On sale for $199.95 until 12/16/2009, use coupon code HAPHOL09 at checkout
(Normal sale price is currently $224.95, coupon code gets you another $25 off)

Looks pretty good to me, suposed to be able to play BlueRay movie structures as well.

Mitch

http://store.sagetv.com/mm5/merchant.mv ... ry_Code=HD

SageTV HD Theater plays almost any digital home media format you can throw at it including support for BDMV (BluRay) format playbck including chapters, subtitles and audio track selection and also lets you enjoy all your favorite online video from YouTube, Google Video and many major online video providers on your TV at the press of a button on your remote control! Earlier this year we added support for a $29.95 USB Wifi Adapter that allows the SageTV HD Theater to support some of the highest wireless bitrates of any media player in it's price range. We've also added animated Music visualizations and faster thumbnail display.

• Videos, music and photos from PC, Mac, NAS or USB flash/HDD
• No fan, no noise, small and easy to setup
• Internet video from YouTube and other popular services direct to your HDTV
File
formats AVI, ASF, MKV, MOV, MP4, Quicktime, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 PS, MPEG-2 TS, M2TS, BDMV Folder (BluRay), DVD ISO, DVD VIDEO_TS, VOB, M4A, MP3, FLAC, OGG, FLV, WAV, WMA
Video formats MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, H.264 up to 1080p, WMV9/VC-1 up to 1080p, MJPEG, FlashVideo
Audio formats MP2, MP3, AAC, AAC-HE, ALAC, WMA, WMAPro, PCM, Vorbis (stereo only), FLAC, AC3 (stereo down-mix/pass-through), TrueHD (stereo down-mix/pass-through as AC3 5.1), DTS (pass-through), DTS-HD/MA (pass-through as DTS 5.1)
CC/Subtitle
formats 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
You can also use the SageTV HD Theater as part of a whole home HD DVR solution with SageTV Media Center software version 6.6 or later and a PC, Mac or Linux computer and an HDTV tuner.

Yes, teh HD200 is a very solid device. I have had no problems playing back any of my hd content. Also, if you have a BR Rom drive hooked up to the server you can play this disk back on the HD200. Only real negative for me is the HD200 is only HDMI 1.2, so with that you don't get bitstreaming nor downmixing of HD audio.

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

@mitch672:

I have only had my HD200 for a few weeks now. My wife has taken to it quite nicely and it does everything it says it can. I pondered the HDMI 1.2 vs 1.3 for a while but decided that it was not an issue for me. I generally do like to have ALL the capabilities even if I do not have any way to use them but in this case I am really glad that I went ahead got the HD200. I do not have an AVR nor a speaker system nor a viewing area that is conducive to high end audio. Good ole Dolby Digital 5.1 still sounds pretty dang good and it made no sense for me to spend a pile of money on being able to play HD Audio. I am not saying HD Audio is not better but truth be told there are a fair number of folks who can not tell the difference and I am one of them.

It was a snap to setup and it has high WAF. The box itself is around 6in x 6in x 2in and is stone quiet. So far I have not had a single lock up or issue. Having had a variety of network media players and extenders over the last 6 years, no lock ups is a pleasant biggy. It has played everything I have thrown at it, inlcuding a couple of full BD rips. The lack of HD Audio will mean that when you rip a BD you will need to rip the core vs the HD Audio and in some cases you may need to convert the HD Audio to core 5.1. There are a number of free apps available for that.

PlayOn works very nicely with this unit as well.

_________________
YSoSerious - Q9550/W7 Home Premium/32bit/2.5TB/No Raid/120GB for OS, P4 2.53GHz XP Pro server (2.5TB)/SageTV+HD200/Linkplayer2

Big difference from the HP x280n, huh???

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

Yes it is. I know it is not the only really good option out there but when combined with my need for extender capabilities it 'hit the nail on the head' for me and my family. Your input and knowledge of this unit helped me a great deal. Thank you.

_________________
YSoSerious - Q9550/W7 Home Premium/32bit/2.5TB/No Raid/120GB for OS, P4 2.53GHz XP Pro server (2.5TB)/SageTV+HD200/Linkplayer2

Glad I could help. The HD Audio thing is big for me because of my setup, but for others (such as yourself) it is not a big deal. The HD200 really is a great device and I think does a great job when you incorporate the wife/family. Lets not forget it is the only device on the market right now with true WHS integration. I never tested running SageMovieWall on it (I only ran on my desktop) so not sure how well it operates on the HD200, but if you have a lot of tv shows TV Explorer works well. Good luck with everything, there are some very interesting features in the works coming soon so I will do my best to report once available.

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

So the Sage TV HD Theater is the same as the HD200? (Just confirming, I believe it is!)

And, Damian, do you recommend also getting the SageTV Media Center for Windows with it? (I suspect YES.)

