What makes sagetv better than gbpvr?

[CadErik]

Originally Posted by aperry

According to this thread, .NET integration with SageTV is possible as well. I have not tried it, but it looks relatively straight-forward.

Hmmm the native part is not straightforward at all and requires a bunch of tools. Most other windows software only provide COM or ActiveX interfaces... So being Java based, it makes difficult to integrate other programs into sagetv.

Erik.

[aperry]

True, it may be more difficult to integrate with SageTV, but it is doable.

Being Java based does not make things any more complicated for developing plugins, at least if you know Java. Once you figure out Studio and how to interface with a Java program, you can really do just about anything (as is evidenced by the add-ons that have been put together so far).

Over time, I'm sure we'll see even more come out with new and wonderful features.

I'm not saying any of this to bash GBPVR, it is a decent product from the testing I did, but it just wasn't totally there for me when I made my decision to go with SageTV. I know that there have been improvements since then, but hey, I'm using SageTV now, so that's what I'm sticking with.

[jominor]

Originally Posted by CadErik

Just had a quick look... at least one thing that is making it better: it is running with .NET which makes integrating other programs much easier in plugins...

Erik.

That's not much of an advantage. Java is every bit as capable of integrating. And those plugins can run on the Linux version.

And don't even mention mono. I don't believe there are any production systems out there that represents success cross platform .Net.

[stevech]

one thing that made GBPVR not great was a terrible WAF

[jominor]

Originally Posted by CadErik

Hmmm the native part is not straightforward at all and requires a bunch of tools. Most other windows software only provide COM or ActiveX interfaces... So being Java based, it makes difficult to integrate other programs into sagetv.

Erik.

If you want to use native windows programs yes. I would argue that gbpvr's native c++ makes it hard to integrate non-java programs into it.

And gb-pvr won't work on anything but Windows which may be important to some.

[mothbhai]

I've been a GBPVR user for the last year, and just recently started using Sage, when a GBPVR upgrade went bad, and decided to checkout Sage instead of just reinstalling GBPVR. Here are my observations:

Things I like about Sage:
- Sage was much easier to setup (including the custom STB control, and XMLTV import for Singapore)
- Config/Setup is well integrated into the interface. GBPVR had a separate Config application.

Things I preferred in GBPVR:
- Repeat Recording setup had more control options - like same day same channel same time or any combinations of these. I suspect the same possibilities exist with Sage, but they are not as clear.
- Plugin support was much better. Tons of excellent plugins available. Net Radio, RSS readers, Games, DVD ripping.
- Integration of support for ffdshow and daemon tools.
- Integrated xvid recording and transcoding
- Music player. While it was still not as good as stand-alone players, it was far better than the rudimentary player in Sage. This one really pains me.
- Menu structure was much nicer - and typical of what you'd expect from a Media Center
- Contrary to what many others have experienced, my experience with orverall stability and TV recordings was perfect. Never missed a recording.

I dont use the Client Server or Intelligent recording feature (not yet at least) which seem to be the biggest advantages of Sage, so I am really missing GBPVR more than enjoying the new capabilities of Sage.

Maybe I've just got used to GBPVR, and am missing some of the unique things about it, but overall, I am not ready to say yet that Sage is significantly better. But I do think its worth the $80 just for the ease and convenience of setting up.

[dblaine2]

Alot of what you want from Sage can be accomplished through user customizations. See the customizations forum. I do agree that some of this stuff should be apart of the core product.