Newbie Q --> Running SageTV

[Opus4]

Originally posted by mlbdude
I believe the screen saver only kicks in on menu's without any video windows. I can't remember if it does it with a preview window or not (I will confirm when I get home). I know it won't do it on the full screen TV window though so you will still have to back out.

It will go to the screen saver if in Full screen playback & the video is paused... happens to me all the time when I'm working & need to concentrate, so I pause it... and end up with the screen saver.

- Andy

[salsbst]

And here I was ready to vote for the screen saver thing... Andy's correct.

This would stop the recording of a live TV show when paused

[mlbdude]

Well, I will have to work around that then . Or it won't work, we shall see.

[Opus4]

Oops... Sorry, there is one thing I'm not sure of: That happens to me when I'm watching a recorded show; not sure about live TV... unless salsbst meant it happens then too.

- Andy

[Cabalsan]

Hey ya'll.
Good news and Bad news.

Good news. I set the Screen Saver to enabled. Set up a program to record a few hrs later and 1 then next day (5:30PM). I hit the green button on silver haup remote's upper left corner. Screen Saver kicked on. I turned off television, whent to bed. Both shows were recorded. Yeah.

Bad news. The screen was black when I turned the tv on tonight. Nothing happened. So I started hitting all the buttons (I'm not a scientitian, so I don't remember which buttons/sequence). Anyways, I got a little to pop up of the preview windo video once. Hit another sequence and it went back to blackscreen, but sound was playing. I ended up giving it a 3 finger salute ( ctrl - alt - dlete). Re-started SageTV and it worked. Shows were there and all was fine. For the record, I'm still using ver 2.0.11 ( I will up to .13 in the near future).


Now here's where it gets interesting, as there is no manual for v2 as far as I have found.?. So I have no idear how this Screen Saver mode works. So as I type this, I am doing a test.

I am parking sageTV on MTV. Just letting it record a few hrs of Newlyweds (shh I know ghey, but noting else on in 30Min intervals). The screen saver better not pop on, or I'm gonna be pissed, because I have not set it to specifically record thuse shows. I'm letting sageTV just record the shows and dump to a nested directory.

If this fails, i.e. sageTV just drops into Screen saver mode, then I will try to synthezie a concise briefing/treatize on what works/what doesn't work/ and how I want SageTV to work, IMHO. I had a series2 TiVo for 2 days. I returned it due to DRM restrictions/monthly fee/Wireless Network problems, etc... so I have no idea how any other PVR product works.

If you haven't figured out yet, I get quite verbose ('specially now that llamas is nippin on my preverbial verbiage ;-] I figured Opinion's are like a$$holes, everyones got one.

So look for an update later tonight or tomorrow.

-Cab

[Opus4]

Speaking of the screen saver...

My office machine is a dual cpu/dual monitor setup, so I watch SageTV on the 2nd monitor. When the screen saver kicks in, it fully uses one of the cpus. If I put SageTV on the main monitor, cpu usage is normal while the screen saver is active. This is another 3D acceleration/multiple monitor issue, since cpu use is normal on either screen when 3D accel is disabled.

Also, just to follow up on my previous comment -- the screen saver does turn on when live Tv is paused, in case there was still a question about that.

- Andy

[gplasky]

Calbasan
Go in and disable your 3d acceleration for Sage. You should not have the black screen issue anymore.

Gerry

[mlbdude]

Cabalsan,

Did you just enable the screen saver in Sage or did you enabled Screen Saver on Sleep? If the latter, you sent Sage the Sleep command to get the screen saver to come up? Also, let me know if the screen save kicks in during video playback. It should only kick in during video pause.

Thanks!

[Cabalsan]

mlbdude: I enabled the Screen Saver via the detailed setup option in ver 2.0.11. What this changed, was the operation of the green button on the silver remote. Previously, when I hit the top green button, sageTV was minimized to the task bar and windows was displayed (I only output HTPC to a TV via S-Video). After making that Screen Saver option enabled, the green button causes the Screen Saver to appear. I did not check on if the Screen Saver cones on when you pause, I will tonight though. I am hoping that the Screen Saver only comes on if the green button is pushed or via the pause feature - which my DVD player does the same thing incidently. If it comes on for "inactivity" then this function is useless, and we get back the the HPD kicked around earlier.


