SageTV HD300 Announced, Shipping Sept 10th

by Damian on August 31, 2010 · 33 comments

in News

About a month ago I put together an article on where I hoped SageTV was heading since I have had a love/hate relationship with it. At the top of my list was a new/refreshed media extender that supported full HD Audio bitstreaming and downmix. Well, looks like I may be able to cross that off my list as the SageTV HD300 was just announced. Preorders are already being taken at an attractive price of $149. There will be more to come as we get more information (of course I have already preordered!), but here are the specs and some great sources of information:

Missing Remote Unboxing and Review

Geektonic Introduction (with more to come)

SageTV Official Page

SageTV HD Theater 300 Specifications

File formats supported: AVI, ASF, MKV, MOV, MP4, Quicktime, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 PS, MPEG-2 TS, M2TS, BDMV Folder (BluRay), BluRay ISO, DVD ISO, DVD VIDEO_TS, VOB, M4A, MP3, FLAC, OGG, FLV, WAV, WMA

Video formats supported: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, H.264 up to 1080p, WMV9/VC-1 up to 1080p, MJPEG, FlashVideo

Audio formats suppported: MP2, MP3, AAC, AAC-HE, ALAC, WMA, WMAPro, PCM, Vorbis (stereo only), FLAC, DolbyDigital/DolbyDigital+/DolbyTrueHD (stereo down-mix or pass-through), DTS/DTS-HD/DTS-MA (stereo down-mix or pass-through)

CC/Subtitle formats supported: EIA-608(NTSC/ATSC/QAM Closed Captioning), SRT, SSA/ASS, VobSub (sub/idx, mkv), Nero MP4 VOB Subtitles, MP4 Text, SAMI, .sub (Subviewer/MicroDVD), DVD, BDMV, M2TS, multiple languages supported in all formats

Playlist formats suppported: M3U, WPL, ASX, WAX, WVX

Media sources supported: Online Video, external USB Mass Storage Devices (FAT, NTFS, EXT2/3, HFS format), NAS or Mac/PC over SMB/CIFS, UPnP, SageTV Media Center

Keyboard support: Wired or Wireless USB keyboards (US keyboard layout)

Wireless Network support: 802.11 b/g/n networks; USB wireless network adapters listed below

Video Outputs: 1 HDMI, 1 Component, 1 Composite (Component & Composite via breakout cable)

Audio Outputs: Optical S/PDIF, HDMI, Left/Right analog audio output (analog audio output via breakout cable)

Remote Control: Includes infrared remote control with universal remote functionality (3 buttons can be programmed using infrared, compatible with most remote controls).

External IR Receiver: Optional external IR receiver can be purchased for mounting the HD Theater 300 behind a TV or in another room. Available here.

Maximum Number of SageTV HD Theaters when used as a media extender: Limited only by your home network bandwidth, each HD video stream may use 20 Mbps or more of home network bandwidth.

TV Set Requirements:

  • HDMI, Component or Composite input (NTSC or PAL)
  • Left and right audio input jacks, optical or HDMI audio input

Network Requirements:

  • One 10/100 RJ-45 port on a Router, Hub or Switch network (supports DHCP and static IP addresses)
  • or

  • Direct connect from SageTV HD Media Extender to PC running DHCP server via cross over LAN cable (not supplied)

Included with the SageTV HD THeater:

  • SageTV HD Theater digital media receiver
  • Remote control with batteries
  • Breakout cable for composite video, component video and analog audio
  • HDMI cable
  • 1.5 meter Ethernet cable
  • Power adapter

Article by

Hi, my name is Damian, and I'm tech gadget addict! Although I always had some interest in technology, it wasn't until I got my EX470 and more importantly found Mediasmartserver.net, that my interest became an addiction. My goal, aside from world domination and to see the Mets/Broncos win another championship, is to set up the perfect digital home where all my media is available at the click of a button. When I am not writing for Mediasmartserver.net you can find me over at my blog at http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com or follow me on twitter


{ 31 comments }

Charles Robinson August 31, 2010 at 10:01 am

Do you know how well this one plays with MyMovies?
I noticed this only has a 10/100 and there specs say a HD playback only uses 20mbs each.
I’m really confused by this as I have never gotten good playback at these speeds.
A wireless connection 802.11g 54mbs I can’t even get TMT3 to launch an HD video.
What magical pixie dust are they using?
Could they perhaps be doing some sort of on the fly encoding/transcoding
to lower the number of refreshed pixels?
I know TiVo’s did this to some degree and depending on settings.

