVR and 2 SDTV STBs. My wife is insistent I keep the DVR in any new entertainment configuration b/c it's the only way she gets onDemand via Directv (and one of the chief reasons she wants us to convert back after our contract elapses). If I want to push SageTV to 5 displays (2 hd and 3 sd) and the server will run headless I anticipate having to purchase the following items. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

1) A fairly beefy quad core multi-gigabytes of RAM box with at least 1TB of local, fast storage in some sort of fault tolerant configuration.

You really don't need that beefy of a CPU for a backend, headless server, especially if you're not using MVP extenders. Though a multi-core would probably be a good idea.

2) A gigabit network backbone

Definitely.

3) 2 HD extenders and 3 SD

Don't bother with the SD/MVP extenders unless you're really price sensitive. The HD extenders are so much better, even on an SDTV I wouldn't consider a MVP except as a last resort. Especially if you're recording HD.

4) At least 2 HDPVRs to capture HD signals--one for HR20 and
5) a second HD STB from DTV
6) 3 analog capture devices to grab signals from the two analog STBs
7) Patterson software for controlling STBs
8) 2 USBUIRTs to control 5 STBs

Sounds like a plan...

9) A dump truck of cash to pull this off
10) A lot of time to configure and deploy

My advice would be to get one tuner, maybe the HD PVR, Sage and an Extender and get that setup. It really should be pretty easy, but in case you have trouble, your initial outlay is less then.

Then once that's working, expand to your full setup, which should be trivial once you have a Sage server up and running.

11) An extra bedroom to avoid my wife's wrath if it all comes tumbling down

With the exceptions of the final 3 items, how's my list so far?

The other thing kicking around in my head is to get 2 HD STBs from Directv and use my HR20 with a Sling player so that I can still get OnDemand for the wife but get 2 HD capable tuners at all times.

Here's a question, how many channels do you actually watch at a given time? You've got 5 TVs yes, but do you may (probably would be my guess) find that you only need 2 "tuners" or 3. Maybe your setup could work with just 3 HD STBs. Something to consider.

One thing I think a lot of us have found is that with a good PVR, we rarely watch TV live, if that's the case then you only need enough tuners to cover the needs for simultaneous recordings. I know for me, 2 tuners is plenty (course I'm single).

Also I'd recommend a OTA, ATSC tuner or two as well, this way you can get your locals independently of your STBs, it's much easier to setup and cheaper.

[woodix]

First, thanks to everyone for the insight. A few responses.

The suggestion of laying this out in phases is a great one and I plan to follow it.

Initially, connecting a single HD STB to an HDPVR with my two analog STBs seems like a good way to start.

I also really like the suggestion of removing my HR20 entirely. I think sticking it in my bedroom for direct interaction by the Mrs is the way to start. I'm still toying around with the idea of sticking it in the AV rack down the road with the Sage server and tuners with a Sling hanging off it for global access and interaction.

As for distribution, I'm finishing off my basement right now which will house my media room, office, guest room and server closet. All of the wiring for data and video terminates in the server closet. I have a Zinwell 68 in my attic right now and I'll be adding an SWM8 to cascade and amplify signal (a whole separate cry for help on AVSForum sorted that out). I haven't purchased a gigabit switch yet for the rack so any suggestions would be appreciated. However, I'm leaning towards a rackable Linksys unit or remanufactured Cisco CatOS edge switch (if I can find one of sufficient density without breaking the bank).

As for the server, I'm hoping to repurpose my current winxp desktop as the sage box by adding a 3ware SATA RAID card and 4 500+ Gb drives in RAID10. I've searched the forums for more information on managing data and optimizing storage for performance but I haven't found anything definitive. Is it spindle count or topology for which I should be optimizing?

Thanks for the assistance one and all,

wood

[bcjenkins]

Compressing to formats for portable devices and commercial skipping do take resources. As does remote viewing via place shifter. Take a read at the post from Jere for what ShowAnalyzer was doing to his quad core. It'll improve, but the question is by how much.

The Intel Q6600 is under $200 at Micro Center if you live near one and newer chips are just above.

I have been happy with my http://netgear.com/Products/Switches...es/GS716T.aspx for a switch.

I recently sent an MVP and STX-HD100 remote to Sling so they could create profiles which will work with the devices. Make sure you put an HD extender in your rack as well for the Sling Box. This will allow the sling device to play back anything which can play through the Sling including HD shows, ripped dvds, etc. Also it adds mobile device support as well.

B

[woodix]

B,

Thanks for the advice and the recommended post. I'll definitely check into it.