alternatives to Sage to consider

[Skybolt]

While stanger89's recommendation is certainly a great option, another maybe Plex if your willing to convert your VOB's.

Most connected Samsung players have Plex available in there store. So between $100 - $200 you could have a BD player and Plex player at the same time. Not a bad option. Less then $100 if you do a little searching and don't want 3D.

[stanger89]

Actually I'm guessing a WDTV Live would probably be the most HD200 like (form factor/capabilities).

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by stanger89

Actually I'm guessing a WDTV Live would probably be the most HD200 like (form factor/capabilities).

No plex support, DLNA only at last glance. Roku supports Plex though.

EDIT: I've always wanted a Dune, but with a BD player. I thought at one point they offered that, but last I looked they didn't.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Skybolt

No plex support, DLNA only at last glance. Roku supports Plex though.

But if the OP just wants to replace an HD200 for "local" DVD playback, it should fit the bill.

EDIT: I've always wanted a Dune, but with a BD player. I thought at one point they offered that, but last I looked they didn't.

They used to, but I think the licensing issues have put the kibosh on that.

I was just looking and I see the PopcornHour A400 has a Sigma (formerly Genum) VXP video processor built in.

[panteragstk]

A friend sent me a text earlier and said that his samsung bd player supports direct play with plex. The roku doesn't so much. Plus, with the media portal plugin I'm going to experiment and see if I can get it to play live tv through plex as well.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by panteragstk

A friend sent me a text earlier and said that his samsung bd player supports direct play with plex. The roku doesn't so much. Plus, with the media portal plugin I'm going to experiment and see if I can get it to play live tv through plex as well.

I am not quite sure how i missed this, but I will be trying it out for sure.

I did get in on the woot.com Simple.tv Deal which included a lifetime Premier Subscription to their service...$99. Best part is that as soon as this comes out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815345016

The lifetime subscription follows me not the device like tivo.

anyway for live tv and DVR functaionaly my simple.tv experience has been stellar. a few things need to be cleaned up, but live tv on roku / ios / html5 browser is awesome. Much better than AEREO I have heard.

[7up]

What is the difference between STV1 and STV2? Looks like woot sold out.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by 7up

What is the difference between STV1 and STV2? Looks like woot sold out.

STV1 is the original version of the stand alone DVR and has only a single tuner (OTA or QAM) The DVR software has been greatlly overhauled since I got the device and now works very well.

the new hardware is the new HDTC4 but beefed up a bit with DVR software on board.

so dual tuner, faster proc, more mem, and version 2 of the software has huge improvements.
1-android phone/tablet support
2 - chromecast supports
3 - airplay support
4 - rebuilt dvr ui for managing recordings and setup

there are a ton more if you search around the internet for it.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by PiX64

I am not quite sure how i missed this, but I will be trying it out for sure.

I did get in on the woot.com Simple.tv Deal which included a lifetime Premier Subscription to their service...$99. Best part is that as soon as this comes out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815345016

The lifetime subscription follows me not the device like tivo.

anyway for live tv and DVR functaionaly my simple.tv experience has been stellar. a few things need to be cleaned up, but live tv on roku / ios / html5 browser is awesome. Much better than AEREO I have heard.

I just set it up quick, including mediaportal, and i tested on roku as well as ipad and iphone... works quite well. I am impressed.

Its def a decent solution. mediaportal is a big annoying to setup IMO though

[jerryt]

This link says "Streams 5 channels", that must be a misprint

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815345016

@piX64 How did you gets your hands on one?

Can it be used by MCE as 2 tuners?

[7up]

SimpleTV certainly looks like an interesting product for OTA. Have they announced any lifetime subscription pricing for STV2? I was unable to find much info on their website which somewhat raises a red flag. I understand you can transfer the lifetime from an STV1 but the woot deal at least for now is no more. I also saw a review that the PQ of the STV1 was soft compared to the original and the android app I saw looked pretty primitive. Need info on subscription pricing before determining if it makes any sense compared to using a PC and/or slingbox.


I'm guessing "Stream 5 Channels Simultaneously" is a weird typo and means 5 different users can pull stream at the same time? Looks like its dual tuner.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by jerryt

This link says "Streams 5 channels", that must be a misprint

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815345016

@piX64 How did you gets your hands on one?

Can it be used by MCE as 2 tuners?

I don't have one .. yet. I got in on the woot.com deal which was 99 for a simple.tv version 1 box with a lifetime premier subscription.. which is valued at 149.99. only reason i did it was cause the subscription follows me not the device. So when i get the dual tuner device itll be ready to rock.

