SageTV 4

• Quick specs
• Price: Free to try (15-day trial); $79.95 to buy
• Operating system: Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98
• Date added: November 30, 2005
• Total Downloads: 57,570
• Downloads last week: 76
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• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 23 votes
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User reviews of SageTV 4

• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 23 votes
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• 1 stars

  0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

  Version: SageTV 4

  "Stupid interface, BAD configuration..."

  by Shaker1978 on October 6, 2006

  Pros: I haven't encountered any...

  Cons: I hate wizards... and big coloured buttons !!! The configuration of the tool is very, very bad ! Badly structured and does not offer not at least a little bit, what I desire. When clicking on a channel, I would like to SEE it, so that I can RENAME it !!! A TV software for me, MUST have a TV window plus a control panel !

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• 4 stars

  4 out of 4 people found this review helpful

  Version: SageTV 4

  "SageTV works very well"

  by dpeart on December 1, 2005

  Pros: I have been using SageTV for ~3 years now and it is getting better with every release. With the 4.0 release you can now record HDTV shows. I use the Avermedia A180 and Hauppauge PVR250 cards in my system. With 4.0 you also get Studio, this application allows you to modify most everything about it if you don't like it. There are more plugins being developed by users everyday.

  The system never crashes and only has to be rebooted when there is a critical MS security update.

  I love recording in HD!

  Cons: The music manager is not very complete. You cannot tell Sage to play an entire album. Instead you have to select/queue each track. It does support play lists. There is now a winamp plugin so any media that can be played with winamp can be played in SageTV.

  If this worked better, I would have given it 5 stars.

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• 5 stars

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

  Version: SageTV 4

  "SageTV Works great!"

  by Bruemeister on December 1, 2005

  Pros: Not sure what the other reviewers were complaining about. I have used Sage since 2/10/05 and have had almost zero problems running 5 tuners, 2 MediaMVP clients(user add-in), and a PC client. I have NEVER missed a recording and have had few issues with remote clients. I have installed several of the great add-ins that have been written by the community and they add a lot of value to the experience.

  I really believe the reviewers who had difficulty may be the exception but definitely not the rule. It is a great product that is rock solid. The interface could use some enhancement but it is being worked on. There is no other product (Meedio, MediaPortal, BeyondTV, GBPVR) that I have found that meets my needs like Sage. Highly recommended but you do need to know how to install a Windows program. The installation and setup are a breeze otherwise. My biggest problem was getting the drivers installed for all of my capture devices but that wasn't Sage's fault.

  Cons: Interface is nice and clean. Not flashy (I like flashy :-). Needs FM radio support. Needs integrated Media Extender (MVP client(works great!) is user written. Need more extender options)

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• 5 stars

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

  Version: SageTV 4

  "The best PVR Software for Windows"

  by rp1790 on December 1, 2005

  Pros: I've been using SageTV for about 3 months now and while not perfect (nothing is) it is by far the best PVR software out there IMHO. Before deciding to buy this I used BeyondTV 3&4, Meedio, SageTV and had a quick look at GBPVR. I really like Meedio and wanted to like Beyond TV but as a PVR SageTV came out tops and this is after I actually bought BeyondTV. I bought it and then realised that I was wrong and Sage offered better options for favourites, recording etc.

  I don't use my HTPC for anything else except as a PVR and that may be a major reason why it works so well. I have a Hauppauge USB2 tuner and 2 x PVR150's, great picture quality.

  Cons: It is a little quirky to get to live TV when playing a file, you basically have to stop playback and then go to live TV. Sometimes you also then have to change channel to get to the TV show.

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• 2 stars

  Version: SageTV 4

  "Great concept, very poor execution. Way too expensive given its crippling issues"

  by Acktual on July 5, 2006

  Pros: Very easy to configure Channel Guide. Able to capture to standard (AVI) formats that can be played in Windows Media Player if desired. Number of configurable options. Available optional client software to allow remote viewing on a second PC in the home. Has an attractive if sometimes uncontrollable user interface.

  Cons: Chronic error messages notify you of compression or video problems, even though these problems do not affect the viewing experience. (You can see the video playing normally behind the overly massive, persistent error messages.) In fact, the only problem with these errors is the error message itself, which requires constant mouse action to clear.

  The client software and often the main application tend to become sluggish: though video is still displayed and recorded, responses to mouse actions (calling up a control, pausing, fast forwarding, etc.) can be as slow as 30 seconds after action, effectively rendering the application uncontrollable. (In fact, the best way to view video is to wait until Sage records it, then simply play it back in Windows Media Player, which has none of these problems.)

  The application is prone to hanging, entering a state where it is unable to succcessfully record content. Ironically, you DON'T get an error message when this happens; you only find out later when you try to play your recording. Customer support is mediocre, with relatively little knowledgebase info on the website, no notifications of important software updates (in the product itself or by email), and sluggish email responses to queries.

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