Going Hi Def - Need Suggestions

[nwboater]

I've been using Sage for quite awhile with older SD TVs. We are now getting a 50" 1080p Plasma, which we are quite excited about. Just not sure what hardware arrangement will be best for us.

Our existing system is as follows:

LIVING ROOM
Sage HD100 Extender ethernet connected to Gigabit network. to 5 year old Westinghouse 26" TV

REC ROOM

Server
WHS server on 24/7. AMD Athlon II x2 240 CPU (dual core), 2 Megs RAM. Shaw SD Cable box connected to Hauppauge 350 card in server. SageTV ver 6. USB-UIRT for channel changing. Server is connected to Gigabit Ethernet network.. MyMovies for movies metadata.

HTPC
Dell GX 280 3.0 Ghz P4 with Hyperthreading, XP SP3. Connected to Gigabit network. High quality 5.1 sound card to 'Audiophile' type audio system. SageTV Client Software used for Live TV watching and TV recording. JRiver MC15 used for Audio playback through 5.1 system and watching movies and recorded TV.

HD200 Extender on network for WAF.

TV
Old Sony 32" CRT TV (It will no longer be used.)

NEW
50" 1080p HDTV in Rec Room to replace Sony 32 CRT.
Shaw HD Cable box - coming on Wednesday 9/29.
Hauppauge HDPVR - should I get one???
Another HD Tuner - Should I get one???

We would like to view HD in the Rec Room only. Would like to continue recording to the server, but with some now being HD. Would also like to continue using the Sage/JRMC scheme outlined under Rec Room above. The living room will continue as is.

My big question is about watching Live HD TV. If I understand correctly the Hauppauge HDPVR doesn't handle live TV well. If not should we watch Live TV directly from the Cable Box to the TV via HDMI? And then use the HDPVR only for recording with it connected to the server?

For WAF it would be better to always watch Live TV through Sage, but do I then need another tuner card in the server? If so, what would be recommended? We have no OTA in our little town.

Also do you think our HTPC (spec'd above) can handle 1080P? I will later add a Blue Ray drive to it. And any issues with our server hardware?

Sorry the post got so long. Would sure appreciate any guidance you can give.

Thanks,
Rod