SageTV acquired by Google

[Ken C]

Rather than continue to engage in speculation, other than the fact it's just fun, shouldn't we wait for Jeff, et al, to respond ? More than likely he's signed a nda which prohibits any details until the Google deal is finalized. I'm sure there will be lots more info shortly.

[Fountainhead]

Originally Posted by wayner

Rakesh, the owner of Snapstream / BeyondTV has a blog posting on this deal. His main conclusion

http://rake.sh/blog/2011/06/19/my-ta...ion-of-sagetv/

I think the guy is dead on. Whatever Google wanted Sage for, it's not going to be what WE wanted Sage for. Such is life.

[valnar]

Originally Posted by Fountainhead

I think the guy is dead on. Whatever Google wanted Sage for, it's not going to be what WE wanted Sage for. Such is life.

But if that is true, then why did Google want to buy a HTPC DVR solution? That's really all it is.

The HD200/HD300 extenders are (sorry folks....) nothing special. WDTV and Roku offer similar devices. So what did Google want with Sage?

[brainbone]

Originally Posted by valnar

But if that is true, then why did Google want to buy a HTPC DVR solution? That's really all it is.

The HD200/HD300 extenders are (sorry folks....) nothing special. WDTV and Roku offer similar devices. So what did Google want with Sage?

The only interesting part for Google would be the PVR. While broadcast TV will eventually die, it is not dead now, nor is the DVR. For GoogleTV to succeed, it needs DVR capabilities to bridge the gap. Rakesh's assertion that DVR is dead is absolutely false.

Google knows this, and already tries to simulate DVR capabilities by using a compatible "host" DVR -- unfortunately, it's not very elegant, nor is it widely compatible. A PVR appliance that supplies all GoogleTV devices in the house is likely what their after.

[valnar]

Originally Posted by brainbone

While broadcast TV will eventually die...

I do not see that happening. I think us geeks have a skewed view of the world. Most people turn on the boob tube. They do not sit in front of a computer or TV surfing around Hulu or YouTube.

But then again, I didn't see a useless device like the iPad become hotter than a more useful laptop, so stranger things have happened. Next shiny object syndrome, I suppose.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Fountainhead

I think the guy is dead on. Whatever Google wanted Sage for, it's not going to be what WE wanted Sage for. Such is life.

He may be right on google's intentions, but I fail to see how DVR's are a commercial failure. He states DVR's are 'too hard to set up and use'. I'd wonder how, then, broadcast companies can get away with charging pretty high premiums for DVR's, and still get nearly 40% of their customers to get at least one. 3rd party DVR's have limited to no market penetration, but that is more a function of the provider's DVR's doing a good enough job for most. As long as the broadcast model exists, DVR's will have a high market presence. Does that mean GoogleTV will in any way offer DVR type recording? no, I don't think so... but I really have no need for a googleTV, so i don't really care about that. I like my sagetv setup, and it would take a major change in the market to get me to think a googletv type setup could replace it (that change would be all the content I'm interested in being available at the same quality, portable to multiple devices, and at a lower total price than my current broadcast based system).

[brainbone]

Originally Posted by valnar

I do not see that happening. I think us geeks have a skewed view of the world.

My guess is that as us old people die off, so will broadcast TV as we know it. Think personalized, on-demand play-lists. There will still be live broadcasts (sports, news, etc.).

But for the near term, DVR is here and thriving. How many people have cable/satellite and don't have a DVR?

[wayner]

But the PVR in a Sage user's world (without DRM) is something that, while not illegal, is certainly frowned upon by the media companies. They do not want you being able to record a show, store it indefinitely, burn it to DVD/BR, copy it to a laptop, move it to a mobile device, upload torrents of the show, etc.

Sure lots of people have DVRs but these are locked down cable/sat company units that are very inflexible. The reason that many of us have Sage is that we don't want to be locked down. Will Google want to alienate the media companies? I doubt it and Sage as an independent company was too small to be on anyone's radar screen.

[Fountainhead]

Originally Posted by wayner

But the PVR in a Sage user's world (without DRM) is something that, while not illegal, is certainly frowned upon by the media companies. They do not want you being able to record a show, store it indefinitely, burn it to DVD/BR, copy it to a laptop, move it to a mobile device, upload torrents of the show, etc.

Sure lots of people have DVRs but these are locked down cable/sat company units that are very inflexible. The reason that many of us have Sage is that we don't want to be locked down. Will Google want to alienate the media companies? I doubt it and Sage as an independent company was too small to be on anyone's radar screen.

Right. The reason that I use Sage is that I can have one local server with all of my stuff (recorded tv, ripped dvd's) and stream it to many devices...desktop PC in the den, the kids' pc' in their rooms, laptop over the Internet, any tv in the house. Even an iPad. I just don't see that sort of flexibility surviving under google.

