SageMC 7 or 6?

[Skybolt]

I recently upgraded to version 7 (today) after reading and re-reading, I just decided to back up my sageTV folder as is and install 7 right over it and installed SageMC (I was using SageMC with fanart in ver 6). I then went to advanced setup and loaded sagems_16x9.xml and I was right back to everything I had in version 6.

I checked settings and my SageMC stv ver is 7.0.10 but my sagemc.jar is 6.3.8???

Did I just load version 6, sageMC? and if so how the heck do I load verion 7's SageMC?

Thanks
-Skybolt

[wrems]

If there was ever a time to consider jumping ship on SageMC it's now... v7 has a lot more to offer than Sagemc. Additionally, with all the plugins available and themes like Diamond you can't go wrong. SageMC is definitely getting long in the tooth...

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by wrems

If there was ever a time to consider jumping ship on SageMC it's now... v7 has a lot more to offer than Sagemc. Additionally, with all the plugins available and themes like Diamond you can't go wrong. SageMC is definitely getting long in the tooth...

Maybe long in the tooth, but I really like the look. The new interface seems empty to me. I really only loaded 7 for the back end fixes and updates.

Still curious about version 7 SageMC though.

-Skybolt

[mkanet]

You're not alone. I personally prefer the SageMC interface over SageTV 7's STV (for both aesthetics and less "friction" in accessing commonly used features). However, my wife prefers the sageTV 7 interface because its simpler for her with just watching TV and recordings. She also thinks that the sageTV 7 interface looks better to her taste.

But, from what I understand, you're asking the difference between sageMC (Version 6.3.9a standalone download) verses sageMC that can be downloaded via the plugin manager from SageTV 7. The differences are subtle. The primary differences are:

The STV that can be downloaded via SageTV 7's plugin manager has a significant bug in it that would probably be considered unacceptable if you have a video collection that you need to access. This STV on the other hand has SageTV 7 plugin manager support builtin; as opposed to accessing the plugin manager the way you currently do.

The STV that can be downloaded via standalone download is the last known bug free version that's been tested for a while by lots of people. This is the version I use. All it required was a small modification to the STV file which disabled the nag alert for sageTV version not being version 6.

-Michael

Originally Posted by Skybolt

Maybe long in the tooth, but I really like the look. The new interface seems empty to me. I really only loaded 7 for the back end fixes and updates.

Still curious about version 7 SageMC though.

-Skybolt

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by mkanet

...from what I understand, you're asking the difference between sageMC (Version 6.3.9a standalone download) verses sageMC that can be downloaded via the plugin manager from SageTV 7. The differences are subtle. ...-Michael

I guess I should reword my question, having ran verions 4,5 and 6 I upgraded to 7. After doing so my STV is version 7.0.10 but the sagemc.jar is 6.3.8. I also had to load sagemc from the SageTv3 dir.

So I am not sure what version I am really running, perhaps a hybrid?
BTW - what bug with Videos? - mine seem to work fine except for a pink line in the UI on the edges of folders.

Thanks,
-Skybolt

[OneOfMany]

In essence, there is no version7 SageMC available. What you are doing is simply running the SageMC version6 shell over the Sage7 backend. As mkanet said, there are a few bugs when using SageMC on ver7, and I think the pink line is one of them.

Grant

[Skybolt]

Thanks Guys, That's what it looked like. I guess I'll need to do what mkanet suggested.

Thanks again.
-Skybolt

[mkanet]

Skybolt, it's supposed to show sagemc.jar version 6.3.8. That never changed. Just the STV changed, which introduced bugs; since it was never really thoroughly tested. The bug I was referring to specifically happened when going into Genre View, then going into a specific genre to see movies. When you hit back at any point while in a genre, it will kick you out all the way to the main menu instead of taking you to the root of the Videos menu to select another possible Video. That's always been the intended behavior of SageMC; but something broke in the latest version. If you want the latest bug free version, check out this post:

How to fix SageMC 7.


Good luck, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Originally Posted by Skybolt

I guess I should reword my question, having ran verions 4,5 and 6 I upgraded to 7. After doing so my STV is version 7.0.10 but the sagemc.jar is 6.3.8. I also had to load sagemc from the SageTv3 dir.

