SageTV V.5 - Able to record?

[ChAsM]

Ok, I'm fairly new to the PVR scene and I've been trying out some software. It's come down to BeyondTV, ChrisTV, GBPVR and SageTV. I really like SageTV and want to make it my choice. I do have one question I hope someone can answer for me:

Is there a simple "record" button to press to manually record a show? Or, a way to enable it or add it?

If the answer is yes, I'm sold. Otherwise, I might give GBPVR another try.

TIA!!

[emok]

Not quite sure what you mean. But there are several ways in Sage.

1. Manual recordings. You select programs to record through the program guide, or if you're watching it live, it will record what you're watching (this will be deleted based on a setting in the Detailed Setup) or you can hit the record button to get it to add it as a true manual recording. I think this is what you're talking about. This can be done through a keyboard shortcut and thus a remove if so desired.

2. Adding as a favorite (season pass type of functionality and so much more).

3. Intelligent Recording (let sage figure out what you *might* want to record based on your preferences)

[ChAsM]

Originally Posted by emok

Not quite sure what you mean. But there are several ways in Sage.

1. Manual recordings. You select programs to record through the program guide, or if you're watching it live, it will record what you're watching (this will be deleted based on a setting in the Detailed Setup) or you can hit the record button to get it to add it as a true manual recording. I think this is what you're talking about. This can be done through a keyboard shortcut and thus a remove if so desired.

2. Adding as a favorite (season pass type of functionality and so much more).

3. Intelligent Recording (let sage figure out what you *might* want to record based on your preferences)

Thanks for the response, emok. However, I was aware of #1, 2 & 3 already. Let say I just want to record a segment of what I am watching at that moment. How do I do that? (i.e. just like you would on a VCR.)

Thanks!

[emok]

I guess the short answer to your question is "yes". You can press record when you are watching live tv to record the show.

Just wanted to provide further explanation...

If you're watching live tv, what you are currently watching will be recorded automatically so you can do the rewind thing. You can press the record button or use the record hotkey to "keep" the recording.

I guess my explanation is a little more complex because if you don't press the record button, the show you are watching MAY be deleted. There's a setting in Detailed Settings called "Delete Live TV files if IR disabled" which if set will delete those recordings if you don't have the Intelligent Recording enabled.

[mayamaniac]

Originally Posted by ChAsM

Thanks for the response, emok. However, I was aware of #1, 2 & 3 already. Let say I just want to record a segment of what I am watching at that moment. How do I do that? (i.e. just like you would on a VCR.)

Thanks!

SageTV doesn't allow a freely start and stop recording feature on command, like you would on a VCR using the Record and Stop buttons on a remote. You can start a recording at anytime by selecting it in the guide or watch LiveTV and then pressing the Record button, but when you hit STOP, it only stops playback, not the recording. It will continue to record until the end of the show.

But lets say you want to start a recoding at 8:07PM and end it at 8:08PM, you have to set it as a Timed Recording, which is a scheduled recording, but you manually enter the channel, time, and date of when it starts and when it ends. And you can only set by channel, date, hour, and minute, but not seconds. So if you want to record 10 sec of something, you can't. The minimum for a recording is a minute long.

It sounds a little bit bizarre that you can't start and stop recording like a VCR, but thats how SageTV is and I don't know why it can't just do that. I'm sure that it can be implemented but probably low on the priority list since most people don't care about this feature, including myself. Although, at times I would like to have this option also.

[emok]

Hmmm.. this is contrary to my answer. I was pretty sure that if I was watching liveTV it would save it as a manual recording if I hit the record button on the remote. Now I'm gonna have to go back and try it again...

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by emok

Hmmm.. this is contrary to my answer. I was pretty sure that if I was watching liveTV it would save it as a manual recording if I hit the record button on the remote. Now I'm gonna have to go back and try it again...

It will, AFAIK.

[xlr8shun]

Originally Posted by emok

Hmmm.. this is contrary to my answer. I was pretty sure that if I was watching liveTV it would save it as a manual recording if I hit the record button on the remote. Now I'm gonna have to go back and try it again...

this is typically how i "save" a recording so im positive its there for future viewing. like if for some reason the recording is interrupted and has breaks in it, im never sure if sage will save it or delete it after its been watched. so if its something i want to keep for a short time, i'll just tap the record button to ensure it'll be there later.

