Vista MC to SageTV 6 Migration Doc. Feedback please?

[ghostlobster]

OK, with the rumored lack of any real functionality being added in the Vista TV Pack there seem to be quite a few Green Buttoners on here..all of us moving from VMC to Sage! Well, a few of us have put our heads together and tossed together a quick survival guide to help out those making the jump for the first time.

Any feedback/updates/corrections/nasty comments/nice comments/pizza/beer/all-expense-paid-trips-to-Vegas/etc... are very appreciated.

Ghostlobster

**Edited on 8/11/08. Added babgvant's SageTray, DTb, and MigrateMCtoSage apps. Great work on those, Babgvant!

**Edited on 8/25/08. Added .pdf file with embedded hyperlinks

[gibsonpa]

Wow, that is a really great document!

Wish I had something like that when I jumped from VMC last year. Some of the veterans around here can probably give you some feedback.

I can tell you that I used VMC last year and the WAF was pretty good. However, it was just so limiting that I started looking for alternatives. I ran across Sage and and some reviews of the HD100 extenders (Brents Tonic website) and gave it a try.

That was 6 months ago, and now I have Sage plus 4 extenders and the WAF is through the roof! SageMC is what really helped. I have Sage running as a service with UAC disabled on Vista x64. I have two tuners that are used for 4 sources (2 OTA and 2 Dish). Sage is constantly recording shows with Comskip running to remove commercials. It has been flawless, never missing a show or crashing. Plus, it is installed on our main PC, so the kids are using the PC during the day, etc...and you don't even know it is recording.

Plus the HD100 extenders work great. They are quick to come on from standby (initial boot is a little slower). They have played everything I have thrown at them.

I was nervous initially, but moving to Sage was the best thing I could have ever done. I could never go back to VMC after living with Sage for the last 6 months. I am still finding cool things that it does.

[ghostlobster]

Originally Posted by gibsonpa

I was nervous initially, but moving to Sage was the best thing I could have ever done. I could never go back to VMC after living with Sage for the last 6 months. I am still finding cool things that it does.

Wait 'till Andy finishes making DVRMSToolbox Sage aware!

[wayner]

The other thing that would be great is if we could have an automated tool to bring over dvr-ms recordings, including metadata. And for bonus points converting to a more efficient codec than MPEG-2, such as H.264, would also be nice!

[3rob3]

Great job! I asked you this before, but didn't understand your answer. Is the only reason you are using LM remote because you need IR blasters? The reason I ask is because my MCE remote works perfectly with SageTV with no customizing. This is on a client (XP Pro), with no IR blasting however.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by 3rob3

Great job! I asked you this before, but didn't understand your answer. Is the only reason you are using LM remote because you need IR blasters? The reason I ask is because my MCE remote works perfectly with SageTV with no customizing. This is on a client (XP Pro), with no IR blasting however.

The MCE and Vista remote controls work in SageTV natively. Except for the Green-Button which can be reset to launch SageTV with Babgvant's app here

My understanding on reasons to use SM remote are:
1. Need to use IR blasters
2. Can control other apps with the remote in addition to SageTV
3. Can remap any of the keys easier???

If you don't need any of those things then you could use SageTV with those remotes without needing any other program I think.

[ghostlobster]

Originally Posted by Brent

The MCE and Vista remote controls work in SageTV natively. Except for the Green-Button which can be reset to launch SageTV with Babgvant's app here

My understanding on reasons to use SM remote are:
1. Need to use IR blasters
2. Can control other apps with the remote in addition to SageTV
3. Can remap any of the keys easier???

If you don't need any of those things then you could use SageTV with those remotes without needing any other program I think.

With LMRemote, you can remap the MC specific keys very easily...a very important component of the WAF. When Mrs. Lobster hits the Live TV button on our Harmony, she wants it to launch Live TV, same thing with the guide button, the Home button, etc. Yeah, I suppose I could have used the Harmony software to get into some keymapping, etc, but the LM Remote interface is so easy to work with. You just click on a virtual button in the interface, and assign a keystroke/action there.

I've got to get my hands on Andy's app and play with that. if it's anything like his other stuff, it'll definitely be a keeper in my setup. I'll update the guide with that after messing with it, unless of course someone else wants to write it up.

[GollyJer]

Originally Posted by ghostlobster

Wait 'till Andy finishes making DVRMSToolbox Sage aware!

Not sure this is needed as Sage doesn't use the locked down DVR-MS container format.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by GollyJer

Not sure this is needed as Sage doesn't use the locked down DVR-MS container format.

It also does commercial detection among other things. Makes that transition for VMC/MCE users that much easier since they're already using it on their pre-SageTV setups

[IanJohnson]

The lack of an automated DVR-MS conversion utility is the main thing keeping me away from Sage. For a swtich to have any WAF, our existing collection of 400+ recordings would need to appear in Sage's recorded TV with episode names, just like it does in MCE. Editing metadata on those one by one just isn't going to happen.

[ghostlobster]

Originally Posted by IanJohnson

The lack of an automated DVR-MS conversion utility is the main thing keeping me away from Sage. For a swtich to have any WAF, our existing collection of 400+ recordings would need to appear in Sage's recorded TV with episode names, just like it does in MCE. Editing metadata on those one by one just isn't going to happen.

Hey guys...gold mine here:

Babgvant has written a nice little app that migrates your DVR-MS files to Sage.
With Andy on board with Sage, things just got a whole lot cooler!

[babgvant]

You can use group policy to disable MC - http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archi...8/7294179.aspx

[babgvant]

I had to stop the SageTV service manually to get the webserver install's modifications to sage.properties to take.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by babgvant

You can use group policy to disable MC - http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archi...8/7294179.aspx

But I believe the GP editor is only included on Vista Ultimate. Am I correct to assume that there is no reason why I can't disable it per Ghostlobster's instructions - Stop a couple of services and delete a reg key?

[wayner]

Andy does your MigrateMCto Sage tool work with files from both XP MCE and Vista MC?

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by wayner

But I believe the GP editor is only included on Vista Ultimate. Am I correct to assume that there is no reason why I can't disable it per Ghostlobster's instructions - Stop a couple of services and delete a reg key?

The editor maybe Ultimate only, but you can modify the reg keys manually. I had problems with ehtray coming back everytime I rebooted until I did this.

[babgvant]

Originally Posted by wayner

Andy does your MigrateMCto Sage tool work with files from both XP MCE and Vista MC?

It should. I don't have any XP files to test though. Try one, if it doesn't work let me know and I can take a look.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by babgvant

It should. I don't have any XP files to test though. Try one, if it doesn't work let me know and I can take a look.

Will do - I am just getting Sage configured right now.

[onlydarksets]

Great writeup, Lobster! Thanks!

Originally Posted by babgvant

The editor maybe Ultimate only, but you can modify the reg keys manually. I had problems with ehtray coming back everytime I rebooted until I did this.

ehtray is staying down for me with just deleting the registry key. Not sure why it wasn't for you, but I guess as long as it's dead now, whatever works, right?

[ghostlobster]

Originally Posted by onlydarksets

Great writeup, Lobster! Thanks!


ehtray is staying down for me with just deleting the registry key. Not sure why it wasn't for you, but I guess as long as it's dead now, whatever works, right?

Actually, I had a problem with one of my machines...I'm not certain what the issue was, but it seemed that when I changed the reg using a remote desktop login, it would not "take hold." When I sat at the machine and did it there, everything stayed just fine.