RIP SageTV

[bgarts]

Google killed SageTV. Kudos to the owners for bugging out when they did. I hope they made money on the deal. This was THE BEST software on the market for many years. I had versions 5 and upgraded to 6 before my PC crashed and by the time I got it all back together again, I find out Google bought Sage and they would no longer be providing updates. So much for upgrading to Windows 10 and expecting a new version.

This software simply worked out of the box and better than any other DIY PVR software in shareware or on the market. I wanted to use it in Windows 10 and found out it was revived on GitHub. Hooray

But, unfortunately, I find it is now relegated to be used by a very specific and small community of hard core computer programmers and tinkerers. The idea of just installing it and have it work is no longer an option. I used to have the tenacity to figure out all the system hurdles one by one, but I just don't have the patience anymore. This is now, and from now on, will always be a niche software product.

I hope there is an effort underway to bring this back for regular people, but I fear Google will not allow that. Goodbye and good luck.

[HelenWeathers]

Wow! Sad. Now back to watching SageTV.

[KryptoNyte]

Whatever you do, don't look around the forum for any revelations.

[ranger]

I'm curious if he missed the whole "SageTV is now open source" thing.

[nyplayer]

Part of the problem is that there is no easy way at the moment to Install SageTV you have to dig through numerous threads. You have to remember to copy jars over and executables over. If you are not familiar with this forum or a new user you can easily get lost... and if you are a new user with cable card well good luck... Plus if you are a new user you have to be aware that you need a Schedules Direct account... and know how to Install and configure plugins.

This is not at all new user friendly.

[will]

Originally Posted by bgarts

But, unfortunately, I find it is now relegated to be used by a very specific and small community of hard core computer programmers and tinkerers. The idea of just installing it and have it work is no longer an option.

People are working on a windows installer right now. Honestly, you won't find much of a difference between SageTV v7 and v9 TODAY but that will change in the future so don't be too disappointed that you can't easily install v9.

I suggest you download the SageTV v7 installer; I believe it works with Windows 10 and Jeff made the upgrade from v5 to v7 free a while ago.

[Carlton Bale]

I think the original poster is being overly harsh and pessimistic, but I do share some of the same concerns. I used to use DD-WRT in my routers, but it turned into a confusing mess with no official releases for years, different unofficial builds from various forum members that only worked with some specific hardware versions, no bug tracking, etc.

I'm not saying the same thing will happen for SageTV because I really hope it doesn't. But without some coordination and leadership, it could.

In the meantime, my old v7 keeps chugging on doing what I need it to do.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by Carlton Bale

I think the original poster is being overly harsh and pessimistic, but I do share some of the same concerns. I used to use DD-WRT in my routers, but it turned into a confusing mess with no official releases for years, different unofficial builds from various forum members that only worked with some specific hardware versions, no bug tracking, etc.

I'm not saying the same thing will happen for SageTV because I really hope it doesn't. But without some coordination and leadership, it could.

In the meantime, my old v7 keeps chugging on doing what I need it to do.

To tell you the truth I am an experienced user of SageTV and if a new user came to me about Installing a DVR software I would not recommend SageTV ... it is just too hard to configure and get up running from scratch at the moment... and also maintain it.

[will]

Originally Posted by Carlton Bale

I used to use DD-WRT in my routers, but it turned into a confusing mess with no official releases for years, different unofficial builds from various forum members that only worked with some specific hardware versions, no bug tracking, etc.

I'm not saying the same thing will happen for SageTV because I really hope it doesn't. But without some coordination and leadership, it could.

I use a lot of open source software for work and I can't tell you how many times I've seen projects abandoned. Before I use open source code in a project I like to look at two things; when was the last push (even for a typo fix) and is technical debt being addressed (issue counts). A sign of a good project is when the community takes technical debt (issues) seriously and fixes them quickly (the boring things necessary to make great software). A high open issue count is a sure sign of a project that is lacking in support.

I do believe SageTV will be s successful open source project; just look at how well this community has survived between SageTV being purchased and going open source. That alone should indicate a dedicated community.

Originally Posted by nyplayer

To tell you the truth I am an experienced user of SageTV and if a new user came to me about Installing a DVR software I would not recommend SageTV ... it is just too hard to configure and get up running from scratch at the moment... and also maintain it.

I agree but I don't think it is SageTV that is too complex; it is everything else such as the drivers, setting up firewire or IR channel changing, getting cable boxes configured properly, monitoring for cable box lockups and rebooting them once a month, having to monitor ClearQAM channels for unexpected frequency changes, etc.

