Thursday, December 18, 2008

SageTV and SageTV HD200 Extender Beta Updates

SageTV has released a new beta for their HTPC software and a new beta firmware for the SageTV HD200 Extender/Player.  The SageTV software update is full of bug fixes and improvements and probably the last beta before being released from beta.  The HD200 firmware update has some significant updates including faster startup time, support for the MCE remote control and DTS passthrough support in ts/m2ts among many other improvements.

put out their latest beta tonight with some nice improvements and new features for SageTV users including HD-PVR placeshifting and EVR support among other things to get their customers excited. Below is a abbreviated, list of the major SageTV New Features/Updates:

SageTV Core Updates:

  • Various SageTV Placeshifter improvements and bug fixes
  • Added DTS Mpeg Demux support for Windows
  • Fix broken code for Kworld USB dual tuner
  • Improved H.264 TS playback for Mac version
  • Mac HD-PVR capture support (beta)
  • Improved HD-PVR capture support for Linux

 

SageTV HD200 Extender/Player Updates

(check out the GeekTonic Unboxing and first impressions of the HD200 here)

(NOTE-To upgrade firmware on HD200:  While in standalone mode, use the remote's number pad to enter the code 2382 ('beta') on the HD200's Settings -> System Update menu in order to tell it to look for the beta version. For help about how to update the firmware, see the HD200's manual (found in the box the unit came in).
OVERALL UPDATES:

  • When changing the default aspect ratio for the HD100/HD200 the setting will now take effect when the next file is loaded instead of requiring a restart
    Placeshifter updates
  • Improved playback of H.264 transport stream files
  • Faster startup time:  Press Home while in Standby to power up in the last mode used when the HD200 was put into standby. (i.e.: more quickly connect to the last SageTV server the HD200 was connected to, if it was connected to one.)
  • HDMI compatibility updates
  • PAL support added -- Advanced Setup -> Multimedia -> TV Standard; choose NTSC or PAL
  • Experimental RC6 IR remote support – Now supports the MCE Remote!
  • USB devices use the same path if disconnected and reconnected.
  • Fixed issue where Power button turned unit back off during startup.
  • Temporary fix for AC3 over spdif
  • Fix bug with some ALAC files
  • Improved HDMI detection for DTD modes
  • DTS passthrough support in ts/m2ts.

 

STANDALONE USER INTERFACE UPDATES:

  • Search menu: added item for "All Results" at top of each column for Video searches. (Other search types already had that option.)
  • Integrated HD720 YouTube video support from default STV.
  • Updated auto-connect cancel dialog to allow using Stop to cancel the auto-connect or Play to force the connection to proceed w/o waiting for the 5 second timeout.
  • Added Now Playing panel to bottom of file browser menu.
  • Fixed use of Play, Pause, and Play/Pause on the file browser.
  • Updated Play listeners to play video/music regardless of whether the item is the same as the currently playing item.
  • Removed restriction for Workgroup selection where it was rejected if it had any non alpha-numeric characters.
  • File Browser: can use the Info command on USB devices to access options such as copying the files on the device or adding the USB's root path as an import directory. 
  • Updated Audio & Video connector pictures with photos of the actual connections.

To read through the full change list check out the SageTV Beta Forum Thread and the SageTV Extender Beta Forum Thread