SageTV 7 beta starts on Thursday May 20, 2010!

[Lucas]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

As much as I love sage, Even i don't see me buying into the beta period any time soon. I don't like paying for any BETA software, so my options are either put sage on my production server (at which case, I have 21 days to use it, and no way to downgrade back to my purchased v6), or just wait 'til the beta's over and buy the final.

You really shouldn't have to PAY to be a beta tester.

There's another way to look at it and this is how I see it.
I consider this V7 beta in its current state as very stable.
If SageTV released it as the final version tomorrow then I would upgrade to it without any thought just because I am invested in it as a solution that addresses my needs. If I didn't need the extras offered by V7 I would keep my money and stay with V6.

The fact that the beta will continue as public, presents an opportunity for everybody to make suggestions and provide feedback so that some additional personal needs are implemented within a short period of time.

See it as a way to get more for your money.

[dinki]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I don't like paying for any BETA software, so my options are either put sage on my production server (at which case, I have 21 days to use it, and no way to downgrade back to my purchased v6), or just wait 'til the beta's over and buy the final..

Can't you backup your v6, try out v7, uninstall and then do a reinstall of v6 using your backup? You won't be able to keep any v7 recordings but you definitely should be able to rollback to v6 if you don't like v7.

[LionRed]

We have to pay money to use the beta?

[Jackal24]

Originally Posted by LionRed

We have to pay money to use the beta?

Asked and answered

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by dinki

Can't you backup your v6, try out v7, uninstall and then do a reinstall of v6 using your backup? You won't be able to keep any v7 recordings but you definitely should be able to rollback to v6 if you don't like v7.

Yes, I could do that, but with 5-10 programs being recorded a day, that's a decent chance of a LOT of things moving into the imported videos folder. It's not that I don't mind paying $40 for Sage7, it's just that if a company is not sure enough about the product that they are putting a 'BETA' tag on it (most often used as nothing but a long term disclaimer, so they don't have to worry about bugs - like gmail), then you shouldn't have to pay to test that software for them. It's not like they would lose any money by having the beta reset the trial on each new version, eventually, there won't be any new beta versions to use, and people will have to purchase an upgrade license at the latest 21 days after official release. As it stands now, since I don't believe in paying for a beta, I also don't feel like gambling that the release will be within 21 days either. A Sage outage in the house on the June 4th, when the trial on the beta expires, would not go over well with the wifey.

[jreichen]

Originally Posted by can3gxw

ALSO - what about the other two MANDATORY (LOL) plugins that I use religiously - Sage WebUI and BMT? Will these be supported in Sage 7?

They're both in the repository already... ready and waiting for the beta to be released

[sic0048]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Yes, I could do that, but with 5-10 programs being recorded a day, that's a decent chance of a LOT of things moving into the imported videos folder. It's not that I don't mind paying $40 for Sage7, it's just that if a company is not sure enough about the product that they are putting a 'BETA' tag on it (most often used as nothing but a long term disclaimer, so they don't have to worry about bugs - like gmail), then you shouldn't have to pay to test that software for them. It's not like they would lose any money by having the beta reset the trial on each new version, eventually, there won't be any new beta versions to use, and people will have to purchase an upgrade license at the latest 21 days after official release. As it stands now, since I don't believe in paying for a beta, I also don't feel like gambling that the release will be within 21 days either. A Sage outage in the house on the June 4th, when the trial on the beta expires, would not go over well with the wifey.

I agree. Perhaps there are other software companies that require that you pay for the beta, but it is certainly the exception to the rule. Even MS allow anyone to download and use their beta software for OS, Office, and all their other titles without any "gotcha's" like Sage has.

A beta is suppose to be a time where people uncover bugs and help create a more stable software. I would think that any company/developer would want as many people as possible participating in the beta program. The best way to do that is to offer a fully operational system that has some expiration date in the future, but after the beta period is suppose to end. Only giving 21 days, with no real way to roll back to 6.x is not a great move on Sage's part IMHO. It will prevent users like Fuzzy from participating in the beta program who could be an extremely valuble resource to Sage during this beta experience.

Just my 2 cents.