I've built a good system and have developed a lot of processes to minimize work so I have no desire to leave SageTV, however, I can understand it being intimidating to new users. I've never recommended SageTV to friends or family because I know they don't have the technical capabilities to support the system on their own.

[hb4]

Happy long time user of SageTV; now running V7 and waiting for a V9 Windows installer. I can't imagine anything better given the robust user and development community.

With limited computer expertise (some may call me a techno-plebe) I've been able to work through what for me were challenging issues; among them:

• Recording to a NAS
• SageDCT with a Prime

I finally got everything working pretty well a couple years ago and am reluctant to make ANY changes (FFmpeg for SageDCT, for example) and am living with missing some Comcast recordings, HD-PVR hiccuping once in awhile, and mysterious failures of my setup that require re-booting.

Once I pared down my Plug-ins and stopped experimenting with ones that sounded interesting and helpful things have settled down. I pretty much need a cookbook approach to adding/changing features at this point.

I, too, would be reluctant to recommend Sage to anyone who isn't prepared for a part-time computer hobby. That being said, if there were a supplement to the Manual that added V9, the HDHR and Prime, HD-PVR, Schedules Direct and a simple sub-set of mutually compatible Plugins, that would present a reasonably robust and simple environment for first-time users that can (will) read it.

[photon]

I'm still on version 6 with Sage Media Center GUI because nothing newer is as good. Sage Media center was not updated to work properly on v7. V7 GUI is harder to use with more remote button press and with more things hidden from view. Extensive options button use. Highlighting is very poor even on the alternate GUIs and none have Sage MC ease of use. I would love to have a prettier user interface but not at the expense of visual clarity and ease of use.

No Idea if Open source has brought anything better than v7. There have not been any announcements. I came here today only because of the announcement regarding HD300s. It appears Open source has not produced anything needing beta testers or release ready so far or there would be announcements to the broad community.

[gdippel]

Originally Posted by bgarts

Google killed SageTV

News Flash: Google bought SageTV in 2011. SageTV is open sourced in 2015. Check the forum more frequently than once every five years.

[Fuzzy]

It's funny - I saw this post and laughed because I was going to come on here and post a "SageTV is Dead" thread because there are no more extenders available for purchase... :-)

[Taddeusz]

Originally Posted by bgarts

This is now, and from now on, will always be a niche software product.

Sorry to burst your bubble but the reality is that SageTV has always been a niche software product. Most normal people use the DVR from their cable company or a Tivo. It's mostly only a hard core group of enthusiasts that use SageTV. No offense is meant. It's just the nature of the beast. As much as it does just work it's high maintenance when compared with the all-in-one alternatives. Not many people want to deal with that.

[wayner]

I agree with nyplayer in that the OP has a point. I am very familiar with Sage and I have just built a new server for Sage but I haven't got around to installing V9 yet, partially because you have to cobble together info and files from V7 and various links in this forum. If you aren't a geek it is pretty daunting.

And if you don't have an old license that what do you do for EPG?

[KryptoNyte]

Originally Posted by wayner

And if you don't have an old license that what do you do for EPG?

Schedules Direct plugin?

[jm9843]

Thought this thread was a joke or just really old. But am amused to find that it's nether! Thanks for the laugh.

[pjpjpjpj]

Originally Posted by photon

I'm still on version 6 with Sage Media Center GUI because nothing newer is as good. Sage Media center was not updated to work properly on v7. V7 GUI is harder to use with more remote button press and with more things hidden from view. Extensive options button use. Highlighting is very poor even on the alternate GUIs and none have Sage MC ease of use. I would love to have a prettier user interface but not at the expense of visual clarity and ease of use.

No Idea if Open source has brought anything better than v7. There have not been any announcements. I came here today only because of the announcement regarding HD300s. It appears Open source has not produced anything needing beta testers or release ready so far or there would be announcements to the broad community.

Use v7 with the ADM plugin and make the menus exactly the way you want them. Super simple to use and works great. You can even replace the background images with the blue v6 image if it makes you feel better.
(in v6 I used nielm's "dynamic customizable menus" which provided the same flexibility)

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

Use v7 with the ADM plugin and make the menus exactly the way you want them. Super simple to use and works great. You can even replace the background images with the blue v6 image if it makes you feel better.
(in v6 I used nielm's "dynamic customizable menus" which provided the same flexibility)

Gemstone includes an improved version of the ADM plugin, as well as a lot of other customization options.

[dravenone]

This is horrible news!

Not what Fuzzy posted about Gemstone, but that Sage is dead for the OP. Mine is still working. hehe