Purchasing Windows and Linux versions?

[morikaweb]

I'm slightly confused by this. I am considering buying Sage but Do I have to pay for both the Linux and Windows versions? Essentially paying twice for the same program?

I'm wondering because my HTPC is running windows now, but I am in the process of planing a replacement that will be running Kubuntu, and really don't want to have to pay for the program again when I do that.

Also can the Windows/Linux clients see/connect to the opposite versions? IE: can a windows PC connect to a Linux Sage server?

[stanger89]

First, licenses can't be transferred between Windows and OEM (linux) versions. So if you want to run it now on Windows and later on Linux, you'll have to buy another license.

As to your second question, yes, all "versions" of SageTV can interact with each other, Linux server, Windows Client, Mac placeshifter, etc.

[morikaweb]

I suppose I will have to think very hard about weather sage is right for me then. I might be able to justifiey $99 but $200 is getting a little outrages.

[stanger89]

You "only" have to rebuy the one (server) license, not everything.

[heffe2001]

Originally Posted by stanger89

You "only" have to rebuy the one (server) license, not everything.

So his message should read 80 & 160 . (Unless you go with PC Alchemy for your windows version, it's 69.99 there).

[FidgetyRat]

I agree with him though. It always felt a little dirty to have to purchase 2 main licenses like that.

I could see a $5 surcharge to purchase a carry-over license or something like that. but anything over 10-20% just feels greedy.

[_matt_]

I agree that one server license whether ran on linux or win would be cooler, but you are going to have to switch PVR programs on your conversion to linux unless you shell out for two licenses. So, I would run GBPVR now, then switch to Sage when you cross over to linux.

[rickgillyon]

Originally Posted by FidgetyRat

I agree with him though. It always felt a little dirty to have to purchase 2 main licenses like that.

It sounds like it would be a pretty rare occurrence for this to happen, and if they have two distinct licensing structures it would be hard to disable the old key when assigning a new one. Open to abuse, and if a rarity why would Sage make that effort?

If you're going to move to Linux anyway, just move that schedule up a little...

[zoop]

just curious, why would you need to buy both the windows and linux versions of the server? and how is that different than needed 2 servers of either kind?

thx

/jer

[jominor]

Originally Posted by FidgetyRat

I agree with him though. It always felt a little dirty to have to purchase 2 main licenses like that.

I could see a $5 surcharge to purchase a carry-over license or something like that. but anything over 10-20% just feels greedy.

Perhaps you would feel differently if you had to write the code. I mean, if it were easy, you'd write your own DVR software and wouldn't need Sage.

[stevech]

one license fee barely pays for an hour of software engineering time if you count the G&A, overhead and fringe benefits. Then add the recurring less life cycle support costs.

[FidgetyRat]

Originally Posted by jominor

Perhaps you would feel differently if you had to write the code. I mean, if it were easy, you'd write your own DVR software and wouldn't need Sage.

Isn't that one of the benefits of java to begin with? Platform independence? I suppose most other companies do this as well, such as Microsoft with office (ie office and officeX)

[bcjenkins]

You see often where people on the forum are interested in getting as much as they can for free. I think Sage is giving us all a fantastic product for a wide variety of platforms and deserves every penny they get. If you want free products; I would suggest you look at:

Team Media Portal
GB-PVR
MeediOS
MythTV

At least two of those projects support MVPs. One of them is LINUX and OS X.

Keep in mind they are written by people who do it because of the fun and are not earning a living by it. The adage applies: You get what you pay for.

B

[morikaweb]

First of off I am not interested in getting "free" stuff. I am far more interested in flexibility than the software being “free”. I simply don't fell I should be riped off.

As far as the amount of work the programmers have to do: If the programmers were smart they would write code that was as platform independent as passable. Which is something I thought they were doing, as the Linux version is Java based is it not?

For those who think this is imposable take a look at the game industry. Games like NWN, Quake, Doom, ect all run on ether windows or Linux without having to pay twice for one products.

Now as for why I would want both clients and not simply stick with one OS? For starters I'm a nerd, well most of my systems are Linux primary's, almost all of them are duel or tri boot setups. For another I help run a small computer business, and when showing customers it helps to show them I can do the same thing in windows or Linux.

