Question about options on 5760

I am probably going to buy a NP5760 within the next two weeks (thanks to everyone on this forum...everyone here has been so helpful!) Anyways, I had 2 questions about some of the options. First, does anyone have the TV-tuner and has used it? What kind is it and is it any good? The other question is about the new 3 year warranty. I'm debating whether I should get it and if its justified spending an additional $300 for it?

Thanks all!

 

I have it, have yet to use it, dont know what type it is.. I know.. alot of help huh? Just got mine yesterday. I will mess with the tv tuner part in the next few days and report back. As far as the insurance goes... I bought mine threw Discountlaptops.com and they had either a 3 year warranty threw sager, OR get a 2nd year of warranty coverage for 65.00 bucks.. they also have (ADP) Accidental Damage Protection for 215.00 that covers the first 2 years of ownership. So under the 3 year deal with sager, you drop your laptop and bust the screen... your up a creek.. drop it with ADP and your covered. Also DL has a repair transit shipping option for 65.00 that enable you to ship your laptop back to sager if you have problems via 2nd day air, or 25.00 for ground. The cost of mailing back a notebook with adaquate protection is gona cost ya round 100 bucks... think of it as Insurance for shipping? lol anyhoo the Repair transit shipping option is good threw your 1st year of ownership.
I figure if somthing goes wrong in the 1st year im covered, somthing happens in the 2nd year.. im covered... anything happens in the 3rd year? Who cares.. by then i will be playin on a NEW laptop.... anything 2 years old in the laptop field is bleh. But.. hey its your choice

Hope this helps..

PdxLou

 

I generally stay with the one-year warranties because if anything is going to go wrong with the notebook, it will most likely happen within the first six months of ownership.

But, I would consider a two-year warranty if it was reasonable (less than or equal to $100), or accidental damange for one year.

And of course, it depends on your budget and whether you feel comfortable or not slapping down that extra $300.

 

for the warranty question....it's difficult. i got a 4 year warranty on my notebook, and it paid off for my old clevo. i sent it in twice during year one, once in year two, once in year three, and it died at the end of year 4...i decided it wasn't worth the shipping costs to get it fixed.

 

So ... do you want news or Bad news? lol
I will start with the ... news ... The card i have in my 5760 is the LifeView FlyDVB-T Hybrid Mini-PCI. Now here is the wierd part, from the sager manual...

""You may have one of three optional Mini-PCI TV Tuner modules supplied with your computer, depending on your purchase configureation. The optional TV Tuner allows you to watch TV, play music CDs,video conference and capture still images and video on your PC."



The three choices of Mini-PCI TV Tuner moduals are as follows.

My sager 5760 was shipped with option #1.



"1.The LifeView FlyDVB-T Hybrid (for both analog and digital inputs) Mini-PCI TV TUNER MODULE comes with a remote control unit and a CD containing the Life_view Utility SOftware.



2. The YUAN PVR MPC622-MCE TV Tuner moduel come with a remote control unit, and a CD containing driver software for Windows XP Media Center Edition.



3. The Yuan PVR MPC788 TV tuner module comes with a remote control unit, and a CD containing driver and application software for Windows XP (Home or Profesional Editions). "

Sounds groovy huh? Welllllllllllllllll its not. See.. if you have XP MCE like i have, orderd it that way.... the FlyDVB-T Hybrid Mini-PCI tv tuner card doesnt work with XP MCE. Well let me narrow down that doesnt work part.
The card it self works fine with the incuded Lifeview software.. altho if you want to take advantage of the software built into XP MCE then guess what? Your out of luck big guy.. or girl.. lol. You cant use the software im just gona call it MCE for short,... you cant use MCE to act like a DVR by downloading a digital tv guide and record shows. MCE software isnt the only problem with this FlyDVB-T Hybrid Mini-PCI tuner card. The Lifeview software right out of the box is odd.. So your running the Lifeview software, you go to Settings and set your region to United States so you can download a digital tv guide.. O WAIT ... you cant change your Region. The first time i played with the software, it said my region was Taiwan... When i updated both the drivers and Lifeview software, my region became the UK :| WTF.

