Questions about SageTV functionality/extensibility

[pt_009]

I have finally decided to build an HTPC and am considering SageTV for the main TV/PVR application.

Here are my main questions:

1.
Where can i find detailed information on the "Network Encoding Protocol" that Sage supports? I have an HD satellite receiver that may find its way over to Nextcomm for their modification ( )...their software "talks" to Sage as a Network Encoder, correct?? Now, I'd like to write my own...much like was done for MyTheatre....but I am working on my own app and need to know the details so it may work with Sage as a network encoder...

2.
Is there any plugin for Sage that will work with DVDProfiler's content?? I really like DVDProfiler and it would be great to have a way for Sage to import the data from it.

3.(This concerns future extensibility...)
Currently, SageTV supports output via video-cards (expected) and the tv-out of the PVR-350. The HTPC i desire to build will not be used for games! As such, I will not buy an expensive (and hot -- therefore noisy!) graphics card that can accelerate H.264 HD material. Will Frey Technologies ever consider supporting other video output cards?? For example, a reference design was released by Micronas: http://www.micronas.com/products/app...cer/index.html
and
http://www.micronas.com/pressroom/pr...a%2Findex.html

I expect that OEMs will produce retail variants in the coming months. This sort of card will be ideal for those of us desiring to use slower (cooler) CPUs and avoid playing with VMR9 versus Overlay and questionable support for accelerated decode of emerging HD codecs.... (Okay, okay, when Mpeg-10 or H.364 (or whatever they call it....)is implemented, those video-card zealots among you can laugh...but for now, H.264 and VC-1 will become mainstays)

I suppose I could also ask Frey this question directly...but lets see what their users think...surely, there must be others like me that desire to build as quiet an htpc as possible...but that doesn't sacrifice HD decode capability!

Any help and links are most appreciated!

[PGPfan]

Hi PT 009,

Welcome to Sage and the forums!

I'll do my best to answer your questions:

1) This question is best left to Andy (Opus4 - administrator), he knows Sage documentation better than I know my own family!

2) Yes, there are several DVDProfiler plug-ins. Try here for one example, although there are others as well.

3) I, too, don't game on my systems. I do have quiet machines (my htpc video card is fanless), both the server and client. I'll have to take a look at the Micronas links you provided. Could be interesting products.

In general the Sage guys very much stay on the ball regarding new hardware support. I'd imagine that these cards would work like a normal video card in that maybe they'd be dependant on manufacturer supplied drivers rather than a software port from the Sage side, but I don't know.

-PGPfan

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by PGPfan

1) This question is best left to Andy (Opus4 - administrator), he knows Sage documentation better than I know my own family!

Well, since i got pulled into it... Actually, that one is for someone who has written a network encoder & knows where the plugin specs are. Otherwise, contact SageTV directly. I'm either missing it or it isn't on the place where other plugin docs are listed.

- Andy

[pt_009]

Thank you for the replies, PGPFan & Opus4

I found this link:

http://www.nolberger.se/Sage/GraphRecorder/

That utility was created by a Sage user, AndersNolberger, correct? Thus it is not native to SageTV...is this what i am supposed to use or has it been supplanted by something newer (eg, something written by Frey and supported by Frey directly...)

Please, don't take this as an attack on AndersNolberger's efforts...the way i read the nextcomwireless website regarding support for SageTV, it sounded like Sage has the universal network encoder built-in....but perhaps i misunderstood??

Any clarifications are appreciated! Barring that, I will contact Frey directly.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by pt_009

the way i read the nextcomwireless website regarding support for SageTV, it sounded like Sage has the universal network encoder built-in....but perhaps i misunderstood??

The ability to use/control a network encoder, the network encoder "server" is a standard function of SageTV. The actual remote application, the network encoder "client" (the part that controls the hardware) is not provided by SageTV.*

So you would need to create the network encoder interface for your app, but once you do that, SageTV could use it out of the box.

*SageTV can be used as a network encoder "client", as well as SageRecorder, though the later is rather deprecated.

[pt_009]

Originally posted by stanger89
The ability to use/control a network encoder, the network encoder "server" is a standard function of SageTV. The actual remote application, the network encoder "client" (the part that controls the hardware) is not provided by SageTV.*

So you would need to create the network encoder interface for your app, but once you do that, SageTV could use it out of the box.

Where within SageTV do you tell it "here's the IP address and Port"? BUT, more important to my app development, how will Sage "know" what commands to send for channel tuning (for example,...but i'll have more than just that)

In other words, I need the specs! And, does this mean that Anders' universal network encoder app is not required??

Quoting jlindborg from the R5000 thread (where he was quoting nextcom):

The R5000 app becomes a server (network encoder) and SageTV sends all appropriate commands to it (tuning, filename, etc). There's nothing extra that needs to be done except add some lines to your Sage properties file.

The "SageTV sends all appropriate commands to it..." part: My app will have it's own commands and if SageTV requires a specific format for the commands, i need to know

(OT: stanger89, have you decided to get a nextcom-modded dish ird??...take a look at the Micronas links i had in the original post. IF some OEM brings such a card to retail, smooth HD H.264 and VC-1 will be realized even on Celerons! -- not that i'd dig one of those crippled CPUs up LOL)

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by pt_009

In other words, I need the specs!

Did you contact SageTV, as I suggested above?

- Andy

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by pt_009

Where within SageTV do you tell it "here's the IP address and Port"?

http://www.sage.tv/2_papers/NetworkEncoderSetup.txt

BUT, more important to my app development, how will Sage "know" what commands to send for channel tuning (for example,...but i'll have more than just that)

See below

In other words, I need the specs! And, does this mean that Anders' universal network encoder app is not required??

UNE is an example of a network encoder. It's "universal" in that it's not specific to any particular hardware, it simply uses a user defined DirectShow graph to do the recording. The R5000 app is another example of a network encoder. There are a couple others floating around (like the MyTheatre one).

Quoting jlindborg from the R5000 thread (where he was quoting nextcom):


The "SageTV sends all appropriate commands to it..." part: My app will have it's own commands and if SageTV requires a specific format for the commands, i need to know

You're looking at it the wrong way, you don't tell Sage what commands to use, Sage defines an IP protocol (I think it's IP) that you must build your app to understand.

(OT: stanger89, have you decided to get a nextcom-modded dish ird??...take a look at the Micronas links i had in the original post. IF some OEM brings such a card to retail, smooth HD H.264 and VC-1 will be realized even on Celerons! -- not that i'd dig one of those crippled CPUs up LOL)

Pretty much, but I don't know when I'll be able to ($$$ wise ). As for the Micronas thing, it would really need to do H.264 AVC and MPEG-2 to be interesting, ideally it should do VC-1 as well. That plus an OSD that someone could write a Sage plugin for. I wouldn't be interested unless I could eliminate my video card for output, and that means MPEG-2 (with CSS, ie DVDs), H.264 AVC, and VC-1.

[cslatt]

Yeah, just send them an e-mail and ask for it. That's what I did and they sent it to me later that day.