SageTV comes to the Mac, sort of

Adam Turner
Tuesday, 19 December 2006 20:14

Opinion and Analysis

PVR software stalwart SageTV has finally come to the Apple Mac, but only as SageTV Placeshifter - basically a client app which still requires a Windows or Linux box running SageTV behind the scenes.

SageTV Placeshifter now runs on a Mac, Windows or Linux machine - allowing you to access content from your Windows or Linux server running SageTV 6.0. Placeshifter lets you stream live or recorded TV from the server, as well as schedule recordings. It's more than what the Windows Media Center Edition crowd like to call an "extender box", SageTV sells them as well.

There are obviously circumstances in which Placeshifter on a Mac would be useful, such as for watching video on a MacBook around a PC-centric house, but I wonder if there's that much of a demand for it. Mac users are known for their devotion, so how many would run a PC at the heart of their home entertainment system? Especially considering there's already some decent PVR apps for the Mac. Were I an Apple worshiper, I'd try out something like Elgato's EyeTV on a dual core Mac Mini before I'd sully my lounge room with a PC. SageTV Placeshifter would be a good solution if you had Mac and PC users living under the same roof, but I don't know if they'd stop fighting long enough to watch TV. The fact Placeshifter runs across the internet adds to the allure, but it doesn't change the fact Mac users still need to have a PC back at home base.

Thankfully the full version of SageTV for Mac is in the works, with the call put out for OSX beta testers in September. Early in the new year, Mac lovers should be able to get their SageTV fix with tainting their pride and joy with Bootcamp and Windows.