Change client PCs, old PC still registered?

[PatM]

I've been running the SageTV client (V7) on a Windows 7 machine and have had constant problems with codecs and crashes. I have never had problems running the server on a Win XP machine so I decided to move the client from a Win 7 machine to a Win XP pro machine.

My problem is that the server tells me I can't have two machines using the same client license. I've tried restarting the server to no effect. When I searched the forums I only saw something saying that the server doesn't remember which machine used which license. That doesn't appear to be the case here though.

So how do I kick the Win7 machine out and let the WinXP machine use the license?

[nlancaster]

Stop and Start the server should clear out the setting.

[APillowOfClouds]

Just thought I'd chime in and say there needs to be a better way to deal with this. I've run into this before as well and having to interrupt viewing and recordings and restart the server to get it to realize a license can be reused is just silly. Speaking as a programmer it should be trivial for the server to realize the client that was using the license is no longer actively connected.

[GKusnick]

Originally Posted by APillowOfClouds

Just thought I'd chime in and say there needs to be a better way to deal with this. I've run into this before as well and having to interrupt viewing and recordings and restart the server to get it to realize a license can be reused is just silly. Speaking as a programmer it should be trivial for the server to realize the client that was using the license is no longer actively connected.

But realistically, how often do you re-license clients? A server restart doesn't seem like that big a burden for something that most users will probably never need to do. Speaking as a programmer myself, while this could in principle be fixed, budgeting the time to do so would be way, way down on my priority list.

[APillowOfClouds]

Well, for example, if I watch a lot of shows on my laptop with a license dedicated to that purpose and a lot of times my wife's laptop is handy and mine is not. Doesn't violate any rule that I know of for me to use her laptop instead if I'm not using both at the same time but I can't without rebooting the server. Or my laptop vs. my desktop, same thing.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by APillowOfClouds

Well, for example, if I watch a lot of shows on my laptop with a license dedicated to that purpose and a lot of times my wife's laptop is handy and mine is not. Doesn't violate any rule that I know of for me to use her laptop instead if I'm not using both at the same time but I can't without rebooting the server. Or my laptop vs. my desktop, same thing.

Placeshifter is the intended client for this purpose. What you really want is a license change so that a standard client can be used on multiple PCs just not concurrently for a single license.

[Opus4]

Originally Posted by APillowOfClouds

Well, for example, if I watch a lot of shows on my laptop with a license dedicated to that purpose and a lot of times my wife's laptop is handy and mine is not. Doesn't violate any rule that I know of for me to use her laptop instead if I'm not using both at the same time but I can't without rebooting the server. Or my laptop vs. my desktop, same thing.

It is a violation of the license agreement to use the same SageTV license on multiple PCs.

Please read the EULAclient.txt file found in your SageTV Client installation directory. This is the agreement you would have seen when the application was installed. It clearly states that a client license is for use on a single PC, not multiple PCs with only 1 being in use at a time. If you want to use SageTV Client on multiple PCs, you are supposed to have a separate license for each PC.

Thus, the only time you would need to restart the server for the client license recognition is when you are transferring the client license from a PC where the client will no longer be used.

- Andy

[APillowOfClouds]

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

Placeshifter is the intended client for this purpose. What you really want is a license change so that a standard client can be used on multiple PCs just not concurrently for a single license.

Is that against the rules currently? It seems to me if I can reboot the server and register the client from another PC and it works OK then the intent is the license is not tied to a box. I don't do it much anyway because I can't reboot the server in the middle of the day due to the WAF and kids. Placeshifter seems more geared to me to viewing on WAN or on a thin client.

[OneOfMany]

It is against any EULA I have read regarding a piece of software to have it installed on multiple computers even if using only one at a time.

[GKusnick]

See also this FAQ:

SageTV Client:

• License is registered on the PC where the Client is installed. Each license can be used on a single system.

[APillowOfClouds]

Originally Posted by Opus4

It is a violation of the license agreement to use the same SageTV license on multiple PCs.

Please read the EULAclient.txt file found in your SageTV Client installation directory. This is the agreement you would have seen when the application was installed. It clearly states that a client license is for use on a single PC, not multiple PCs with only 1 being in use at a time. If you want to use SageTV Client on multiple PCs, you are supposed to have a separate license for each PC.

Thus, the only time you would need to restart the server for the client license recognition is when you are transferring the client license from a PC where the client will no longer be used.

- Andy

Well, I apologize for the misinterpretation, that's not how I had understood it, but like I said I really don't do it anyway because I hate rebooting the server, it severely affects WAF. And I own three client licenses, a placeshifter license and a server license and for a good amount of time owning the licenses I was not using the placeshifter license at all so I did have that in reserve.

[APillowOfClouds]

Originally Posted by OneOfMany

It is against any EULA I have read regarding a piece of software to have it installed on multiple computers even if using only one at a time.

I have actually come across many counter examples in 20 years including multi thousand dollar a license clients my companies sold but I won't belabour the point. Sage's EULA is what it is, and I agreed to it, luckily as I say I didn't really do this in practice anyhow because I do not like to reboot my server unless it is absolutely necessary, which thankfully it is not often.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by OneOfMany

It is against any EULA I have read regarding a piece of software to have it installed on multiple computers even if using only one at a time.

Check out Beyond Compare. They even have an install tailored to a USB stick to make it easier. I would agree that it is NOT the norm however.

[SomeWhatLost]

just curious, but how does the licensing thing apply in this wonderful new world of Virtual Machines???
ie you could have a bunch of sages all on one physical PC (in theory at least... in reality it might be still a bit unpractical)

[gplasky]

SageTV Client:
License is registered on the PC where the Client is installed. Each license can be used on a single system.

Each virtual is a PC. Sage makes no mention of physical or virtual. Microsoft and other manufacturers of virtual systems have spelled out specifically what is and isn't covered by their license and installs for virtual systems. For example, on Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise you can run up to four software instances at a time in virtual operating system environments on a server under a single server license.

So unless a vendor specifically states their licensing terms are different on a virtual system a rule of thumb is virtual=system=PC.

Gerry

[OneOfMany]

Originally Posted by BobPhoenix

Check out Beyond Compare. They even have an install tailored to a USB stick to make it easier. I would agree that it is NOT the norm however.

It's kind of moot being concerned about re-distribution when you require a license key. Without one, the software is in essence a "trial".

However, you are correct . We also use utilities that are "licensed" to us for the purpose of installation and use on other PCs.

[stevech]

Originally Posted by OneOfMany

It is against any EULA I have read regarding a piece of software to have it installed on multiple computers even if using only one at a time.

Disagree. There are "floating" licenses in popular use, where a client bids for temporary use of a license, controlled by a license server. This is often done with very expensive software, such as engineering/CAD tools.

I also use license key fob/dongles. Today, that's a USB fob containing the license key. I prefer this so that the client PC need not have connectivity to the license server - e.g., when on travel.

But with Sage's client being low cost, perhaps the above is N/A.