Review: SageTV HD Theater 300

It has been nearly a month since the SageTV HD300 started shipping. Prior to the HD300 shipping I put together a brief writeup on the direction I hoped SageTV was heading towards, so I was anxious to give the HD300 a test run to see if it met my expectations. For this review I am going to spend most of the time focusing on the HD300 in standalone mode as in extender mode more of the focus would be on the SageTV 7 Media Center software and not the HD300. Enough talking, let’s get down and dirty.

Specifications:

Price: USD 149.95

Processor: Sigma SMP8654 SOC

File formats supported: AVI, ASF, MKV, MOV, MP4, Quicktime, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 PS, MPEG-2 TS, M2TS, BDMV Folder (BluRay), BluRay ISO, DVD ISO, DVD VIDEO_TS, VOB, M4A, MP3, FLAC, OGG, FLV, WAV, WMA

Video formats supported: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, XVID, H.264 up to 1080p, WMV9/VC-1 up to 1080p, MJPEG, FlashVideo

Audio formats supported: MP2, MP3, AAC, AAC-HE, ALAC, WMA, WMAPro, PCM, Vorbis (stereo only), FLAC, DolbyDigital/DolbyDigital+/DolbyTrueHD* (stereo down-mix or pass-through), DTS/DTS-HD/DTS-MA (stereo down-mix or pass-through)

*DolbyTrueHD down-mix requires the DolbyDigital core track to be present

CC/Subtitle formats supported: EIA-608(NTSC/ATSC/QAM Closed Captioning), DVB, SRT, SSA/ASS, VobSub (sub/idx, mkv), Nero MP4 VOB Subtitles, MP4 Text, SAMI, .sub (Subviewer/MicroDVD), DVD, BDMV, M2TS, PGS, multiple languages supported in all formats

Playlist formats supported: M3U, WPL, ASX, WAX, WVX

Media sources supported: Online Video, external USB Mass Storage Devices (FAT, NTFS, EXT2/3, HFS format), NAS or Mac/PC over SMB/CIFS, UPnP, SageTV Media Center

Keyboard support: Wired or Wireless USB keyboards (US keyboard layout)

Wireless Network support: 802.11 b/g/n networks; USB wireless network adapters

Video Outputs: 1 HDMI, 1 Component, 1 Composite (Component & Composite via breakout cable)

Audio Outputs: Optical S/PDIF, HDMI, Left/Right analog audio output (analog audio output via breakout cable)

Multi-Channel Audio Output: Multi-channel PCM audio output is supported over HDMI with up to 7.1 channels for PCM and FLAC audio formats; and up to 5.1 channels for WMAPro and AAC audio formats. Pass-through (bitstream) is supported for DolbyDigital, DolbyDigital+, DolbyTrueHD, DTS and DTS-HD/MA formats.

Remote Control: Includes infrared remote control with universal remote functionality (3 buttons can be programmed using infrared, compatible with most remote controls).

External IR Receiver: Optional external IR receiver can be purchased for mounting the HD Theater 300 behind a TV or in another room.

Maximum Number of SageTV HD Theaters when used as a media extender: Limited only by your home network bandwidth, each HD video stream may use 20 Mbps or more of home network bandwidth.

WOL (Wake-on-LAN) support: The device is capable of sending WOL packets to wakeup a SageTV server in standby mode if that server supports WOL functionality.

Dimensions: 5 1/16″ W x 1 1/2″ H x 4″ D

TV Set Requirements:

• HDMI, Component or Composite input (NTSC or PAL)
• Left and right audio input jacks, optical or HDMI audio input

Network Requirements:

• One 10/100 RJ-45 port on a Router, Hub or Switch network (supports DHCP and static IP addresses)

or

• Direct connect from SageTV HD Media Extender to PC running DHCP server via cross over LAN cable (not supplied)

Hardware:

The HD300 comes packaged in a neat and compact white box. Nothing flashy, just some basic advertising.

Included with the HD300 –

• SageTV HD Theater digital media receiver
• Remote control with batteries
• Breakout cable for composite video, component video and analog audio
• HDMI cable
• 1.5 meter Ethernet cable
• Power adapter
• User manual

The front of the HD300 is fairly basic. To the left are the typical decals. The right is the power LED, IR LED, and IR input for use with an IR extender.

The back of the HD300 includes 2 USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet 10/100 port, HDMI, Optical, and a combined Video Port (using the provided breakout cable will give you Composite or Component connections).

There is no power brick which is nice. However, I have to admit that I did not like the power plug. Based on the direction of the plugs the power adapter runs horizontally covering up nearby power outlets on my power conditioner (I ended up having to move plugs around to get this to fit).  I would have preferred to have the plug designed so that the adapter was vertical when plugged in.

One thing you may have noticed is that the HD300 looks pretty small. It is small enough for me to easily palm with my hands. To really get a sense of how truly small it is, I decided to compare the HD300 with a Raisin muffin lying around.

I also called on my body double (I only use him for stunts and standing in line at the pharmacy) to model the HD300. The HD300 could be the first HD media player that could be worn around in public!

One of the benefits of the size is that there are a lot of possibilities on where to store the HD300. I decided to purchase some Velcro tape at the local Home Depot and mount the HD300 behind an LCD TV. Two strips of Velcro tape along the bottom of the HD300 was all that was needed. Big thanks to PluckyHD for the Velcro tape suggestions and the interesting Home Depot commentary 😉

The HD300 mounted without issue to the back of the LCD TV, keeping everything hidden.

Since mounting the TV means I would lose line of site to operate the HD300 I simply plugged in the optional IR extender and mounted it to the upper corner of the TV.

Overall, I am extremely impressed with the size of the HD300, and even with the small size I felt I was dealing with a sturdy piece of equipment. I do admit that there is a geeky part of me that likes to have an “A/V looking” device, but in reality my devices are usually hidden anyhow. The HD300 is fanless which is a big plus (i.e. silent). Because of this the aluminum body does appear to get used as a heatsink, and although not scorching hot it did get very warm to the touch when in use.

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