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    Broadcast HS messages to TV

    I would like to broadcast messages to my LCD TV, i.e. caller id, IP cameras, events and notifications, is it possible? My entertainment center does not have Tivo or a DVR. I have a TV, blue ray connecting to Onkyo old model receiver.

    Thanks,
    Aldo

    #2
    i've had varying success with trying things like this, does your TV support PiP? Mine does, I connected my HS PC to my TV then have a HSTouch client running on the desktop that is purely a status page - this page can be changed by HS Event Actions (so you could have a page with cameras on it and change to this page by an event), I then sent an IR command to the TV to change to PiP mode and it displayed the stuff from HS. Not a particularly clean solution but it worked to a point...

    I think there are some video overlay things out there but I think they went out with the ark (I saw some on a HA site a while ago, was driven by serial commands) and would probably just be able to overlay composite signals...commercial solutions are no doubt available (for TV broadcast?) but I doubt they are cheap.

    Comment


      #3
      I use SageTV as my backbone and there is a plugin that works with YAC and a HS SageTV plugin that can do this (phone, messages, photos, etc.), but it is through the SageTV application. I think you need something to overlay it on the screen (Tivo, cable box, etc.) and that you can communicate with from HS.

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        #4
        great solution, thanks. Let me see if I get this right, I can get one of these, attach it to my PIP TV and broadcast even my HStouch client to it. Could you please elaborate a little bit more?
        http://www.sagetv.com/hd_theater.html


        Thanks,
        Aldo

        Comment


          #5
          There is a SageTV plugin that works with YAC messages (http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/down...do=file&id=386). I use this to send caller ID info from HS via a script. It is configurable whereby it pauses what I am watching for a couple of seconds and allows me to than pause permanently if I want to take the call. You can resize, recolor the window, etc. If you want to try before you buy, you can get a trial of the SageTV software which is a server/client combined. Not sure of your setup but they have a PC client and the extenders you linked above that remotely connect to the server as well.

          There is also a SageTV HS plugin that you can send messages to and a window pops up. Similar to the YAC plugin but not as configurable (can't resize the popup). See attached screenshot from the plugin developer's website.

          Not sure if these get what you want but probably a bit closer.
          Attached Files

          Comment


            #6
            Your responses are very much appreciated. Almost there I think
            To recap, I would need to purchase this device SageTV HD Theater 300, link here http://www.sagetv.com/hd_theater.html
            Connect it to the TV
            Connect the CAT5 cable to the network.
            Here is where I get stuck, let's say I'm watching a show on TV. A HS script runs at 9:00 PM to check that the garage is open. I would like the message to come up on the same show that I'm watching indicating that the garage is open. Do I need another software and plugin in addition to the SageTV HS Theater 300? How is going to over-impose the image "garage open" on the show that I'm watching.

            Thanks,
            Aldo

            Comment


              #7
              People using sage for what it is meant for would be watching tv through it. The SageTV server software works with a tv decoder on a remote PC and streams the shows to the HD theater over a network. The HD theater is basically a stripped down diskless silent HTPC running a dedicated client on linux with hdmi connection out to your tv. So it decodes the streamed video/audio sent by the server over the network and displays on the TV. If you are using for this purpose, than the firmware running on the HD theater does the popup overlay.

              If you want to somehow use the hd theather without using the sagetv server to stream the tv, it won't just popup somehow on your screen. I think you would have to do the PIP route and figure out how you would get the popup to display nicely (i.e. the message full screen in the PIP window?) or find something similar.

              At the end of the day, unless you are going to run your tv shows through some kind of box (Tivo, sagetv, cable box), I don't think there will be any way to get a message imposed over the picture. TV's just don't have the software/communication capabilities for it without out it. There could be some solution out there that just lets the signal pass through and then impose over it, but I don't know what they are and you would like have to figure out how to integrate into HS.

              Comment


                #8
                heatvent thanks for your patience. I was sure I got it but with your last post I got more confused Can I use sageTV with the Sage windows plugin attached to Verizon cable box instead of the tv decoder card on a remote PC? Would I archive the same results?

                Thanks again,
                Aldo

                Comment


                  #9
                  What you are attempting to do is not very easy with today's type of TV. If you're cable box does not support this type of messages, then you're probably out of luck.

                  If you're technical some of the audio/video receivers support this type of thing. For example, my old Yamaha RX2400 supported a pop up message. Don't think that my newer 1700 does. So it may be a hit and miss type of thing.