I am so happy with how well it work sfor us that I will be getting a version 2 on pre-order

for MCE i believe you would need to use the HDTC NON Simple.tv version

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815345014

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by 7up

SimpleTV certainly looks like an interesting product for OTA. Have they announced any lifetime subscription pricing for STV2? I was unable to find much info on their website which somewhat raises a red flag. I understand you can transfer the lifetime from an STV1 but the woot deal at least for now is no more. I also saw a review that the PQ of the STV1 was soft compared to the original and the android app I saw looked pretty primitive. Need info on subscription pricing before determining if it makes any sense compared to using a PC and/or slingbox.


I'm guessing "Stream 5 Channels Simultaneously" is a weird typo and means 5 different users can pull stream at the same time? Looks like its dual tuner.

They have not announced any change in lifetime procing, but subscription follows you not the device like tivo. so if you buy one for 149.99 now, itll transfer automagically to the new device(s)

yeah so stream 5 is exactly that. the current version allows for 5 simultaneous connections, not necessarily 5 live tv streams... you are limited to the number of tuners of course.

Its a solid device right now with all the updates. Don't believe the crap on the interenet. they have made some major changes that are down right awesome. I woudl be happy to put together some youtube videos of th eentire feature set if you all are interested. Not sure if this is the appropriate thread for discussion on this or if we should change to another location.

I already put together a youtube vid for wrems but its super long. If others are interested i will break them out into smaller videos which will be in HD

[7up]

Thanks PiX64. Since they haven't announced any pricing for lifetime sub, the current price based upon preordering STV2 @200 + STV1 w/lifetime @150 = 350 which would give one the equivalent of an dual tuner PC-DVR with the ability to connect via clients. Depending upon the interface, I could see this being appealing but I'm skeptical as I'd like to see exactly what an Android or IOS client looks like. We have a Roku, but I think the Roku interface is blah and suspect the same folder layout would be used.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by 7up

Thanks PiX64. Since they haven't announced any pricing for lifetime sub, the current price based upon preordering STV2 @200 + STV1 w/lifetime @150 = 350 which would give one the equivalent of an dual tuner PC-DVR with the ability to connect via clients. Depending upon the interface, I could see this being appealing but I'm skeptical as I'd like to see exactly what an Android or IOS client looks like. We have a Roku, but I think the Roku interface is blah and suspect the same folder layout would be used.

Ill put together some videos so you can see current setup web html5 / ios / roku.

I also agree that the price point of 299 for a single tuner seems steep. And turned me off quite a bit. it was a no brainer for 99 off of woot. Now that I have it i would def pay 299 for what i got.

give me a few days and ill get videos up here for you.

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by PiX64

I just set it up quick, including mediaportal, and i tested on roku as well as ipad and iphone... works quite well. I am impressed.

Its def a decent solution. mediaportal is a big annoying to setup IMO though

Yep. Mediaportal setup is pretty bad. You can customize everything, but it's less than intuitive. I'm not a huge fan of the XBMC front end support. I've tried the mediaportal for Plex plugin and if it had decent guide info it'd be all I'd need.

[IVB]

The more I look into JRMC, the more surprised I am about what it can do. Requires HTPC, which is a huge strike against it, but nowadays there are damn near appliance-level builds that are more than powerful enough.

Started a thread on JRMC here, there are a few folks who just use SageTV for the DVR engine.

Plus, any time learning how to skin JRMC isn't wasted time, as its not a dead product. Matter of fact, 6 months ago, a corporate customer bought 10,500 licenses.

Yes, I know this isn't a total replacement, and the extenders have us spoiled, but at least there's an exit strategy that doesn't involve the cable company.

[Skybolt]

Originally Posted by PiX64

... I am so happy with how well it work sfor us that I will be getting a version 2 on pre-order ...

I am a little confussed, what exactly can you record? Only OTA, Clear QAM etc. what about iNet streams.

[PiX64]

Originally Posted by Skybolt

I am a little confussed, what exactly can you record? Only OTA, Clear QAM etc. what about iNet streams.

Simple.tv is an OTA / ClearQAM only solution. it provides DVR functionality, live tv, and playback on a slew of devices (web browser, roku channel, appletv via airplay, ios app for ipad, and coming in version 2.0 due out on 12/12 it will include native ios iphone ap, android ap, chromecast, as well as other currently unlisted devices.)

It has allowed my family to move to a 1 STB solution which is the roku. it very simliar to waht sage is on PVR side. You would still need another solution like plex to run your home media / movies / music and then you would still have netflix, and other for OTT content.

videos i shot for wrems:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cduG9T3yjSE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5CTx9Eu0W0

[PiX64]

These videos are a month or so old. There have been several improvements to the UI and scheduling since then. Id be happy to make another video for anyone that wants to check it out.