Request: Diamond development thoughts on Google acquisition

[Gunserotti]

Perhaps I'm not the right person to start this thread. However, I am a daily reader of this Forum and have used Diamond extensively.

I would like to ask the Diamond team to comment on the Google acquisition and their plans for future development. Perhaps it is too early to comment?

For me, the main use of the "Sage" product is movie playback and my front end is Diamond. As such, Diamond is one of the most important features of my end user experience.

Questions:

1. Does the team have any inside information on the acquisition or are you as "shocked" as everybody else?

2. What emotions do you have? (i.e. let down, betrayed, excited, etc...?)

3. Given the fact that Diamond is already well developed does this new announcement reduce your motivation for future development?

Thanks

[jorton]

Originally Posted by Gunserotti

Perhaps I'm not the right person to start this thread. However, I am a daily reader of this Forum and have used Diamond extensively.

I would like to ask the Diamond team to comment on the Google acquisition and their plans for future development. Perhaps it is too early to comment?

Probably a bit too early, Plucky and I have talked briefly, have to see where things will go. I posted my personal thoughts this morning based on what I have read, trying to be optimistic that this will be good for Sagetv.

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...&postcount=195

For me, the main use of the "Sage" product is movie playback and my front end is Diamond. As such, Diamond is one of the most important features of my end user experience.

Questions:

1. Does the team have any inside information on the acquisition or are you as "shocked" as everybody else?

Same as everyone else. Got the customer email and read the announcement in the forum and on the web site.

2. What emotions do you have? (i.e. let down, betrayed, excited, etc...?)

Personally a little shocked, but feel that this could go good for Sagetv in the end all depends, we have to wait for more details before jumping to conclusions. It could become something very exciting and based on the wording in Narflex's most recent posts he seems to be excited himself about working with Google and it doesn't sound so bad...

3. Given the fact that Diamond is already well developed does this new announcement reduce your motivation for future development?

We are on a bit of a break, with only myself (I think?) doing any recent Diamond developement. I'm only working on theme's and minor cosmetic tweaks so no new functionality etc... so things are still moving along.

As long as Sagetv is functioning for me and others I will be helping and supporting where I can. I can't speak for Plucky, EP and Jusjoken so they will add their thoughts when then get a chance.

Jeremy

[PLUCKYHD]

For me I am in panic mode but trying to come down. It actually hit at a good time for Diamond as we have a very solid release out now and are all taking the summer of from coding on sagetv and enjoying the weather .

So that being said it gives us a couple of months to wait it out to give a firm yes or no decision on continued development.

My biggest fear right now is the instability I personally have with the collussus tuner and my fear haupaugge will tell us sage users to stick it now that sagetv isn't being actively developed. They already didn't support sage users very well (hauppaugge not sagetv) so it is my fear that it will only get worse. I must have reliable TV first so that will be a big deciding factor for me.

Keep in mind I am heavily invested in sagetv (5 extenders, 1 client and a server). So I have allot riding on the fate of sagetv. Not to mention the time in developing so I can get it functional and like I wanted. That being said I won't stick with products that aren't being actively developed I have always been "bleeding edge" and will continue to be that way. SageTV was falling behind in the hdtv TV realm and online realm.

So for now I am sitting by the road waiting as already too the summer off anyhow. If I decide to jump ship you guys will be the first to know but for now my stuff is mostly working (minus the collussus issues) and it is summer so my setup at least is staying put for the time being and riding it out for a while. Once football starts back up if the collusus isn't more reliable and google/sage haven't released any news I am afraid of what I might need to do for my sports

cheers and have a good summer and let's no fret or worry until we have some time for google/sage to explain the future.

[jusjoken]

I think Jorton and Plucky have said it well... no prior info, and it was a shock.

I plan to take a wait and see stance too as there is nothing else we can do. I also have another new SageTV plugin project I have been spending time on while the Diamond team takes a bit of a break and I don't plan on stopping working on it as I do it for enjoyment as most of the plugin developers do.

So I guess we will see what happens... for now, back to watching something on my SageTV system!

k

[mayamaniac]

Originally Posted by PLUCKYHD

Once football starts back up if the collusus isn't more reliable and google/sage haven't released any news I am afraid of what I might need to do for my sports

So an NFL lockout is a good thing right?

But seriously, you will only be missing monday night on ESPN that you need the colosus for, the rest you can still record off local channels with a HDHR.

cheers and have a good summer and let's no fret or worry until we have some time for google/sage to explain the future.

Yeah, once the initial shock wears off, I think there is some optimism that Jeff will do what he can to protect end users.

[PLUCKYHD]

Originally Posted by mayamaniac

So an NFL lockout is a good thing right?

But seriously, you will only be missing monday night on ESPN that you need the colosus for, the rest you can still record off local channels with a HDHR.

If only it where that simple. I am not a NFL fan at all. I am a college football fanatic though. Unfortuently most games are FoxSportsNet and Espn. A no go on recording it not acceptable at football time. So I am hoping happauge gets me going reliably but I somehow don't have faith.