So, i go to the lifeview website... guess where thats at? If you guess Taiwan you win a big prize of nothing. You cant find the FlyDVB-T Hybrid Mini-PCI under their products page, well you might if the site didnt have Bad links that didnt work. You can check out the support section, that also doesnt include the FlyDVB-T Hybrid Mini-PCI, neither does their FAQ include anything about the FlyDVB-T Hybrid Mini-PCI. They do have driver and software updates under downloads though for the FlyDVB-T Hybrid Mini-PCI

So.. as im browsing along the downloads, what does Lou see? FlyDVB-T Hybrid MCE Mini-PCI :O . So the company who makes this crummy card does make one that works with MCE but either sager didnt buy them and instead choose the crappy non working with XP MCE version OR sager ordered FlyDVB-T Hybrid MCE Mini-PCI and got crappy FlyDVB-T Hybrid Mini-PCI cards instead... Im kinda mad about this. I paid 220 bucks for a tv tuner card and a OS that wont work with eachother. If sager cant send me the MCE version of the FlyDVB-T Hybrid Mini-PCI, then my 5760 goes back to sager. I will wait and buy somthing later in 6 months or so. Iv contacted both sager via email form and discountlaptops to find a solution to this problem. I will also be callin sager today cause email/call back has been spotty in the past when i had problems with my Sager 8790. I will keep all you folks updated my progress.

PdxLou

 

Arghhhh freakin accidental press on back button ... I had a nice response and lost it...

Ok, lemme add something up.

1. Warranty:
Take it - 3 years onsite. Especially if you plan to move a lot. On my old compaq the hinge went completely loose after 2 1/2 years. If your lappy is to stay at home, well, not sure it's essential. I work with my machine and play on it. So all in all, it's on and i'm using it like 8-10 hours a day.

Carefully check for regular extended protection vs onsite. For 50$ more, not only they get to your location if needed, but the warranty covers more parts.

The attached images shows what's covered by the extended warranty.

This is what's added with the onsite:

So all in all with it onsite it's 100% covered. It's like a bumper to bumper protection thing . Seems pricey at first, but I think it could be worth it, especially if you're on the move a lot.

2. ADP
Don't. Call your home insurance first. I did take one year for 125$ but after calling my insurance agent (only for anti-theft protection) I get an ALL-RISKS protection (theft, accidental, etc...) for 120$/year. That's 10$/month added to my insurance bill. Too bad I threw 125$ by the window.

3. Tuner
Mmmm don't. I was skeptical at first and dealt it in the package anyway. If all you want to do is some occasional TV watching while working, it is ok. The software that come with it: ok. I didn't want MCE so for occasional viewing/recording of programs, it's ok, not more.
1- you can plug in cable TV - but remember that 320x240 TV on a 1920x1200 screen looks crappy at best.
2- It can catch digital over the air TV. But I think here in Montreal there's still no such thing.
3- You can tune on the radio, but how? Yet to find it.

I got the same card as Lou, If I remember, it should be more than a 65$ option than a 220$. On Eurocom site it's listed @ 179$ but no way I was to pay that much for this card this basic.

The thing to remember here? BASIC. But I just like having the options available. I'm that kinda guy. Would I buy again? Probably not.

 

Well the tv card was 120, and the XP MCE was 100... ergo 220 If i would have known the card didnt work with MCE then i wouldnt have gotten EITHER... so thats why its a waste of 220 bucks /

PdxLou

 

ok, so here is the post I sent to discountlaptops after talking with sager tech support.. and may i add... Tech Support starts at 7:30am PST. I call at 7:39, 7:45. 8:00, 8:15 and 8:30ish.. no dice on them picking up, just an answering machine. I call the sales line.. cause.. you know they staff that line. Got transfered to a tech....... When i had problems with my 8790 in the past, i remember how hard it was to get ahold of the tech folks... some people havnt had problems with callin them.. just my luck i guess.. and heres what you have been waiting for... lol

"Just got off the phone with Allen at sager tech support. After telling him my problem that the FlyDVB-T Hybrid card has with XP MCE. I brought up of the 3 tuner cards that the sager manual has listed, and may I add one of them works with XP MCE . Allen Said that the FlyDVB-T Hybrid is the ONLY TV tuner card sager has available right now and that the FlyDVB-T Hybrid card is not XP MCE compliant. So long story short XP MCE's Media Center is not compatible with the FlyDVB-T Hybrid tv tuner card. You may want to make a mental note to tell others who buy this system of this and maybe make a bullet note on your 5760 config page warning users that they dont play together. Im not sure what you are able to do from your side of things. I can only see two optioins right now.
1. Getting ahold and swaping my FlyDVB-T Hybrid for the YUAN PVR MiniPCI MPC622-MCE that is MCE compliant thats in the sager 5760 manual.
OR
2. Shipping the sager back and getting a refund.

Let me know what we can work out.