And last but not least why don't I simply move my HTPC to Linux conversion project up? Simply I need to replace certain hardware for better compatibility. And right now I am waiting for some protects/software to be released.

[bcjenkins]

I think the reason you have Sage running on various platforms is because of Java. But the whole application is not Java. There are hooks in the application making calls to platform specific procedures. (Direct3D in Windows, etc.)

Lastly, I think the key difference in the two products is the Linux version is marketed as OEM.

B

[subslug]

Originally Posted by bcjenkins

You see often where people on the forum are interested in getting as much as they can for free. I think Sage is giving us all a fantastic product for a wide variety of platforms and deserves every penny they get. If you want free products; I would suggest you look at:

Team Media Portal
GB-PVR
MeediOS
MythTV

At least two of those projects support MVPs. One of them is LINUX and OS X.

Keep in mind they are written by people who do it because of the fun and are not earning a living by it. The adage applies: You get what you pay for.

B

I haven't actually purchased Sage just yet but I can speak from experience as far as getting MythTV working in Linux.....
If I payed myself $10 for every hour I've spent trying to get a working setup of MythTV, I could have purchased 2 copies of Sage.

At some point you need to figure in the time spent when considering the overall cost.

[Mahoney]

If the programmers were smart they would write code that was as platform independent as passable. Which is something I thought they were doing, as the Linux version is Java based is it not?

They are both Java based, and as such I am sure they have as much cross platform code as possible. I doubt there would be a Linux & Mac version but for the fact the core logic is written in Java.

However, the nature of an HTPC app means that there has to be a *lot* of platform specific code - you need to interface with capture cards via platform specific drivers, and you need to interface with platform specific ways of outputting video and audio. There is no way you can produce a "write once, run anywhere" HTPC app. There must be loads of JNI in there.

For those who think this is imposable take a look at the game industry. Games like NWN, Quake, Doom, ect all run on ether windows or Linux without having to pay twice for one products.

If there's one place I wouldn't tell people to look to make your point it's the game industry! The number of cross platform games is minute compared the total number of games. That's why no-one uses Linux or Mac as a serious games platform - 95% of games never arrive, and those that do arrive years later.

Having said all of that I do appreciate your irritation, it does feel weird to buy a server license twice for one person. But the reality is that by using a Windows version and then switching to a Linux version you will have been utilising significantly more of the development effort they have put in than if you had just stuck to one, so I think it's fair to pay more. Perhaps not twice as much, but then one of the benefits of choosing Java for a developer is the possibility of selling more units for less effort.

[davephan]

I would like to try setting up and demo the Linux version of SageTV, but there does not seem to be a demo Linux version available. I would guess that most people would not want to buy the Linux version without a free trial.

Dave

[ntisdale]

I found the lack of demo for the linux version annoying but it is sold as an OEM product which, IMHO is a shame as it's a great consumer product and far better than Myth (for my needs at least). I would however, say that there are many of us using SageTV linux as consumers and are getting along just fine with it. The main reason I can see for a demo is to ensure that you can get Sage working on linux before coughing up for a license - this was certainly my main concern. However, I found the install to be very easy and the support from Sage and the forums to be excellent. I had minimal linux knowledge and so did a lot of learning on the job as it were (a friend and I had setup of mythTV before so I knew my way around).

The ability to transfer licenses would be nice but I think only a very small number of people would actually have this requirement. I would not be but off by just going straight to linux however. I would say do your homework though, read the install notes and ensure all dependancies required by Sage are installed on your linux box (if installing Sage on an existing system). Also watch out for the subtle differences in features supported by Sage linux and Sage windows...sage does try keep them consistent but some platform specific features can lag e.g. DVB support only came to Sage linux in version 6.1 rather than 6. Lastly note that there isn't a complete client for linux yet, the current system uses a the linux placeshifter client as the local client, therefore, encrypted DVD playback is unsurpportedat the moment.

Neil

[GTwannabe]

What I dislike about Sage licensing is that Placeshifter licenses are stored on the server, but Client licenses are stored on the client PC's. It would be much better if all licenses were stored on and managed by the server.