Jumping ship from MythTV, ergo, questions

[webwalker]

Actually, I think I've thoroughly confused the issue.

My sources for h264 PAL recordings are from a buddy of mine in the UK who sends me h264 files. I was mostly interested in finding out if there were any codecs that would let me access the h264 decoder in the Nvidia 7xxx series cards. I'm not really a gamer, so the card is murderous overkill for me in the 3D department. I just want access to the decoders in the hardware, but it sounds like I'll only get to do h264 in software for the near future.

The HDHR doesn't really enter in to the discussion at this point, other than to make me wonder what the performance penalty will be for capturing the Mpg2TS from the HDHR and then transcoding to save space.

[jominor]

Originally Posted by webwalker

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greets.

I last investigated SAGE about a year ago, and and I want to make the leap. I've got mainstream hardware, and I've had my arms in computers up to my elbows since I was 9. I've only got one thing against me:

I'm a professional Linux guy. And I am dead set on running SAGE on Windows XP.

I'm a professional software developer(13yrs) of java server-side apps. I develope on Windows and deploy on either Windows or Unix servers. I have expertise on a variety of flavors of Unix, Linux, and Windows.

In fact, I cut my teeth on A/UX(Apple's Unix) and spent the first part of my career doing C on Unix flavors.

You won't have many, if any, problems with a Windows XP Sage server. My system runs 24/7 and I haven't done any reinstalls since upgrading to Sage 5. I have a separate Sage Server(in my basement) and Sage Client in my family room.

I do use Cable and SD tv, but I've had precious few issues.

Good luck!

[webwalker]

I am absolutely stoked up to report my successes with my migration from MythTV to SAGE on Windows. It hasn't been 'perfect', but it has been so much vastly better than the hundreds of hours I had in to getting Myth to work for me, that I think the cost of entry is pretty paltry for the amount of headache it has allowed me to side step.

At this stage, I have tested base functionality and am very pleased. I used the Echo Game scene of House of Flying Daggers as my test subject for tearing/interlace/cadence reading problems last night. There was some jigging around that needed to be done with some settings before I got it dialed in, but mostly, it 'just worked'. My wife sat up like she'd sat on a tack when she saw that Youtube and Google video was naturally available from within the interface. High WAF!

I am going to start a new thread titled Myth to SAGE Cleanup to address the outstanding functionality issues that are likely just a matter of my not knowing what rock to look under in the interface.

Thanks again!

M

[webwalker]

OK, I was going to shut this thread down, but came upon one huge possible show stopper for me. The Remote.

My wife and I are spoiled by our Pioneer 810 Tivo remote, which is a classic Tivo 'peanut' remote, but also allows for learning of TV power, as well as volume control to the receiver.

When pursuing the mythtv angle, I wasted almost 5 months chasing the one problem of getting A remote to deal with my gear. Finally invested $$ in a 'does everything' gadget, only to discover that it didn't like my Tivo Remote, didn't like the MCE remote Adesso/Ortek I bought, and now that I've switched to Windows, CommandIR doesn't work there.

Aw crap. I'm already in the remote problem for $160 all told. Could someone explain the following:

What is the difference between an RC5 remote and an RC6 remote?

What is the difference between an XP MCE remote and a Vista MCE Remote?

Can I use a Vista MCE remote with Sage as long as I put an additional software component in the middle to catch and translate the keypresses? (I recall seeing one on this board by a developer who is also a SAGE user. Another option would be Intelliremote software.)

Finally, does anyone have any experience with the MediaGate/Anyware models GP-IR01BK or GP-IR02BK?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16880121003

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16880121003

Both are for vista, both are supposed to have simple learning functions.

Please, unless you're in the market for a $100+ commandir module, please don't suggest that I just 'buy' a harmony remote. I'm looking for a way out of this that won't require me to dump vast amounts of extra money in just to get it working.

TIA,

M

[Apap]

If you use the USB-UIRT you can teach it to use any remote you want.

