2nd computer

[pknowles]

I have been running Sage TV on an old AMD thunderbird 1.2 GHz with 512 (my Media PC) for about 2 years now and absolutely love it. The AMD machines video card outputs directly to the tv along with the sound.

I have 2 monitors in our home office and I would like to be able to watch tv on one of those monitors. What extra software do I need to be able to do that? The media PC is directly connected to my wireless route through 100BaseT and the office compute connects over the wireless G network if that matters. Thanks.

[Opus4]

You could use SageTV Client or Placeshifter on the office PC to connect to your main SageTV system. My preference is to use Client on LAN connections, though a wireless network may be an issue for streaming the videos. Placeshifter could transcode to a lower bitrate if needed for the wireless connection, but that will put a load on the server that a slower cpu may not handle that well.

- Andy

[dealsdyker]

Question/Confusion about Placeshifter or client:

Per the store:
placeshifter connect to your SageTV Media Center from your home network or any Internet connection with any PC or Mac!

client One license required per installed PC.

1. Am I reading correctly that placeshifter runs on the Sage server machine, and can be connected to by any computer on the network/internet? Similar to Slingbox?

2. Can the quality be the same between the two options above if on a home network PC? If so, why would one opt for client over placeshifter, since client is on a single solitary machine only (other than horsepower on the server as you noted)?

TIA.

[sainswor99]

Originally Posted by dealsdyker

Question/Confusion about Placeshifter or client:

Per the store:
placeshifter connect to your SageTV Media Center from your home network or any Internet connection with any PC or Mac!

client One license required per installed PC.

1. Am I reading correctly that placeshifter runs on the Sage server machine, and can be connected to by any computer on the network/internet? Similar to Slingbox?

2. Can the quality be the same between the two options above if on a home network PC? If so, why would one opt for client over placeshifter, since client is on a single solitary machine only (other than horsepower on the server as you noted)?

TIA.

1. You are reading correctly.

2. The quality can be the same IF you don't install any custom codecs for Client; Client gives you the ability to tweak the codecs to get the best possible picture. Client also allows you to playback local DVD's (and possibly other filetypes as well; I'm not sure).

It's more of a use-case scenario (in my mind); if you plan on having two or more dedicated HTPC's connected to TV sets, you definitely want a Sage Server for one and a Client for another (or you may want to put your Sage Server in a basement and have two clients). If you want to use Sage on your office computer for watching TV while you work, Placeshfter is a better option.

Does that help?
Stu

[PGPfan]

1) Yes, placeshifter is basically Sage's version of a Slingbox.

and

2) No, the quality isn't the same, as placeshifter transcodes the video to a lower bitrate for transfer over the internet. Also, placeshifter cannot playback dvd's from either the HDD or DVD drive.

-PGPfan

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by dealsdyker

Question/Confusion about Placeshifter or client:

BTW: there's a FAQ for the difference between SageTV Client and Placeshifter, which says the above info plus maybe a little more.

- Andy

[pknowles]

Sounds like sage client is what I want, because I think that transcoding the video will be too much for my media PC. I'll try the trial client and see how it works. Thanks.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by PGPfan

1) Yes, placeshifter is basically Sage's version of a Slingbox.

and

2) No, the quality isn't the same, as placeshifter transcodes the video to a lower bitrate for transfer over the internet. Also, placeshifter cannot playback dvd's from either the HDD or DVD drive.

-PGPfan

Placeshifter does not necessarily transcode the video, if it detect taht it is conncting over a network connection. If this is the case, the only quality difference wouldbe due to using the PlaceShifter's decoder, vice whatever MPEG2 decoder is installed on your Client install.