[jorton]

I hope that Google relizes the potential enviornmental impact of this purchase. For years I've been centrally heating my house with my basement Sagetv server room, with my STB's, HDPVR's and Sagetv Media Server - that's like a 2000+ watt heater... now I may have to go and buy a heat pump ($), and that's no where near as efficient at serving both my media and heating needs like Sagetv does

I'm sure there will be more info released soon, Brent (Geektonic) tweeted that he was still working on getting more answers and will post something soon. We will survive

J

[brainbone]

Originally Posted by wayner

But the PVR in a Sage user's world (without DRM) is something that, while not illegal, is certainly frowned upon by the media companies.

Google doesn't care about media distribution companies. They want to be the media distribution company -- it allows them to sell more ads and track more usage statistics.

Google tried to gain interoperability with the cable/sat companies, but apparently only succeeded with Dish. Failing that, and not legally being able to store all broadcasts on their own servers for redistribution to GoogleTV users, the only option left is a PVR appliance.

Make no mistake though -- I think it will be DRMed.

[heffe2001]

Originally Posted by wayner

By the way, if anyone wants to start selling extenders at cut-rate prices please send me a PM.

I wondered who'd be first at posting this, lol.

If google kills the software, I'm sure I'll find something else (most likely just switch over to Win7MC, grab a few cheap extenders & an xbox or 2, and go. My tuners all work in 7MC, so my hardware loss is just the Sage extenders I currently have, 1 HD100, 2 HD200's, and a couple month old HD300). Biggest issue I'll have switching to something else, WAF. She HATES it when I make changes, and switching to another piece of software would be a fairly big change, lol.

I'm optimistic in that things won't change for the worse, and would definitely like to see a real, official android Sage Placeshifter, that would definitely be sweet... Would also be cool to get more online capabilities with the main Sage software, or even get a Sage Client/GoogleTV hybrid box...

[Ryokurin]

Originally Posted by valnar

I do not see that happening. I think us geeks have a skewed view of the world. Most people turn on the boob tube. They do not sit in front of a computer or TV surfing around Hulu or YouTube.

But then again, I didn't see a useless device like the iPad become hotter than a more useful laptop, so stranger things have happened. Next shiny object syndrome, I suppose.

I don't believe that's what he meant. Broadcast as in over the air to a lot of people is dead. I just helped a friend move, and while they were waiting for the sat installer he tried to pick up over the air channels, and his wife thought those channels were taken off the air during the transition.

It won't happen tomorrow, but wait until the percentage of households with cable or satellite goes into the 95% range (we are already around 90%) and I bet the FCC will be itching to reduce or eliminate the space to raise money for the government.

[Bagal]

Originally Posted by heffe2001

...most likely just switch over to Win7MC, grab a few cheap extenders & an xbox or 2, and go...

Xboxes are pretty cheap these days but they're hobbled by their lack of codec support, switching to them for me would involve converting the majority of my ripped videos, which is something I'm not prepared to do...if anything this whole situation makes me appreciate the HD300 even more than I did before...

[jptheripper]

for me the xbox problem is how loud and hot they are.

[Bagal]

Originally Posted by jptheripper

for me the xbox problem is how loud and hot they are.

Yep, that as well, although you can at least overcome the noise by hiding them out of sight...

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by heffe2001

I wondered who'd be first at posting this, lol.

Actually, many have, but that's against the forums rules so their posts get deleted and they probably get a warning...

[iolaus]

Originally Posted by Fountainhead

Right. The reason that I use Sage is that I can have one local server with all of my stuff (recorded tv, ripped dvd's) and stream it to many devices...desktop PC in the den, the kids' pc' in their rooms, laptop over the Internet, any tv in the house. Even an iPad. I just don't see that sort of flexibility surviving under google.

My thoughts exactly. I use SageTV because of the flexibility it offers and that flexibility is what makes it complicated to set up and a niche product. I simply can't fathom how the existing level of flexibility survives any type of mass market oriented retooling. The only positive outcome I can envision is Google open-sourcing the code as part of a new system they'll build on top of (but I don't see that as terribly likely).

[brainbone]

Originally Posted by Fountainhead

Right. The reason that I use Sage is that I can have one local server with all of my stuff (recorded tv, ripped dvd's) and stream it to many devices /...../ I just don't see that sort of flexibility surviving under google.

While it may not be as seamless as it is now, since GoogleTV allows apps, just like Android, I think you'll see apps appear that can fill the gap. If GoogleTV takes off, I also expect committed rooting/custom "rom" communities just like Android. The geek in me would be more fearful if it were an Apple device.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by Torkild

WD TV Live Plus use the same chipset af HD300
Sigma Designs SMP8654

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=320

Might get it to work it some one knows how to load sagetv firmware on it.

WD TV Live Plus has netflix, so lets keep that

I have a WD Plus, and while the interface is clugey at best, it does playback all my Sage recordings.