Before I use some customizations...

[Jackal]

Is there anything I should do first? Back up some files or something? Activate anything? I'm just setting up on this new build so there aren't any Favorites or anything to backup. I've only set up the TV tuners and made paths to video, picture and music files.

[tmiranda]

It's always good practice to backup sage.properties and wiz.bin. You can always revert back to the default STV so it is pretty hard to permanently mess up your system.

[MeInMaui]

I would make a backup copy of the entire SageTV directory before doing anything.

Aloha,
Mike

[Jackal]

Ok. Thanks.

[Jackal]

Well, I messed that up.

I was trying to install the Netflix add-on and ended up with a black screen in STV. I can seem to get out of it. I've tried reloading STV on top of itself but no good. I'm just going to uninstall and start over.

[wado1971]

Forgive me it you're already aware of this but..... are you trying to import an SageMC addon to the default UI? SageMC is a complete replacement of the UI (user interface) and must first be installed as a replacement stv prior to importing any SageMC specific stvi's.

[Jackal]

I was trying to install the Netflix thing. And there are some more that I would like to try:

Netflix
TV Info Screen
Movie Info Screen

I extracted the Netflix files from the .zip file into the SageTV/SageTV folder but I can only find "Netflix_SageMC.xml" under the SageTV Application Package option. That is nothing about Netflix in the Manage STVi Plugin Manager.

I chose Netflix under the App Package last time because it was the only thing about Netflix I could find. That was a mistake. So I'm going to give up on the Netflix Plugin and just wait for the Win 7MC plugin if it ever shows up. Much easier.

I want to try the other 2 plugins but now I'm worried that I may crash STV again and I don't feel like doing another reinstall and setup.

[MeInMaui]

The Netfix plugin is an import for SageMC. (SageMC is an alternative user interface for SageTV) You tried to load the Netflix plugin as an application package (replacement for the UI). You have to load SageMC as an application package and then import the Netflix plugin into that. Make sure you always carefully read the instructions for any plugins you want to use.

To get back to the default STV, Shut down SageTV and open sage.properties (or sageclient.properties if you are on a separate client PC or are using the service). Find the line that starts with STV= and delete the line. Save the file and restart SageTV. You should now be back in the default STV.

Aloha,
Mike

[GKusnick]

One thing I'd suggest before installing any customization is to look up the author's post history on the forums and try to get a feel for whether they're a smart person who knows what they're doing and is good at solving problems and at helping other people solve problems. If you do not get that feeling from a plugin author's posts, you may want think twice before installing that plugin.

This isn't meant as a slam at any particular plugin or third-party dev. It's just a general rule of thumb about knowing who you're dealing with before trusting the stability of your system to that person's code.

In the same vein, don't install a whole bunch of plugins at once. Install them one at a time, and take a few days to get comfortable with each one before trying the next. That way if something goes wrong, you'll know which one to blame instead of having to start all over from a clean slate.

[Jackal]

Thanks for the info. I'll give it another try later.