Per Robert Macy:
Would you elaborate about your system?
The brand name is "SageTV".
Their web site sucks canal water, so don't judge the product by
their web site.
The essential components a
- TV Tuners:
I have four so the system can record up to three shows
at a time while we're watching something.
My make model is "Silicon Dust HD Homerun": 2 devices
with 2 tuners in each. IIRC mine were about $160 per
box (i.e. $320 for all 4 tuners)
- The SageTV Application:
It's about ninety bucks and runs on any Windows or
Linux PC - including Windows Home Server.
I tried a Linux-based freebie analog called "MythTV"
for several months before laying out the bucks for Sage.
Some swear by Myth... but for me it was like a part-time
job and I never got it running dependably.
The SageTV application is the part that reads/controls the
tuners and records whatever you want. Also, if you want,
the PC it's running on can be connected to any TV - or you
can just use the PC's monitor as your TV. If you only have
one television and you're willing to do your PC work in that
room that's probably something to think about.
If you are watching "Live", it's actually recording and you're
watching the recording -albeit in real time. Tune into ABC
news fifteen minutes late, and you can start at the beginning
and fast-forward the commercials.
This is definitely an enthusiast's product and not a
dumbed-down foolproof "appliance". That's not to say
you won't be able to set it up once and forget it... but
the developers are obviously a bunch of Linux weenies and
parts of the product's UI reflects this. For instance
the setup screen that lets you customize all of the buttons
on the remote control presents the commands by order of
their internal ID#. Heaven forbid, they should sort
it alphabetically.... but that's small potatoes in light
of the product's functionality and reliability.
- The Little Black Boxes:
Actually, you could run the SageTV application on a PC next to
your TV and not use the boxes, but the more common approach is
to use the PC running Sage as a "server"... located, say, in
the rec room, and connect the little black boxes to each TV.
The boxes, of course, are actually computers - but they have
no moving parts and only pull 5-6 watts.
I forget what arcane, BS name Sage uses for the boxes, but
the model name on mine is "HD200" and the most recent mode
is "HD300". The industry term-of-art seems to be "media
extender".
- The Wires:
Stuff gets from the SageTV PC to the little black
boxes over Ethernet cables. I've also run the connection
over WiFi using a bridge that worked, but Those Who Know
generally say that if you can pull the cable, do it.
- Storage:
Video is disk-hungry. A ripped movie takes 4 gigs.
A recorded one-hour TV show takes between 4
and 12 gigs depending on the def. Looking at my
files, "American Experience, Eyes On the Prize: Ain't
scared of Your Jails, No Easy Walk" is taking 11.3 gigs.
But you can get 2-tb drives for less than a hundred bucks
each and 1-tb drives for 50-something.
- (Optional): PC-based functional equivalents of the
little black box. One allows you to watch your stuff
from anywhere in the world, but doesn't play ripped
movies. The other one only works within your home,
but will play ripped movies. Each one was about
thirty bucks when I bought them, and one copy of
one of them comes with the SageTV app.
Fast forwarding of commercials has tb seen tb believed.
The remote that comes with the little black box is
programmable and I have one skip setting at 10 seconds
and the other at 1 minute.
It's been at least five years, probably more, since I've seen
more than 20 seconds of *any* commercial. This is especially
gratifying around election time..... -)
Of course, there's a freebie trial period for the application, so
all one really needs to try it out for nothing is a PC and a
tuner card.
If you decide to dabble in it and need some support I'd be glad
to share my limited expertise. Confirm at FatBelly full stop
Com.
There are also some helpful fora at
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/index.php
--
PeteCresswell