What do you think this is?

[jmaver]

SageTV Media Extender
http://forums.sage.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=9016

[k_kirk]

I personally think its a wake up call to SS... I hope they are working through the holiday period to come up with at least a BUG FIX to compete... CES news will be interesting to watch this year. Thanks for sharing.

[jmaver]

There was talk at some point about bundling either sage or btv with a mediamvp. But then the sourceforge project for btv got good enough that I think SS decided to focus on their core products instead.
Sage either kept at it or has come out with something else.

[k_kirk]

I agree. Seems like they have a re-brand & bundle deal going on. IMHO, the bigger news item there is the announcement of Sage TV Media Center 3.0... Seems like they are announcing a major new version directly targeting MS & Tivo. If they managed to put out a stable product this may mean exodus for many existing & future SS customers... As I said, its a wake up call...

[jmaver]

I don't really see the wake up call part. It seems like everybody is on the same path: a single integrated media center.
MS MCE 2005
Meedio Essentials + Meedio TV
BTV + BM
Sage TV MediaCenter

The problem is that nobody except MS has the dev resources to do it. So, realistically, you can't beat them at the general case. BTV, Sage and Meedio should focus on MCE's weak spots - the customization and power user, since MS won't go there. But instead they are emulating.

[k_kirk]

An integrated product with a single name vs 1+1 approach, a supported media extender product... Seems like a big leg over on the competition to me.

[mlbdude]

Originally Posted by k_kirk

An integrated product with a single name vs 1+1 approach, a supported media extender product... Seems like a big leg over on the competition to me.

Not so sure. SageTV has had the same features (and more) of MCE05 for a long time and it has not helped them to gain market over MCE. Not sure if just changing the name will help.

[k_kirk]

If you read my note carefully you may note I am referring to a wakeup call for SS, not MS... Anyways, you are all right. I am wrong. Forget I ever voiced my opinion. BTV is great, BM is great. The world is great. There is no competition. No need to talk about this anymore as obviously our rambling on does not change anything. Thank you.

[jmaver]

I think BM and Meedio TV are are not the best use of dev resources. I really do wish they would focus on each company's core competency, instead of spreading it out. It is like the all in one printers - the sum is much weaker than the individual parts would be.
I personally use Meedio as my front end and BTV as my PVR. If they would just focus on those two parts, I would be happy.

[Eric3a]

I think BM and Meedio TV are are not the best use of dev resources.

I see the logic, and sometimes share that point of view.

For the most however I think that Snapstream's approach is radically different to Meedio's in that BTV is less geekish than Meedio. I also use a BTV / Meedio combination at the moment (I oscillate between Meedio and BM as front ends), but can't wait for BM to mature fully to an easy solution like BTV has.
The Meedio forums had a poll showing users preferred tweaking their system to using it. Which seems correct to me: Meedio can be so "geekish" and absorbing it becomes the fun. I am almost ready to bet Meedio TV will also be a geek's paradise, but not what many BTV users would like.

Snapstream has a plan, and judging by the progress in BTV over the last years, I am confident they will continue to provide a great PVR, and add more and more convenient features in the next months and coming year.

As for some of the rest of the competition: I'll never get an MS PVR with DRM. End of story here. Meedio is too geekish for me, but a strong contender for users who enjoy tweaking. Sage is closer to BTV, and it's down to user's personal tastes.
Eric