[mayamaniac]

Originally Posted by emok

Hmmm.. this is contrary to my answer. I was pretty sure that if I was watching liveTV it would save it as a manual recording if I hit the record button on the remote. Now I'm gonna have to go back and try it again...

what is contrary, what I posted?

Just to clarify, I don't see anything I posted is contrary to what you said. I never said that liveTV wouldn't save as a manual recording. I only said that after pressing Record button in LiveTV, you can't just stop the recording until the show ends. You can cancel the recording, but then you lose the entire recording if you stop playback.

[ChAsM]

Originally Posted by mayamaniac

I only said that after pressing Record button in LiveTV, you can't just stop the recording until the show ends. You can cancel the recording, but then you lose the entire recording if you stop playback.

Thanks for answering my question. That stinks!!! That's not very versatile, if you ask me. I like to record news clips. Sage unfortunately makes this difficult.

Thanks to all of you for helping me out!

[emok]

Originally Posted by mayamaniac

what is contrary, what I posted?

Just to clarify, I don't see anything I posted is contrary to what you said. I never said that liveTV wouldn't save as a manual recording. I only said that after pressing Record button in LiveTV, you can't just stop the recording until the show ends. You can cancel the recording, but then you lose the entire recording if you stop playback.

ok... I guess we're on the same page. Chasm's original question asked "Is there a simple "record" button to press to manually record a show?"

So the answer to his question is yes, although once you press record, you'll need to finish recording the entire show. You won't be able to just stop it and have it save that partial clip.

[Opus4]

If you really want to stop a Manual Recording early, you can stop watching it (if you are), select it from the Program Guide, Recording Schedule, or SageTV Recordings, choose Record Options, Adjust Recording Options, then adjust the Stop time. It may not be as simple as using the record button on a vcr to start recording & then use Record again to stop after a couple minutes, but SageTV and a VCR are designed to operate differently -- SageTV is a PVR that always records what you are watching & is designed to record the entire airing.

If you are watching a show live, you are already recording it.

- Andy

[ChAsM]

Originally Posted by Opus4

If you really want to stop a Manual Recording early, you can stop watching it (if you are), select it from the Program Guide, Recording Schedule, or SageTV Recordings, choose Record Options, Adjust Recording Options, then adjust the Stop time. It may not be as simple as using the record button on a vcr to start recording & then use Record again to stop after a couple minutes, but SageTV and a VCR are designed to operate differently -- SageTV is a PVR that always records what you are watching & is designed to record the entire airing.

If you are watching a show live, you are already recording it.

- Andy

Thanks for the thorugh reply, Andy. I'm curious though. Why do other PVR software developers have the simple VCR record feature? The auto-record feature would be nice if I had an ir-blaster for the cable box, but I don't. While I certainly can appreciate the tivo-like features, I guess I want it all.

Thanks again!

[007craft]

Wait im confused.

Ok suppose Im watching fear factor which is a 1 hour show. Ive been watching it for 30 minutes, and decide that I dont care about the rest of the show, and want to go watch the simpsons since its about to begin on another channel. Can I not have sageTV save the 30 minutes I just recorded of fear-factor and begin watching (/recording) the simpsons?

all of the above assuming Im just channle hopping, and have no favorites or pre-timed records in place?

[blade]

Originally Posted by ChAsM

Thanks for the thorugh reply, Andy. I'm curious though. Why do other PVR software developers have the simple VCR record feature? The auto-record feature would be nice if I had an ir-blaster for the cable box, but I don't. While I certainly can appreciate the tivo-like features, I guess I want it all.

Thanks again!

Get an ir-blaster and use Sage as it was intended. Honestly, if you're just using Sage for timeshifting and manually recording what you're currently watching you're not getting much out of Sage. It can do so much more.

[Speedy64i]

I would love this integrated VCR feature too for small clips of things! Just because SageTV can do so much more doesn't mean it has to undercut the most basic features of lesser video recorders.

JT