Sage HD Theater of Media Extender Questions

[TheraEdge]

Sorry for this, lazy type post, but I wanted to get right to the point of all these questions. Plus my first daughter only 3 months old right now is kind of keeping my research time to a minimum.

I have been very interested in getting a media extender for the living room to get the Sage computer out of there. But some questions have been holding me back. So far I've only scratched the surface of the FAQ, and everything looks promising, but wanted to get some more definitive answers. I've also downloaded the Manuals for the HD extenders to see if I can understand and learn more about how they work before taking the plunge.

So here are some of my questions. It sounds like the interface you use on the extender is exactly what the interface would be on the computer running Sage TV it self, including customizations:

1.)Does this mean I can run ComSkip and nielm's (awesome) Multi-speed skip fast forward on the extender?

2.)How do you go about installing the add ons? Does the extender just run whatever is installed on the Sage TV PC?

3.)Does the remote control used have to be the one that comes with the extender or can you program in commands to use through it much like you would with the USB-UIRT that I am currently running directly on the Sage machine, so I don't have to lose my current remote set up? (Although it looks like the HD extender remotes are quite extensive for commands if that isn't possible)

4.)Can I use the HD extenders to play back TV recorded on my non-HD tuners on a non-HD TV? (It seemed like this was easily possible with the multiple lower resolutions & outputs other than HDMI supported) The HDTV is probably between a year or two off in the future still.

Well, those pretty much do it for my main questions. Any light that could be shed on any of them would be most helpful in my decision making process, and getting the PC out of the living room would score me many brownie points with the wife.

Thanks again.

[bigbill]

1.)Unknown to me

2.)Unknown to me

3.)You can use any IR remote if you program it via the same commands as you do with the server under detailed setup.

4.)I don't have an SD tv anymore, but it has SVHS and the Yellow RCA jack so it should work.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by TheraEdge

It sounds like the interface you use on the extender is exactly what the interface would be on the computer running Sage TV it self, including customizations:

Correct. The only customizations I know of that won't work on the extenders are Netflix Watch Now Streaming and the Online Radio Plugins although there is a hack to get those working as well.

1.)Does this mean I can run ComSkip and nielm's (awesome) Multi-speed skip fast forward on the extender?

Yes - both of these work on the extenders just fine.

2.)How do you go about installing the add ons? Does the extender just run whatever is installed on the Sage TV PC?

As long as you've downloaded the files for the add-ons onto your SageTV Server PC, you install them on the extenders the same way as normal. Typically import or load your add-on or STVs right from the extender menu.

3.)Does the remote control used have to be the one that comes with the extender or can you program in commands to use through it much like you would with the USB-UIRT that I am currently running directly on the Sage machine, so I don't have to lose my current remote set up? (Although it looks like the HD extender remotes are quite extensive for commands if that isn't possible)

You can train the extender to learn any IR remote control. Or you can use a universal remote such as the Harmony remotes and set it up that way.

4.)Can I use the HD extenders to play back TV recorded on my non-HD tuners on a non-HD TV? (It seemed like this was easily possible with the multiple lower resolutions & outputs other than HDMI supported) The HDTV is probably between a year or two off in the future still.

Yes, you can watch HDTV and SD recorded shows on a standard def TV.

getting the PC out of the living room would score me many brownie points with the wife.

Your wife will be very happy with the extender versus the PC. Mine definitely is. As a bonus I'm pretty happy as well since there isn't any PC-related maintenence to be done any more except for on the server itself.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by TheraEdge

...nielm's (awesome) Multi-speed skip fast forward on the extender?

It's got smooth ffw out of the box.

[TheraEdge]

Well, thanks for all the input...smooth FF out of the box! Ooh, nice. I think I will have to get on the order list here then and hopefully get it before my Christmas Vacation kicks in so I can try to have some time to work on it and get it up and running.

Thanks again for all the responses.