Difference between Placeshifter & Client

[tammyslogon]

I am evaluating SageTV and I want other computers to access my files so I downloaded SageTV Client and that worked wonderfully. It doesn't appear as though I can purchase that product but instead must purchase SageTV Placesetter which seems to be much more complex.

I really don't want to deal with my routers firewall, etc nor do I care if I can access my server from outside of my home. The question is, why isn't the SageTV client still available and is the Placeshifter setup as complicated as it appears? Are there other differences?

Thanks,
Tammy

[evilpenguin]

http://store.sagetv.com/Merchant2/me...tegory_Code=SS

Clients still there, you just have to scroll down the list a little more. As for the difference, i'm pretty sure placeshifter is intended for viewing over the internet and client is for viewing over a LAN.

[GKusnick]

See this FAQ:

What is the difference between SageTV Client and Placeshifter?

Briefly, Client is for local LAN use and Placeshifter is for portable/Internet use. Both Client and Placeshifter are available for download here; I'm not sure where you got the idea that Client has been discontinued.

[tammyslogon]

Hi Greg,
Thanks for the response. I felt it was no longer available because it didn't show up on the mail store page. However, since I read your response I checked and it is indeed on the page with all products. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Is Placeshifter difficult to configure and does it leave your home network vulnerable?

Thanks Again for the response.
Tammy

[sainswor99]

You don't have to use Placeshifter on the Internet; it's simply one of the features of it. If you have more than one computer or a MediaMVP, you may want to purchase the Placeshifter instead of the Client because of a difference in licensing (placeshifter is licensed per concurrent use; Sage Client is locked to the number of PC's). Of course, the Client gives you other options as a tradeoff, including better video calibration.

If you do want to use Placeshifter, you have to open a single port on your firewall.

Stu

[stroths]

If you want to use a remote and want to use it on a single computer on your LAN go with the client version.

The client has native support for remotes where placeshifter does not. You can use something like Girder to get a remote working, but it doesn't work as well.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by stroths

The client has native support for remotes where placeshifter does not. You can use something like Girder to get a remote working, but it doesn't work as well.

You can use USB-UIRT or IRMan IR receivers with Placeshifter. It might also respond for MCE remotes.

- Andy

[Fountainhead]

One other thing that might not matter to most (but is a huge deal to me) is that the client supports closed-captioning (assuning your card does as well) where the placeshifter does not.

[benh]

Originally Posted by sainswor99

You don't have to use Placeshifter on the Internet; it's simply one of the features of it. If you have more than one computer or a MediaMVP, you may want to purchase the Placeshifter instead of the Client because of a difference in licensing (placeshifter is licensed per concurrent use; Sage Client is locked to the number of PC's). Of course, the Client gives you other options as a tradeoff, including better video calibration.

If you do want to use Placeshifter, you have to open a single port on your firewall.

Stu

If I understand correctly, and the Placeshifter license can be used in lieu of a MediaMVP license, why would one ever choose to purchase the latter? Mention of better video is made. Is that true for the mvp, or just the client program?

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by benh

If I understand correctly, and the Placeshifter license can be used in lieu of a MediaMVP license

The Placeshifter & Extender licenses are essentially the same thing; if you have 1 MVP license, you can also connect 1 Placeshifter if the MVP is not being used, and vice-versa.

...why would one ever choose to purchase the latter? Mention of better video is made. Is that true for the mvp, or just the client program?

The MVP has a hardware decoder for mpg2 video & is built for output to a TV -- it is easier to have it look good on an SD TV than a video card's output.

The SageTV Client app has more options in Detailed Setup to choose the video renderer & decoder, so it has more decoder choices.

Some of this is mentioned in the FAQ about the PS vs. Client differences, mentioned above by GKusnick.

- Andy

[sainswor99]

Originally Posted by benh

If I understand correctly, and the Placeshifter license can be used in lieu of a MediaMVP license, why would one ever choose to purchase the latter? Mention of better video is made. Is that true for the mvp, or just the client program?

I responded to your private message, but since you also posted here, I thought I would respond as well (in case others read the thread and have similar questions). Please note that I am NOT a Sage employee, and the following represents my understanding of the technology.

Gkusnick's post above points you to an excellent FAQ on the differences between Placeshifter and Sage Client; however, that FAQ is focused more on the differences between the applications (the different clients; little "c") with a very brief synopsis of the differences on the licensing schemes. It's really two separate but related issues.

As of this posting, Sage offers five basic products:

Sage Recorder - a slim application for recording and watching TV. Can be used as a network encoder for SageTV Media Center, but other than that, it has limited functionality.

SageTV Media Center - The core of the SageTV system. Acts as the primary server for recording TV and other media functions. May also be used as a client to watch TV in a standalone fashion.

