Milestones

[SageWizdom]

To briefly list things I've seen listed so far (or implied)...

Things currently being worked, requested...

• Android Placeshifter Client
• SageV9 stable release with:
  • Installer
  • Clean/Documented upgrade path from v7
  • Clean/Documented new install path
  • All of the above for Linux and Windows
  • Replace any licensed/closed source code
• Updated documentation wiki [sagetv.wikia.com]
• Document placeshifter and miniclient interfaces
• Future Features:
  • Back to back record on same channel with padding
  • Native support for cable card tuners (Huappauge, Ceton InfiniTV, Silicondust)
  • Open Source / Commercial EPG (in process?)
  • Update plugins to be V9 compatible / aware
  • Unit Testing and Continuous Integration
  • Debian repo and .deb builds for simplified updates
  • Mobile Themed STV
  • IOS /AppleTV Client
  • Server side gesture support (for mobile device integration)
  • Faster "carny" schedule reprocessing (not sure I understand what this means)
  • Architecture diagram / map

Non Coder Opportunities (so far):

• Documentation Enhancement
• Testing

I'll update as I see more.

[nateziemann]

Under future feature ideas I'd add:

-minimal sagetv changes to better work with other front ends (KODI, PLEX).
-Sage recording filenames with spaces would allow native library import of recordings into other front ends while retaining the native sage recording characteristics like 'Keep at Most' and complimentary comskip file naming (not renaming and having recordings treated like imports / second class citizens). Sage is by far the most feature rich DVR software available. But sage UI has little innovation, community support, nor modern by todays standards. While I'm just one guy, there is a set of us that love sage, want to keep sage doing what it does best on the backend, while taking advantage of the fast pace of innovation occurring in the UI space.

More modern conversion settings
-conversion settings updated for MP4s: H264 4.1High 720p with AAC5.1 with different bitrates best for (A) Mobile tablets (B) large screens. At present the iphone/appletv conversion settings use Main with no good 720p options for mobile devices, nor the recommended handbrake settings for H264 4.1High. If this can be done today, let me know I'm desperate to update V7 w/ improved conversions.
-expect people would want similar to above for MKV while retaining native DD/DTS audio

platform currency
-Java8 tested and stable, other open library version upgrades since V7 came out.
-64-bit (support larger heap sizes)
-a single Linux distro that's well tested against and recommended by the dev community
-thoughts on partnering w/ Open ELEC or something similar to include Sage as the backend DVR?

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by nateziemann

platform currency
-Java8 tested and stable, other open library version upgrades since V7 came out.

Sage already works with Java 8 (and worked with it before the open source version came along). There is nothing to be done here.

However, some of the plugins that people have written do not work with Java 8. Mostly these are plugins that use Jetty. This is really an issue for the developers who maintain those plugins to address.

[plawlor]

64-bit support is by far my top priority. I have 5 HD300s, and as soon as the fourth gets turned on, my UI performance goes to pot. My server has 12 GB RAM, but doesn't matter.

[dinki]

Originally Posted by nateziemann

-minimal sagetv changes to better work with other front ends (KODI, PLEX).
-Sage recording filenames with spaces would allow native library import of recordings into other front ends while retaining the native sage recording characteristics like 'Keep at Most' and complimentary comskip file naming (not renaming and having recordings treated like imports / second class citizens). Sage is by far the most feature rich DVR software available. But sage UI has little innovation, community support, nor modern by todays standards. While I'm just one guy, there is a set of us that love sage, want to keep sage doing what it does best on the backend, while taking advantage of the fast pace of innovation occurring in the UI space.

I totally agree on this as well as a SageTV backend for Kodi. Sadly, I'm not a programmer so I can't help much in this regard. A windows installer would probably open more folks to SageTV and potentially draw Kodi developers to integrating SageTV as a backend. It does not seem that current SageTV devs are overly interested in this functionality at present.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by dinki

It does not seem that current SageTV devs are overly interested in this functionality at present.

I think that's a fair statement. I think there may be interest, but for me personally, it's so far down on my priority list, that I doubt I'll ever look into it. I've used Kodi (or Xbmc) for years (starting with an old modded xbox), and every so often I decide to install it again, but to be honest, I find it frustrating to use

I have zero interest in streaming (except for netflix), so Kodi is of zero value to me. SageTV with Phoenix (or Gemstone) is far more functional, in my mind, than Kodi. As a dev, my setup is probably not standard, but I use so many custom views, that when I try Kodi and Xbmc, or end up throwing in the towel and just removing the apps.

Admittedly I must not be using the right skins in kodi, but I hear people talk about how much nicer Kodi looks, but compared to Gemstone, I don't find Kodi to look better

I think the best bet for a SageTV/Kodi marriage is to convince a Kodi developer to integrate the PVR components. I think that most sagetv devs actually prefer SageTV over Kodi, which is by we are not seeing much "interest" from the devs

[dinki]

One of the most attractive things about Kodi for me is that it runs on almost every device I own (except my wife's nonjailbroken iPad and iPhone). I'm already using nPVR to stream to these Kodi devices (kitchen tv, bedroom, my phone), but SageTV is considerably better than nPVR that I run both and watch my SageTV recordings via a Kodi SageTV plugin in rooms without SageTV extenders. I can add a new Kodi device for as little as $50. I do not do any streaming with the exception of PlayOn which I use on both SageTV extenders and Kodi installs.

