Is it time for Media Center to get Hulu and Netflix?

[snoopy]

I understand that SageTV has been acquired by Google. It is great that they have let us continue with development. It still seems pretty good to me and I am using v7.1.9.256 which I think updates itself as needed.

Unfortunately, I now have Amazon and Netflix subscriptions which my wife loves, but are difficult to obtain in SageTV the last time I tried about 6 months ago. In order to deal with this, we have a box called Google TV that lets us watch that stuff.

1. Is there any way to combine the search in SageTV to handle this new internet-based content and get that content as seamlessly as the GoogleTV box seems to?

2. If not, is Windows Media Center up to the task?

Assistance is greatly appreciated.

[wayner]

Check out the Sage PlayOn plugin (http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54756). It requires a subscription to PlayOn and it doesn't do HD but it works OK for most stuff in Netflix, Hulu and some other services - with a few limitations.

But it does allow you to get Netflix and Hulu on all of your extenders. I don't know about Amazon.

[snoopy]

Can you search all sources at once

[wayner]

No I don't think so, or at least it will only show what has been imported from your Instant Queue. That is certainly trickier since I don't think the online sources make it easy. I use Fanhattan on my iPad that helps you to search all of the online service but that won't integrate into your Sage content.

[nyplayer]

If you need Hulu and Netflix Media Center is the way to go. I run both on my client.... just for that. I never did find Playon integration to be that smooth...


The developers have done a great job in Integrating what they could... but it is not on par with WMC.


PS. Future development in these areas will eventually cease to exist.

[panteragstk]

Running hulu desktop outside of sage works just fine. WMC's Netflix plugin kinda works launching it from sage, but it never was stable for me, plus I hate the UI.

I got a cheapo media streamer from Netgear (NTV200) that works great. I have it set to switch inputs on my TV when I select the link in sage. The same remote controls it so the transition is seamless.

Obviously, you can't search all content, but there are very few devices that let you do that in a way that works.

[wayner]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

Obviously, you can't search all content, but there are very few devices that let you do that in a way that works.

I would say that currently very few=0

[darcilicious]

I would say that currently very few=0

Actually Boxee can do this (minimally they do it now with VUDU and a few other providers on the Boxee Box).

They were doing it with Netflix (and Hulu, I believe) about two years ago (Netflix movies would show up on the Online Movies Library screen in the desktop/software version) but Netflix asked them to stop (and well, Hulu never was officially supported on Boxee in any form).

For free online content, Boxee uses their own scrapers to display TV Shows on the Shows Library screen.

And for all the stuff that is integrated, it's searchable too.