[fearless]

I am also a newbie convert and I made the switch after wasting days on Linux MCE and Media Portal and all I can say that I am quite impressed with SageTV.
Very easy to configure once you are familiar with the menus and their location, once it is setup it just seems to work, although it is early stages for me yet.
The DVD decoder was my issue as well so I decided to get Nvidia PureVideo which is CSS compatible although I think the Hauppauge decoder provides a better quality image for TV viewing but this is not CSS compatible and SageTV will let you know quick smart as soon as you try and play something indicating the error which is great from a troubleshooting perspective as I am a techie.
I am at the tweaking stage now where once the application is installed and working it is time to play and tweak which is my favorite part because this is the fun part.
I love the remote control customization options very intuitive and simple as I am using a cheap HID IR receiver with a Logitech Harmony and SageTV allowed me to configure in less than 10 minutes the common commands and buttons, but this is also work in progress.
I am yet to look at the back end but so far so good and if the back end is as straight forward as the front end all that remains to say is SageTV has the great configuration options of Media Portal with the ease of use of Microsoft Media Center and for that it gets 10 out of 10 from me.

[webwalker]

Well, its been a long time since I updated this thread. 3months. And it has been a pretty cumby 3 months with Sage.

Instead of shooting the software though (What do you do when you've already put $900+ in to hardware/software only to have it NOT WORK reliably?) I'm going to try a different tack. Please weigh in on what you think:

SageTV Server (just the service, not the display engine) moves to a dedicated WinXP box with all of the storage, capture card, and HDHR dedicated connection jacked in to it. I expect it might be difficult to find the chassis among all of the peripherals plugged in... This will be a lower performance system because it ONLY has to run the SAGE service headless to write the transport stream coming off of the HDHR and the PVR-150 capture card. No display. Nada.

The new display system will run XP with a Sage Client, and will have the Nvidia PureVideo codec installed for DVD playback. The Sage Client system will feature a USBUIRT for the remote control interface, and the Nvidia 9300 embedded display hardware with HDMI output to the display. It will also include a DVD drive for ad hoc DVD playback.

Please comment on this arrangement. If I'd have seen the STX-HD200 released a little sooner, I would have ground my teeth and just bought that in lieu of the new NV9300 based motherboard.

Comments?

[Slugger]

I've pretty much got the same setup as you - a WinXP headless server in the basement with 2 PVR-250s and an HD-PVR along with my 3 satellite receivers connected to it and a USB-UIRT for channel changing on the sat receivers. It's sole purpose is to run the SageTV service and commercial flag my recordings. That's it - no keyboard, no monitor, no mouse.

However, instead of a client at the tvs I've got an HD100 in the living room and an MVP in the bedroom. If you really want hassle free then this is the only way to go.

I think you're a lot like me in that you just want a hardware setup that "works"? Assuming that's the case then HD100s (or HD200s now) is the way to go. There's just no messing around with hardware, codecs, system configs, etc. You connect it to the tv, upgrade the firmware, then sit back and watch some tv. Doesn't get any easier than that.

My tinkering interests revolve around plugin development - I like to write plugins to fill functionality gaps, etc. With the headless server/extenders at each tv setup I don't have to mess around with anything and any tinkering time I have to spend on Sage I get to spend with my plugin code.

I realize you don't want to lose the investment in your client hardware, but if your ultimate goal is a hardware platform that "just works" then the extra $200 for an HD200 is really the only way to go.

Good luck!

[webwalker]

Well, I guess I've got two options then:

Refuse the shipment of my new MB when it comes in ($120), and toss in the trash the $500 already invested in current MB ($120), RAM ($80), CPU ($100), Nvidia Card ($90), Purevideo codec ($20), and XP license $(90) and buy the HD200 and HOPE (isn't that the only currency that has been fueling this damnfoolishness?) that it works too?

You can see how I've reached a grim level of unhappiness about this. I jumped to Sage to get away from this idiocy with MythTV and Tivo before that. Now it seems like I'm hearing suggestions to move back to a Tivo-esque dedicated piece of presentation hardware.