Damian August 31, 2010 at 10:16 am

As PluckyHD (the guy behind the SageTV MyMovies port) commented it should play fine, 10/100 is plenty enough for HD playback

Techvet August 31, 2010 at 10:06 am

Hot diggity! I just pre-ordered one of these!! Folks this pre-order price is very good and beats the ‘best’ HD-200 price by about $30. For folks who are in the market for nice multimedia package, it is hard to beat SageTV. It’ll require some set-up on the front end, but once configured it is about as sweet as it comes. Plus… it integrates nicely with WHS!

PLUCKYHD August 31, 2010 at 10:08 am

I don’t know why their specs say that. I know the extender is capable of streaming up to 50mps video and it is definitely not transcoded from a true blue ray rip. The chip they are using in this thing looks amazing and every bit as good as my PS3 to me.

It works fine with mymovies I should know :)

Techvet August 31, 2010 at 10:15 am

SageTV version 7 (currently still in beta, but available to all) DOES play well with MyMovies. It requires the MyMovies for WHS add-in as well as a MM plug-in within SageTV itself. Unlike SageTV 6.5, much of the MM set-up is self contained within SageTV7. I currently run two HD-200s with the SageTV7/MM combo and it runs flawlessly. I DO NOT currently run HD content with my SageTV setup. Frankly I find it does such a good job with up-conversion that the movies I’ve encoded in SD look very nice. That being said, I have some HD stuff that I’ll migrate over to the MSS in the near future and I don’t foresee bandwidth being a problem.

Charles Robinson August 31, 2010 at 11:44 am

So now, I need to know.
If I wanted to use one of these do I need to run the full sageTV media center app.
Or can I have it connect to my WHS running MyMovies?

I’m curious I have always done the HTPC thing as it supports all formats but I really like the small package.
Can I use this as a replacement extender to replace an HTPC?

Damian August 31, 2010 at 11:48 am

Charles,

To run in extender/client mode (which is what you are going to want to do), you would need to have SageTV Media Center running as a service on a PC. I have it installed on my WHS (the have a SageTV add in), so this is not a big deal since my WHS is on anyhow.

This could definitely serve as a replacement of an HTPC.

Charles Robinson August 31, 2010 at 12:10 pm

OK,OK stop twisting my arm.
I ordered one already Jeez…:)

Damian August 31, 2010 at 12:17 pm

Haha, I ordered two with two of the IR extenders. One is to set up my mom with and the other is for me to test. What you can do is download SageTV 7 and start testing out. You get a free 21 day trial (unless you just purchased). You can download the WHS addin and install the Client version on your HTPC to get a sense of how everything works.

Charles August 31, 2010 at 1:17 pm

Yep, I want to do that.
Having a little trouble finding the plugin.

Also I did not buy sage v7, I thought about playing with placeshifter
but I use slingbox for that.
So I couldn’t justify the cost.
Bundled with my purchase it would have been $50 for sage v7 +$30 for placeshifter +$30 for the client and extra $110 unless I goofed the math.
But now I would need to go the other route.
The bundle of Sage v7 + Placeshift $99 + the client $30 = ~$129

DamianP August 31, 2010 at 1:24 pm

Are we talking about the same thing here? If you bought an hd300 you don’t need a client license. Also, if you are just talking about watching tv on the hd300 from a networked tuner in your sagetv tuner farm you don’t need a placeshifter license either. You should only need to buy the sagetv media center software for your whs

Brajesh August 31, 2010 at 1:26 pm

Does MyMovies support only movies or TV shows as well? If not both, what is a good jukebox software for SageTV? I’m looking for something like Zappati for Dune or YAMJ w/Aeon for PCH. Thanks.

DamianP August 31, 2010 at 1:36 pm

There may be tv support coming to sage mymovies :-)

Otherwise there are other plugins such as phoenix, ortus on the way which will add support, and eventually I am sure tv explorer will be ported over the sage7 as well

Pluckyhd August 31, 2010 at 2:29 pm

Correct the upcoming addins for sage will handle tv. Ploxee is my favorite ;)

Damian August 31, 2010 at 3:40 pm

What does that stand for, Foxxy Plucky ;-0

pluckyhd August 31, 2010 at 5:17 pm

actually Boxee plucky style :)

It is actually an ortus project that is going to use ortus and team ortus is all working on it (jeff on the api, me in studio and ben. It should be a nice addin but will be pretty simple as far as options go and it copying boxee tv ui with our own twist and a couple of really nice surprises :)

I want My SageTV August 31, 2010 at 2:41 pm

How does the picture quality of the HD300 compare to the HD200? How about processing power in terms of handling commands and geting rid of the spinning circle?

