You know what would be nice??

[Petrucci]

It would be nice if there was a zipped up distribution SageMC with all of the bells and whistles pre-installed. Not that I am tech illiterate but everytime I fool with a new addon for sagetv it seems to be a struggle and I always fear that a file is misplaced or an import has been done in the wrong order and I always find myself starting from scratch everytime something doesnt work like I think it should.

I think it would be fantastic if there was a zipped sagetv directory available to the public that included-

-SageMC
-Phoenix API
-BMT
-TVExplorer
-comskip
- and any other fancy gadget that I dont know about

Just a thought.

[MitchSchaft]

But you would still have to go in and manually add the STV's to sage. It's really simple and after you do it a couple times it's a no-brainer.

[Petrucci]

Originally Posted by MitchSchaft

But you would still have to go in and manually add the STV's to sage. It's really simple and after you do it a couple times it's a no-brainer.

Well thats my gripe. I wish that I didnt have to manually add STVs. I think it would be nice and alot more convenient for new users to have a SageMC distribution that included all of the essential addins that SageMC users use.

[MitchSchaft]

I wish I had a million dollars!

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by Petrucci

Well thats my gripe. I wish that I didnt have to manually add STVs. I think it would be nice and alot more convenient for new users to have a SageMC distribution that included all of the essential addins that SageMC users use.

it is not that easy as there are properties files etc etc associated changed with those as well and there no ones prop files are the same (ie tuners and such)

[bluenote]

Unfortunately, it seems to me that the current level of customization is even higher than it has been in the past. The base functionality is getting too far behind plugin development features if you ask me. First time Ive been dissatisfied with sage in years. All plugin and no base functions anymore. Which is a huge kudos to plugin devs of course.

[crusader]

You know what -- to newcomers (like me) it would be even more if there was some kind of document that describes basic principles and concepts (for Sage and plugins), like:
- recording -- yes, it took me a lot of reading to understand wexactly what "recording" is in Sage
- transcoding
- envisioned lifecycle of a recording (capture, storage, transcoding, archiving, etc, etc)
- channel lineup
- what 'Save' button does in SageMC?
- etc, etc, etc

All these basic simple things I have to dig out from various places in the forum -- terrible waste of time. And I might even miss something until I actuallly stumble upon it in somebody else's message.

SageTV documentation was little help with all these -- it went straight on to juggling with terms as if every reader already knows them.

[bluenote]

I agree with you. Way back when, I wished really really hard, for some kind of big lifecycle diagram, showing not only how things may work, but the various types of equipment and methods.

(For example) You can have cable-tv directly into the tuner, or you can have your STB into your tuner card possibly with the help of a USB Uirt, ecetera etcetera.

I think sage would actually sell more copies if new people could easily see what its capable of and what path(s) they need to go down and what paths they will *plan* to go down. For example -- extenders is something sage does really well in comparison to most competition.

[Fuzzy]

Personally, this is why I wish more plugin development was done to the Default STV. The import manager alone is worth it. When an STV update is released, it is a simple matter to automatically update, and reimport plugins.

I wonder what your 'core list' of features that should be required would be? SO far, I don't think I've ever seen two sage installs that had the same list of imports.

[bluenote]

My complaints mainly revolve around basic usability and metadata.

Depending on the EPG to tell me if my show is on next week or if its cancelled is clunky and silly (because the EPG can be wrong, and maybe the show is taking 2 weeks off, taking it over the EPG limit for exampe).

I want tv.com scheduling support, and series-episode aware sorting, intelligent folder/grouping handling, and just more metadata in general in regards to the show, the schedule, the actors, the movie, etcetera. Fanart kind of logically goes along with metadata probably, but otherwise I think its ok for that to be an addon.

For goodness sake, I dont think the main STV even will allow you to display a tv show in episode order unless you enable the "super secret addons".

Addons are supposed to be for customizations, and for pushing the envelope, and the basic product is supposed to handle more of the 80% features that everyone-or most- use. Maybe I'm making the mistake of thinking that my needs are everyone's needs, but, I dunno. Isn't it becoming a basic expectation that you would want to take advantage of all the extra information out there on the internet that goes around your media?

What really opened my eyes is that I decided to try out mediaportal, which is free. And while it falls down against sage in many areas, (extender support, DVR functionality as far as I know) user interface and metadata it absolutely kills on. (And, my impression is, they've had all these bells and whistles for years).