Where can I get basic info

[fraserorr]

I have tried to find some basic info (like what do I need to make this thing run) and I can't find much. I need a replacement for my TiVo, if I buy this box am I good to go? Can I play DVDs with it? Can I get the data off the device so that it can be backed up (my major complaint with TiVo.)

Can someone point me in the direction of where I can find this sort of basic infomation. (I am sure it must be there, I just can't seem to find it on your web site.)

Oh, and by the way, Merry Christmas to all readers.

[cychou]

Originally Posted by fraserorr

I have tried to find some basic info (like what do I need to make this thing run) and I can't find much. I need a replacement for my TiVo, if I buy this box am I good to go? Can I play DVDs with it? Can I get the data off the device so that it can be backed up (my major complaint with TiVo.)

Can someone point me in the direction of where I can find this sort of basic infomation. (I am sure it must be there, I just can't seem to find it on your web site.)

Oh, and by the way, Merry Christmas to all readers.

First of all you need a Computer with the software and some sort of capture device (see requirement).

Yes, you can play DVD provided you have a DVD-ROM (play the disc). A lot of people like to rip their DVDs to .iso or folder structure, and Sage can play those as well.

Yes, you can back up your recrodings from Sage. It is just some files in your recording directory. Sage does not employ any kind of DRM for its recordings.

Other than the official home page of SageTV, this forum is probably the best place for information. Read around, do a few keyword search, or just ask some questions around. There are always friendly helps here.

[fraserorr]

> First of all you need a Computer with the software
> and some sort of capture device

I am referring here to the SageTV HD Theater, not the general SageTV product. Do I still need all this stuff to run that?

[cychou]

Originally Posted by fraserorr

> First of all you need a Computer with the software
> and some sort of capture device

I am referring here to the SageTV HD Theater, not the general SageTV product. Do I still need all this stuff to run that?

Sorry that I did notice this is a standalone forum, but still SageTV HD Theater is not a direct replacement for your Tivo. If you want to record TV, then you need a computer.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by fraserorr

> First of all you need a Computer with the software
> and some sort of capture device

I am referring here to the SageTV HD Theater, not the general SageTV product. Do I still need all this stuff to run that?

If you want to replace your Tivo, then yes. In Standalone mode the HD200 doesn't have the capability to record TV. It will play ripped DVD, most audio/video files (I think there's a list of supported formats somewhere).

However you need to run SageTV with a supported tuner card(s) on a PC to do TV scheduling/recording.

As far as backing up recordings, everything Sage records is in standard MPEG-2 Programs Streams and you can do what you like with them. There is one exception, the HD PVR (and some satellite solutions like the R5000) record to H.264 Program/Transport streams.

[b-morgan]

Tivo is both a recorder and a player.

The HD200 should be considered as a player only. It will connect to a regular analog TV or to an HD digital TV and display a wide variety of content formats on the connected TV (including HD recordings on the analog TV, not in HD, of course, but higher quality than the old fashioned time-shifting technique using a VHS tape!).

To complete the replacement of a Tivo, you need a recorder. The SageTV software coupled with a tuner (or more than one tuner) can be this recorder.

There are other options as well.

[fraserorr]

> The HD200 should be considered as a player only.
OK, so it is more like a slingbox? But I can presumably schedule a recording with the HD200 (which would take place on the actual SageTV server?)

My original question though was, where can I find this information out? Is there a user manual or something online for the HD200?

> There are other options as well.

I'd love to hear what you are thinking of here.

[b-morgan]

If you have a PC running the SageTV server software with one or more TV tuners in the PC, then you can record. You can playback on this same PC or you could playback on other PCs running SageTV client. You can also playback on an HD200 connected to your network.

From the SageTV server, a SageTV client, or the HD200 you can control the recording process on the server. The HD200 connected to the SageTV server is called an extender. It is really an extension of the UI on the server.

I have a SageTV server and 2 SageTV clients. I recently purchased an HD200 to connect to my 35" analog TV in the living room. Over time (and the job market willing), I expect to replace the analog TV with a digital TV. While I was originally planning to have a client PC next to the TV, the HD200 changed my mind and it will take the place of that client PC.

As for other options, when I was looking for a solution I looked at Tvio, some of Tvio's competitors, SageTV and some of the competing products like it. I decided on SageTV as the solution I preferred. Asking here about how to replace a Tvio will get you answers biased towards SageTV. You'll get different answers based on where you ask.

Most of the "primarily" software solutions have trial licenses available so you can try before you buy. You will have to determine if you want an appliance or software running on hardware you buy/build. I now have 3 TB drives connected to my SageTV server. I think it will be difficult to find an appliance with that much storage (and I can add more if I need to).

Regards,

Brad