How does Placeshifter work?

[wayner]

I am new to Sage and trying out some of its functions. A question about Placeshifter - it appears to require an app installed on the client. Why is this?

I have used similar apps like Webguide (for VMC/MCE) and Orb and they run through a browser on the client. This is much more platform independent and allows you to placeshift to a PocketPC, iPhone or other types of devices.

That's not going to work with Placeshifter is it?

Any chance of Sage rewriting the app so that it doesn't require software on the client?

[bcjenkins]

Take a look at the webserver add on for SageTV. Install VLC and it can do streaming over the internet ala Orb, et al.

B

[wayner]

I have installed the webserver for SageTv and I have VLC installed on the server - does VLC need to be on the client. What else do I need to set up?

[GKusnick]

You do need to run the Placeshifter software on the client PC, but you don't actually need to install it. You can carry a working Placeshifter installation on a USB stick and run it from there on any Windows PC without installing anything.

[bcjenkins]

Take a look here: http://tools.assembla.com/sageplugin...erverTranscode

B

[wayner]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

You do need to run the Placeshifter software on the client PC, but you don't actually need to install it. You can carry a working Placeshifter installation on a USB stick and run it from there on any Windows PC without installing anything.

But this doesn't help me to be able to Placeshift to a Blackberry, iPhone, PocketPC, etc.

[bcjenkins]

You can also set up ORB on your recorded TV directories too. I am half tempted to do so for the iPod Touch. If it ran in Linux I would have already done it.

B

[wayner]

I used to run Orb but I found that at times it would hog resources on the server, even when it wasn't being used. I switched to running WebGuide which worked very well in conjunction with MCE. WebGuide is pretty much a web based front end for MCE/VMC. IMHO it is too bad that SagePlaceShifter isn't just a web based front end for Sage that doesn't require any software on the client other than a browser and a media player.

[Conejo]

Originally Posted by wayner

I have installed the webserver for SageTv and I have VLC installed on the server - does VLC need to be on the client. What else do I need to set up?

- Webserver for SageTV would be installed and configured on your SageTV HTPC server.
- If you want access to this outside your LAN then you'd configure your Router for Port Forwarding and possibly the Router and SageTV HTPC Firewall(s) if they're in place.
- VideoLanClient would be installed on the web-browsing PC, selecting the PLUG-IN option for your browser (Mozilla Plug-in is used for Firefox v2 & v3).

Depending on your UPLOAD speed, your SageTV HTPC processor may have to do some heavy, real-time transcoding unless you've done this ahead of time. On a local LAN I prefer using the SageTV Client.

-- --
Yea, if only the people at SageTV would drop that pesky business model that only lets them develop and release products that *at least* break even. If they would only Open Sourced everything then we'd have something like... like... ... what's out there that's Open Sourced that does everything that SageTV does and lets you view it with just a web browser?

[wayner]

My upload speed is about 800 kbps. I assume that the transcoding is going to be worse for H.264 files from the HD-PVR.

I don't mind paying for the service, but I like the model of being platform agnostic for the client end of something like placeshifter. Charge me an extra $20-$40 for this service on the server side but allow more freedom on the client. There is no way that Sage could ever keep up with platform specific models for all of the client devices that people will want to use - especially with handheld devices like iPhones, Blackberries, etc.

[bcjenkins]

Get a sling box and connect an HD Extender to it.

B

[wayner]

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

Get a sling box and connect an HD Extender to it.

B

But that's kind of a waste as a slingobx is digitizing your video and audio signals and then streaming that file over the internet (or LAN). You don't need specialized hardware to do that since your files are already in digital format and are sitting on a PC connected to the internet. All you need is a software solution that allows you to support a thin client at the other end, such as a browser. Unfortunately Placeshifter comes up a bit short in that regard, unlike other similar products such as Orb and Webguide.

[bcjenkins]

Not a waste in my opinion. Everything you have mentioned sling has an answer for or will soon have one. The benefit of coupling it to an HD extender is that you'll gain access to all the features of SageTV, regardless of what the feature is. DVDs with menus, YouTube videos, Pictures, Music, etc. Sling does what it is good at; compresses the output of the component connection to something that is available on most smartphone platforms.

The biggest plus is that for the $450 (hd extender, sling, component adapter) you gain a highly effective transcoding solution which doesn't require you to setup any server software. (Well other than SageTV) Also if you don't need HD output you can get a cheaper sling device.

B

[wayner]

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

Also if you don't need HD output you can get a cheaper sling device.

The quality of a stream from Sling is going to be constrained by the upload speed of one's internet connection. My upload speed is 800kbps or so (vs. ^Mbps down) - therefore does it even make sense to try to use sling with HD content?

[bcjenkins]

I don't know, I think you'd be surprised. Also, I am doing 480i output of HD content on an HD extender which is noticeably improved over SD content. You could always take a sling device on a test drive with a circuit city or best buy return option.

B