Is the STV plague speading through BTV?

[raoul]

Ok... ok... I am officially a SageTV convert.

I was a little on the fence initially, but loading the SageMC frontend did the trick. Immediately, I could see it was a lot better. As soon as I got to the weather options and was able to pull up the current weather maps for the entire USA, I was sold. Too cool.

I still have a few things to get worked out (mostly the online video bottleneck) but I will be taking that to a new thread. Sorry BTV... I have a new home now.

[mistergq]

I am an in on being converted. I will probably end up buying Sage when my trial expires. From a UI stand put, and with SageMC installed, the music, pictures, and on line video (although not important to me at first) accomplishes what I wanted. I also like the screensaver of photo slide show. Its nice coming home to photos that were taken (and often forgotten about).

The one thing I do like is that a window pops up afterwards asking if I want to delete, restart, or archive the show I just watched when its finished. That is a nice feature.

Where my frustration lies is I miss Web Admin. While the Web Plugin is great - and Nielm has done an excellent job, it doesn't control the settings of SageTV. I am not a big fan of the menu for settings. While I am sure there is a logical order to it, I am not catching it.

There was also the problem of having to get use to the new order of commands. I keep hitting buttons on the remote thinking the system will function as BTV and it doesn't. I am pretty much there though.

Overall, my impression is SageTV is a great program. I wish I tried it before now. My issues are that its not as intuitive as many claim. I wish their was a web admin that controlled the settings. And I wish I didn't have to shut down SageTV to make changes.

[mskitty666]

Where my frustration lies is I miss Web Admin. While the Web Plugin is great - and Nielm has done an excellent job, it doesn't control the settings of SageTV. I am not a big fan of the menu for settings. While I am sure there is a logical order to it, I am not catching it.

That is one of the things I hated about BTV. Having separate interfaces for the settings added to the disjointed feeling of the product. I like the fact that all of Sage's settings can be found under basically two headings. I would die if they started separating parts of Sage out!

[Khristopher]

Originally Posted by mskitty666

That is one of the things I hated about BTV. Having separate interfaces for the settings added to the disjointed feeling of the product. I like the fact that all of Sage's settings can be found under basically two headings. I would die if they started separating parts of Sage out!

I have to agree with this as well, which is also the reason why I eventually stopped using MediaPortal. I don't want to have to use two separate interfaces/programs to manage my HTPC. I love the fact that I can change anything in Sage with my remote or MS Wireless keyboard.

[nitrowolf]

Well one more here that just switched to SageTV from BeyondTV. got tired of waiting for Snapstream to fulfill their promise of Integration as well.

[mickp]

Originally Posted by nitrowolf

Well one more here that just switched to SageTV from BeyondTV. got tired of waiting for Snapstream to fulfill their promise of Integration as well.

Hehe. "Integration NOW!!!" == SAGE

Welcome nitrowolf.

Mick.

[mickp]

Originally Posted by mistergq

I wish their was a web admin that controlled the settings. And I wish I didn't have to shut down SageTV to make changes.

One of the things that I enjoy about SAGE is that I don't need to go to a web browser to configure any advanced settings. I've seen that as a criticism in some reviews of BTV btw.

Most settings in SAGE and SAGEMC should be accessible using your remote. There are a handful of advanced hacks/settings that require the editing of the .conf files but I've not personally needed to use any of these for a long time.

Which changes do you find that you need to shut down SageTV to make?

Mick.

[Brent]

While I agree it makes sense to have all settings withing the SageTV interface as is, it would be nice to also have those settings available in the webserver as well. Not something thats a must-have, but more of a nice-to-have thing.

[Brent]

For those of you BTV users wanting to try out SageTV or switching to SageTV, see this post on how to import your BTV recorded shows into SageTV.

[superporky]

Originally Posted by Brent

For those of you BTV users wanting to try out SageTV or switching to SageTV, see this post on how to import your BTV recorded shows into SageTV.

Wow, life in Sage world keeps getting better and better!!!

I'm slowly getting settled in with Sage and loving it so far. For me it was the MVP extender that made Sage too difficult to resist (I now have 2). I think integration is also a given. I just have to get my Hauppauge 880 setup for the MVP and I will be ready for prime time.

So far I'm loaded up with SageMC, Malore Menus for SageMC and autocommercial skip with Showanylzer and Dirmon2. Once I get my 100 or gigs of BTV recordings imported I'll be off to figure something out for my movie collection.

[Khristopher]

Originally Posted by Brent

While I agree it makes sense to have all settings withing the SageTV interface as is, it would be nice to also have those settings available in the webserver as well. Not something thats a must-have, but more of a nice-to-have thing.

Although I understand your point, I personally haven't missed BTV's web admin at all.

[mistergq]

whoooo hooo!!!! I just imported all my recordings into SageTV. Then with the Web Plugin, I was able to tell it what shows I watched and hadn't watched that were imported. Very good Nielm!!!

