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VidaBox Media Servers add metadata support for XBMC, Popcorn Hour and others
We wouldn't expect for upper-crust aimed media server setups like the ones offered by VidaBox to play nicely with the common rabble, but apparently that's just what is going on. With the click of a check box, its "Drop-n-Rip" Blu-ray and DVD archiving now includes cover art and other metadata compatible with third party streamers including Popcorn Hour, HDI Dune, TViX, XBMC, Sage TV and others. This probably won't drop the cost of a custom installed setup by much, but if you have one and want to bring your own extender hardware (similar to its recent iPad support) into the mix, it should be a simple upgrade.
Recorded TV HD plugin for Media Center adds commercial break indicator
The Recorded TV HD app for Media Center users debuted earlier this year, bringing the ability to sort saved TV shows by genre or personalized favorites list with additional metadata pulled in automatically. Today, developer Mark Terborg released v1.4.18, which adds a Sage TV-style commercial break indicator to the scrub bar, provided users are running properly configured commercial scanning software as well. The familiar look may ease the nerves of switchers jumping from the Sage ship, who can get a taste of the add-in during its 30-day free trial but will have to pay $19.95 for a license covering one PC plus extenders, or $39.95 for a whole household. Check after the break for a shot of the plugin's UI, or hit the source link for the full changelog.
SageTV users can upgrade to the most recent version for free
One of the big questions after news broke that Google had acquired SageTV and the store shut down was what would happen to the community, but now at least one bone has been thrown existing users way. GeekTonic points out a post on the official forums with updates that will bring the most recent version 7 of the software to those running older v5 or v6, free of charge. That doesn't put cash back in the pocket of those who already paid for the upgrades, but at least it puts remaining users on a similar platform for themes and plugins to run on. There's also a Q&A available at GT and while the majority of the answers are of the "can't comment on that right now" variety, there are some notable tidbits, like plans to keep the EPG data going for "at least a year" and the predictable news that the current beta of 7.1 is considered "release quality" and will not be updated further.
SageTV HTPC software acquired by Google, next stop Google TV?
In what may be an interesting development for the future of Google TV, the folks at Mountain View have purchased SageTV. The HTPC software has been doing its media center thing on multiple platforms since 2002, and according to a note on its homepage the developers "believe our ideas will reach an even larger audience of users worldwide on many different products, platforms and services." While there's no word on exactly what Google has planned, SageTV has long included DVR and placeshifting features that the Google TV product lacks by itself. The bad news for current users is that the store links on SageTV's page have suddenly stopped working, so hopefully you snagged the software already if you're interested. If your main question is "What is SageTV?" check out a demo video created by user jaredduq that is embedded after the break. [Thanks, Jason, screenshot courtesy GeekTonic]
New SageTV beta released with plenty of upgrades
The last time we checked in on SageTV the HTPC frontend was just hitting version 7 last spring, but just a few days ago it upgraded to a new public beta, version 7.1.7. It's had a slew of fixes and tweaks over the last few months and GeekTonic points out some of them including Channel Logos provided by SageTV, improvements in the guide data, fixes for rewind and fast forward on extenders and many more. There's much more detail available in the changelogs on the forums, so hit the source link to find out exactly what's new and improved.
Poll: What kind of DVR are you using?
With 2010 quickly winding down, we figure most of you have switched from simply watching whatever's on TV to your own choice of recorded shows by now, but we're wondering how you do it. Do you keep it simple and take the box offered by your cable/satellite/IPTV provider, have you upgraded to a third party selection from Moxi or TiVo, or did you DIY and slam a CableCARD into the baddest HTPC you could build? Check the poll options and get in where you fit in, then let us know how it's working out for you in the comments. %Poll-57595%
How to tweak ShowAnalyzer to 100 percent commercial detection accuracy
If you you've ever used any automatic commercial skipping technology you know that it isn't 100 percent accurate. We remember our old ReplayTV 4080 had a button on the remote just to disable the feature when it incorrectly identified part of our favorite show as a commercial. You'd hit it and then rewind, so while nothing was lost, some are so annoyed that they'd just assume skip them the old fashioned way. Well unlike the ReplayTV, when you use ShowAnalyzer to detect commercials on your HTPC, you can tweak your settings to 100% accuracy. Until recently this wasn't actually possible because while ShowAnalyzer has been tweakable for a while, one set of settings would fix one show, and make another worse. Well in the latest beta you can set rules that allows you to tweak the settings per channel or even per show. So while there is nothing automatic about gaining 100 percent accuracy, it is actually kind of fun to try. You can even share your specific settings with others, you know, to show everyone how smart you are.
SageTV's HD Theater gets Blu-ray streaming
Fans of SageTV will love this one -- out now in the latest beta release of the software is HD Theater streamer playback of ripped Blu-ray discs. There's no support for the interactive features, but based on what we've seen from BD-Live so far, you won't be missing much; what you are able to do is point the HD Theater at the ripped BDMV folder on your SageTV PC and enjoy multiple audio tracks and chapter support, with subtitles promised somewhere down the road. For now, this only works when the HD Theater is used in extender mode, but a future firmware upgrade promises to bring the functionality to streamers used in standalone mode. This certainly gives SageTV something to crow about with respect to, say, a Kaleidescape setup, doesn't it? Beta testers, let us know how this feature works out for you.
SageTV HD Theater review
When we first heard about the new SageTV HD Theater, we thought it was just a smaller version of the HD100, but boy we're we wrong. The reason is simple, the new HD Theater from SageTV does everything we loved about the HD100 -- like extending HD from SageTV DVR software to any TV in the house -- but is now smaller and adds a great new twist: it will work as a standalone media streamer. Now we know what you're thinking, "great, like we need yet another media streamer." We know it, because that's exactly what we were thinking. But this is different because it will play every codec under the sun -- including MKV and H.264 -- and at the same time give you direct access to online content from the likes of YouTube and HD Podcasts -- Hulu was demoed at CES, but isn't live yet. Before you get too excited though, this wonder box isn't perfect, but you'll just have to click on through to learn all about that. %Gallery-42656%
SageTV beta adds placeshifting
We placeshift our HDTV with an Xbox 360, so this was interesting news to us. SageTV's newest beta (4.1.7 for you Sage-a-maniacs) now supports placeshifting via a client called "SageTVPlaceshifter". Don't be disappointed in the name, what did you expect since the names "Orb" and "Slingbox" were already taken? We're guessing that you're not shifting HD content with this first version, but we all know that's where things are headed. Does anyone know the patron saint of "bandwidth" so we can light a candle?[via eHomeUpgrade]