SageTV Client - an application that runs on a networked PC that connects to the SageTV Media Center, and accesses the media served. SageTV client allows you to customize the decoders and renderers involved in playback, which can result in a higher picture quality than SageTV Placeshifter.

SageTV Placeshifter - an application that runs on a network PC that connects to the SageTV Media Center, and accesses the media served. Placeshifter can also connect to SageTV Media Center across the internet, and Placeshifter can also request that the media stream be transcoded to match the bandwidth available. Placeshifter is known by some as a "remote client", or an "extender".

SageTV MediaMVP - a hardware appliance that connects to the SageTV Media Center, and accesses the media served. SageTV has actually developed an application that runs on the Hauppauge MediaMVP; the hardware is still Hauppauge. SageTV MediaMVP is known by some as a "remote client", or an "extender".


Now, for licensing. IF you are going to use a client to connect to your SageTV Media Center, there are three licenses to choose from; one is mandatory (you must have a server license, which is included with your purchase of SageTV Media Center). The other two client (note the lowercase c) licenses are as follows:

Single-seat: A license is purchased for each machine that connects to the Media Center. SageTV Client uses this license. If you have two PC's (beyond your SageTV Media Center server), and want to watch SageTV on both of them, you must purchase a license for each machine.

Concurrent: A license is purchased for each concurrent connection to the Media Center. Placeshifter and Media MVP both use this license. If you have two PC's (beyond your SageTV Media Center server), and want to watch SageTV on both of them at the same time, you must have two licenses. If you are watching TV on one PC at a time, you only need one license. If you add a Media MVP, as long as you are watching TV on one device at a time, you only need the one Concurrent client license.

Where it gets confusing is that Sage sells a Placeshifter license and a MediaMVP license; there is no difference between these licenses. They are simply a concurrent license. IF you buy a Placeshifter license, and then decide 6 months later to purchase a Hauppauge MediaMVP, you do not need to buy a MediaMVP license as long as you do not exceed the concurrent usage.


I hope that clears it up.
Stu

[dreckner]

My question on this subject is where do you install the Client or placeshifter software? Is that installed on the SageTV server ?
All I'm Trying to accomplish right now (Before my trial version runs out) is to get my newly purchased MVP to connect to the Sage server.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by dreckner

My question on this subject is where do you install the Client or placeshifter software? Is that installed on the SageTV server ?

The Client & PS software are both installed on the system where you will use them.

SageTV Client license is registered on the client PC, while PS and extender licenses are registered on the server.

All I'm Trying to accomplish right now (Before my trial version runs out) is to get my newly purchased MVP to connect to the Sage server.

This is separate from a Client or PS -- for an extender, you install nothing other than SageTV on the server -- you just enable the PS/extender server option on the server & register the extender license on the server. This is covered in Appendix M of the SageTV PDF manual.

- Andy

[dreckner]

Opus4, Thanks for your response.

Reference your response: This is separate from a Client or PS -- for an extender, you install nothing other than SageTV on the server -- you just enable the PS/extender server option on the server & register the extender license on the server. This is covered in Appendix M of the SageTV PDF manual.

So the extender license is built into the server license, correct? If so, does that mean you can hook as many MVP’s up to the server without purchasing any Client/PS licenses? All I'm interested in is running maybe 1-2 MVP's, no PC's. As far as registering the media Extender License, I'm running the trail version still, so I don't have a license number to register.

I downloaded the trail PS because after reading sainswor99's response

Where it gets confusing is that Sage sells a Placeshifter license and a MediaMVP license; there is no difference between these licenses. They are simply a concurrent license. IF you buy a Placeshifter license, and then decide 6 months later to purchase a Hauppauge MediaMVP, you do not need to buy a MediaMVP license as long as you do not exceed the concurrent usage.

That is why I thought you needed a client or the PS license to connect the MVP.

So the way I originally set it was, the server and the PS/extender option on, on the server computer plus I had the trail PS also installed on the computer running server.

Hopefully you can tell how confussed I really am.

My plan now is to start fresh. Uninstall Sage TV and the trail PS, reinstall SageTV only. Enable the Server and PS/extender option and see what happens. I'll let you know.

Thanks again,
Dave

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by dreckner

So the extender license is built into the server license, correct? If so, does that mean you can hook as many MVP’s up to the server without purchasing any Client/PS licenses?

No, the extender license is not part of the server license.

As mentioned above somewhere, the PS and extender licenses are essentially the same thing: if you have a PS license, you can use an MVP, and vice-versa.

The SageTV Client license is different from the PS/extender license.

I believe sainswor99's above post has the correct info in more detail.

- Andy