Total newbie has some questions

[mcr10]

Hi Folks,
I have been going over some of the faq's and the forum looking for a few answers to setting up and running Sage TV on my PC and out to TV.
My wife and I used to have Tivo w/DTV and really liked it, but cannot afford it now that we are both retired. Sage TV looks very good to me since it does not require a subsciption and your first born.
I have looked over the Sage web site and would like to know if I get the SageTV Dual-Tuner Bundle & Remote that it will be all the hardware and software I need to approximate the Tivo once set up?
The PC I have more than meets the requirements for installation and I would add a large HD to store the recordings. I do not intend to network any other pc's or tv at this time.
TIA,
MR

[Wakecrash]

I think the open question is what is your tv and video card. Your video card will need to have a TV out to match the type of TV you have, such as S-video out for most standard defintion TVs. For standard def, a newer low end video card like Nvidia fx 5200 or higher and I believe others like ATI 9200 or higher.

[mcr10]

Thanks. Yes, I forgot that the tuner cards do not have video out. Is there a preferred video card for S-video?
Thanks again.

[Wakecrash]

Search around these forums, lots of people have their favorites. I have a standard def tv and a fx 5500 I am happy with, the cheaper 5200 should be fine. Although fx6600 sounds to be the current best picture quality/value combination. Look on-line at newegg.com or local stores with good rebates, fanless cards maybe what you want to look for as well.

[mcr10]

Much obliged. Will look online.
Thanks a bunch.

[mcr10]

I will have to get another video card as suggested to get video out of the pc to the tv or HT system.
On the sound out to the tv; can I use my sound card that is installed? I noticed that the connections out the back of the pc are not the same as the connections going into tv or HT system. Are there special cables available to make this transition?
TIA

[JUC]

you can get a line out (mini headphone) to RCA converter/splitter which will allow you to hook it up to the TV/audio system. Onboard sound should work fine. Also, you will need something to change the channels on your satellite receiver. Since you have DTV--serial cable is an option many people like. There have been problems recently though so you might want to do a search on that. You could also get a USBUIRT or an Actisys 200L which will be a 'blaster' that connects to your serial port to change channels.
JUC

[mcr10]

Thanks for the info. I don't have DTV anymore and really miss the use of the Tivo/no commercials etc....Sage to the rescue. The community I live in now has basic cable and will just hook it up to the tuner card.

[Wakecrash]

Yes, a small splitter cable is available at Radio Shack, Make sure the side that plugs into the PC, is for stereo, then the other side is female RCA. Then plug your existing cables into that.

[dvd_maniac]

I was wondering about the audio out. I have a ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe and it has three audio jacks (line-in, line-out and microphone) However with the soundmax software they can be configured to be 5.1 output.

My question is: Can I use some sort of splitter to get it to continue using the 5.1 PC speaker setup and add additional audio receiver as well? I'd like to get sound to the back of the basement and be louder for when my wife and I are working out.

[Menehune]

You would like to split the 5.1 outputs (three stereo cables) that currently go to your computer speakers? Yes, there are mini splitters available.