A hardware question: The HD200 sheet sez that it honors 'mass storage devices'. Does that include a DVD ROM? e.g., can I attach a DVD ROM drive to the HD200 and watch a DVD movie, ad hoc? (Obviously I can rip the disc, but what about items that friends bring over that they don't want me ripping?!?)

What are the specs of your basement SageTV 'server'? Why do you run XP? I ask because it does beg the question, "If I can run a very light weight OS (such as Win2K stripped for just services) and leave the SageTV service to take advantage of ALL of the rest of the processing capacity, why not?

I don't mean to be a misanthrope, but I bought this expensive wagonload of hardware to run Sage because the HD100 was slow and (according to commentary here) terribly unstable. Now the HD200 is suppose to solve all of the problems the HD100 had?

M

[Brent]

Originally Posted by webwalker

I don't mean to be a misanthrope, but I bought this expensive wagonload of hardware to run Sage because the HD100 was slow and (according to commentary here) terribly unstable. Now the HD200 is suppose to solve all of the problems the HD100 had?

M

The HD100 wasn't really very slow. Navigating the UI was slightly slower than with a HTPC, but not slow by any means. And "terribly unstable"? It is 99.99% more stable than any HTPC setup you'll ever have in my opinion. I have had no problems with my HD100.

If I had the choice of building or buying a HTPC or purchasing a HD100 (or HD200 for that matter) for $50 more than the HTPC, I'd do it - it's been that good for my HTPC house... Who was saying it was/is unstable?

Anyway, hang in there with the HTPC - I think you'll get it working and be happy with it in the end. I have one HD100, two HD200s and a HTPC client PC at different TVs in the house all with SageTV and have very good results with all now. The HTPC is more work to keep running and stable, but all-in-all my HTPC setup is more stable than our former cable boxes ever were.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by webwalker

A hardware question: The HD200 sheet sez that it honors 'mass storage devices'. Does that include a DVD ROM? e.g., can I attach a DVD ROM drive to the HD200 and watch a DVD movie, ad hoc? (Obviously I can rip the disc, but what about items that friends bring over that they don't want me ripping?!?)

Currently no. Using an external DVD Drive with the HD200 is currently being looked into, but my guess is it won't be possible with most movie media because of the DRM on most DVDs.

[webwalker]

OK, now I'm confused.

Is the DRM dealt with at the server end, or the client end?

With a Sage Client, it is my understanding that I can plug in a DVD drive and as long as I have a licensed codec such as PureVideo, I can play the DVD.

If all of the codecs are in silicon on the HD200, why isn't this the same circumstance?

If I put a DVD in my Sage Server and play it back on the HD200, do I need the PureVideo codec even though I'm not watching it via the display on the server?

I though I was a pretty smart cookie, what with being a Hardware Systems Architect for one of the few independent Financial Services companies still afloat after this year's crash...but apparently I'm not so bright. This division on labor isn't making any sense to me. Perhaps pictures drawn with Crayons would help....

BTW, what are you running for your SageTV Server?

--

My comments about the UI slowness, and instability of the HD100 were based on the sheer volume of headaches and commentary here in the forum. Honest, I'm not trying to go as all fired crazy as some folks on this board appear to be. (A extender in every room, a swing out touch screen MVP by the potty with a toilet paper roll mounted underneath...)

I've only got one display device. I want to keep it that way, so my kids don't turn in to the TV couch potato that I was.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by webwalker

Is the DRM dealt with at the server end, or the client end?

DRMd DVDs can be played locally and therefore on the same computer as the drive is located. So yes a SageTV Client PC with DRM can play those DVDs. A Client PC cannot however play back a physical DVD you stick in your server PC.

The HD200 has no ability to play back DRMd DVDs even with a USB drive as far as I know.

This is one of many reasons most of us in the HTPC world rip our owned DVDs and store them on the hard drive. If you do that, you can play back on any of your devices including extenders.

I though I was a pretty smart cookie, what with being a Hardware Systems Architect for one of the few independent Financial Services companies still afloat after this year's crash...but apparently I'm not so bright. This division on labor isn't making any sense to me. Perhaps pictures drawn with Crayons would help....