[reggie14]

Presumably this will get covered when the v7 beta is posted, but what is the proper upgrade procedure? I have my current server set up how I like it. Firewire recording and channel changing is working, and I have QAM channels on both my HVR-1600 and HDHR mapped. I'd hate to have to redo that stuff, so I hope there's an upgrade process that lets me keep it how it is.

I also have customizations like SageMC, and the web interface installed. I don't mind losing those, although I wonder if I need to (or should) do something to uninstall/delete them and their data/configuration files.

I have two HD extenders that are configured to use SageMC. When I upgrade will I have problems on that side? Will I need to (or should I) delete those clients' properties files on my server?

[setherd]

So when will sageTV 7 integrate with google TV?
http://lifehacker.com/5543720/google...io-conference?

[mayamaniac]

For people who aren't willing to shell out $40 for a beta release, and who needs a stable system that can't be compromised, then don't install the beta. Stick with v6 until v7 is final.

Or, backup your SageTV folder so you can restore it if v7 isn't working out for you.

NOW WHERE ARE THE DOWNLOAD LINKS???

[bastafidli]

Originally Posted by LionRed

We have to pay money to use the beta?

No you dont :-). You can skip beta and then pay money when the full release comes out. You know, you will pay the money anyway so what does it matter when :-).

[LionRed]

Do they give people 21 days to try sagetv 7 before they have to pay 40 bucks?

I only became aware today that 7 was coming out. I just bought 6 3-4 months ago.

[Brent]

Most of this has been said above, but this is how I think of "Beta" for SageTV:

Private Beta means significant bugs and issues constantly being worked out as well as design changes and such. The most pain could happen here, but that's what those folks signed up for. This is a small, focused group of people.
Public Beta means the version is mostly in its more-finalized stages. The core featureset is there, all bugs and issues discovered with the private beta have been worked out. Time to open up to a larger group of people - and therefore a much larger group of hardware/software scenarios given this is an HTPC program and it interacts with a multitude of devices, codes, software programs and uses. So yes there are probably still bugs to be found, but it should be a stable version especially after the first few public betas.
More importantly, you can expect to see new features (and fixes) as new public betas come out on a regular basis. I find it helpful to be involved in the betas because it allows for me to let SageTV know when my setup is having issues and get those issues addressed more quickly. Not everyone is up to this task so of course waiting for it to come out of beta makes more sense for them.

Another key point here is this. You in no way are required to use a beta version. You have every right to wait for each version to come out of beta. Yes, you have to pay beyond the trial even during a beta but that's partly because the beta's can last quite a while.

I purchase right away because I use SageTV a lot - and want to support them. I did the same happily with BeyondTV when I used it.

One more thing... You'll be sorry if you wait in my opinion but that could just be me.

Originally Posted by LionRed

Do they give people 21 days to try sagetv 7 before they have to pay 40 bucks?

I only became aware today that 7 was coming out. I just bought 6 3-4 months ago.

yes, 21 days to try the new version 7... for you and everyone else the way I understand it.

[bialio]

If you bought V6 this year your upgrade will be free.

[dead_ferrets]

Does anyone know if V7 supports the AVerTV USB HD DVR?

[Brent]

Originally Posted by dead_ferrets

Does anyone know if V7 supports the AVerTV USB HD DVR?

I don't believe so - yet at least.

[mr_lore]

Less talk, more links!

edit 1, wow that was fast

edit 2 LOL @ server d/l speed meltdown

edit 3 wow there is so much win here it brings a tear to my eye, thanks sagetv!

[Brent]

Go get it

[Jackal24]

OK. Here is the dilemma:

Currently running ver6 on XP 32-bit. (Tried win7, but couldn't get smooth playback).
I'm planning on running ver7 on win7 64bit (on a separate partition for testing). I would like to minimize the amount of work needed to make this happen. I know that a lot of it is unavoidable. Should I install ver 6, copy my wiz.bin over, then upgrade to 7?
I currently have firewire channel changing on my hdpvr, and I also use a hdhr. Is there anyway to easily copy those settings over?

[setherd]

hell yeah!


oh wait i'm at work