Windows Installer

[Steve52]

Originally Posted by wnjj

32-bit DLL’s won’t work directly under 64-bit programs but I did write a shim for the Hauppauge IR blaster DLL. So if what you have isn’t available in 64-bit it’s possible with some work.

Would this method work for you as an alternative? https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53462

EXEMultiTunerPlugin is installed by default and can call 32-bit .exe’s.

It might work, I will have to test it out somehow. I always liked the DLL method that EricVic wrote because it was simple and didn't require a registry edit.

[wnjj]

Originally Posted by Steve52

It might work, I will have to test it out somehow. I always liked the DLL method that EricVic wrote because it was simple and didn't require a registry edit.

Any chance of locating him for the source code?

[Steve52]

Originally Posted by wnjj

Any chance of locating him for the source code?

Not that I would know about. I have not seen him on here in a long time.

[wnjj]

Originally Posted by Steve52

Not that I would know about. I have not seen him on here in a long time.

I believe it's a simple as calling an HTTP URL. I could probably manage to build one of those when I get time but would need you to test it.

[Steve52]

I will test it.
I'm building a new Sage server, and since the 64 bit Sage is out of Beta I thought I would go with that version instead of the old 32 Bit. I will setup my new server with 64 bit Sage and when you get the DLL written send it to me and I will test it out.

[Steve52]

Here is the 32 Bit version if it helps.

DirecTV HTTP.zip

[wnjj]

In the meantime, check out this post (https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...&postcount=183) for Bob's DirectTV solution using the EXEMultiTunerPlugin. I realize it's not as simple but once you're set up it's all under the hood anyway. You can keep the DLL that's already installed rather than the one from his .zip.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by ASegredo

After I downloaded the Windows installer update, my computer started freezing randomly. I wiped the disk and am installing again from scratch. I had already registered my key. I hope this doesn't screw it up.

Will SageTV 9 install on XP? I could then use my old license key on the Win 7 computer. I only installed Win 7 because so much software has new versions that don't support XP. So far it looks like Win 7 is @#$%^&

EDIT: After wiping the disk, letting Windows re-format it followed by a fresh Win7 Install and myriad attempts to install VC++ redistributable, it finally succeeded and, as you promised, the SageTV 9 installer finished up and I am running SageTV 9 on Win 7. Whew!

I do have a new problem with EPG data. I entered the license key from my SageTV 7 on the XP box, but 9 keeps saying "invalid key". I purchased a regular license, not specifically a server license. Is that why? Or is it because I'm using the key on two boxes? I also have a Schedules Direct subscription but am having trouble entering my username and password through the "telephone dial" interface probably because the password mixes case. Is there another way to enter them hopefully by editting a file? Or should I start a new topic on this?

This is an old post, but I'm just reading it now. I have been running SageTV 9.0.14.568 on Windows 7. I started using SageTV more than a decade ago with version 1.4. So far, I haven't found any competing DVR software that is better than SageTV. I tried using Plex, but that was very sluggish and functioned very flaky!

Now, I installed Windows 7 Professional on a second SSD hard drive and upgraded it to Windows 10. I installed Acronis True Image and imaged the computer to a USB hard drive and to the encrypted cloud. I strongly recommend doing period images during your build process and then periodic images after that point in time. You can configure Acronis True Image to automatically do incremental images every day to a USB hard drive and to the encrypted cloud. During the build process, you NEVER should go back and install everything from scratch! It's just too time consuming and painful!

SageTV is a critical operation after you get used to watching everything with SageTV, skipping all the commercials. It's critical to be able to recover the computer quickly with an image, or faster yet, with a cloned drive. I have front swappable SSD hard drive bays, so swapping SSD hard drives is quick and easy.

It's still possible to upgrade to Windows 10 for free on the Internet, but you should do that build with a separate boot hard drive, so you can do the build gradually, switching back and forth between the Windows 7 and Windows 10 SSD hard drives. If you're not using SSD hard drives, you should upgrade to using SSD hard drives for the boot drives, and the recording drives, if you can afford to buy several larger SSD recording drives.

My new Windows 10 SSD build just has the operating system, Chrome, and Acronis True Imaged installed on it right now. I have an image at that checkpoint. So, if the SageTV install fails, I can easily recover to the previous checkpoint image. I'll keep taking periodic checkpoint images during the build process, so I never have to start the SageTV installation from scratch if something fails along the way to get everything working.

[Telecore]

If you have an Acronis boot disc / usb drive, then you don't have to install it on your SageTV server - Acronis can restore your boot drive from a system image created by Windows Backup (Windows 7 or 10) using the Acronis boot media.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by Telecore

If you have an Acronis boot disc / usb drive, then you don't have to install it on your SageTV server - Acronis can restore your boot drive from a system image created by Windows Backup (Windows 7 or 10) using the Acronis boot media.

Maybe the built-in Microsoft backup / recovery solution actually works these days. Over the past decades, I would periodically test various backup and recovery methods to test the recovery reliability. Usually the Microsoft backup created with the Microsoft backup software failed when it came time to recover. That’s why third party backup and recovery software exists!

For my home computer systems, I usually used Norton Ghost, which was very reliable recoveries after version 6.5. Sadly, Norton Ghost ended its long run some time ago. I switched to Acronis after Norton Ghost. At work, we used Symantec System Backup and Recovery for Windows servers for many years. That was great software for bare metal recoveries, smaller recoveries, and for cloning servers. I believe they sold that product to another company eventually, which ended that product line. Now, my old employer moved on to a different backup / recovery solution.

It’s important to periodically test the backup recovery process, to make sure it works. We had duplicate server testing hardware at work, so the recovery testing had no impact to the production servers. But for a home computer system, you could test the recovery onto a test hard drive. I have front panel SSD hard drive bays on my SageTV computer, which makes it easy to swap out hard drives.