[SWKerr]

My biggest fear right now is the instability I personally have with the collussus tuner and my fear haupaugge will tell us sage users to stick it now that sagetv isn't being actively developed. They already didn't support sage users very well (hauppaugge not sagetv) so it is my fear that it will only get worse. I must have reliable TV first so that will be a big deciding factor for me.

Mine is pretty stable with the nightly reboot but I know people are still having problems.
I suspect the underlying engine is a major reason Google purchased SageTV and that haupaugge has even more reason to work on this now. I just hope those fixes trickle down to us if they are non driver related.

[saltlyck2]

Well, I doubt this will be good. I've already started the search for new "hobby" type DVR software like SAGETV was. Usually the surviving company strips out what they want then provides that to the end user with no custom options or plugins. I expect that here but I could be wrong. Google is in it for money, how that will play into this is unclear. We could very possibly be left behind in the wake as the now unemployed CEO flys by on his new million dollar boat. Notice that he's not left an option for us to comment on his announcement. There's a good reason to do so and that reason is not for the kudos he's expecting. Google is now the new Micro$oft. They eat the rich and rob the poor. All along stifling evolution, ideas, and progress.

I have to end that all with optimistic hopes that it continues the way it has. My Sage is nothing like yours, and yours is nothing like mine. That's what has made it so great for the 8 years I've been "tinkering" with it. I feel as if my money was VERY well spent over that time.

[a_puty]

For what its worth I'm just royally bummed out. I had come back to Sage after a number of years away using VMC and 7MC. And I was just finally getting down to the business of enjoying my setup after getting up to speed on the Sage landscape and "tinkering" the nights away. I got all the right plugins installed, was starting to understand how they all work, metadata working nicely...fanart, comskip...dual Colossus cards running very nicely (I somehow have had no issues with these cards (?)), bought an extender...which just absolutely rocks BTW. I still can't believe how well this thing works over wireless....amazing. Wife is happy...we get home and Diamond's awesome widgets tell me whats up for the night...what to catch up on...everything just purring along...and then this. I keep playing it out in my mind trying to picture what 6 months from now looks like and I just can't come to an optimistic conclusion. I also couldn't see myself using a product that isn't being actively developed. Even just the not knowing now is driving me nuts. I've been looking back at 7MC but I just don't think I could go back there...been spending some time on the Media Portal site. It seems the most likely candidate but I remember trying it out a while ago and it was unstable to the point of unusable...maybe MythTV...tried that a while ago but that was a bloodbath and i'm not completely Linux illiterate. And my Sage setup is working so nicely now! (insert raging expletives here) Argh. I'm just rambling now.

[PLUCKYHD]

I would say hang tough we had a very nice version of 4.0 in the works before we took the summer off. It was really looking nice and promising. Sage can live in it's current form for a long time without much intervention. I haven't seen any devs say they are jumping ship yet. Hopefully we can find the motivation come fall to finish 4.0 and ow your socks off again LOL

[Rob]

A ray of hope from the volunteers that add so much to the sage experience. Thanks!

[SomeWhatLost]

Originally Posted by PLUCKYHD

and ow your socks off again

ow our socks off? that sounds painful...

[mkanet]

Hi Jorton/Plucky, any chance of releasing a small update (small cosmetic tweaks)?

Originally Posted by jorton

Probably a bit too early, Plucky and I have talked briefly, have to see where things will go. I posted my personal thoughts this morning based on what I have read, trying to be optimistic that this will be good for Sagetv.

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...&postcount=195



Same as everyone else. Got the customer email and read the announcement in the forum and on the web site.



Personally a little shocked, but feel that this could go good for Sagetv in the end all depends, we have to wait for more details before jumping to conclusions. It could become something very exciting and based on the wording in Narflex's most recent posts he seems to be excited himself about working with Google and it doesn't sound so bad...



We are on a bit of a break, with only myself (I think?) doing any recent Diamond developement. I'm only working on theme's and minor cosmetic tweaks so no new functionality etc... so things are still moving along.

As long as Sagetv is functioning for me and others I will be helping and supporting where I can. I can't speak for Plucky, EP and Jusjoken so they will add their thoughts when then get a chance.

Jeremy

[jorton]

Hey MKANET,

I have a couple of projects to take care of then the Diamond point release is next on my to do list, only tweaks and themes though. No I can't say when, it's summer...

Jeremy

[mkanet]

Jeremy, thanks so much. I really liked the tweaks you did in coverflow..

Originally Posted by jorton

Hey MKANET,

I have a couple of projects to take care of then the Diamond point release is next on my to do list, only tweaks and themes though. No I can't say when, it's summer...

Jeremy

[safeonthewire]

Its fall and football season - just curious if anyone's thoughts have changed after a few months of pondering the future of diamond...

4.0 or 3.4 in the future?

(I'm primarily focused on folder/pin feature, I need to control access to the content my childeren access and am curious if this feature will ever make it)

Thanks for everyone's hard work. You guys have made an outstanding product incredibly better.

Thanks again for all the countless hours.

How's the future of Diamond look?