SageTV UI as a Roku App?

[plawlor]

I just got a Roku4 for Christmas, and I have to admit, I am loving it. I am perhaps one of the most loyal SageTV users there are, having been a user since 2004, but the Roku has me thinking. I primarily use Netflix, SlingTV, Watch ESPN, and the NCAA Sports apps plus the Plex app for accessing my personal media collection that is also exposed to SageTV. The UI on the Roku is great, IMO, and the responsiveness of the remote and UI are awesome. The only thing missing is Live TV and DVR capability - huge, I admit. That's why my HD300 is still sitting next to the Roku.

I'm not even sure this is possible, but wouldn't a full-featured SageTV UI in the form of a Roku App be awesome? Live TV access, access to recordings, favorites management, etc. All of the admin/config could stay on the server.

Would such a thing be possible?

Peter

[stuckless]

It's absolutely possible, given that that the ROKU has an SDK. The question is really, would anyone attempt it. I own a couple ROKUs as well, and I considered starting a project, but ultimately I went with the Android TV, mainly because I know java (and Android) much better than I know BrightScript.

It would be an interesting project for someone.

The UI aside, since I think that the Android TV UI is pretty slick, and the netfix UI is the same on both the ROKU and Android TV, but the crowning feature that I love with the ROKU is the headphone jack on the remote.

[reggie14]

One downside to the Roku, which has been discussed before, is that it doesn't support mpeg2. So, everything would need to be transcoded by the server.

I also thought the Roku SDK was fairly limited. I remember seeing posts by the Plex team complaining about that.

As an aside, the Shield TV remote also has a headphone jack (the controller does too). It doesn't work as well as the Roku, though. On the Shield TV, if you're watching Netflix with surround sound going through your AVR, you can't simply plug in headphones to the remote. You have to first change the audio to stereo, from surround sound. On the Roku it just seems to work.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by reggie14

As an aside, the Shield TV remote also has a headphone jack (the controller does too). It doesn't work as well as the Roku, though.

I never noticed that it has a headphone jack (I'll check tonight, which I'm sure you are right)

[RonBoyd]

Originally Posted by plawlor

... having been a user since 2004, ... The UI on the Roku is great, IMO, and the responsiveness of the remote and UI are awesome.

... but wouldn't a full-featured SageTV UI in the form of a Roku App be awesome?

I, too, have been addicted to SageTV since 2004. I, also, have a Roku unit (the 3 black). What I didn't (don't) like about the Roku Remote is the lack of a keyboard. Happily, they now have a Mobile App to correct that. https://www.roku.com/mobile-app This (using your smart phone) makes things so much more enjoyable.

Awesome is understating it a bit.

My Roku 4 will be delivered sometime today (UPS Tracking says "Out for delivery") and hope I am as enthusiastic about it as you are. The 4K should look good on our 3-week old Vizio M65-C1.

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by RonBoyd

I, too, have been addicted to SageTV since 2004. I, also, have a Roku unit (the 3 black). What I didn't (don't) like about the Roku Remote is the lack of a keyboard. Happily, they now have a Mobile App to correct that. https://www.roku.com/mobile-app This (using your smart phone) makes things so much more enjoyable.

Awesome is understating it a bit.

My Roku 4 will be delivered sometime today (UPS Tracking says "Out for delivery") and hope I am as enthusiastic about it as you are. The 4K should look good on our 3-week old Vizio M65-C1.

It's ok, but I can't for the life of me figure out why companies DON'T write their apps to work in Landscape mode. Using an iPad, or smartphone for that matter, in portrait mode alone isn't good enough

[RonBoyd]

Originally Posted by tvmaster2

It's ok, but I can't for the life of me figure out why companies DON'T write their apps to work in Landscape mode. Using an iPad, or smartphone for that matter, in portrait mode alone isn't good enough

Oh! I have a Blackberry Passport so landscape and Portrait are the same. Plus I have an actual keyboard. What would be different in a (dedicated?) Landscape Mode?

[LWM4P]

Just to loop back to the original question about what will probably be the best extender...

Sounds like Roku is good, but has limitations and might not be tackled. Chromecast isn't really a full client and would need some other device in the mix anyway...

So is getting an Android TV box the best option at the moment? (obviously once the full android client is done). Once the sage client is out, can one just load it onto an android tv box? I have not used one before, but I fear that my HD300 might crap out at any time and I would have to quickly replace it for fear of a huge WAF drop.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by LWM4P

Just to loop back to the original question about what will probably be the best extender...

Sounds like Roku is good, but has limitations and might not be tackled. Chromecast isn't really a full client and would need some other device in the mix anyway...

