SageTV beta vs. GBPVR beta

[mkanet]

I am currently a SageTV 3.0.x beta user in despirate need of a "complete and stable" ATSC/NTSC media center solution. There is currently some bugs related to HDTV support that's not acceptable to me (ie, software cannot handle 2 Fusion 5 Lite BDA cards at the same time it eventually blue screens). Plus, the picture viewer and music jukebox is far from what I consider complete.

It looks like MCE 2005 is the most complete and STABLE out of all media center products. The only reason I can't use it is lack of Overlay (which I need since overlay has significantly better picture quality on my HTPC; especially ATSC material).

I am hoping somebody who has used both SageTV 3.0.x and GBPVR can tell me what their strengths and weaknesses are. When I ask on SageTV forums, they say simply that GBPVR isn't dependable/stable/fast as SageTV. Is this still true with the latest GBPVR beta?

It's obvious that GBPVR is more feature-rich because of all the plug-in functionality. But stabilty and speed makes the software "feel" like a real Tivo STV and less like a PC trying to act like a Tivo'

Thanks in advance!

[sub]

I'd suspect the ATSC HDTV support in SageTV is much further advanced and stable than GB-PVR's. I'm not in the USA, and dont have easy access to HDTV signals, so I've spent a very very little amount of time focusing on ATSC HDTV.

When I ask on SageTV forums, they say simply that GBPVR isn't dependable/stable/fast as SageTV. Is this still true with the latest GBPVR beta?

I think GB-PVR is very dependable. I dont remember the last time I missed a recording on my setup. Sure, some people have problems, but its generally stable for most people. Some people also have problems with sage tv...

GB-PVR's live preview mode gives much faster channel change times than sage which is always in a timeshifting mode. GB-PVR in timeshift mode is slightly slower than sage tv changing channels. Live Preview mode is great for those that like to channel surf. There is no equivalent of live preview mode in sage tv.

SageTV's user interface is faster on slow machines (slower than PIII 1GHz).

SageTV had about a two year head start on GB-PVR, but I think we're not doing too badly.

[reven]

you can pretty much guarantee every user here would say gbpvr is far superior to sage tv in every way, and we would be right. its free give it a go and make up your own mind. out of all the pvr program i tried (pretty much all) gbpvr is the most stable (i havent missed a recording in about 6 months).

[mkanet]

Thanks sub!

I use the Preview window all the time (when I'm not watching TV in full screen). Can GBPVR display a preview window in all it's menus?

Which forum should I post to ask questions about HDTV support in GBPVR?

[sub]

I use the Preview window all the time (when I'm not watching TV in full screen). Can GBPVR display a preview window in all it's menus?

No, GB-PVR does not have a preview window.

Which forum should I post to ask questions about HDTV support in GBPVR?

Probably the 'support' forum.

[daphatty]

I do believe I am the only one currently using a Fusion 5 with GB-PVR so I'd say I'm the best person to answer some of your questions.

Multiple Tuners - I wish I were better able to answer this question. Unfortunately, I only have one card at the moment. I can, however, say this about the F5; it works very well even in its primitive state. If you don't mind manually configuring the OTA ATSC channels then you won't be disappointed.

GB-PVR Stability - I'm not sure who told you that GB-PVR wasn't stable because that is simply not true. Sub is an excellent programmer (IMO) and has really put together a great app.

GB-PVR Speed (in relation to ATSC) - The only issues I've encountered are with certain mpeg2 decoders. So far, the Zulu decoder that comes with the F5 has the best performance and compatibility with other audio decoders. The nVidia mpeg2 decoder has the BEST video quality but a bug in the audio driver is preventing many people from using it. (The audio doesn't play at all and nVidia isn't owning up to the problem.)

Overlay Support - Yep, we got that! You might like what you find.

Hope this was helpful

- DaPhatty

[Darx-starz]

It looks like MCE 2005 is the most complete and STABLE out of all media center products. The only reason I can't use it is lack of Overlay (which I need since overlay has significantly better picture quality on my HTPC; especially ATSC material).

GB-PVR is very stable now. Must be as Sub is now adding loads of functionality.

I am hoping somebody who has used both SageTV 3.0.x and GBPVR can tell me what their strengths and weaknesses are. When I ask on SageTV forums, they say simply that GBPVR isn't dependable/stable/fast as SageTV. Is this still true with the latest GBPVR beta?

It's obvious that GBPVR is more feature-rich because of all the plug-in functionality. But stabilty and speed makes the software "feel" like a real Tivo STV and less like a PC trying to act like a Tivo'

Thanks in advance!

I have used SageTV and GB-PVR and I just cannot get on with Sage. IMHO GB-PVR is now very stable. I was trying to use MediaPortal as it used DVR-MS which is more stable for my setup. I could never get DVB to work right when the streams had to be muxed together. The realease before last added DVR-MS support and as a consequence I installed the second DVB tuner. I now have 3 tuners in total. It has not missed a beat for a longtime. I will stick with GB-PVR. For the price alone you cannot beat it. Never mind the quailty of support from not only the Author but the comunity as whole. Try it. You wont be dissapointed.

[herbs]

I used sagetv (trail) when it was v2.0 and thought it was brillant, the channel changes were fast for me (at the time gbpvr was always buffering and 3-4 sec channel changes) and it never missed a recording. But it was a bit of a fiddle for xmltv listings as the application is really based for North Americans with provided listing for them. Also epg listings didn't always update you had to reboot to get them to show up, I assume this is all fixed nowdays. I would have purchased it but the fact gbpvr was free and sub removed the need to have buffering soon after I started testing sage. I'm glad I didn't purchase it as it doesn't have native dvb-t support which is the way it is going in my country.