So I am not sure what version I am really running, perhaps a hybrid?
BTW - what bug with Videos? - mine seem to work fine except for a pink line in the UI on the edges of folders.

Thanks,
-Skybolt

[Skybolt]

Thanks mkanet

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Skybolt

[sflamm]

Will SageMC 7 still run custom sagemc_menu.xml?

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by sflamm

Will SageMC 7 still run custom sagemc_menu.xml?

You should read mkanet post's, but yes. Basically there is no SageMC 7, only SageTv 7 back end. Everything else stays the same.

-Skybolt

[sflamm]

Thanks for the clarification. I did read through the posts...

Is the SageTV 7 backend sufficiently improved that it is worth upgrading from a working 6.6.x version?

What might be the advantages?

[mkanet]

It's completely worth it!

Such as no more weird pauses while watching a TV channel when a new program starts. Back to back TV shows on the same channel are now seamless.

..and Blu-ray format support. If you have anydvd-HD installed, you can pop in your bluray movie and start watching; even if its on a remote client/extender. Or, you can watch ripped bluray movies... even blu-ray ISOs are natively supported!

also, no more weird java .jar file version mismatches since the plugin manager keeps track of all that. So, maintaining/upgrading/installing/uninstalling something like backend fanart support from the BMT plugin is as simple as pressing a button.

There's better media file support.

I'm sure there's plenty more new features. But those are features I just cant part with. You can still play blu-ray format using a sageTV 7 backend and SageMC front end.

-MKA

Originally Posted by sflamm

Thanks for the clarification. I did read through the posts...

Is the SageTV 7 backend sufficiently improved that it is worth upgrading from a working 6.6.x version?

What might be the advantages?

[sflamm]

Not having it pause between file buffers / shows sounds good.

On the bluray front I already use ClownBD/AnyDVDHD to create m2ts files that are in my videos - so any one of my sagetv software clients or hardware clients can seemlessly watch from the video collection on my centralized SageTV server.

My software clients are WinXP with coreAVZc h264 codec and msft vc-1 codec installed so all types of BD play seamlessly.

The only advantage I see is I would gain BD menus and I could rip straight without ClownBD.

Is this really so much better? Are there features I would gain I am missing?

As for watching a BD by putting it in any player - isnt it true that you have to have that drive as a video import directory?
And doesnt that mean that you have to rescan the import directories?

I do something similar - i have a custom sagemc menu entry "play Bdvd" that seamlessly loads PDVD and returns seamlessly to SageTV.

The plugin manager sounds great too.
I know how difficult it is to maintain things like BMT ( i wrote the old instruction guide)

I want to go to SageTV 7 , but it will require me to update my server and all clients. Will they go straightforward as inplace updates?

On my server I have firewire channel changing and usb recording from hd-pvrs, hdhrs, custom sagemc menus etc.
Will these be functional after an inplace upgrade or will i have to reconfigure?
It is ultra stable right now...

Looking for feedback on how smooth I can expect this upgrade to be? (family loves and depends on system daily)

I assume that SageTV 7 software clients will keep the same codec configs etc on upgrade?

I appreciate any thoughts / insights.

[mkanet]

There's really no comparison if you're into bluray movies. The difference is with sageTV 7, you can just pop in a bluray movie disc and watch it (or watch the ripped version the disc). The whole point is it turns sageTV into a real bluray player thats streamable on any client on your LAN; supporting even DTS-MA and TrueHD audio downconversion to DTS/AC3, respectively (if needed). You can't do any of that with sageTV 6. The best you can hope for in version 6.x.x is manually ripping the disc every time and using clown_BD ....looking for the m2ts file that contains the full movie to playback in your videos folder. Plus, that method doesnt work on movies split up in dozens of m2ts files (as opposed to one big mt2ts file).

Bottom line, you can't have someone, such as a guest at your home, friend, etc. just pop in a bluray disc and start watching it using sageTV 6 without having a clunky way of starting an external player like TMT or PowerDVD to play the disc which completely changes interfaces.

