SageTV on Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta

[SkierHiker]

I'm thinking of installing SageTV on Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta (ie. Windows 7 Server) and giving it a go. Am I nuts? What I actually want to do is to run this box as a standalone SageMC. I'm buying a new video card so it should be compatable. Its just whether SageTV will work as a media center on 2008 R2. I have installed the OS and it is real sweet. A far cry from Win2K3. Has anybody tried this and can offer any advice. It this can't work, then I'm going to try Windows 7.

Thanks - Mark.

[Olias]

Originally Posted by SkierHiker

I'm thinking of installing SageTV on Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta (ie. Windows 7 Server) and giving it a go. Am I nuts?
Thanks - Mark.

Running advanced software that interacts with all major subsystems on a beta operating system? Of course you're nuts!

That being said, I'd recommend that you go for it! As long as you can find the proper drivers for your video card, you have a good chance of making this work. Since you're interested in beta software, you are probably a tinkerer and this is an excellent opportunity to tinker. Just remember that you will probably have to reinstall everything once the RTM version is released.

[SkierHiker]

Yes, I like to tinker and know I'll have to reinstall everything when the RTM is released. That's part of the fun .

With that said, should I try SageMC or SageTV for Home Server? This will be a dedicated box to one regular TV with S-Video only. I have a license for SageMC but never have used the Home Server version.

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by SkierHiker

Yes, I like to tinker and know I'll have to reinstall everything when the RTM is released. That's part of the fun .

With that said, should I try SageMC or SageTV for Home Server? This will be a dedicated box to one regular TV with S-Video only. I have a license for SageMC but never have used the Home Server version.

Sage for Home Server only runs on Windows Home Server. (not Server 2008). And if you like to tinker then you'll really love the install. Server 2008 doesn't actually have any multimedia features enabled out of the box. You'll have to enable WMP11, Aero and install video decoders. You will also be challenged for application or drivers that don't see the OS as a "supported OS for installation". Some general apps or drivers won't install on a server OS. You may be able to do some regedit hacks or other workarounds. Same type of issue with tuner cards. I would search the forum. There are a couple people using Windows server 2008 with Sage but from what I read it wasn't easy.

Gerry

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by SkierHiker

I have a license for SageMC...

Just to avoid future confusion: you have a license for SageTV Media Center, known around here as SageTV or just Sage. SageMC is the (poorly chosen) name of a third-party add-on UI for SageTV. When you see people talking about SageMC, it's that third-party skin they're talking about, not the Media Center software itself.

See this FAQ for more on terminology.

[Rico66]

Why do you want to use Server anyhow, if you intend to use it as a single system/client? What feature of Server do you need that Windows 7 doesn't have?

[SkierHiker]

I just thought it would be cool to try 2008 R2. It's such a beauty. Plus I'm curious. And being server software on a server I thought it would be much more stable. But if it turns out to be a lot of work and frustration, I will switch to Windows 7 in a heartbeat. Since I'm starting from scratch, I thought I would at least give it a go. I'm starting tonight and will work on it tomorrow. Wish me luck ...

[SkierHiker]

Update - I was able to get a W2K8 working with my PVR-350 and now have a fully operational system at home (ok, there's a few things left to work out). It was fairly disrupting to the family so I'm going to let the home atmosphere stablize a little bit before jumping into another round with W2K8 R2.

[Nadim]

Just to the curious, SageTV also works in 2003 R2 64bit.

From my two encoders, I had trouble with the PVR500 and the 4gb bug. It is a known Huappage bug that they will not fix. So even though the driver is supposedly certified to run on 64bit if you have more than 4gb of ram (my main reason for using a 64bit OS) the PVR500 is unstable.

Temp fix, force the ram to 4095 using the /MAXMEM=4095 boot setting. This wil leave you with only 3Gb usable memory

Permanent fix, HVR2250, (I hope, I will post back when I get it and test my 8gb of ram)

Why 2003, because Vista 64bit will not accept unsigned 64bit drivers, and half of the drivers in my system are unsigned. (There is a way, by pressing f8 at every boot up (Not Feasible for unattended reboot), or there used to be a registry hack, which was removed in SP1 o SP2, there also seems to be a program that hacks the signature but haven't tried it. Plus Vista is a crapolaware that just consumes double the machine resources without any improvement... well okey nice shiny transparent windows but other than that... nada) Why 64bit, I have 8gb of Ram and you need a 64bit OS to access more than 3gb of ram. Why not XP 64, out of development meaning no more Service Packs to fix the usual M$ security problems. Windows 7, is still in beta so not stable for me.

I am hoping windows 7 gives a better solution to my problem in the future, but for now 2003 64bit is the ticket.

[ke6guj]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

Just to avoid future confusion: you have a license for SageTV Media Center, known around here as SageTV or just Sage. SageMC is the (poorly chosen) name of a third-party add-on UI for SageTV. .

Yes, it is unfortunate that the names are similar, but IIRC, the SageMC UI came about before SageTV added the "Media Center" moniker to the name.