A little more info

[mistergq]

Originally Posted by Narflex

I am doing all I can to try to keep our existing user base happy, and Google is very supportive of those efforts.

Keep up the good fight. I hope you can get Google to see SageTV server software is necessary...and in the mean time, if you get the SageTV store reopened, that would be really awesome!

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

We have five Tivos in the house - all with Lifetimes. If Tivo goes belly-up or merges with another technology, then it's bye-bye to my "lifetime" purchases... aka end of investment. Let's hope for the best, but plan for complete disaster

I have a ReplayTV. They just announced they would be shutting down thier EPG at the end of July.

[wrems]

Originally Posted by stevech

Response to Official Support Request for the Sage 6 to 7 upgrade purchase/loan/extension was a polite "We will not do that.". Nice.

That is a terrible situation. I feel for you on this Steve. I really hope that Google comes to their senses for folks like you that were caught completely in the middle and now left in the lurch.

[pez]

Originally Posted by stevech

Response to Official Support Request for the Sage 6 to 7 upgrade purchase/loan/extension was a polite "We will not do that.". Nice.

This is very disappointing. I would have thought that they would have allowed for upgrades and other licenses to existing customers. I hadn't planned on upgrading to v7 until about now/July when there's nothing new to record.

It's not like Google doesn't have a payment method as they take payments for Google Voice long distance. And it is not like Google supports any of their products or makes any kind of warranty. So i'm not sure what the problem is with allowing existing customer to build out their systems. At least then we could comfortably wait for what Google has in store for all of us. It would instill a lot of goodwill in the community.

I also can't imagine Jeff not at least attempting/attempted to argue this point for us.

[Keenan]

Originally Posted by pez

I also can't imagine Jeff not at least attempting/attempted to argue this point for us.

Enough money trumps goodwill every time.

[mistergq]

They really should reopen with the store with buyer beware notices. State the obvious that Sage has been acquired by Google and you may be buying obsolete software with limited duration.

I guess Google/Sage is not trying to pull what Snapstream pulled. They kept selling Beyond Media after it was discontinued develope and integration was announced it would never happen. They also kept selling Beyond TV after they announced that there would be no more development of Beyond TV.

Having said that, if you put a warning up before you can actually purchase it, than it is buyer beware. I know I would buy extenders at this point even though the software maybe dead.

[LehighBri]

What about support for submission of new plugins? Will that still be supported with the EPG service for another year? Or do we now need to download plugins and install them manually?

[lfilomeno]

Originally Posted by wrems

That is a terrible situation. I feel for you on this Steve. I really hope that Google comes to their senses for folks like you that were caught completely in the middle and now left in the lurch.

I concurr with you: It is a terrible situation. At least I like to try before I buy and that is what I have done to upgrade my system and others I help put together. I am not mad at Jeff; he is enjoying the fruits of his hard labor. I am really mad at the system. All my request for media center client additions cannot be fulfilled and my own testing process of new clients based on Mini-ITX technologies cannot move forward since there is no place to buy new licenses! I really think that they souhld have negotiate at least to keep the store open until they ran out of HD300 at least.

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by LehighBri

What about support for submission of new plugins?

Well, the page to submit plugin is still up, but I don't have anything to submit currently to test it...

[David HVR1600]

Thanks for all the work Jeff & Co. and good luck.

I do have to say that I emphatically second this:

They really should reopen with the store with buyer beware notices. State the obvious that Sage has been acquired by Google and you may be buying obsolete software with limited duration.

Seriously, what are you going to do with the hardware in stock? Throw it in the trash?

If we could enter our existing keys and get some hardware/licenses for past users that would really make this simple for me.

I don't expect SageTV to quit any time soon. I plan to keep going with it instead of abandoning ship. That would allow me to ride it out until the next great thing you guys do with Google is released.

Instead I am sitting on the sidelines wondering what I will do until then if one of my boxes goes belly up.

How you and Google respond to this request will tell me if I want to invest any future money with a company that cuts existing users off or continues to offer support until they can migrate.

I would suggest that anyone that feels the same way WRITE the folks at google as well and let them know your thoughts on this.