Louis

Below is the link to the MCE compliant tv tuner card in the sager manual.
http://yuan.com.tw/en/products/vdo_mpc622.html "

So buyer beware... if you go with XP MCE the tuner card will NOT work with the Media Center software on XP MCE. Had I known that the TV tuner not worked with XP MCE, I would might have purchased a diffrent laptop, or not purchase the TV tuner and went with XP pro instead of XP MCE.

I will update again when i find out what DL can do for me. * crosses fingers*... that.. so far thats done crap for me

PdxLou

 

You could probably buy an external TV Tuner that is MCE compliant; I wouldn't let the non-MCE tuner in the NP5760 spoil your purchase.

 

I could, but internal ones are usually better. I travel alot for my job. Im usually at some place for 3-4 months at a time before I get sent some place else. So more junk takes up space that i dont have.. lol I traded emails with mathew at DL and he said this about the whole XP MCE and TV tuner deal "I am going to add a disclaimer to the website so that customers are informed from here on out." so that will be good for the next joe who's thinkin about Xp MCE and a tv tuner card for the 5760. I was given a choice to Kepp what i had, Send back the tunercard and remote, or return the whole deal. I went with returning the whole deal. Its a sad sad day. Nice laptop though, if i just didnt need DVR id keep it. Working with mathew about how i send it back and refund questions and who pays for what ect...

PdxLou

 

As a LAST ditch effort i began searching for a TV tuner card for my 5760. I knew they make PMCIA TV tuner cards, but i havent seen anything for the express card 54 slot the 5760's have. I found this http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...roduct_code=EP323AA#ABA&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

Its the HP Express Card Analog TV Tuner for Media Center Edition
(EP323AA#ABA) 179.99

So, I emailed Mathew at DL and asked him what he thought or if he knew of any others. I told him i wasnt interested in a USB tv tuner card. He said that this was a very good idea and he would look into it and see maybe if he could find anything else. * keeps his fingers uncrossed cause that seems to be working *

PdxLou

 

thanks all for the responses. I'm really glad I asked about this because i was planning on installing MCE on my new 5760 when I got it. So...i guess I wont be adding on the TV-tuner (thx to pdxlou for the info...sorry it turned out to be such a headache for you though ). So, I'm still not completely decided about the warranty yet. I'm not making my purchase for another week, so I have some time to think about it. Anyways, I'll let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again.

 

Have you tried the free Mediaportal software for your tv viewing/DVR etc... Its like Windows MCE but better:

http://www.team-mediaportal.com

It looks like the card is probably supported (Anyone want to try) by the supported hybrid tuner list:

http://wiki.team-mediaportal.com/Supported_TVCard_Hybride

Just another option for tv viewing so if anyone trys it let us know if it works.

vetrun

 

I can try it just for giggles.... Orderd the HP TV Tuner Card, should get here sometime next week... Will do a review on it so peeps will have something to think about when ordering the 5760. I will be sending back the tv tuner that came with the notebook though.
Mathew at DL gave me this link to a review of the HP dv8000t and towards the end of the review of the laptop is the card I will be getting, the poster jetstar does a mini review on the card.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3010&review=dv8000t+Review

PdxLou

 

Ok, tryed out the program. Looks pretty sweet if they add adtional cards. The info on the site says it works with the Lifeview FlyDVB-T Hybrid but it doesnt, well at least with the one I have. It wont find the TV Tuner card, so I dont know how well the program would have worked. I tryed downloading the most recent version of the software, even tryed an older one. Still no good. Worth tryin out, but.. no didnt work.


PdxLou

 

Ok card came in today and it works!!! A couple of ODD things though....
1. The HP TV Tuner card came with zero drivers. Oh, it came with a CD... but that cd just had user guide info.
2. If you go to the HP website and do a search for drivers for this card, gooooood luck. When you search for drivers with their # EP323AA#ABA it pops up HP StorageWorks EVA Fibre Channel Drives. Um, no.. Not what im looking for. I looked on the back of the card and found this, EC680. I did a search for that and it lead me to the Yuan EC680 Analog TV Tuner. I downloaded the driver i thought worked best and that was sp13559.exe , Its version 4.00A Release date 2006-01-06 . It works, thats all i know. When i first inserted the card into the laptop, it wanted drivers...

So.... if you want a 5760, a tv tuner that works with XP MCE.. then this may you a route for you untill sager offers a MCE compatible internal tv card.

PdxLou

 

somebody have the user manual of Yuan EC680 Analog TV Tuner? thanks in advance.