I think one of the glaring milestones would be the addition of a simple Windows installer. This would/should increase the user base which may bring in additional devs for things like Kodi integration. Again, I'm of very little use when it comes to getting this done, but without a simple exe download and install procedure I doubt folks will be trying SageTV over other solutions. I'm not sure if the main goal is to add to the number of SageTV users but an installer would definitely help more than hurt Again, I understand that it isn't glamorous or on top of many of the current devs to do lists.

[Fuzzy]

I think Stuckless' Android miniclient is very close to being able to meet most people's requirement of 'able to play in rooms without SageTV extenders', and has the added advantage of being the same interface throughout.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I think Stuckless' Android miniclient is very close to being able to meet most people's requirement of 'able to play in rooms without SageTV extenders', and has the added advantage of being the same interface throughout.

IT is almost there but the limitation is still the java heap. As long as that limitation is there the use of miniclients is very limited. Using one Hd300 and 1 miniclient eventually I run into memory errors. Just not worth it right now that is why I prefer full clients. I too would like to see Kodi integration.

[jusjoken]

No huge promises but I plan to take a look at a Windows Installer in the coming week(s). I too believe this is key so I will step away from Gemstone2/Phoenix work for a little bit and see what I can come up with.

I will post elsewhere on Opus' thread to see if there is any info available from the old installer.

k

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

IT is almost there but the limitation is still the java heap. As long as that limitation is there the use of miniclients is very limited. Using one Hd300 and 1 miniclient eventually I run into memory errors. Just not worth it right now that is why I prefer full clients. I too would like to see Kodi integration.

Which currently is only a limitation on windows. I'm thinking a 'light' 64-bit windows server might be possible that simply eliminates most (all?) the native code. This would break native tuner access, but would still work with network encoders - SageTVRecorder could be revived to act as 32-bit native tuner interfaces for it - possibly. But I'm only thinking this from an architectural point of view - I know nothing about native coding on windows.

Or, we might be able to roll up a 64-bit Linux VM package that could be hosted on a windows server that would offer a 64-bit java heap - but again, no native tuner access.

[Monedeath]

Now that could induce some headaches. Although that may be a decent interim solution for those wanting 64 bit SageTV in Windows.

Alternately, a 32 bit sage server install slaved to a 64 bit sage server, so the 32 bit install behaves like a network tuner for the stripped down 64 bit version?

To keep tech factor approachable by techno-plebes they would need to exist concurrently without shoving one into a VM. Just mentioning that because the capability to turn a Sage server into a network tuner should still exist currently, no need to reinvent the wheel to prove a concept as valid. But I suspect the concurrency would break things, even if they're running different bit levels as I'm sure there would be some collision issues all the same.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by Monedeath

Now that could induce some headaches. Although that may be a decent interim solution for those wanting 64 bit SageTV in Windows.

Alternately, a 32 bit sage server install slaved to a 64 bit sage server, so the 32 bit install behaves like a network tuner for the stripped down 64 bit version?

To keep tech factor approachable by techno-plebes they would need to exist concurrently without shoving one into a VM. Just mentioning that because the capability to turn a Sage server into a network tuner should still exist currently, no need to reinvent the wheel to prove a concept as valid. But I suspect the concurrency would break things, even if they're running different bit levels as I'm sure there would be some collision issues all the same.

That's what I described as reviving SageTVRecorder - which I believe was essentially a network encoder built off the sagetv native tuner system - though it may be simpler to just make a windows directshow network encoder from scratch and avoid the whole Java<->Native debacle entirely.

[davephan]

Today, I just came across the news that SageTV is open source. I haven't checked the SageTV forum in many months, but I am still using SageTV every day for over a decade starting with version 1.4. Even after 4 years of frozen code, nothing else is as good today as SageTV was 4 years ago. It's great news to hear development will be occurring again with SageTV.

Are there any plans to support 4K video in the future?

[Tiki]

Originally Posted by davephan

Today, I just came across the news that SageTV is open source. I haven't checked the SageTV forum in many months, but I am still using SageTV every day for over a decade starting with version 1.4. Even after 4 years of frozen code, nothing else is as good today as SageTV was 4 years ago. It's great news to hear development will be occurring again with SageTV.

Are there any plans to support 4K video in the future?

I would say there are no plans - because there are very few sources of 4K content right now. 4K BluRay isn't available yet. TV isn't broadcast OTA in 4K yet (though I've seen they are working on the standards to allow for it in the future). I don't think any cable companies are sending out 4K yet, but I expect that will change soon (I think I heard DirectTV would be offering some 4K content soon). So, that leaves streaming sources (like Netflix) which are protected with DRM, so no way to get them into Sage.

AFAIK, there are no consumer-grade capture devices that can record in 4K.

But, once cable companies start distributing 4K cable boxes, chances are good that Hauppauge or someone else will make a 4k version of the HD-PVR or Colossus. I suspect cable card tuners (like HDHR Prime or Ceton) would be able to capture the 4k stuff too, as long as the CCI flag is set to copy freely.

Once that happens, Sage should be able to record 4K. Playback is another story. Most likely 4K videos will be encoded with the h.265 codec. This is not a free codec and it is not built-in to Windows. So, we will need to get a codec from somewhere that can decode the h.265 stuff. I would think there is a pretty good chance that someone will figure this out eventually and that will allow playback on a Windows client. The extenders won't be able to play back 4K content though (they won't have the necessary hardware decoders, and even if they did, they can't output resolutions above 1080).

Oh yeah, 4K will generally require Displayport or the newer HDMI 2.0 with HDCP 2.0 This means you need a newer PC, newer video card, newer TV...

So, with all that, I would be surprised to see 4K in Sage in the next year, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some limited support at some point in the future.