As to the web admin...I am at the point I am getting use to not having it, but I still would like to have it.

what amazes me is the WAF. She loves the screensaver of pixs because she is seeing digital pictures she has not seen in a long time. Apparently, I will be getting more pictures to put into My Pictures for the screensaver. Now can I get her to pay for Sage...that is the real question

[Brent]

Originally Posted by mistergq

As to the web admin...I am at the point I am getting use to not having it, but I still would like to have it.

What things do you miss from BTV webadmin that aren't in Nielm's webserver? The main thing I miss is not being able to adjust the settings of recordings the same way and even the settings of SageTV for example. As I said before neither are too big a deal, but are things I miss. Keep in mind there are things in Nielm's webserver that you couldn't do in the BTV webadmin mostly because of "integration" of the media and tv functions

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by Brent

What things do you miss from BTV webadmin that aren't in Nielm's webserver? The main thing I miss is not being able to adjust the settings of recordings the same way and even the settings of SageTV for example. As I said before neither are too big a deal, but are things I miss. Keep in mind there are things in Nielm's webserver that you couldn't do in the BTV webadmin mostly because of "integration" of the media and tv functions

Settings section of BTV Webadmin. I miss being able to make whatever changes I needed to make in there.

Beyond that, I am happy with the web plugin. I actually prefer it for scheduling shows then Snapstream.

[Khristopher]

What I usually do is use my Placeshifter license (which can be run off a USB drive as well) and log into my Sage box remotely to adjust any recording settings.

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by Khristopher

What I usually do is use my Placeshifter license (which can be run off a USB drive as well) and log into my Sage box remotely to adjust any recording settings.

have you set this up so you can do this from a remote location (i.e., not your house). if so, how did you get around not having a static ip?

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by mistergq

if so, how did you get around not having a static ip?

YOu do this by either using the LocatorID feature of Sage in which Sage keeps track of your dynamic IP address and connects you to it via the LocatorID.

Or, you use a dynamic DNS service such as no-ip.com to keep track of your IP address. YOu have a program running on your computer and it monitors your IP address and registers changes to the no-ip.com server. YOu create your own web adresss such as mySagebox.no-ip.com and with no-ip monitoring the IP address, you can then put mySagebox.no-ip.com into Placeshifter and it will connect fine. I use a dynamic DNS service instead of LocatorID so that I can RDP into my home computer as well as placeshift into Sage.


edit: To use placeshifter via the internet, you will need to create a placeshifter user and password. It can be created in Detailed Setup>Server>Manage Placeshifter Users

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

YOu do this by either using the LocatorID feature of Sage in which Sage keeps track of your dynamic IP address and connects you to it via the LocatorID.

Or, you use a dynamic DNS service such as no-ip.com to keep track of your IP address. YOu have a program running on your computer and it monitors your IP address and registers changes to the no-ip.com server. YOu create your own web adresss such as mySagebox.no-ip.com and with no-ip monitoring the IP address, you can then put mySagebox.no-ip.com into Placeshifter and it will connect fine. I use a dynamic DNS service instead of LocatorID so that I can RDP into my home computer as well as placeshift into Sage.


edit: To use placeshifter via the internet, you will need to create a placeshifter user and password. It can be created in Detailed Setup>Server>Manage Placeshifter Users

thanks, I am going to have to play with this next.

[mcaron1234]

Originally Posted by ke6guj

Or, you use a dynamic DNS service such as no-ip.com to keep track of your IP address. YOu have a program running on your computer and it monitors your IP address and registers changes to the no-ip.com server. YOu create your own web adresss such as mySagebox.no-ip.com and with no-ip monitoring the IP address, you can then put mySagebox.no-ip.com into Placeshifter and it will connect fine. I use a dynamic DNS service instead of LocatorID so that I can RDP into my home computer as well as placeshift into Sage.

Just thought I chime in here with this link to a tutorial on setting up a dynamic DNS in conjunction with your router - this way you don't have to run a program on your computer.
http://lifehacker.com/software/web-p...ver-124804.php

[Khristopher]

Originally Posted by mistergq

thanks, I am going to have to play with this next.

It's an amazing feature.....one that BTV hopes to have sometime in 2008!
According to Rakesh's most recent post on the BTV forums, IMO, BTV is headed for disaster. The feature people clamoring for (Integration) is being ignored, and nothing really revolutionary is being considered. Essentially they're trying to play catch up, but they're doing it poorly.

Rakesh also admitted that Integration probably isn't going to happen anytime in 2008. That line alone just solidified my decision to move to Sage. Not only did I leave a sinking ship, I found the promised land!

To get back on topic, I use a Dynamic DNS service (ods.org) and my own domain which is how I connect to my Sage server while away from home. As was mentioned, make sure to setup a Placeshifter username/password from home first and then if you don't want to invest in a Dynamic DNS solution, the Placeshifter Locater ID is a perfect solution.