After installing the 64-bit SageTV on my Windows 10 SSD, I discovered that the Silicon Dust HD Homerun Prime wasn’t recognized by SageTV, even after installing the HDHome run prime software. I forgot that OpenDCT was needed. I’ll work on installing OpenDCT today.

It’s great that people post what they had to do to get SageTV installed, because it’s easy to forget steps after many years between SageTV rebuilds. I did discover the new HD Homerun version can receive 6 channels with one rented cable plugin module. My HD Homerun only can receive 3 channels at once.

The downside with SageTV is that it can only record and playback at 720p, not 1080p. It would be nice to record at 4K too. I tested Plex, but it ran flaky and very sluggish, barely even works. I don’t know if there is a better DVR product than SageTV, even after years of product improvement stagnation with SageTV.

Thanks for posting your SageTV build steps!

[trk2]

Originally Posted by davephan

The downside with SageTV is that it can only record and playback at 720p, not 1080p. It would be nice to record at 4K too.

Not sure why you think this but Sage can record at 1080p and should be able to do 4k. No broadcasters transmit at that resolution so your choices are usually between 720p or 1080i, but that's a broadcast limitation. Sage can certainly play back at 4k.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by trk2

Not sure why you think this but Sage can record at 1080p and should be able to do 4k. No broadcasters transmit at that resolution so your choices are usually between 720p or 1080i, but that's a broadcast limitation. Sage can certainly play back at 4k.

I'll re-check my recording and see if they are recording in 1080p. I checked several years ago, and they were recording in 720p. If they are recording in 720p, maybe I need to make changes in SageTV.

[trk2]

Originally Posted by davephan

I'll re-check my recording and see if they are recording in 1080p. I checked several years ago, and they were recording in 720p. If they are recording in 720p, maybe I need to make changes in SageTV.

If you are recording from your Primes than the resolution depends on the network. See here for a list of what resolution the major networks broadcast.

[wnjj]

Originally Posted by wnjj

I believe it's a simple as calling an HTTP URL. I could probably manage to build one of those when I get time but would need you to test it.

So I have built a 64-bit DLL for DirecTV tuning like EricVic's. Steve52 isn't able to test it out right now but if anyone else is interested, reply here. If it works, I'll add it to the main code for the next release version.

[dwycoff]

Originally Posted by wnjj

So I have built a 64-bit DLL for DirecTV tuning like EricVic's. Steve52 isn't able to test it out right now but if anyone else is interested, reply here. If it works, I'll add it to the main code for the next release version.

Please add - that is one thing I need before I go through the upgrade. What has been the overall performance difference going to 64 bit? Is the JV heap size increase helping?

[wnjj]

Originally Posted by dwycoff

Please add - that is one thing I need before I go through the upgrade. What has been the overall performance difference going to 64 bit? Is the JV heap size increase helping?

I need someone who is on 64-bit to see if it works before I commit the code.

The primary advantage of 64-bit is heap size, which can mean everything if you’re running out if it all of the time on 32-bit.

Even without the direcTV http tuning DLL, you can still use Bob’s setup outlined here: https://forums.sagetv.com/forums/sho...&postcount=183. The DLL in his .zip is already install now but otherwise follow his directions.

[nyplayer]

Many thanks to the team that has kept SageTV running ... I recently got a Synology nas DiskStation DS1019+ and was able to move SageTV to my Windows 10 VM running on the Synology.

[SteveW]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Many thanks to the team that has kept SageTV running ... I recently got a Synology nas DiskStation DS1019+ and was able to move SageTV to my Windows 10 VM running on the Synology.

I've been considering also going with a 1019+ - at least for storage at first. Do you run Comskip on that VM? I have HD-PVR's, so I'd likely still have to have a separate PC running SageTV as an encoder with the HD-PVRs...

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by SteveW

I've been considering also going with a 1019+ - at least for storage at first. Do you run Comskip on that VM? I have HD-PVR's, so I'd likely still have to have a separate PC running SageTV as an encoder with the HD-PVRs...

Yes I run Comskip and MCEBUDDY on the VM along with SageTV. I am also running Channels DVR(with Comskip) and HDHomeRun DVR APK's. I run SHR not raid 5 on it.

[davephan]

Originally Posted by SteveW

I've been considering also going with a 1019+ - at least for storage at first. Do you run Comskip on that VM? I have HD-PVR's, so I'd likely still have to have a separate PC running SageTV as an encoder with the HD-PVRs...

Another way to do mass storage is with unRAID. I’ve been running unRAID for many years without any updates. The unRAID system boots from a USB flash drive. I’m at unRAID version 4.7, which is getting old now, and the hardware is about 6 or 7 years old, so I probably need to do a new unRAID system rebuild with new hardware and repurpose the old unRAID hardware as another general purpose computer. UnRAID is very expandable. The last time I checked, some people were building their unRAID severs with up to 21 drives. The drives don’t have to be the same size or speed, except the parity drive must be equal or larger than the largest drive. You never have total data loss with a multiple drive failure, which can happen with RAID. I have 16 TB in my unRAID server with all 2 TB drives. I’d probably expand that storage in the future unRAID server build with a larger parity drive and some larger data drives to migrate the data from the old unRAID server to the new unRAID server.

But on the practical side of things, when you go past a few TB of video storage, you’ll never have enough time in a year to watch more than a tiny fraction of your video collection, even if you were retired, didn’t have to spend time working, and you watched TV all day. I’m retired, but have a lot of things I do besides watching TV. But when I watch TV, I never aimlessly surf channels for the best of crappy programming that happens to be on watching live TV. But I understand the motivation to save videos that you just might want to watch, or watch again someday in the future.