Going fromm BeyondTV to BeyondTV Link

[KennyXL]

Hi,

Long time lurker, first time poster. I have a licensed copy of BeyondTV that has worked very well for me for years, but now I'd like to have the same functionality for all the computers in my house. I understand that BeyondTV Link offers that, but I wanted to make sure about a few key items before buying the 3 license pack:

1. Is it truly like having BeyondTV on all my computers or has the functionality been severely hampered to a "BeyondTV lite"? Granted, my network traffic will increase, but other than that are there any performance considerations I should be concerned about?

2. Can each BeyondTV Link computer have it's own settings? For example, I may want certain shows folders available on some computers and not on others. Can I do that?

3. Is BeyondTV required as a "host" application on a main box and the Beyond TV Link computers serve as "clients" or is BeyondTV Link the only application required? If Beyond TV is required, will my current license work fine or do I have to buy another?

4. For anyone who uses BeyondTV Link, what differences/idiosyncracies have you seen from using just BeyondTV on one computer?

I'm hoping to make a decision soon so if anyone can help, I'd greatly appreciate your input. Thank you. Bye!

[Fonceur]

Your current BeyondTV installation will act as the server and you will need one BTV-Link license per simultaneous connection (i.e. 3 if you want to use all 3 at the same time, but 1 would do if you only use 1 BTV-Link at a time..). The server will record and host the files, but the BTV-Link(s) get full playback, can add/delete recording and all. Using the security feature, you can restrict the access based on the user logged on that BTV-Link.

[KennyXL]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

Your current BeyondTV installation will act as the server and you will need one BTV-Link license per simultaneous connection (i.e. 3 if you want to use all 3 at the same time, but 1 would do if you only use 1 BTV-Link at a time..). The server will record and host the files, but the BTV-Link(s) get full playback, can add/delete recording and all. Using the security feature, you can restrict the access based on the user logged on that BTV-Link.

Thanks for the quick reply! Is there a reason you think only 1 BeyondTV Link application should be used at any given time? Is it a performance issue or a reliability issue?

[KennyXL]

Originally Posted by KennyXL

Thanks for the quick reply! Is there a reason you think only 1 BeyondTV Link application should be used at any given time? Is it a performance issue or a reliability issue?

Sorry...I totally mis-read that. Ignore my questions. Thanks again!

[kandlg]

I think your first 3 questions have been answered. I'm glad I bought a 3 pack because no one ever fights over a TV anymore. Everyone can do everything from anywhere. I suppose eventually there will be an issue over the # of tuners though...

On item 4 -
On very rare occaisions, Link will not connect to the server. A second attempt usually does it. A reboot of the server and/or link always gets it.
Link has lower hardware requirements because the server does the work.
I don't notice any issues with performance from the use of the 3 links while watching the server.
One trivial issue (and I'm really nit-picking here) - if one person watches a show, it is no longer new. Since everyone always watches the same TV, I would prefer it to show new until I watch it on my TV. Similarly, if one person starts the show and quits before the end, the next person to pick it gets the option of watching from that point. I would prefer it to be specific to the computer, but there are probably others that like to be able to watch it in the den, quit and then pick up at the same spot on another TV.
I think there is something to be said for having a headless server in a closet and have all the TV's as link machines. That way you can have a loud server with lots of hardrives, tuners, and a big, ugly well-ventilated case as the work horse. Of course you are wasting a link license this way.

[KennyXL]

Originally Posted by kandlg

I think your first 3 questions have been answered. I'm glad I bought a 3 pack because no one ever fights over a TV anymore. Everyone can do everything from anywhere. I suppose eventually there will be an issue over the # of tuners though...

On item 4 -
On very rare occaisions, Link will not connect to the server. A second attempt usually does it. A reboot of the server and/or link always gets it.
Link has lower hardware requirements because the server does the work.
I don't notice any issues with performance from the use of the 3 links while watching the server.
One trivial issue (and I'm really nit-picking here) - if one person watches a show, it is no longer new. Since everyone always watches the same TV, I would prefer it to show new until I watch it on my TV. Similarly, if one person starts the show and quits before the end, the next person to pick it gets the option of watching from that point. I would prefer it to be specific to the computer, but there are probably others that like to be able to watch it in the den, quit and then pick up at the same spot on another TV.
I think there is something to be said for having a headless server in a closet and have all the TV's as link machines. That way you can have a loud server with lots of hardrives, tuners, and a big, ugly well-ventilated case as the work horse. Of course you are wasting a link license this way.

Thank you for the reply and those minor issues I can deal with. I'm convinced that the BeyondTV link is indeed the more economical route in my situation. Bye!

[Cross673]

Beyond TV Link looks and acts exactly like the Beyond TV server. I highly recommend it.

One other thing to note: If you record high definition (.ts files), they require more bandwidth to stream to the Link computers. My experience is that 802.11G is not fast enough for these files. 100 Mbit hardwired LAN works fine though...

[tscales]

One clarification. BTV Link requires a unique license for every machine on which it is licenses. The software only checks if you're reusing the license if they are concurrent, but that doesn't make it legal. One copy. One computer.

[Terminal]

Originally Posted by kandlg

One trivial issue (and I'm really nit-picking here) - if one person watches a show, it is no longer new. Since everyone always watches the same TV, I would prefer it to show new until I watch it on my TV. Similarly, if one person starts the show and quits before the end, the next person to pick it gets the option of watching from that point. I would prefer it to be specific to the computer, but there are probably others that like to be able to watch it in the den, quit and then pick up at the same spot on another TV.

This is no longer the case. If you have each link machine log in with different accounts then all the resume points and new settings are only changed for that account.

You can use /networkclientuser:<username> and /networkclientpassword:<password> as a script

Also under Misc settings you will find the User Specific Watched Points option, this allows you to turn this feature on and off.

[kandlg]

Nice. I am still on a version 3 server though. Hmm, upgrade or wait for version 5...

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by kandlg

Hmm, upgrade or wait for version 5...

With their development cycle and the fact that 5.0 has not been hinted at yet, I wouldn't hold my breath...

[kandlg]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

With their development cycle and the fact that 5.0 has not been hinted at yet, I wouldn't hold my breath...

I know, but I keep thinking they're beta testing 4.9 now and that's a lot of revs. Surely they must be thinking about the upgrade fees they would get with 5.0. Especially if it included... - no, better not. If I said it, it would turn into one of those threads.