The price seems right... Any other good prices around? (I do not see it on NewEgg...?)

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Correct, same device. Right now I think you can only get it through the SageTV site. You definitely don't need the SageTV Media Center software, but it does greatly enhance the experience and leverage your WHS.

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

OK, I'm about to pull the plug...

(1) What do I need to be able to access Netflix on the HD200 bundle (Sage TV HD Theater with SageTV Media Center for Windows)? Does that include everything I will need in an MSS environment?

(2) I see there is a wireless adapter option for the HD200. I have "G" only at the moment (and no particular motivation to upgrade as no other devices can handle it and I work almost exclusively on a wired desktop). Will this give me adequate performance? I suspect it may not for BlueRay, but otherwise? (I do not yet have BlueRay or the motivation to get it.)

(3) Anything else I should get?

(And YES, I have been searching for answers before asking. Just have not found clarity in the information found, even on the Sage site -- which is rather intimidating for the newbie over there!)

Thanks in advance...

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

A lot of "not motivated" comments, I think I am going to send a motivation coach (maybe Richard Simmons) to your house???

(1) I believe Netflix is still not integrated into SageTV. You will need to get the PlayON Media Service. I have this installed on my WHS and my media players pick it up without issue. Honestly though I have never tried Netflix (I shoudl since I have a membership)

(2) The biggest problem with wireless is for high bitrate HD content, which is most cases is Blu Ray, but would also apply to HD content from sites like Hulu, etc... If your wireless G connection is going well in theory you should have no problem with playback of SD content. Really hard to say since every house is different with regardless to wireless.

(3) Go the Tiger route and have a woman in each state! Otherwise the HD200 + SageTV Media Center software should be all you need to start.

If you do get I would probably try messing around with the HD200 in standalone mode, and the once you get comfortable you can look at running it in client/server mode with the MC software

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

Thanks yet again, Damian. Ordering it this evening...

_________________
....JBick

EX475, 2 GB, LE-1640
PC1: Vista-->W7 Ultimate/32, (D-Drive RAID-5 Array)
PC2: Lenovo Laptop, Win XP Home SP3
2xLinksys WRT54G v1.1 and 2xNetGear GS105 Gbit switch

Good to hear. You can run the SageTV Media Center software on your PC to get a feel for what the UI will look like when you get the HD200. The main UI in standalone mode on the HD200 is slightly different, but when you navigate to your media collection the UI will look the same.

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

Purely out curiosity why do you run in standalone mode and not in MC? I have not actually tried standalone mode yet. Is there some advantage to running that way?

WAF continues to be high. Do you recommend SageMC + MovieWall? I am about to follow your most excellent guide.

_________________
YSoSerious - Q9550/W7 Home Premium/32bit/2.5TB/No Raid/120GB for OS, P4 2.53GHz XP Pro server (2.5TB)/SageTV+HD200/Linkplayer2

Well, for my mom there is zero benefit to running as part of MC. If she uses the HD200 it is purely to watch videos, and the easiest thing to do is just go straight to the Video section in standalone mode. There is no livetv being done with SageTV and she doesn't need a fancier UI, so I didn't see a benefit.

As for SageMovieWall, tough call. I do prefer SageMC over the stock SageTV UI. There could be two problems with SageMovieWall. The first problem is that it may require a lot of resources and run slow on the HD200 (when I set up I only did on my desktop pc, I know some people reported it worked fine but others noted sluggishness). My second issue is actually not SageMovieWall but the metadata structure that the folks at SageTV moved over to. They changed the way metadata was held so that it all resides at a central location instead of in each movie folder. I am not fond of the new structure, and don't particularly care for the main SageTV metadata tool that is used (BMI). For me metadata should be simple, and I feel they made it a lot more complicated then it needed to be for no good reason.

_________________
Cheers,
Damian

DIY WHS - 12.5TB and growing, too many gadgets to list

Did you read the MediaSmartServer blog today?
Blog - http://www.adigitalhomeblog.com
"Like a midget at a urinal, stay on your toes!" - Lieutenant Frank Drebin

Thanks for the info. I have been posting over at STV but on this particular subject I am not getting as much help as I have for other things, probably because it is been a hot topic for a long time.

Sluggish navigation is something I want to avoid. I recently removed all of the folder art, fan art and metadata from each of my video folders to speed things up. I was hoping to put the art work and metadata back in each folder using Yammm and then use SageMC but that does not sound like it will work. I think for now I will wait and see what comes next. What is SMM? I saw it referred to in the SageMC thread but no explanation was given.

Thanks again.

_________________
YSoSerious - Q9550/W7 Home Premium/32bit/2.5TB/No Raid/120GB for OS, P4 2.53GHz XP Pro server (2.5TB)/SageTV+HD200/Linkplayer2