So is getting an Android TV box the best option at the moment? (obviously once the full android client is done). Once the sage client is out, can one just load it onto an android tv box? I have not used one before, but I fear that my HD300 might crap out at any time and I would have to quickly replace it for fear of a huge WAF drop.

Yeah, the Android MiniClient is an Android app and it runs on an Android TV, phone, or tablet.

Today, the Android MiniCient is functional. ie, you can use it like an HD300, but, not everything may work in an ideal way. I've been using it more and more on my primary TV because I'm trying to find and isolate usability issues. My main content is h264 recorded content and it works well. If you have mpeg2 content, then depending on the Android TV, it might work. Right now the Android MiniClient is in Beta, and will likely stay there for a few months.

Android TV, like the Roku, has lots of apps for streaming content as well. So you can install Netfix, Hulu, YouTube, Vevo, etc. SageTV on an Android TV is just another app.

[plawlor]

I wish I had have read more before buying my two Rokus and looked more into the Android TV. Luckily, I still have HD300s that are working well.

Peter

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by plawlor

I wish I had have read more before buying my two Rokus and looked more into the Android TV. Luckily, I still have HD300s that are working well.

Peter

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the Roku... it's a great box... I have a Roku 3 as well, and it gets used quite a bit... but I'll be retiring it in favour of an Android TV unit in the next couple months.

[plawlor]

I do love the Roku, and I'd pay $$$ for a SageTV UI app for it.

BTW, does your Android app support a Program Guide and Live TV viewing? Those are the two pieces that I'm missing on the Roku. I installed Plex Media Server on my SageTV Server, so through the Plex Roku App, I can see my entire media library and even my recent recordings. Live TV is all that's missing.

Peter

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by plawlor

I do love the Roku, but I'd pay $$$ for a SageTV UI app for it.

BTW, does your Android app support a Program Guide and Live TV viewing? Those are the two pieces that I'm missing on the Roku. I installed Plex Media Server on my SageTV Server, so through the Plex Roku App, I can see my entire media library and even my recent recordings. Live TV is all that's missing.

Peter

The Android MiniClient, is basically an HD300 running as an Android App. So, when you connect, you get whatever SageTV you'd see if you were using HD300. You configure it like any other SageTV extender. If you want to run Gemstone, then you can, etc. So, yeah, it support 100% of whatever a "real" SageTV extender would use.

Here's the discussion thread...
http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62439

Here's a video that was created some time ago using an alpha build... but should give some idea of how it works with Android TV.

https://goo.gl/photos/mG4pCtKDX2hJrJJ79

[plawlor]

Originally Posted by stuckless

Here's a video that was created some time ago using an alpha build... but should give some idea of how it works with Android TV
https://goo.gl/photos/mG4pCtKDX2hJrJJ79

That is awesome! I love Gemstone, so that would be great.

Peter

[wayner]

Can you run an Android client with SageTV V7 as the back end or do you need SageTV V9 as the server?

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by wayner

Can you run an Android client with SageTV V7 as the back end or do you need SageTV V9 as the server?

Currently, I've made no changes to the back end to support his. You can connect this MiniClient to any SageTV that you would normally connect an HD200/300. V9 is not a requirement.

[wayner]

Awesome - I have ordered my first Android device, a cheapo US$60 7" tablet, to try it out.

[stuckless]

Originally Posted by wayner

Awesome - I have ordered my first Android device, a cheapo US$60 7" tablet, to try it out.

All I ask... Please don't let your general impressions of Android be determined by the quality of your experience on a $60 device

[wayner]

Another reason that I bought this is that I am supposed to be a tech expert. But whenever anyone hands me an Android device I am lost as I have never used Android.

I lose geek cred and I feel shame (to quote Denis, the goalie, from Slapshot).

Like a good Canadian I held onto my BB for a long time but went to iPhone a few years ago, although I already had iPads since they were released. My employer supports BB and iPhone currently so that made iPhone a natural choice, plus my wife has an iPhone.

But in my house we do have five iPads, four iPhones (two current, two previous gen), a Win8.1 (upgraded to Win 10) 8" tablet, at least 7-8 PCs (mainly with Windows but some with Ubuntu or Mint) and about 4-5 RPis. I am not totally an Apple fanboi as I don't have any Macs

[tvmaster2]

Originally Posted by stuckless

All I ask... Please don't let your general impressions of Android be determined by the quality of your experience on a $60 device

to your knowledge, is there anything like Apple Airplay for Android tablets, i.e. for interacting with Roku's, etc., so you could wirelessly watch what's playing on the tablets mini-client on a large screen tv in the same room?