Can a SageTV system completely replace my conventional home theater?

[flopinf]

I'm new at using SageTV but I love the concept already. I would love to get rid of my TV/VCR/DVD Player Setup and just watch everything from the computer monitor with a Tivo-like interface, although few requirements must be met.
1) I have to be able to use the computer for other things besides HTPC.
2) It has to be able to be downloading at all times.
3) The TV interface must be as easy to use, as good a picture quality, and
as smooth as watching regular TV or as close to it as possible.

I'm currently in the process of putting the whole thing together and working out all the kinks. The concept is showing allot of promise except for the clunky channel surfing, the picture is not as good in terms of color/contrast/picture quality as regular TV, and the once in a while freezing or choppy playback of "live" TV.

With that being said I would love to be able to make it work up to par. I love the idea of the integrated EPG and being able to record programs for later viewing/archiving.

I welcome any advice/suggestions/criticism that may help.

_____________________________________________________

To answer CyRex's question:

- When playing back live TV, my CPU % is at:
30% average while not doing anything else, Norton Autoprotect Off
50% average while downloading and using RealVNC, Norton Autoprotect Off

- The audio / video decoders I'm using are:
Video:

Video Renderer: VMR9
Mpeg2 Video Decoder Filter: InterVIdeo NonCss Video Decoder for Hauppauge
DXVA MPEG mode: Default
DXVA Deinterlacing: Default
DScaler Deinterlacing Filter: Disabled

Audio:

Audio Renderer: Default
MPEG2 Audio Decoder Filter: InterVIdeo NonCss Audio Decoder for Hauppauge

_____________________________________________________

My System specks are:

Windows XP Pro SP2, SageTV 2.1, Girder3.3, Norton System Works 2005.DirectX* Version: 9.0c

Dell Dimension 2400
P4 2.66ghz (533fsb)
1gig DDR-SDRAM PC2700 @ 333Mt/s (512mb Kingston, 512mb PNY)
80gig+160gig Seagate Hdd both maxed out
( In the process of getting another one to dedicate it solely to HTPC purposes)

Integrated: Intel(R) 82845G Graphics Controller
Integrated: SoundMAX Digital Audio
(Both shitty I know, but they do the job and unfortunately no AGP
port to upgrade the video card, thinking of getting a new PC just because of that.)

Hauppauge WinTV PVR-150 (With the IR-Blaster to control my Set-Top Cable Box)
ATI Remote Wonder II with Girder,
(Great remote except for the shitty range not "50' and works
through walls" as advertised. Some times won't work at 5' with a chair in the way.)

Logitech Wireless Rumblepad II
(Awesome game pad, you won't even know that there is no wire the reception is
that good, has other minor problems though.)

I use two CRT monitors with a simple VGA splitter:
-15' crt for in front of the computer administration tasks that can't be done through RealVNC.
-19' crt for Gaming/TV/Video from the couch

Mostly the whole thing is remotely controlled through a networked Lappy with RealVNC from the couch. The ultimate goal being: Never having to get up off the couch!!

[Lucas]

These were my requirements!

Iniatially, I had a soft picture but after reverting to overlay on an ATI9600XT with the Sonic Decoder, I believe that I get close to 95% of the picture quality of viewing on the normal TV.
My CPU(P4.2.8) utilisation is 10% peak!

DVD playback is much better though.

[CyRex]

flopinf,

To answer your first question, AFAIK yes the PVR150 is always sending the stream to the HD, regardless of what program you are using. The video is encoded and sent through the PCI bus to the hard drive, where you then have the option of playing it back, slightly delayed.

As for the video quality, there are a few things that may help to improve that:
- Better Video Card (the onboard card most likely has something to do with the choppy playback...)
- Try changing the 3D Acceleration Settings (in Detailed Setup > Advanced I think). This setting makes a big difference in playback / UI smoothness on my system
- You might also benefit from using a different video decoder, as the Intervideo ones pale in comparision to what Sonic or NVidia have to offer

Your CPU % is pretty low considering. If at the most you are only using 50%, you shouldn't be seeing any slow down from that.

Check the fragmentation of your HD. I am guess that since you aren't using your PC as a dedicated PVR, then the HD isn't formatted in 64K blocks, which can lead to highly fragmented video files, and choppy playback. If you decide to stick with the PVR150 (as opposed to a TV tuner card without HW encoding) you would definately benefit from getting a second hard drive dedicated to TV recordings, even if it is fairly small in size. Any shows that you recorded and wanted to keep could be moved to your larger hard drive for archiving purposes.

Just some thoughts, hope they help...

[korben_dallas]

Can a SageTV system completely replace my conventional home theater?


Not sure if surround sound is important to you, but one snaffu I haven't been able to overcome is powering both surround sound speakers AND the TV speakers simultaneously. Perhaps there is a sound card out there that has two sets of analog outputs (instead of the typical one set of analog outputs and 2-3 types of digital outs).

Anyways, I just keep my tv speakers set to 0.

Of course, I could overcome this problem by using an external receiver, but the point of the htpc was to replace all that hardware.. not add to it.

[flopinf]

CyRex

I'm sticking with the PVR 150 for now because it has that IR-Blaster that I need to change that channels on my Cable Box and I also want to be able to record shows. I have an old Ati TV tuner Ve card lying around that I will try again, but the last time I remember using it the video quality was pretty bad. For now I'm going to try those suggestions you gave me.


Regards,
Felix

[flopinf]

You can also use sorround sound setups that come for comuters with their own amps and suwoofers, but why pay extra money when you can just rout it through your existing shelf system. I just pump everything throgh my 10yr old shelf system and the sound is great no surround though. Even a $50 boom box can sound better then stock tv speakers.

Originally Posted by korben_dallas

Can a SageTV system completely replace my conventional home theater?


Not sure if surround sound is important to you, but one snaffu I haven't been able to overcome is powering both surround sound speakers AND the TV speakers simultaneously. Perhaps there is a sound card out there that has two sets of analog outputs (instead of the typical one set of analog outputs and 2-3 types of digital outs).

Anyways, I just keep my tv speakers set to 0.

Of course, I could overcome this problem by using an external receiver, but the point of the htpc was to replace all that hardware.. not add to it.