Damian August 31, 2010 at 3:42 pm

If you check out the review I linked above from Missing Remote Andy commented that for Scaling/SD comment that was the only area where he felt could use improvement. I don’t have an HD300 yet so cannot comment on.

As far as processing power the new Sigma chip being used in the HD300 is much more powerful then the HD200, which should hopefully translate into better performance and minimizing the spinning circle (I hate that thing!)

pluckyhd August 31, 2010 at 5:15 pm

The picture quality is great at 1080p24fps if your tv supports or otherwise good as well. It definately is not possible for me to tell the picture difference between my ps3 and this extender but I could on the hd200.

As for spinning circle…depends on why you are getting it and where. I think the speed is much much better than the hd200 in my use but isn’t mind blowing better or anything.

charles August 31, 2010 at 3:02 pm

OK, now I’m confused.

Currently I just want to use the HD300 as an extender.
So I was looking for the add-in for WHS.

From your comments now I think I need the media center software.
I didn’t want to install Sage on my WHS.
Unless I was going to play with Placeshifting etc.. outside of the house.

Do I need to install sagetv v7 to use it as an extender?
If not where can I find the add-on?

Damian August 31, 2010 at 3:39 pm

The WHS Addin for SageTV 7 can be found here:

http://www.sagetv.com/betadownload.html

If you want to use the HD300 in extender mode (most likely this is what you want to do) you will need to have SageTV Media Center installed eitehr on a PC or on your WHS (using the Add In I just gave you the link to)

Brajesh September 1, 2010 at 8:14 am

I pre-ordered the HD300 w/Media Center bundle. Did I not need to do that? I’m a little confused. Is the WHS add-in free? I only plan to use my WHS and not my PC to support the HD300 in extender mode.

Damian September 1, 2010 at 8:22 am

The WHS Add in is not free, you get that license when you get the SageTV Media Center Software (which I believe you ordered as part of your bundle)

Brajesh September 1, 2010 at 8:56 am

Makes sense, thanks.

Charles August 31, 2010 at 3:43 pm

I sort of gathered that after the third brick hit me in the head.

I’ve already sent their support a request to change my order to the bundle, I hope it’s not too late.
But if I’m in for a spoon full, I’m in for the whole bowl and will get the placeshifter as well.
And try to figure out how to connect it to a direcTV SD satilite reciever for away from home viewing.

Damian August 31, 2010 at 3:46 pm

Haha, I know it can very confusing. SageTV Support is very helpful so no doubt they shoudl eb able to change your order.

As far as direcTV my guess you would need to get an HD PVR that would need to be hooked up to wherever your SageTV MC is installed (in your case your WHS) along with your DirecTV box

pluckyhd August 31, 2010 at 5:13 pm

He said SD don’t waste your money on the hdpvr if you are just recording sd. Get a cheap hauppauge tuner with s-video.

Damian August 31, 2010 at 5:19 pm

You can get access to all the channels, record, etc… just using a hauppauge tuner with s-video connected to DirecTV? I thought the cable/sat companies could drm any channel, regardless if it was SD or HD

PLUCKYHD August 31, 2010 at 5:32 pm

see below :) thought I hit reply

PLUCKYHD August 31, 2010 at 5:31 pm

Sure you can this isn’t wmc :) There is no drm either route and you can get everything from s-video or component using hdpvr. There also isn’t drm in WMC unless they decide to apply it by “accident” lol

I would recommend using the serial changing application that is out there for directv recievers if you have a model that supports it if not usbuirt for IR is pretty darn reliable (I haven’t had one miss tune since using it)

Charles Robinson September 1, 2010 at 5:57 pm

I was wondering about that.
I read a coouple articles and I do have the old D11 mentioned.
I will have to give it a try.
One thing that does bug me is I read that place shifter does not allow for
DVD folder view, I currently use a slingbox because of that same issue with other streamers.
I understand the whole dont broadcast movies thing, but I want my video’s and share with family at multiple locations without using a bank of sling boxes.
I will find a way Oh yes I will.

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