HD300 extender

 

Great news for htpc sage users. HD audio passthrough/ remote ir/ silent and tiny tiny box. Come on media center this is what you need as an extender. So now with native blu ray support I can get full hd audio from each one of this little silent machines and full 1080p24fps playback wow!!

Now that would be Media Center heaven.

If only...............

I could almost be tempted by the dark side!

How is it that there are some 30 media streamers with greater codec and file format support than any Windows 7 extender?  Video_TS, Blu Ray ISO/Rips, FLAC, silent, etc....How many of these units are these companies really selling?  Wouldn't one of them try to release an extender licensed by MS to differentiate themselves?  There is something so wrong with the story we are being told/sold by MS. 

 Whatevs, gotta have my digital cable.

 Monty

Montyward

How is it that there are some 30 media streamers with greater codec and file format support than any Windows 7 extender?  Video_TS, Blu Ray ISO/Rips, FLAC, silent, etc....How many of these units are these companies really selling?  Wouldn't one of them try to release an extender licensed by MS to differentiate themselves?  There is something so wrong with the story we are being told/sold by MS. 

 Whatevs, gotta have my digital cable.

 Monty

I think it comes down to Microsoft limitations of what they will allow OEMS to let extenders do. I can't speak how many they are selling but I know hd200 was a big money maker for sagetv and I expect the new hd300 to do even better. I keep thinking microsoft will wake up and see how limited what they are offering is. But then again that would mean them supporting Blu ray containers which would never happen....

PLUCKYHD

HD300 extender

Wow that is slick! It's so small compared to a windows extender!

PLUCKYHD

HD300 extender

 

Great news for htpc sage users. HD audio passthrough/ remote ir/ silent and tiny tiny box. Come on media center this is what you need as an extender. So now with native blu ray support I can get full hd audio from each one of this little silent machines and full 1080p24fps playback wow!!

 

I've just finished reading a couple of reviews and it looks fantastic, especially for the price.  Also, being able to link to a server for TV etc is brilliant.

However, the one thing preventing me to ditching my WHS and four Windows 7 Media Centre clients in favour of this is the UI.  It's pre-XP MCE and really lets the hardware down.

I'll keep watching Sage TV closely in the hope that this improves.

UI is still the major blocker for me too. If they could make the UI as slick as Media Center then I think I would switch. I could then put Sage TV on my WHS box and just use these extenders around the house.

I think it is excellent Sage are spending their time on these pieces of hardware but if they could get their UI right then I think they would have many more converts.

 Sigh...

I think most UI comments at this point are just an example of navel gazing.  There are so many UI options with SageTV 7 that I just don't get that sort of response.  If you say CableCard or "I have a bunch of XBox360's" I would get that but....

 

cfaslave

 Sigh...

I think most UI comments at this point are just an example of navel gazing.  There are so many UI options with SageTV 7 that I just don't get that sort of response.  If you say CableCard or "I have a bunch of XBox360's" I would get that but....

 

Couldn't agree more with Ortus/phoenix/Sage My Movies and the many other UI's it is better than WMC now adays. Not to mention support for any XMBC skin I mean come on you saying XBMC isn't better than WMC :)  Those comments are from people that graze and don't know sagetv.

PLUCKYHD

Those comments are from people that graze and don't know sagetv.

 

I'll hold my hand up and say I don't know SageTV, but as a potential customer, visiting the website, I'm presented with screenshots of a UI that belong to the late 90s - http://www.sagetv.com/stvscreenshots.html?sageSub=tv.  SageTV is definately letting itself down here.

Based on your comments above, I'll definately have a proper look at it later this evening.  Could either of you suggest any good themes, where to download and how to integrate them?

Thanks in advance!

dduk

PLUCKYHD

Those comments are from people that graze and don't know sagetv.

 

I'll hold my hand up and say I don't know SageTV, but as a potential customer, visiting the website, I'm presented with screenshots of a UI that belong to the late 90s - http://www.sagetv.com/stvscreenshots.html?sageSub=tv.  SageTV is definately letting itself down here.

Based on your comments above, I'll definately have a proper look at it later this evening.  Could either of you suggest any good themes, where to download and how to integrate them?

Thanks in advance!

 

 Yeah those are V6 UI screenshots and don't represent the current v7 because it is still beta and not their main release yet. The v7 is a complete overhaul. I would look at that and the mb diamond theme to start with.

PLUCKYHD

 Yeah those are V6 UI screenshots and don't represent the current v7 because it is still beta and not their main release yet. The v7 is a complete overhaul. I would look at that and the mb diamond theme to start with.

 

Thanks for the quick reply, Plucky.  There's a limited number of screenshots for v7 available, but I found a link to your diamond theme and it does indeed look good!

I'll definately give the trial a download and see how I get on.

Yes, you're right, I don't really know Sage. However, I do periodically check their website and look at the screenshots. The screenshots to me just look bland and boring. If they've got a new version with a better UI then they need to market that better and start by putting up decent screenshots and maybe a few videos. It is a bit much to expect people to setup a Sage installation just to see what the UI is like!

asm495

Yes, you're right, I don't really know Sage. However, I do periodically check their website and look at the screenshots. The screenshots to me just look bland and boring. If they've got a new version with a better UI then they need to market that better and start by putting up decent screenshots and maybe a few videos. It is a bit much to expect people to setup a Sage installation just to see what the UI is like!

 

Like stated it is still a beta version that is why you don't see screenshots. It is also a bit much to comment on things you obviously haven't used or know just my 2 cents. I can't stand people that say something bad about something they haven't used.

OK, so you're saying version 7 is in Beta and is better. However, version 6 is what is being promoted on their website and the UI doesn't look the best. So people (including me) form their opinion based on what they have seen.

If I look at a car I can decided I don't like how it looks. I don't have to drive it to know that I don't like how it loooks.  It is the same generally for computer UIs.  In this case I've seen screenshots and don't like the look - using it is not going to change that for me.

Maybe version 7 will be better. However, I'm not going to install a beta and I will withhold judgement on that. However as the existing version stands I do not like the UI on that based on screenshots. Not having used it does not alter that.