Current WHS, MCE user...looking for new solution...Is SageTV for me?

[blackcows]

I have had a WHS since soon after they came out and really love it. I am a type A person and have gone digital with most of my life, all of my papers (bills, manuals, anything else important) are scanned to PDF and saved on my WHS. My music is on my WHS and accessed by a Sonos music system. My photos are on my WHS. I recently converted all of my DV tapes to digital and they are stored on the WHS, the next step is my DVDs. Currently I have a Sony 400 disc DVD player which is controlled by My Movies on a Windows Media Center PC, this is really over kill for us as the HTPC is really used for nothing else besides controlling the DVD Jukebox. My research has lead me to SageTV and the SageTV extenders as a possible solution so I am requesting some input from the users as to whether or not this would be a good solution for me.

What I would like to do is this, first of all get away from the HTPC and Sony DVD jukebox. In reality of the almost 400 discs in the jukebox my kids only watch 20 to 30 on a regular basis, those I would rip to a server. The others would be put into a binder to be watched the old fashion way…put them manually into a PS3.

My current want list would be this:

1. A way to index all of my video, those that are ripped to the server and those that are not. I would prefer to do this on the WHS. Doing some reading on the Sage forum it looks like My Movies could work for this as it will index movie for Sage.

2. A simple set top box that could play my dvd rips, home video, and pictures with a cool interface. Internet access would be a plus. Music and TV aren't a need as Sonos works great for music and we are happy with our Cox DVR.

3. Using this box I would like to be able to see a list of all of my DVDs and upon selecting play it would either play or let me know it was an offline title, from there I could put it in and play (I use my PS3 for this).

4. I would like something simple, with a high WAF and easy to use for the kids. I don't mind tinkering a little bit but I don't need another hobby.


Here are the questions I have.

1. Using the SageTV on the WHS with Extenders solution is there an ability to change the UI? In other words can I make changes to SageTV on the WHS that will be reflected on the Extenders or if I have 3 extenders will they each be standalone and require individual tweaking for any changes?

2. Will SageTV allow me to index offline DVD titles? Could I then filter by online...offline..etc?

3. My need would basically be viewing digital home video, digital pictures, and DVDs....is SageTV with extenders for me?

Mike

[gplasky]

Here are the questions I have.

1. Using the SageTV on the WHS with Extenders solution is there an ability to change the UI? In other words can I make changes to SageTV on the WHS that will be reflected on the Extenders or if I have 3 extenders will they each be standalone and require individual tweaking for any changes?

2. Will SageTV allow me to index offline DVD titles? Could I then filter by online...offline..etc?

3. My need would basically be viewing digital home video, digital pictures, and DVDs....is SageTV with extenders for me?

1. Yes you can change the UI. The default Sage interface supports themes which can change the colors, graphics and other areas of the Default STV. There is also a complete replacement for the default STV which is called SageMC STV. This replaces and changes some of the functionallity so that is is similar to Windows Media Center in some looks and operations. Additional plugins can add movie showtimes and trailers, fanart, commercial skipping, etc. These changes to the UI and plugins can be installed on the server and can be used on extenders and PC clients for the most part.

2. The SageMC STV has an option to configure showing both online and offline DVDs. I don't believe the Default STV does.

3. For your basic needs of viewing digital home video, digital pictues and DVD SageTV with extenders would fit the bill.




Gerry

[Opus4]

I've removed some posts from a user who stated in one post that he was trying to be disruptive on the forum, along with the replies to those posts.

The forum rules allow discussions that include both positive and negative comments about a subject, including talking about SageTV itself, provided that the comments remain civil (rule #1), but the rules do not allow someone to try to disrupt others' use of the forum.

- Andy

[blackcows]

Thanks for the reply. I have been reading the forum this morning and think I will give it a try.

Is the SageMC install a fairly simple procedure? My guess is that I can install the client on my desktop so I can do most of the setup from here?


Mike

[gplasky]

Originally Posted by blackcows

Thanks for the reply. I have been reading the forum this morning and think I will give it a try.

Is the SageMC install a fairly simple procedure? My guess is that I can install the client on my desktop so I can do most of the setup from here?


Mike

Yes. Follow the instructions and just unzip to the appropriate directory. Make sure to grab the most recent pre-release update of the SageMC STV from here. And yes-just install the PC client and install it there to test. Get use to the process before you RDP to your WHS and perform the same install on your server. Once it is installed on the server use the same process on your extender to pick the SageMC STV>

Gerry

[toricred]

Also make sure that SageTV and the service are not running when you extract the zip.