Please fix the primary/secondary screen bug

[timg11]

I have previously reported the annoying bug that is seen when you have a computer with it's own monitor as primary and the HDTV used for SageTV as secondary. The monitor needs be primary, since often the HDTV is not turned on but the computer is still being used on its LCD. (If the HDTV is primary, new windows will appear "off screen" and be invisible to the LCD user)

The bug is that SageTV somehow gets "fixated" on the resolution of the screen it starts on, and will not use the full screen resolution of the current screen. SageTV starts on the primary monitor. If I drag it to the HDTV and maximize it, it will only use the area of the screen corresponding to the resolution of the LCD monitor. It is necessary to put it into standby mode while on the HDTV monitor, and bring it out of standby before maximizing it.

These are the steps necessary to watch SageTV on my HDTV:

1) Activate SageTV - Power button on SageTV (Hauppauge) remote
2) Drag SageTV UI to HDTV screen - using computer mouse/keyboard
3) SageTV Standby - Power button on SageTV (Hauppauge) remote
4) Activate SageTV - Power button on SageTV (Hauppauge) remote
5) Maximize SageTV - custom button on SageTV (Hauppauge) remote

This wouldn't be so bad if I could do it all from the SageTV remote, but I don't know of any way to assign a SageTV remote command to the function "move SageTV window to other monitor".

I propose either a) fixing the bug, or even better b) provide SageTV a way to specify an "affinity" for a specific monitor. IE, when coming out of standby, look at the available screens, and if any are on the "affinity" list, restore onto that screen.

Can this be addressed in the current beta cycle?
Thanks!

[reggie14]

Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure, but I think I've noticed this problem. But, in my case, I haven't been able to reproduce the bug consistently. I have a 1280x1024 5:4 monitor and a 1680x1050 16:10 monitor. Sometimes I've noticed I can't make the Sage window too big on the 16:10 monitor without cutting off the right side of the picture. It happens in full-screen mode and also when the Sage window is just really big on the 16:10 monitor. To resolve this problem it seems like I have to shut down Sage completely and open it back up again- putting the application to sleep and waking it up again doesn't work.

Maybe you documented how to reproduce the bug. Maybe it only happens when I close Sage on the 5:4 monitor, open it back up again (so it opens on the 5:4 monitor), and then try to play video back on the 16:10 screen in a large window. I can give that a try later on when I go home.

[can3gxw]

I had this same question, and couldn't get it figured out. I have one primary HTPC, but I have a secondary (placeshifter client) in the basement exercise room, connected to a CRT as the "secondary" (the primary is the LCD monitor).

What WINDOWS will do is remember the last position of an app that is NOT full screen... strange, but bear with me...

• Open SAGE, and move it over to your secondary monitor - DO NOT MAXIMIZE IT YET!
• Close Sage (NOT STANDBY YET)
• Open Sage again, and it should appear on your second monitor
• Now you can use your remote, etc to MAXIMIZE it and you're off to the races.

When you're done, just close Sage and life goes on. Again, DON'T try to maximize it the first time. Let Windows remember where that app's window was located.

This works for me, and the WAF is high when she's using the treadmill!

[reggie14]

After trying things out at home, I can now easily reproduce the bug and workaround the issue without having to shut down SageTV completely. All I have to do is move the Sage window onto my higher-res monitor and but it to sleep there. When it opens it will start on the higher-res monitor and playback will work without cutting off the right side.

Has Sage confirmed the bug? Is there any reason for me to submit a bug report?

[timg11]

I posted a workaround in the SageTV Software section.