[sleonard]

They do have to keep the extenders for one year so that they can do warranty replacements. After that the plans are probably to trash them but maybe we can get them to auction the lot of them as discontinued hardware instead of products. Some of us could combine finances and purchase the lot and them resell them amongst our community at cost.

S

[Roadrunner777]

I am using this post, my only post on this entire affair to make a single request as clear and as loud as I can:

I would like to see a longer commitment on guide data than one year. I can go on indefinitely and be happy so long as I can get guide data. I would pay a nominal fee ($5 per month?) to continue to get guide data.

Now, I will say my final words: Ask yourself why Google would buy SageTV. Pretty clearly, they are buying the intellectual property (patents) and maybe talent (people). There really is no other practical explanation. Google has the datacenters, dark fiber, and now the skills and patents do something revolutionary. It would not surprise me greatly if Google bought Tivo before the end of the year, and I may buy stock in Tivo based on that very theory.

[PhilH]

Originally Posted by Roadrunner777

I am using this post, my only post on this entire affair to make a single request as clear and as loud as I can:

I would like to see a longer commitment on guide data than one year. I can go on indefinitely and be happy so long as I can get guide data. I would pay a nominal fee ($5 per month?) to continue to get guide data.

Now, I will say my final words: Ask yourself why Google would buy SageTV. Pretty clearly, they are buying the intellectual property (patents) and maybe talent (people). There really is no other practical explanation. Google has the datacenters, dark fiber, and now the skills and patents do something revolutionary. It would not surprise me greatly if Tivo made a very similar arrangement before the end of the year, and I may buy stock in Tivo based on that very theory.

+1

[graywolf]

Originally Posted by Roadrunner777

I am using this post, my only post on this entire affair to make a single request as clear and as loud as I can:

I would like to see a longer commitment on guide data than one year. I can go on indefinitely and be happy so long as I can get guide data. I would pay a nominal fee ($5 per month?) to continue to get guide data.

Now, I will say my final words: Ask yourself why Google would buy SageTV. Pretty clearly, they are buying the intellectual property (patents) and maybe talent (people). There really is no other practical explanation. Google has the datacenters, dark fiber, and now the skills and patents do something revolutionary. It would not surprise me greatly if Google bought Tivo before the end of the year, and I may buy stock in Tivo based on that very theory.

Why pay $5/month when you could get it from other sources for $20/year or Free?

[JREkiwi]

Originally Posted by LehighBri

What about support for submission of new plugins? Will that still be supported with the EPG service for another year? Or do we now need to download plugins and install them manually?

Originally Posted by Fonceur

Well, the page to submit plugin is still up, but I don't have anything to submit currently to test it...

There have been a number of plugins updated/released this week. The plugin submission system is still working fine.

John

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by JREkiwi

There have been a number of plugins updated/released this week. The plugin submission system is still working fine.

John

Which is interesting.

[Roadrunner777]

Originally Posted by graywolf

Why pay $5/month when you could get it from other sources for $20/year or Free?

Is there a setting that I don't know about?

[graywolf]

XMLTV has been mentioned along with another tool.

Will it be totally automatic and behind the scenes? I'm not sure.

Also, Slugger is looking into creating a plugin to make it simpler. I think using SchedulesDirect which is $20/yr.

[Roadrunner777]

Cool, well, I will stay tuned... somewhere down the road, hopefully there will be a nice plain language how-to for migrating to some other guide. I picked $5/month out of a hat, if it were much more, I'd just go to Tivo, and if a lot of people would pay $5 per month, maybe it would be worth something to someone to keep the existing service going.

[DaiTengu]

Originally Posted by polen

As the SageTV ship hit the ice burg and many are jumping off and freaking out, I'm one of those guys on the deck playing my instrument waiting for you to pull up in a new ship. I can't wait to be a passenger on your new ship. I have faith in your direction and vision. God’s speed Jeff and good luck!

-Greg

I can't say I'm not freaking out, but I'm definitely along for the ride.

Mostly because there's still nothing out there that's even remotely comparable to SageTV.