Just in case- Alternatives to SageTV

[Fuzzy]

I think you'll find that the alternative to SageTV would be to either keep using sagetv, or live with an inferior product. There isn't anything that directly compares to what you can do with Sage.

[HelenWeathers]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I think you'll find that the alternative to SageTV would be to either keep using sagetv, or live with an inferior product. There isn't anything that directly compares to what you can do with Sage.

So true, God knows I've tried them all. I'll keep SageTV running as long as I can or until a better or as good as product comes along.

[toony]

Originally Posted by HelenWeathers

So true, God knows I've tried them all. I'll keep SageTV running as long as I can or until a better or as good as product comes along.

+1

[Rob]

+1 to what Fuzzy and Helen said.

My sage setup has only improved since the buyout. The core is still rock solid and I love what Pheonix has brought to the table. Next up for me is the HDHomeRun Prime with SageDCT.

[rwc]

I agree with Fuzzy that there isn't anything as feature rich, complete, and powerful as sage...I know the end will come eventually

Maybe that end will be a Sage/GoogleTV combination. Maybe it won't...so having the information about other solutions (as well as the +'s and -'s of them) isn't a bad thing.

I'm not looking to LEAVE sage, but, like a good boy scout, I want to just be prepared. (Which is why this is the "Just in case" thread and not the "I'm leaving sage at this moment" thread)

There are many parts of sage which are great that I (personally) never use, but I'm sure some people do. For example, I personally never watch live tv....so a solution that doesn't let me watch live tv would work for me, but maybe not for other people.

With the girth of this thread, I thought summarizing the knowledge in a chart/grid/etc would be beneficial not just for me but for other users of the thread as well.

I'm not looking to leave sage (it's working too well for me at the moment), but I do want the knowledge of what's worth while to watch "Just in case" the end comes

If I can quote for Animal House-- "Knowledge is good"

[Fuzzy]

It's just a lot of effort to compile and try out all the solutions, for something I don't see ever needing. In my eyes, there is nothing that will 'expire' in sage. So the just in case is a never event. I have local copies of the plugins i use, as well as the sage install files, and my keys. The worst event that could happen is I'd lose the single extender i have in my bedroom, but then I could use my server as a client in that case.

[rnadeau]

Fuzzy, I agree with you. I will always use sagetv. There is nothing else out there that compares with it at all. I don't see a need to move to something else especially considering that program guide data is a non issue now. Can you tell me how to get the plugins downloaded in case I need to reinstall. I do have a complete working sage backed up but it would be nice to be able to get all plugins backed up just in case. Thanks.

[nyplayer]

This is all well and good but the bottom line is we have to rely on 1 or 2 users to keep SageTV going... for ex. SAGEDCT MC2XML etc... bottom line is that once the guide data is gone SAGETV will not run out of the BOX without the use of plugins etcc. and relying on other EPG sources.

Schedules Direct might not be around much longer they are suffering financial issues. MC2XML seems to quit working after an amount of time and you have to redownload it. I have told the SAGETV users that I support that do not have clients or extenders to look into moving to WMC. I myself will be moving to Cable Card and do not want to even entertain the idea of using SageTV for it.

[Fuzzy]

There has been, and will continue to be, sources of XMLTV data. The quality might not be as good, but in most cases, it will be functional. SageTV is not the only app that uses XMLTV, and it was around before sage was anyway. So yes, it does require '3rd party support, but that support is not owned by any particular party.

[mayamaniac]

I think it is apparent that there's nothing better than SageTV in terms of PVR/DVR and DVD/Blu-ray media playback. I'm sure many of us were always looking at better solutions even before the Google buyout. And we stick with SageTV because it is the best. So this thread is asking for "what is the second best?" And the only real alternative is WMC.

[Ken C]

Is there a guide somewhere for setting up XMLTV data for Sage ? We are in the Zap-to-It 'grace' period, it would be nice to test the XMLTV method.

[graywolf]

Originally Posted by Ken C

Is there a guide somewhere for setting up XMLTV data for Sage ? We are in the Zap-to-It 'grace' period, it would be nice to test the XMLTV method.

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57265

[SHS]

Originally Posted by Ken C

Is there a guide somewhere for setting up XMLTV data for Sage ? We are in the Zap-to-It 'grace' period, it would be nice to test the XMLTV method.

'grace' period.?? That be June/July 2012

[Ken C]

Thanks, guys.

[mitchedo]

Originally Posted by reggie14

...

If Sage completely shuts down, what will you do?

...


What other options are there?

There is no single product out there. I just have whole-home DVR and BD rips from a NAS. The closest I've come to what I have with SageTV is WMC with Xbox extenders, and a WD TV Live for BD playback.

I never got a placeshifter license, nor any client licenses, so all I have is the server hooked to two HDHomeruns getting OTA HD, and two HD300's.

I can't get the SageTV server to play BD rips with subtitles anyway, so I had planned on buying another HD300 for the TV the server's hooked to, but can't do that now. Currently, the WMC plug-in for TMT5 works well.

There are a couple of set-top boxes that allege to play full BD menus, but they're two hundred bucks. I just hate the mess and hassle of putting disks in my BD player. ...and that thing is soooooo slooooowwwww.

[mitchedo]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

I think you'll find that the alternative to SageTV would be to either keep using sagetv, or live with an inferior product. There isn't anything that directly compares to what you can do with Sage.

What will we do when the licensing servers go away? It's happened before when a product dies.

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by mitchedo

What will we do when the licensing servers go away? It's happened before when a product dies.

You can't buy any licenses now.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by mitchedo

What will we do when the licensing servers go away? It's happened before when a product dies.

SageTV doesn't do online activations (AFAIK, at least not the Windows version, I think the Linux one may though).

[kbyrd]

Originally Posted by stanger89

SageTV doesn't do online activations (AFAIK, at least not the Windows version, I think the Linux one may though).

The Linux version requires talking to an activations server once. After that you don't need to talk to the server UNLESS you change your hardware, specifically the MAC address of your ethernet card. So, if you move Linux Sage to a new motherboard with a built-in NIC, you would need to contact Sage support and reactivate unless you can change the on-board NIC to the same as the old MAC address.

[ChePazzo]

Originally Posted by kbyrd

So, if you move Linux Sage to a new motherboard with a built-in NIC, you would need to contact Sage support and reactivate unless you can change the on-board NIC to the same as the old MAC address.

The other day, I installed the Linux version on a laptop with firewire because I wanted to test out the connection with a new cablebox and I had to enter the auth code that I got back with v4 and it worked no problem. Same auth code I use for my main server in the basement. No need to call anyone.