I will try gplaskys advice , because I think I have enabled 3D Acceleration a while back not knowing what this did.

I also made sure in my Power settings in Windowis set to Always on - Hard Disk & Monotirs set to Never turn off. I dont know if this is a good or bad thing really, as I've heard that the cpu/harddrives only consume about 3 Watts of power, its the monitors that eat up the juice, so by turning off the TV should mean hardly any power is wasted.

I did another test. I set the screen saver, turned off the TV and I am waiting to come home tonight to see if this show at 730am records (Stargate Infinity?? wtf is this??) .

I'll keep ya 'll posted.


On a tangent, I am so pissed off at the way WinXP pro hadles Wireless. What a crock. I can't believe that the code mongers in WA couldt create a more intuitive way to use a USB wireless adapter. I spent 3 hrs jacking with my computers to get it working again.

I' get 3 othe ppls wireless network at the house and I want WinXP to always use mine, it wont let me filter out the networks on the receiving pc's end. What really screwed me up was using MAC filtering on the Wireless Access point (dumb Router) side. I turned a wireless router into an access point to fit inside an already built network.

If anybody has questions on this, msg me and I'l help you, as I now know more than I care too!

[salsbst]

The screen saver doesn't just kick in during media playback, but does kick in if there is inactivity on a UI page. There has been no change from 1.4. It works the way it should, I think.

In a nutshell, what are we trying to figure out about the screen saver?

[mlbdude]

Even if the screen saver does kick in while video is paused, it will not have the same effect as putting Sage to sleep as what the green button is doing for it. It will truly just be a screen saver.

[Cabalsan]

You know, the more I think about this thing (second cup of coffee) I think that all along the problems been that my PC goes into Hibernation.

Here's what I am know thinking:

1) when I used to minimize sageTV to the taskbar, 30 min later PC went into PowerSavings mode, shut everthing off. Sometimes it would wake up, other times have to reboot PC.

2) I never manually set shows to record, as discussed earlier, I always just "parked" sageTV on a station and left running. Say on Sat, I tape Car n Driver on SpikeTV at 11:30am, then set sageTV to grab Mortorweek on PBS at 3:30pm then Stargate at 5:00pm on Fox. I'd set all this up Sat morning at 10am on then leave for the day.
When I got home, I got my shows and a crappload of junk programming because just keeps on recording.


3) I always thought that sageTV never recorded during Sleep mode, because there was never any shows in SageRecordings. Well I never set it to Sleep because the PC would powerdown and I get nothing.

4) When I first using ver 1.3 sageTv, I left the thing on all day with hard drive already filled with shows I just had'nt had the chance to watch yet. sageTv cannabilized those shows to record new stuff. Well, since then I always did #1 & #2 above to stop this behaviour.

5) I am hopefull that now if I keep PC running 24/7 AND manually set shows at night for daytime TV (really nothing on anyways) then I will be happy: my 80GB harddrive won't need to be replaced due to size restricitions and also I have the right shows recorded.

FWIW, I'll keep you all posted. Maybe it's me, but there out to be a bit more documentation on how these features work. Or better dumb it down to my level so the slower ppl can understand.


- Cab

[salsbst]

Perhaps there's confusion because you (mlbdude) were contemplating making a tweak in your evolving v2 skin that would soup-up the screen saver to make it act as a LiveTV stopper. I think your plan was to do this in cases where the screen saver kicks in on a UI screen, as opposed to on the LiveTV screen when paused? I'm a little unclear on that... but anway....

Just to be clear for newer members: as of now, the screen saver has nothing to do with the starting or stopping of recording (live tv or scheduled).

[Opus4]

Originally posted by salsbst
In a nutshell, what are we trying to figure out about the screen saver?

I think Cabalsan is trying to convince himself that SageTV will work as suggested when it is sleeping... you know, like the rest of us use it.

