SageTV Version 7 - Press Release

[Narflex]

SageTV Media Center Redesigns User Interface, Adds Support for Easy Plugin Installation & More

New Version 7 Now Available for Both Windows and Linux

INGLEWOOD, CA (November 15, 2010) --- SageTV Media Center, a personal video recording (PVR) and media center software package for Windows and Linux PCs, this month adds a broad new feature set that includes a redesigned user interface, easy installation of a wide array of plugins from within the SageTV user interface, automated conversion of your Favorite shows for your portable devices, and support for playing back BDMV folders (BluRay) or ISO files on Windows. The new Version 7 is available for download for both Windows and Linux PCs and SageTV Version 6 is available for the Mac at www.sagetv.com.

SageTV software enables users to watch, pause and record TV programs on their Windows, Mac or Linux PCs without the need to pay for monthly PVR service or buy a new Windows 7 Media Center PC. It also provides a single interface for accessing PC-based photo, music and video files; can be used on any TV in the home with the addition of a SageTV media extender; and offers an optional SageTV Placeshifter license enabling users to access their home TV and entire media library on any Internet-connected PC or Mac in the home or away from home.

Upgrades in SageTV Media Center Version 7 include:

• Redesigned user interface that gives SageTV the long awaited 'wow' factor when showing off how it looks to your friends. The new UI also includes a more intuitive menu system, enhanced use of thumbnails and album art, and an array of out-of-the-box customization options for getting it to look just the way you want it.
  
  
• Easy installation of plugins from within the SageTV user interface. Users can now simply go to the 'Plugins' menu inside of SageTV and select new plugins to install, configure or remove. A wide variety of plugins have already been created for SageTV Version 7 that provide advanced UIs like the Sage MyMovie Wall, media streaming for iPhone/iPad, commerical detection/skipping, PlayOn support, movie trailers, movie showtimes, Fan Art, Picasa, and integration with home control systems such as HomeSeer/InControl.
  
  
• Seamless transitions on live TV playback. Existing SageTV users are aware of the 'pause' that occurs when one program ends and the next one begins while watching live TV with SageTV. As of Version 7, this no longer occurs and transitions from one live TV show to the next are completely seamless. (not available on SageTV Placeshifter or when using Network Encoding)
  
  
• Automatic conversion of Favorite recordings to a wide variety of formats. This enables SageTV to automatically convert your Favorite TV shows to iPod/iPhone, H264 MKV and other formats once the recordings have completed.
  
  
• BDMV Folder (BluRay) and ISO playback support on Windows*. Provides the same great BluRay playback experience already available on the SageTV HD Theater 300 on your Windows desktop as well. (*Requires installation of separate BluRay capable decoders, ISO mounting requires installation of VirtualCloneDrive)
  
  
• User-based categorization of content allows easy separation of your recordings based on criteria that the user defines. Tags can be associated with recordings associated with a Favorite or applied to individual recordings. These can then be organized in the user interface so that only Dad's shows appear on a specific menu and the kids on another; or however you want to arrange it
  
  
• Enhanced photo slideshow now has advanced animation features like zooming, panning and fading to give your slideshows that extra zing!
  
  
• Enhanced SageTV Studio capabilities provides plugin developers and commerical customers with many new features for developing modifications to the SageTV UI or completely new UIs from the ground up. The animation system has been completely redone to provide for much simpler implementation of animations while enabling highly complex coordinated animations as well; even ones that use 3D transformations and blending effects!
  
  
• Windows 7 compatability is part of SageTV 7. SageTV ensured that the latest version works great on the Windows 7 operating system.

Specifications, Pricing and Availability

Version 7 of SageTV Media Center for Windows and SageTV Media Center Linux OEM Edition sell for $79.95 at www.sagetv.com. The upgrade is free for Windows users who purchased their SageTV Media Center license on or after December 1st, 2009. Owners of SageTV Media Center for Windows licenses purchased before that date can upgrade for the low price of $39.99. The upgrade is free for Linux users. There is no upgrade cost for SageTV Placeshifter, SageTV Client or SageTV Media Extenders. The software is also available in a $99.95 bundle with SageTV Placeshifter, or as a $199.95 package combining SageTV Media Center software with the SageTV HD Theater 300 media extender. The SageTV HD Theater 300 media extenders costs $149.95 by itself. All products are available at http://www.sagetv.com. System requirements are available at http://www.sage.tv/requirements.html (Windows version) or http://www.sagetv.com/linuxOEMedition.html (Linux version) for a complete list.

About SageTV

SageTV, LLC, is a pioneer in personal video recording and home media center technologies that combine television, music, a wide variety of media and networking into a complete, easy-to-use home media experience. SageTV Media Center, the company's flagship product, is the first PVR/media center solution designed for both PCs and TVs that runs on either Windows or Linux, supports multiple tuners, networking and intelligent recording. SageTV was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Inglewood, CA. For more information, visit http://www.sagetv.com.