I'm in a similar industry. Its just that getting your head around the HTPC ins and outs takes some getting used to. By the way, I'm terrible with crayons but I'll try to catch you up to the HTPC lingo if I can.

BTW, what are you running for your SageTV Server?

The basic build is listed out in this post. Keep in mind it was built with over-kill in mind. Quad Core and all. It's main purpose is to be my HTPC Media Server (As many as three clients/extenders running at the same time) and little playback on this machine, but also used to handle heavy transcoding projects and other video tasks. It is truly awesome for me, but probably on the high end for most people's SageTV server PC.

My comments about the UI slowness, and instability of the HD100 were based on the sheer volume of headaches and commentary here in the forum.

I think the majority of people are very happy with the HD100. I certainly am.

Honest, I'm not trying to go as all fired crazy as some folks on this board appear to be. (A extender in every room, a swing out touch screen MVP by the potty with a toilet paper roll mounted underneath...)

Oh crap - I forgot to tell you about my whirlpool tub SageTV extender that has auto-volume control when the jets are running

[webwalker]

OK, so it sounds like you've got the Great Wampum (tm) SageTV server. Not surprising, considering all of the clients that you have connecting to it. As I said, I'm looking just to connect a single client, and have that connection and Picture Quality be rock solid for the HD display. Does the Athlon64 1.7Gb sound up to the server duties as long as I give the Sage Service the lion's share of the memory and not get impatient about transcode and Comskip jobs? In terms of shuttling data on and off the disk, it would seem to be a good candidate.

At present I have my Sage Server rigged up with two NICs, one to the HDHR and one to the LAN. Do you see this configuration often? (I got some stuttering that seemed to be congestion related going through the router. It SHOULDN'T have mattered, since the switch should have isolated the WIFI (where the load was being generated from) from the two ports involved with the HDHR xfer to the Sage Server. But I've since learned that "SHOULDN'T" doesn't mean anything any more.

How do you feel about doing some HD200 testing with a file I might send? I was playing back direct from DVD on my Sage system last night and saw some tearing, which surprised me, as the DVD upscale has been rock solid. (The last 4 minutes of 'Speed Racer', which has dialog written by a six year old, but offers visuals that will cause an mpeg decoder to break in to "tears" (choose your own pronunciation.)

The DVD playback issue isn't a deal breaker, but it still causes heartburn. My wife's Pioneer Tivo will will playback, burn, sit up, play dead....,etc and this is part of what is causing her (and by association, me) consternation with Sage.

Where would be the best place to ask regarding DVD playback on the HD200? Plugging in a compliant DVD-ROM drive seems reasonable. Or is it best not to ask? (Seems like the developers keep sequestered and push out changes on a 'you get what we give you basis'. Or am I not giving them enough credit?)

Anyway, thanks for your interest and input.

M

[Brent]

Originally Posted by webwalker

I'm looking just to connect a single client, and have that connection and Picture Quality be rock solid for the HD display. Does the Athlon64 1.7Gb sound up to the server duties as long as I give the Sage Service the lion's share of the memory and not get impatient about transcode and Comskip jobs?

Should be more than enough. Just keep in mind that a dual-core processor is recommended if you ever plan to play back Hauppauge HD-PVR recorded content.

At present I have my Sage Server rigged up with two NICs, one to the HDHR and one to the LAN. Do you see this configuration often?

Yes it's relatively common.

(I got some stuttering that seemed to be congestion related going through the router. It SHOULDN'T have mattered, since the switch should have isolated the WIFI (where the load was being generated from) from the two ports involved with the HDHR xfer to the Sage Server. But I've since learned that "SHOULDN'T" doesn't mean anything any more.

Sounds like you should be fine (I know I used the word should). Why do you mention wifi? You're not using wifi for any HTPC connections at all are you?
Regarding the stuttering, is that happening with LiveTV AND recorded TV content from the HDHR? Is it only with the HDHR? If so, where does the CATV line-in to your HDHR come into the house and how far does it go before the HDHR gets connected?