The other comments of ours regarding when the screen saver starts have to do with mlbdude's idea of having the screen saver close the current recording/playback when it kicks in. (see his post #59)

Anyway, that's what I believe it boils down to.

- Andy

[mlbdude]

Yes that could be it. My modified screen saver idea would only close out the time-shifting show if it was started from a non video menu (home screen in particular). This way, if you forgot to put Sage to sleep it would basically do that part for you.

In general this is a very confusing topic though. Every new user asks these same questions (I have one out there too). If it keeps coming up a more clarified description in the documentation would probably be appropriate.

[Opus4]

Originally posted by Cabalsan
You know, the more I think about this thing (second cup of coffee) I think that all along the problems been that my PC goes into Hibernation.

3) I always thought that sageTV never recorded during Sleep mode, because there was never any shows in SageRecordings. Well I never set it to Sleep because the PC would powerdown and I get nothing.

Exactly... hibernation stopped everything.

- Andy

[Cabalsan]

Well, it took 76 long posts to finally come to an answer to my original post:

So here's the question: What do you do with all the junk thats constantly recorded and saved? I don't see an easy way to get rid of the stuff I record.

Answer: Just put SageTV to screen saver mode and make sure you run the HTPC 24/7, don't let it hibernate. In screen saver mode, just select what shows to record, as it wont save anything otherwise, i.e. garbage recordings that waste HD space.


I've been using sageTV for 7 months now, and I am starting to understand this softwares use. And to think of all the programming I've missed!

Thanks to all who helped!

Topic Closed.

[Opus4]

Originally posted by Cabalsan
Well, it took 76 long posts to finally come to an answer to my original post [/B]

Actually, your question was answered completely within the first few posts, plus a later suggestion for a power management utility that falchulk mentioned to look into in case you wanted to continue using the power savings settings on your PC...

- Andy

[Cabalsan]

Heh, I wouldn't go so far as to say

completely

with all the different postings in here, I'd say more mud was added to an already cloudy water. Now after 77 posts later, I can say we are complete.

If somebody would have pipped up and wrote that:

1) in Screen Saver mode (possibly asleep?) sageTV does not record LiveTV...only shows you have manually set to record, and
2) Screen Saver mode will ONLY be activated by user input, i.e. use of the green button, and not pop on for inactivity, hence the talk about Human Presence Detectors (heh).
3) Power mngmt issue (thanks falchulck!) was answered...

then the topic closed would have happened many an electron ago.

Some ppl just write incoherently, and muddle things up. Thanks to the ones who edjumacate the rest of us. ..


In addition, I do beleive there should be a better system for program deletion.. a check box/flag to do multiple program deletion in 1 move. But thats another topic.

Moreover, the buffer issue (mlbdude) does have some merit worth discussion under another topic, me thinks.

And finally Watter's talk of instant on sageTV with out Sleep, sim to TiVo, is also a possible hot topic that ought to be fleshed out more.

However, this original topic is now...

Closed

[salsbst]

Originally posted by Cabalsan
1) in Screen Saver mode (possibly asleep?) sageTV does not record LiveTV...only shows you have manually set to record, and
2) Screen Saver mode will ONLY be activated by user input, i.e. use of the green button, and not pop on for inactivity, hence the talk about Human Presence Detectors (heh).

Sorry to keep discussing something that you wish to cease discussing, but in the interest of setting the record straight, I think both points 1 and 2 are incorrect.

1) When the screen saver kicks in, SageTV continues to record whatever it was recording prior to the screen saver kicking in, unless the screen saver has kicked in b/c SageTV was put to sleep. It is the act of putting SageTV to sleep which has an effect on LiveTV recording (it stops it). The screen saver has nothing to do with recording, and putting Sage to sleep has no effect on scheduled recording. As far as I know, there are three ways to stop recording live TV: (a) shut down SageTV; (b) put SageTV to sleep; (c) cause the tuner(s) to start recording something in the background.

2) The screen saver will kick in based on inactivity if you configure SageTV so. Again, it won't have any impact on recording.

I guess maybe all this stuff about screen savers must have distracted you from the early points about power management.