SageTV, LLC, released SageTV Media Extender, a $99.95 accessory for SageTV Media Center for Windows that provides a whole-house PVR, music and photo media center system with no subscription fees. Now any TV connected to the SageTV Media Center through the home network with the SageTV Media Extender, or any networked PC running the SageTV Client software, can access the SageTV user interface as well as any media available through the software.

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

Now in Version 4.1, SageTV Media Center enables Windows users to record a single show or whole season of their favorite standard and/or high-definition television programs on PCs equipped with the appropriate tuner cards. Users can also pause, rewind and fast-forward live or recorded cable, satellite or antenna TV shows, and record multiple shows simultaneously because of the application's multiple tuner support. HD and standard definition programs can be streamed to multiple PCs on the network using SageTV Client, and standard definition content can be streamed to multiple TVs in the home with the SageTV Media Extender.

SageTV Media Center also comes with the SageTV Studio Software Development Kit (SDK), allowing complete customization of the SageTV user interface and seamless integration of new applications and online content such as RSS newsreaders, interactive weather maps and IMDB browsers by users, developers and OEMs. The SageTV Studio SDK personal license comes free with every registered version of SageTV 4.1. More information on the SageTV Studio is available at http://www.sagetv.com/studio.html.

For end users, SageTV Media Center for Windows software eliminates the need to buy a new Windows XP MCE PC or Windows XP MCE operating system to record HDTV programs and obtain other PVR/media center capabilities. For OEMs, the application makes it possible to build leading multi-stream standard and high-definition PVR products that also provide access to all music, photo and movies on the network from a single interface on Windows PCs or Linux PCs and embedded set-tops.

Other notable features in the current version of SageTV Media Center include:

• Support for integrated Canadian and European electronic program guides, improving usability for Canadian and European users. All guides provide up to 14 days of television listings directly from the SageTV interface, eliminating the need to switch to a separate online application to plan one's TV viewing and recording.
• Expanded support for music file types and playlists, enabling users to import playlists they have created in any PC music application utilizing ASF, WMA or WMV file formats as well as the MP3 format supported in earlier editions.
• Integrated weather reports, now available from the SageTV interface at the user's option.
• New configuration wizard, enabling easier setup of all SageTV Media Center features ranging from music and photo locations to video playback checks and channel tuning including a HDTV signal strength indicator. Clear and simple wizard prompts allow users to choose setup options and media preferences in minutes.
• Support for additional tuner cards and other hardware, enabling the application to support most major tuner cards in North America, Europe and Asia.

The SageTV Media Center software, Studio SDK and SageTV Media Extender are also available in a Linux OEM edition that enables OEMs to create powerful, reliable, custom-branded consumer electronics appliances including media centers, media extenders, NAS media servers with TV recording, and IPTV and broadband video on demand products at breakthrough feature/price points on x86 as well as embedded hardware.