How do you feel about doing some HD200 testing with a file I might send? I was playing back direct from DVD on my Sage system last night and saw some tearing, which surprised me, as the DVD upscale has been rock solid. (The last 4 minutes of 'Speed Racer', which has dialog written by a six year old, but offers visuals that will cause an mpeg decoder to break in to "tears" (choose your own pronunciation.)

Send it to me (PM me for my e-mail) and I'd be happy to test it. I'm finishing up a review of the HD200 and doing a ton of test video files on it anyway so the more the merrier.

The DVD playback issue isn't a deal breaker, but it still causes heartburn. My wife's Pioneer Tivo will will playback, burn, sit up, play dead....,etc and this is part of what is causing her (and by association, me) consternation with Sage.

Understood. But does the Tivo play back DVDs or ripped DVDs?
You can get your HTPC as solid/stable as the Tivo, but it is definitely more work than plugging it in like you can with a Tivo.

Where would be the best place to ask regarding DVD playback on the HD200? Plugging in a compliant DVD-ROM drive seems reasonable.

You can ask on the extender forums - I think the question has already been asked though. I know that as of right now, you cannot plug in a USB DVD player and make it work even without DRM'd DVDs. I also know that SageTV devs are working on getting support for USB DVD players, but offer no guarantees until they know it is possible. I am guessing they won't be able to get them to play back DRM'd DVDs regardless, but that's just me.

Or is it best not to ask? (Seems like the developers keep sequestered and push out changes on a 'you get what we give you basis'. Or am I not giving them enough credit?)

Never hurts to ask. Heck I ask tons of questions myself (hopefully good questions of course) and get most of my questions answered either by knowledgeable users/beta testers and/or SageTV personnel.
One thing I will say, SageTV personnel will NOT promise new features unless they are sure they'll be delivering those features. Keeps people from getting real mad at them for false statements and such - definitely the better route in my opinion and avoids vapourware type claims as well.


I've read through most of your past posts on this forum and see you've had some pretty major struggles. I'll offer you and others new to SageTV a few pieces of advice from my experience here and at other HTPC forums. Don't take any of this the wrong way - you've probably already done some of these things already. Just thought I'd share what I think is the secret to success with SageTV:

1. Download and print the SageTV manual. It's a hefty one and not meant to be read from cover-to-cover, but it really covers almost everything. It will answer 95% of your initial questions. I use it as a reference very often.
2. Start small. Install the default SageTV STV (the one you get when you first install SageTV. Make sure it works as it is before adding add-ons, themes, or pretty much anything. Get the basics working first.
3. Back up. Back the darn thing up so you can get back to the base if something goes wrong. I do an occasional drive image just in case. I also back up my SageTV/SageTV folder so I can get settings and stuff back to where I want them if I screw up - yes everyone screws up with this stuff - it's just too tempting to not install the latest and greatest add-on and not miss that little step here or there.
4. One-by-one add the add-ons you really need to be happy. Back up your SageTV/SageTV folder as you go....
5. As you have issues, problems or questions, post about them on this forum. Try to focus on one problem at a time and get it fixed before moving on. If it's a real problem, I really recommend you submit a SageTV support request as well. That's the only way you're guaranteed to get official, non-"user to user" support. If you happen to be running beta software submit it through the beta ticket link.
6. Once you have things running smoothly, THEN put it out for the wife and family to use. That way you don't get the "honey, this thing is broken - what did you do to my TV!" comments. And you'll have much better success in the end.

[webwalker]

Thanks Brent. Thanks $1,000,000.

I don't have any HTPC data passing over WIFI. I'd rather dine on shattered glass.

What I meant was that when the WIFI is under heavy use from multiple clients at home out to the public Internet....that's when I saw the HDHR stream seem to fall apart when traversing the same router as the WIFI connections.

While these certainly should NOT have been affected because the router should be isolating the connections, most consumer routers have very poor behavior when dealing with UDP traffic in my experience. Either that or it gave the thing a nervous breakdown.

Anyway, I moved it on to a physical segment all its own and its been like Gibraltar to the server ever since.

