SageTV Releases Wireless Media Extender, Bringing PVR, Music & Photos to Any Room Without Cabling

SageTV Releases Wireless Media Extender, Bringing PVR, Music & Photos to Any Room Without Cabling

Add-on to SageTV Media Center

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill., June 20 /PRNewswire/ -- SageTV, LLC today released a wireless media extender that allows any TV in the home to utilize the capabilities of the SageTV Media Center without the need to run wired networking to each TV. This fanless, noiseless, half-sized set-top unit combines with the SageTV Media Center software to provide an affordable whole- home PVR, music and photo distribution system with no monthly subscription fees, additional PVR boxes or expensive PC upgrades. An optional SageTV Placeshifter license also enables users to access their entire digital media library on any PC away from home.

Any Room, Any Media

Every TV equipped with a SageTV Wireless Media Extender or the wired SageTV Media Extender released last year has access to all live or recorded TV, music, and photos on the home network from the same SageTV Media Center interface. In addition, users in different rooms can record multiple programs of their choice at the same time without installing a PVR on every TV or being forced to use a single TV for all recordings. Users can also watch different programs or access different media on different TVs simultaneously. The system can support up to five SageTV Media Extenders per home.

Easy To Use

The new SageTV Wireless Media Extender plugs into the television's S-video or composite input and connects with the SageTV Media Center over an 802.11b/g wireless or wired network. (An Ethernet jack on the unit also enables wired connectivity.) The previously released SageTV Media Extender, designed for users who already have a wired home network connection near their TV, connects to the TV in the same way and plugs into the home network. Both versions offer playback support for MPEG1/2/4, AVI, DivX, XVID, VOB, and WMV video and MP3, MP2, WMA and WAV audio.

Full-Featured PVR

With SageTV Media Center's PVR functionality, users can record a single show or whole season of their favorite television programs on their PCs; pause, rewind and fast-forward live or recorded cable, satellite or antenna TV shows; and record multiple shows on multiple tuners simultaneously. Integrated 14-day U.S., Canadian and European program guides eliminate the need to switch to a separate online application to plan one's TV viewing and recording. The optional placeshifting feature makes live or recorded TV, music and photos available from any PC with a high speed Internet connection, whether users are in a hotel, office, airport, Wi-Fi cafe, at the pool or beach, or simply visiting family in another city.

Low-Cost PC-Based System

The combined SageTV Media Center and Media Extender system enables users to set up a whole-home media center for a few hundred dollars, compared to thousands of dollars for other whole home solutions. There is no need to subscribe to a monthly digital video recording service, purchase additional digital video recorder boxes to add more recording capability, or purchase a new PC with Microsoft Media Center Edition to get PVR and media management control.

Specifications, Pricing and Availability

SageTV Wireless Media Extender costs $159.95 and is available immediately at http://www.sagetv.com/ . The wired SageTV Media Extender costs $109.95. Both versions come with a remote control, ethernet and A/V cables and power cord. Requirements include SageTV Media Center for Windows or Linux Version 5.0.3 or later; a wired or 802.11b/g wireless network connection; and a TV with an S-video or composite input as well as left and right audio input jacks.

SageTV, the core PVR/Media Center application, costs $79.95. SageTV Placeshifter, the option that allows media access on any PC away from home, costs $29.95. For a limited time, SageTV Media Center and SageTV Placeshifter can also be purchased as a $99.95 package.

Minimum PC requirements for SageTV Media Center with one SageTV Wired or Wireless Media Extender include an Intel Pentium III, Celeron or AMD Athlon 600 MHz or VIA 800 MHz computer with Linux or Microsoft Windows 98SE, 2000 SP3 or higher, ME or XP (Home, Pro or MCE) and 128MB RAM (256MB recommended). For system requirements for multiple Media Extenders, see http://www.sagetv.com/extender.html .

About SageTV

SageTV, LLC, is a pioneer in personal video recording and home media center technologies that combine television, music, a wide variety of media and networking into a complete, easy-to-use home media experience. SageTV Media Center, the company's flagship product, is the first PVR/media center solution designed for both PCs and TVs that runs on either Windows or Linux, supports multiple tuners, networking and intelligent recording. SageTV was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace, IL. For more information, visit http://www.sagetv.com/ .

Source: SageTV, LLC

CONTACT: Elizabeth Ash of S&S Public Relations, +1-847-415-9342,
eash@sspr.com

Web site: http://www.sagetv.com/
http://www.sagetv.com/extender.html

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