Moving from WinXP to Win7 - decoder changes?

[sflamm]

Moving a SageTV 6.2.x client running on Windows XP to Windows 7.

I am currently using a combination of CoreAVC (for H264) and WVC1DMO (for VC-1) decoders. And of course AC3Filter for Audio.

When I move to Windows 7 what will I need to in terms of decoders? What is built-in and what do I need to install?

Thanks in advance.

[Skirge01]

I wrote a guide detailing my own experience moving SageTV V6 from XP to Windows 7. Natively, Windows 7 will probably handle most of what you throw at it.

[sflamm]

Thanks for the pointer.

I have a couple questions:

1. According to the doc:

Follow the link and download the 10th update, then go here and download the two files which have been updated since the 10th update.

http://forums.freytechnologies.com/f...774#post390774

The DShowPlayer.dll link does not work.... is there another location to get it?

2. According to the Anti-pack tutorial here:

http://www.missingremote.com/index.p...797&Itemid=166

It looks like the MPC-Video Decoder can handle VC-1.

Is that correct? Does this work with VC-1?

3. The link to the 1.58 version of the phoenix jar API is also broken:

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/down...do=file&id=312

Is there another place to get that? (I also use SageMC)

[Fuzzy]

Honestly, I wouldn't waste time trying to get those old 'hacks' of the beta filters working, and just use SageTV7 (which includes these fixes, and a LOT more). At this point, I can't think of a single reason to stay at 6.6.

[sflamm]

My 6.6.x setup (Win2003R2 server, Windows XP clients, HD300 extender) runs perfectly for all HD recording (HD-PVR, HDHR) and HD playback currently (AVC, VC-1).

My current motivation is I need to upgrade a machine that is a SageTV client to Win7 x64 (hence the need to change the SageTV client install).

I'm willing to go to SageTV 7 if it meets my needs. Otherwise it is easier to just change the one client.

My understanding that SageTV 7 still has issues. Most important to me:

1. BD with VC-1 playback is still broken
2. Custom SageMC menus will all be lost
3. Firewire tuning of Cable boxes still has no x64 support

Are these still issues?

Thoughts?

[Skirge01]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Honestly, I wouldn't waste time trying to get those old 'hacks' of the beta filters working, and just use SageTV7 (which includes these fixes, and a LOT more). At this point, I can't think of a single reason to stay at 6.6.

That response crossed my mind, too. But, I thought I might be able to help him out.

I can get the .dll for you, but the VC-1 might take a little more work. You'd probably be better off downloading the latest MPC-HC version. The latest Phoenix API should be in the downloads section here.

I think Fuzzy has the right idea, though. At this point, if you're moving to a new OS and need to reinstall anyway, I'd seriously move to V7. It's extremely stable at this point and should be off of beta (RC, actually) very, very soon.

[sflamm]

Are the open items 1-3 above addressed in SageTV 7 yet?
Let me know how you are handling these items. I am planning to move to SageTV 7 at some point in the near future...

(just need to manage the transition for the family )

I would appreciate it if you could forward me the dll and the link (forgotten in last message) so I could at least have the option of trying the SageTV 6 on Win7 x64 route.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by sflamm

My 6.6.x setup (Win2003R2 server, Windows XP clients, HD300 extender) runs perfectly for all HD recording (HD-PVR, HDHR) and HD playback currently (AVC, VC-1).

My current motivation is I need to upgrade a machine that is a SageTV client to Win7 x64 (hence the need to change the SageTV client install).

I'm willing to go to SageTV 7 if it meets my needs. Otherwise it is easier to just change the one client.

My understanding that SageTV 7 still has issues. Most important to me:

1. BD with VC-1 playback is still broken

VC-1 Playback seems to work fine with the WMV DMO for me (as supplied with windows 7). What doesn't work are any of the hardware acellerated 3rd party VC-1 codecs out there. As my system can play back the VC-1 with software rendering just fine, I don't have a problem with this.

Originally Posted by sflamm

2. Custom SageMC menus will all be lost

If it's that important, you can still use SageMC, or even the SageTV3 STV, which could still use the dynamic menus.

Originally Posted by sflamm

3. Firewire tuning of Cable boxes still has no x64 support

They don't work on 6.6.2 on a 64 bit OS either, so I fail to see that as a reason to avoid SageTV7. regardless, You're talking about changing the Os on your client, which wouldn't affect the tuning from your still XP based server anyways.

[sflamm]

It is a good point that I can keep the SageTV server on Windows 2003R2 and still move the server to SageTV 7.

I was hoping to upgrade my server to Windows 2008R2 at the same time which is why I am looking for the 64-bit FireWire tuning support. FireWire tuning is ultra stable/reliable and I would want to keep that - not move to USB-UIRT unless necessary (I do own one)

With that said we are talking about a huge upgrade - it would be better if the SageTV 7 clients could at least work with the SageTV 6 server or vice-versa to mitigate the risk. Is there anything that can be done on that front?

The customizations I have done to SageMC that are most important to me are:

1. Custom Video Library links i.e. under "MyVideos"->"HomeVideos"
2. Launching external Bluray player for disks played in local BD drive i.e. "Play Dvd->Blu-Ray"

I also like the WMC look n feel / layout.

Is there a way to do 1 & 2?
My understanding is that even loading SageMC in SageTV will not allow you to customize the Menus etc like the custom 'sagemc.xml' I use today.
Is that correct?

As for BD, I currently use WMV DMO in my graph and it is fast enough to play seamlessly on my machines. So as long as that works out of box I should be fine. I had to install on XP but should be native to Win7 right?
I use CoreAVC for H264. Will that still work seamlessly?

[sflamm]

Attached sample screens of customization.

[Rico66]

Arcsoft is your best bet for VC1 (with or without DXVA). WMO might work or it might not. It doesn't work for me as it stutters even though the CPU load barely reaches 40%. I suspect this is related to more than just the processor, since I don't really have a low end machine.

[sflamm]

From what I've read, the TMT release (v2) that came with the HDPVR seems to be the best choice... is that correct?

If I take the plunge and upgrade to SageTV 7, does it support TMT VC-1? Or only the MS VC-1 builtin?

[Rico66]

Originally Posted by sflamm

From what I've read, the TMT release (v2) that came with the HDPVR seems to be the best choice... is that correct?

If I take the plunge and upgrade to SageTV 7, does it support TMT VC-1? Or only the MS VC-1 builtin?

Yes, that's correct. The TMT version that came with the the original HD PVR cd seems to be the best for this purpose. Newer ones have the problem that you can't enable DXVA.
For Sage 7 the WMO decoder is the default, but you can configure using the Arcsoft video decoder for VC1 in sage.properties/sageclient.properties.

[sflamm]

Do you know what name to use for the the Arcsoft video decoder for VC1 in sage.properties/sageclient.properties?

I assume it has to be entered manually based on your comments... it doesnt show up in the "Detailed Settings->Multimedia" drop-down menus?

[Rico66]

Change this entry:
videoframe/vc1_video_decoder_filter=ArcSoft Video Decoder