My HDHR doesn't connect to the cable company for QAM: I diplex OTA from a high gain YAGI antenna to both my tuners. The split is right off the antenna, and a pair of RG6 runs straight to the HDHR: No cheap wire, no unnecessary 'couplers': just high bandwidth RG6. Except for one PBS station that is operating at low power until Armageddon 'switch over' day in February, the OTA signals produced by the HDHR have been like a rock. When I find a piece of hardware that I think rocks, I sing about it. The HDHR kick butt!

I'll PM you regarding the SR clip, which I'll trim up tonight.

The Tivo is the Pioneer DVR810H, seen here:
http://cnet.nytimes.com/video-player...-30422588.html

I mean, literally, this will play any Region 1 DVD, and burn any program it has recorded. The NYTimes called it (Four years ago!) "a nearly perfect marriage of TiVo and DVD-recorder functionality".

And Pioneer discontinued it because they could make more money with stand alone 'DVD Recorders' than the full integrated unit. I think the DVR-810H will go down as the best non-HD unit Tivo ever produced. And its only limitation was that it couldn't do HD, and it was too well engineered to ever fall very far in price.

I've consulted the Manual. Yes it IS a horse choker, and some sections could be better written. But many questions are in there. Having the whole manual better written might take some load off of the forum, too.

My exploding installation went through several back ups before it fell apart. When I restored from the backups....same problem. But when I installed fresh? Problem gone. Sigh.

Since we're so close to a point release (6.5) do you think its worth sitting out the first round of pain and letting others bruise themselves first?

Your comments have been a real balm; thanks for taking the time. After an afternoon discussion with my wife by phone (i'm in the office today) we've decided to forge ahead with Sage. Our Tivo works beautifully. But we're using a fraction of the capacity of our big, pretty TV that we bought specifically to do HD. So its forward with Sage, and try not to cry about all of the wasted time and money so far.

Thanks again!

M

[Brent]

Originally Posted by webwalker

Except for one PBS station that is operating at low power until Armageddon 'switch over' day in February, the OTA signals produced by the HDHR have been like a rock. When I find a piece of hardware that I think rocks, I sing about it. The HDHR kick butt!

Agreed. The HDHR is one of my most favorite pieces of hardware ever.

I'll PM you regarding the SR clip, which I'll trim up tonight.

Sounds good. I'll test as soon as I get it

The Tivo is the Pioneer DVR810H, seen here:
http://cnet.nytimes.com/video-player...-30422588.html
And Pioneer discontinued it because they could make more money with stand alone 'DVD Recorders' than the full integrated unit. I think the DVR-810H will go down as the best non-HD unit Tivo ever produced. And its only limitation was that it couldn't do HD, and it was too well engineered to ever fall very far in price.

Missed that one - looks like it was an awesome Tivo in the day. I would love to see a Blu-Ray/SageTV Extender all-in-one some day soon, but unfortunately we haven't seen anything like that come to market thus far.

Since we're so close to a point release (6.5) do you think its worth sitting out the first round of pain and letting others bruise themselves first?

Which version are you using now?
I have to say, the current beta version is pretty solid. When 6.5 comes out it will basically be the current beta version plus a handful of bug fixes which means it will be even more stable then this beta version most of us are using. That being said, theres nothing wrong with just sitting back and enjoying what is installed now if its working for you. Plus when you do upgrade, do a complete image backup of your OS drive and you'll be able to get back to the stable version if something goes wrong.

So its forward with Sage, and try not to cry about all of the wasted time and money so far.

You're definitely welcome. I know it's been painful thus far, but I don't think you've wasted the money - you'll get there.

[gtallan]

I don't know if my experience is of any relevance to you since I'm not doing any HD, but I've run SageTV for 3-4 years now, and just switched to using an HD200 a couple of weeks ago. So far the experience has been very good - picture quality is way better than the PC output, noise is gone from the viewing room, and it has been stable.

It does seem like a better way to go than a client PC in most ways. Only downside so far is lack of local DVD playing; I do rip most DVDs to play throuigh Sage but bought a cheap $50 player for local use when needed - inelegant but it will work.