                  It may be easier to integrate voice alerts than popups on television. More accurate and more likely that you will get the alert also.
                  HomeSeer 2, HomeSeer 3, Allonis myServer, Amazon Alexa Dots, ELK M1G, ISY 994i, HomeKit, BlueIris, and 6 "4k" Cameras using NVR, and integration between all of these systems. Home Automation since 1980.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    There are ways to use Sage TV as your frontend and have it control your cable box via IR commands. SageTV supports the Hauppauge HD-PVR which accepts component in connections (for HD boxes) and then connects to the SageTV server PC via USB. Or, you could have the svideo out or other non-HD connection from you cable box go to a normal TV tuner (but you lose HD). The server PC then streams the live tv and acts as a media center and DVR. Something like this:

                    PHP Code:
                    Cable Coax -> Cable Box -> HD-PVR on SageTV Server PC -> Network -> HD Theater -> HDTV 
                    You are getting into a whole new world here though and a lot of cost just to get a CID popup. I was using SageTV as my frontend anyway so this works well for me. My setup is:

                    PHP Code:
                    Cable Coax -> QAM Capable Tuner on SageTV Server PC -> Network -> HD Theather -> HDTV 
                    I get any of the free HD stations but none of the paid ones since they are encrypted (you have to have the cable box/HD-PVR to get encrypted HD channels). This also allows me to (1) avoid equipment rental fees, (2) share tuners with multiple TVs, (3) use SageTV as a media center for music, videos, photos, (4) control the TV from HS over the network, (5) have CID popup, etc.

                    Again, lots of complication but SageTV works reliably and once setup it just works.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      I think i got it. Could i run the tuner on the same hs server? How much these cards normally cost? Ttl another solution i like to explore but not sure the best way to approuch this. You guys are the best.
                      Aldo

                      Comment


                        #12
                        What sort of compute power does Sage TV require?

                        Comment


                          #13
                          All things are relative. There are cards that have hardware encoding which help out. There is also the question of are you doing HD and are you running the client software on the same PC. The server side of SageTV is very efficient. Combined with a hardware encoding card, it is really pretty light but depends on your setup...from their site at http://sagetv.com/requirements.html?sageSub=tv

                          For SageTV Media Center for Windows - PC Operating System: Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Windows Home Server, Vista or Windows 7
                          Minimum 128Mb RAM and a Recommended 256Mb RAM
                          For Hardware Encoding: Intel Pentium III, Celeron or AMD Athlon at 600 MHz or VIA 800MHz or faster
                          For Software Encoding: Intel Pentium 4, Celeron or AMD Athlon 1.5 Ghz and above
                          For Placeshifting Server: Intel Pentium 4, Celeron or AMD Athlon 1.5 Ghz and above
                          For SageTV Media Center for Mac - Mac OS 10.4 or later. Mac computers with PowerPC G4 (500Mhz or faster), G5 or Intel processors. Minimum system requirements are 256MB RAM, recommended 512MB RAM
                          For SageTV Placeshifter for Windows or Linux: high speed internet connection (128kbps for TV playback) and Intel Pentium III, Celeron or AMD Athlon at 600 MHz or VIA 800MHz or faster
                          For SageTV Placeshifter for Mac: high speed internet connection (128kbps for TV playback) and Mac with 128MB RAM, PowerPC G4 (500 Mhz or faster), G5 or Intel processor running Mac OS X version 10.4 or later
                          For HDTV Playback: 3Ghz processor or higher or a slower processor in combination with a video card utilizing DXVA support and using a decoder which supports DXVA

                          It's the HD playback that takes up the horsepower. The beauty of SageTV is a rock solid server platform and the HD Theater extenders. The extenders are silent and have a processing chip focused on HD/video decoding. They are very efficient at playback and their software/hardware is reasonably priced.

                          As far as tuners, I use the Hauppauge HVR-2250. It's a dual tuner that does HD and is supported by SageTV. Runs about $100-$120 depending on the sale. The Hauppauge HD-PVR is very popular as this is the only way to get encrypted HD channels. This is more expensive around $180 or so and is a single input.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I did my homework over the weekend with your info. One thing that is still unclear to me, do you need a cable box connecting to the card or just the cable. As you mentioned I would like to eliminate these boxes expense. Right now I have an HD cable box and two digital boxes. I'm paying Verizon a monthly fee.
                            So far this is what I understood.
                            Tuner card HVR-2250 attached to the server/desktop.
                            Cable connected to the tuner card

                            On each TV
                            Sage TV SageTV HD Theater 300 - one end connected to a receiver the other end on the network.
                            No Cable box
                            On the TV I would see the SageTV page in which I would select Video if I want to see TV, my pictures and etc. At this point I can broadcast messages from HS as well.

                            Do I get it right?

                            Thanks,
                            Aldo

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I don't know Verizon at all but I don't use a cable box for Comcast. If Verizon sends unencrypted QAM signals, these are the ones you can pickkup without their cable box.

                              Comcast encrypts the HD cable stations (ESPN, Discovery, etc.) that you might get with their box. They have to provide local channels that you could get HD over the air (NBC, CBS, FOX, etc.). Their non-HD channels come in as well. This meets my needs but some want their cable HD channels. For this you need to have the cable box decode and then feed the TV out through the HD-PVR in order for Sage to pickup, record, etc.

                              So the difference is the channels you get.

                              FYI, research what channels people get in your area because some cable stations could encrypt more stations than others. So you would have to understand that first. If you have a TV that decodes QAM, you could just see what comes through without a cable box too.

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