PlaceShifter From McDonald's WiFi: Wow!

[PeteCress]

I'm posting this in the main group bc I suspect some SageTV users are not aware of the full capabilities of PlaceShifter.

Couple weeks ago, I bought a SlingBox which does the iPhone (although one should get the "HD Pro" version with built-in tuner). SlingBox is Ok... but not, IMHO, even close to PlaceShifter.

I tried PlaceShifter off-premise for the first time today.

52 mbps connection at a local McDonalds.

Full-motion video over 52 mbps? I never would have expected much.

But, watching Charlie Rose's interview with Sean Penn from last Friday, I was impressed.

If you haven't tried PlaceShifter on your laptop away from home I would say to give it a shot.

Response to commands isn't real fast - but what can one expect over such a connection? Once the video is playing, however, it leaves nothing to be desired....

Only thing that kept me from trying this earlier was not understanding PlaceShifter's SageTV Placeshifter Servers Manager|Add|Add SageTV Server Info dialog.

Turns out that all one has to do is type in the IP address or the URL of the PC that is hosting SageTV into the "Address:" box (after clicking "Connect to this server directly by it's hostname or IP address") and PlaceShifter automagically finds SageTV.

The only other thing is that, before using it offsite, one has to do a Setup|Detailed Setup|Server|Manage PlaceShifter Users|Configure|Add New User and make up a UserID/PW that will be solicited when PlaceShifter is run offsite.

Dunno what one does without Windows Home Server, but I've got WHS and part of the package is a permanent address in the form of a URL like "MyServerBoxName.homeserver.com".

Like I said, SlingBox is ok... and it does iPhone.... but PlaceShifter be da shiznit if you have a laptop: hands-down....no comparison.

[Fuzzy]

It's even easier than that.. if you go through the setup wizard, sage will automatically set up forwarding in a uPnP capable router, and give you a Placeshifter ID, which you can then use to locate your computer (gets around dynamic IP issues).

[darcilicious]

Well, comparing Slingbox over iPhone with any placeshifter (e.g. slingbox, hava, orb, etc) on a laptop is comparing apples and oranges. A better comparison would be SlingCatcher (I think?) on the laptop with PlaceShifter on the laptop.

The iPhone is a woefully underpowered device when compared to a nice laptop I certainly get way better performance with the Hava Wireless HD on my laptop than I do on the iPhone.

[can3gxw]

We NEVER go on holidays or an overnighter without bringing our laptop. Nothing says relaxing than sitting in a hotel room with three kids on a rainy night like firing up PlaceShifter, connecting to your home server, and having them all watch Danny Phantom before bedtime while you and your wife get some quiet time to read... ahhhhh... thank you SageTV!

[PeteCress]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

It's even easier than that.. if you go through the setup wizard, sage will automatically set up forwarding in a uPnP capable router, and give you a Placeshifter ID, which you can then use to locate your computer (gets around dynamic IP issues).

Any idea how that works?

I read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPNP, but came away boggled.

Seems like somehow that PlaceShifter ID has to be linked to an IP address - but the IP address can change....?

[GKusnick]

Basically Sage runs a sort of dynamic DNS service where your server periodically tells Sage HQ its IP address, so that Placeshifter can later retrieve that IP address using your unique Locator ID (which I presume is some hash of your server's license key or something).

[Fuzzy]

The UPnP part is simply a standard way for software to configure a router. It allows sage to set up your router to let in placeshifter requests and rout them to your sage server.

[bunch92]

Athough McDonaldsspeed is 52 Mbps, you also need to take into account your server upload speed , and mine is only 256kbps, which means I lose on quality when using Placeshifter ( or any other soft ).

I wish I could have more broadband but I live in a remote place and 256kbps upload is all I can get .

[panteragstk]

Originally Posted by bunch92

Athough McDonaldsspeed is 52 Mbps, you also need to take into account your server upload speed , and mine is only 256kbps, which means I lose on quality when using Placeshifter ( or any other soft ).

I wish I could have more broadband but I live in a remote place and 256kbps upload is all I can get .

I feel your pain. I've been tethering my phone and using 3g for a few years. Netflix streaming and hulu work very well...sometimes...