Frey Technologies, LLC, today announced the expansion of its SageTV Media Center software to the Linux operating system, providing a robust and cost- effective platform for OEMs building media center products. The new Version 3.0 also offers a media adapter that broadens the software’s reach from PCs to TVs, making SageTV’s powerful digital video recorder functionality as well as music and photo sharing capabilities available on any TV in the house via a 10-foot user interface for use from the couch.
With nearly three years in the Windows market, SageTV Media Center is the most mature and versatile system of its kind. It includes an easy-to-use integrated program guide plus the ability to pause and rewind live TV, record a whole season of shows, search for favorite shows by name, actor or subject, and record multiple shows at the same time with multiple tuner support. It also offers parental control features, built-in networking enabling live and/or recorded TV and music to stream to any PC on the home network, and intelligent recording of shows of interest based on household viewing habits. If a user watches reality and police shows, for example, SageTV will automatically record new shows in those categories without user intervention.
Version 3.0 adds:
– A Linux edition that offers the reliability and affordability of Linux without Windows licensing fees or the more expensive hardware required to deploy Windows-based systems. This edition includes a powerful customization and development environment that enables OEMs to create a wide variety of custom-branded media center, set-top, and broadband video on demand products at attractive price points. SageTV Media Center was previously available exclusively on the Windows platform.
– A new SageTV Media Extender that easily connects the SageTV software to any TV in the home through the wired or wireless home network, enabling users to access the full functionality of SageTV Media Center from a 10-foot distance with a remote control included in the package. This small adapter retails for $99 per television with no subscription fees, and can be private-labeled by OEMs to be sold as an accessory to their core products.
SageTV Linux OEM Edition is available for licensing directly from Frey Technologies; quotes can be obtained by contacting oem@freytechnologies.com . Consumer products available at http://www.sagetv.com/ include SageTV Media Center software for Windows ($79.95); SageTV Client for Windows, an add-on that allows live and/or recorded media to be streamed to any PC on the home network ($29.95 per PC); and SageTV Media Extender, an adapter that allows the software to be accessed on any TV in the house ($99 per TV).