My server (which used to also be the display box before the HD200) is a lowly 2.6GHz P4 with 1GB RAM and XP Pro. It has been very stable all along. I'm sure it would never handle HD display but might well do fine as an HD server for the HD200 (assuming no transcoding is needed - but, I have no HD source yet anyway, my video source is analog cable via an PVR-500 card).

If I do upgrade the server I suspect it would be a fairly barebones cheapskate solution; some kind of gigE-equipped AMD MB with athlon 4850e CPU, and stick with XP Pro. That should give a useful increase in horsepower while also dropping power consumption from the P4.

I am also a unix/linux guy all the way, btw, but have to say SageTV on a single-purpose XP box has been rock-solid.

Originally Posted by webwalker

Well, I guess I've got two options then:

Refuse the shipment of my new MB when it comes in ($120), and toss in the trash the $500 already invested in current MB ($120), RAM ($80), CPU ($100), Nvidia Card ($90), Purevideo codec ($20), and XP license $(90) and buy the HD200 and HOPE (isn't that the only currency that has been fueling this damnfoolishness?) that it works too?

You can see how I've reached a grim level of unhappiness about this. I jumped to Sage to get away from this idiocy with MythTV and Tivo before that. Now it seems like I'm hearing suggestions to move back to a Tivo-esque dedicated piece of presentation hardware.

A hardware question: The HD200 sheet sez that it honors 'mass storage devices'. Does that include a DVD ROM? e.g., can I attach a DVD ROM drive to the HD200 and watch a DVD movie, ad hoc? (Obviously I can rip the disc, but what about items that friends bring over that they don't want me ripping?!?)

What are the specs of your basement SageTV 'server'? Why do you run XP? I ask because it does beg the question, "If I can run a very light weight OS (such as Win2K stripped for just services) and leave the SageTV service to take advantage of ALL of the rest of the processing capacity, why not?

I don't mean to be a misanthrope, but I bought this expensive wagonload of hardware to run Sage because the HD100 was slow and (according to commentary here) terribly unstable. Now the HD200 is suppose to solve all of the problems the HD100 had?

M

[mistergq]

I am not trying to get you to spend more money...but, I am running a 3.0 GHz single core client running HD. It is using a 8400 GS Nvidia card on a PCI (not PCI-e, regular PCI) slot. I am using the Arcsoft codec. My CPU went from 100% with HD to 5% to max of 25% (keeps fluctuating).

Just thought I would pass the results along.

As to the HD Extender, I just purchased my third extender. I have spent more money this past year to get the HD to work, but it was worth it. Unfortunately, this is not a cheap hobby.

Then again, if you look at what people pay to play golf...it is a cheap hobby!

[webwalker]

thanks to folks for encouraging comments.

In the server department, I'm going to probably fall back to my Athlon 1.7 for the server, dump the hot video card and push all of the resources at the sage server. I intend to run comskip (which my wife thinks is the bomb!) but I'll just set it up to process off hours and explain to her that if she wants to watch live, or 'near-time' that she'll have to do it with the commercials. She's reasonable: most of what we watch is series tv, documentaries and science programs so we tend to pick up a block of things we like and then spend an evening gorging. Being able to push comskip to a schedule is fantastic.

My ethos in systems design is that the hardware should be able to handle the maximum design load, plus 20%. It's very 1920s engineering, but it serves systems in the high performance realm quite well. (That's what I do for a day job.) Anyway, if the Athlon were running at 80% of its capacity on the CPU at max load (2HD recordings, plus 1SD recording, plus stream of a previously recorded HD program to the HD200) and could handle it, I would not be disappointed. As long as I take care to give the hardware all of the offload capacity possible for drive controllers and NICs, I don't anticipate a problem. I'm considering running Win2k on the back end because I have a lot of experience stripping it down to support a single service. While this configuration won't be quite that spare, I intend to run lean on the OS side to give all 2gb of RAM and as much offload capacity of the network and storage as possible. I think its doable.

BTW, what do y'all use to collect performance stats on your Xp systems? (Don't say taskman...) With Unix I'd just turn up SAR polling, but I hadn't thought of this for Windows...

M