For mainstream users who just want to record TV programs and control their video, photo, and music collections without using Microsoft's Media Center OS, the new SageTV 4 offers a few incremental upgrades to the software.
SageTV 4, available online for $79, now supports the ability to record and playback HDTV signals (which are currently available only to PC users as over-the-air signals; HD cable support for PC-based DVRs is expected to show up in late 2006); new support for WMA, WMV, and ASF media files; and electronic program guides for new territories such as Canada and Europe.
The Linux version, previously available only to OEM system builders, is aimed at users who want to build a fully functional living-room system without going anywhere near a Microsoft product.
If your media PC and TV are in separate rooms, another new product from the company is the $99 SageTV Media Extender, a small media extender box that lets you connect a PC with SageTV and a television display through your home network.