Furthermore, there are still a bunch of other refinements such as full support for Hulu, Playon, etc under a next-gen Online Videos. The playon addon for sageTV 6 is very limited. Plus, you get the latest backend support with painless updates for fanart and sageTV webserver via plugin manager; as opposed to being stuck using old generation backend services; which are now unsupported. However, luckily even if the SageMC interface is unsupported, it still allows you to use the newer backend services from sageTV 7 very well.

I hope this helps. From what I remember the upgrade price isn't even that much.. so, you might seriously consider the upgrade.

Lastly, you will benefit from some new features that are coming soon.

I hope that helps..

Originally Posted by sflamm

Not having it pause between file buffers / shows sounds good.

On the bluray front I already use ClownBD/AnyDVDHD to create m2ts files that are in my videos - so any one of my sagetv software clients or hardware clients can seemlessly watch from the video collection on my centralized SageTV server.

My software clients are WinXP with coreAVZc h264 codec and msft vc-1 codec installed so all types of BD play seamlessly.

The only advantage I see is I would gain BD menus and I could rip straight without ClownBD.

Is this really so much better? Are there features I would gain I am missing?

As for watching a BD by putting it in any player - isnt it true that you have to have that drive as a video import directory?
And doesnt that mean that you have to rescan the import directories?

I do something similar - i have a custom sagemc menu entry "play Bdvd" that seamlessly loads PDVD and returns seamlessly to SageTV.

The plugin manager sounds great too.
I know how difficult it is to maintain things like BMT ( i wrote the old instruction guide)

I want to go to SageTV 7 , but it will require me to update my server and all clients. Will they go straightforward as inplace updates?

On my server I have firewire channel changing and usb recording from hd-pvrs, hdhrs, custom sagemc menus etc.
Will these be functional after an inplace upgrade or will i have to reconfigure?
It is ultra stable right now...

Looking for feedback on how smooth I can expect this upgrade to be? (family loves and depends on system daily)

I assume that SageTV 7 software clients will keep the same codec configs etc on upgrade?

I appreciate any thoughts / insights.

[sflamm]

1st off - I'm sure SageTV 7 is the way to go. And the cost is very reasonable.

As for bluray, no doubt - it is better to just rip the entire BDVD.

But a few practical comments:

1. Audio is automatically down sampled on my HD300 and on the software SageTV clients using AC3Filter w/ spdif output

2. Very few folks have an HD-Audio system. Mine for one is DTS and AC3.
Ripping the main track with "Core Audio" covers both DTS and AC3

3. It is very rare to have a BDVD with multiple M2TS tracks of any interest (unless you are into alternate languages or director's cuts, etc - not my cup of tea). It is very easy to identify the main track.

Btw, my transition to PDVD and back is seamless for me. I've skinned PDVD and I dont do anything special other than press "Play BDVD", which is no different from how I start any movie basically.... I put the real disk in the player and play. That's all. Yes a guest can do that - as easily as putting a disk into a real Bluray player.

Again, with that said, it would be best to not have to worry about these nuances at all. Like you said, a real "networked" Bluray player is best.
And I'm a huge fan of that.

I completely agree the plugin especially for "PlayOn" is a huge improvement the old plugins were quite the hassle.

Bottom line - I'm definitely interested in the upgrade. Trying to get a fix on exactly how difficult it will be. I have 4-5 software clients, 2 hardware clients and a server....and dont really want any down time...

Can you comment on any of the upgrade questions I had?

[sflamm]

Finished the upgrade. Went exceptionally smooth.

Loaded the SageMC plugin + correct sageMC_169 and my install looks exactly like it was before!

[mkanet]

Yeah, that's one thing I love about sageTV. Even the most complex setups can be updated without any issues... all 10 of my old sageMC plugins still work perfectly; and, accessing sageTV 7 menus such as Online Services, setup, etc are seamlessly integrated with sageMC.

I have a feeling once SageTV 7 has dynamic menu support, I will switch from sageMC to the sageTV STV. Currently, it just takes too many mouse/remote control clicks to do simple tasks on sageTV 7. Plus, by then, plugins such as Upcoming Movies and My TV for sageTV 7 will hopefully be just as good as the SageMC version.

Originally Posted by sflamm

Finished the upgrade. Went exceptionally smooth.

Loaded the SageMC plugin + correct sageMC_169 and my install looks exactly like it was before!