Anything to replace extenders?

[Tommy]

Is there any replacement to the media extender box? I am having a hard time finding anything.

[pjpjpjpj]

There are about 50 threads about this here. Look around.

On edit: I don't mean this to sound like a "blow off" or to be mean. It's just that there are LOTS of discussion threads about this here, so we don't need another one. Try a keyword search of "extender replacement" and you should find them.

[gplasky]

Bottom line-no. Unless you find one for sale on eBay and don't mind paying an arm and a leg. Most media players can play the recordings, music, photos, etc bit they're not a replacment. They are just another way of playing a file.

Gerry

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Tommy

Is there any replacement to the media extender box? I am having a hard time finding anything.

I would recommend going with Plex. It requires another piece of software (Plex) that then grabs it's own set of metadata for the files that Sage has recorded.

You can then use Sage as a backend (recording) and then use any one of the multidue of Plex devices (ATV1/2, Roku, PC, etc) as the front end.

-Jason

[drewg]

Originally Posted by Jason

I would recommend going with Plex. It requires another piece of software (Plex) that then grabs it's own set of metadata for the files that Sage has recorded.

You can then use Sage as a backend (recording) and then use any one of the multidue of Plex devices (ATV1/2, Roku, PC, etc) as the front end.

-Jason

Except ATV2 doesn't playback MPEG-2 recordings (any OTA or QAM HD) unless it is transcoded to H.264 and some Rokus are the same way. Some devices with Plex embedded (LG TVs) can barely play MPEG2, so you can't do things like ffwd or rewind. Nothing takes the place of an HDx00

Drew

[Jason]

Originally Posted by drewg

Except ATV2 doesn't playback MPEG-2 recordings (any OTA or QAM HD) unless it is transcoded to H.264 and some Rokus are the same way. Some devices with Plex embedded (LG TVs) can barely play MPEG2, so you can't do things like ffwd or rewind. Nothing takes the place of an HDx00

Drew

Meh... So set Plex to transcode... Your right... nothing compares to an HDx00 extender, but that wasn't the topic. As close as you can get (IMHO...) is plex currently.

[thomaszoo]

You might want to check this out:

http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57946

While this certainly doesn't replace the full functionality of an extender, it will give basic playback functionality.

Wayne

[bastafidli]

Originally Posted by Jason

Meh... So set Plex to transcode... Your right... nothing compares to an HDx00 extender, but that wasn't the topic. As close as you can get (IMHO...) is plex currently.

+1, switched to Plex and got in 10 minutes more than from Sage in 4 years (that is if you don't care about Live TV and DVR, for that use your existing Sage server on backend).

[KryptoNyte]

Can anyone tell us what the original HD200 and HD300 extenders selling price was? This would be the price that one paid when purchasing directly from Sage.

[KeithAbbott]

Originally Posted by KryptoNyte

Can anyone tell us what the original HD200 and HD300 extenders selling price was? This would be the price that one paid when purchasing directly from Sage.

HD200 ($179.95): http://web.archive.org/web/200911162...ww.sagetv.com/

HD300 ($149.95): http://web.archive.org/web/201009271...://sagetv.com/

[PiX64]

The addon of sagetv scanner and bmt agent for tv and movies from sage makes plex pretty attractive. its NOT a full replacement, and yes it has to transcode, but who cares in my opinion. the clients that are out there roku2, atv2 lg smart devices, lg smart tv converter, etc. along with the ability to make a small foot print pc that sits at the tv running plex media ceter (ui portion) makes it a very attractive solution for now.

The atv2 does really well with plex mpg2 and form what i have heard .ts files. struggles a bit with bluray, but that is due to the under power of the atv2. the unlocked atv2 plex and xmbc are relatively new, so imho they will only get better and work out even more kinks. i currently have a roku2 xd and with the plex medai server grid view its a solid solution. there is the standard plex media ap, and then another ap which takes all of your plex content and puts it into the same view as used for netflix on roku. pretty cool stuff!

http://streamfree.tv/apps/roku-priva...81-thread.html

check out the work we did over here:
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/show...6&postcount=70

[drewg]

Originally Posted by Jason

Meh... So set Plex to transcode... Your right... nothing compares to an HDx00 extender, but that wasn't the topic. As close as you can get (IMHO...) is plex currently.

Transcode: meh. You loose quality. I've never seen a transcode that looked as good as the original.

And when you talk about the most popular plex box (ATV2), it can't even handle 1080i.

Drew

[wayner]

I have loaded up on HD200s and HD300s. If you have discipline you should be able to buy an HD200 for under $200 at about the original purchase price. That's not as cheap as an ATV2 or Roku but it can save a lot of time and hassle and you get the full Sage experience. But you still may want an ATV or Roku for stuff like Netflix, etc.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by drewg

Transcode: meh. You loose quality. I've never seen a transcode that looked as good as the original.

And when you talk about the most popular plex box (ATV2), it can't even handle 1080i.

Drew

No but the roku2 can, not to mention the pc client can direct access media with no transcoding.

[drewg]

Originally Posted by PiX64

No but the roku2 can, not to mention the pc client can direct access media with no transcoding.

You got me interested in the Roku2, but from the specs I'm reading, it only supports MP4 H.264 for video. Anandtech's review is pretty damning. Which is unfortunate, because if it played back native 1080i MPEG2 recordings, it would be a great "fallback" extender & I'd pick it up just to get 5.1 surround on Amazon VOD. From http://www.anandtech.com/show/4903/r...e-big-screen/7

Out of our 57 test streams, only 3 streams were recognized. <....>
I can only say that the Roku 2 XS is almost useless for local media playback<...>
it is often better in terms of time and money to just invest in a different player that doesn't force you to re-encode your existing content.

Drew

[MattHelm]

Quick input. I have a Samsung Smart TV, a Logitech Revue, a Boxee Box. Of the 3, the TV is best so far, and it sucks big time.

I'm getting a Roku and a WD Live TV soon.

I'll post something when I can compare all 5.

[wayner]

Make sure to test stuff like skipping, FF, edl files, etc. I would hate to lose the ability to skip past commercials and/or past dead time in sports.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by drewg

You got me interested in the Roku2, but from the specs I'm reading, it only supports MP4 H.264 for video. Anandtech's review is pretty damning. Which is unfortunate, because if it played back native 1080i MPEG2 recordings, it would be a great "fallback" extender & I'd pick it up just to get 5.1 surround on Amazon VOD. From http://www.anandtech.com/show/4903/r...e-big-screen/7



Drew

Right, but it still plays back my recorded sage content via plex media server without issue. Thats all I was saying. sorry if i mislead you.

[dotheDVDeed]

Any of these extenders able to play Video_TS folders to give you DVD menus, etc?

I haven't had any luck with the WD TV Live Streaming media player