SnapStream Blog

Okay, maybe there’s no reason to carry a PC remote control around in your pocket, but if you wanted to, at least it wouldn’t get scratched beyond all recognition (insert, all sorts of legal disclaimers here).

Ever since we launched Firefly, many customers have been asking us to create an IR version. Well, nine months ago, we locked two Firefly’s (a regular Firefly and Zack’s sexy red Firefly mod) into a dark closet, and today we’re happy to announce that SnapStream Media will soon be proudly delivering Firefly Mini!

All jokes aside, we will be publicly launching Firefly Mini this March. It uses IR instead of RF to communicate with the USB receiver and has a living room friendly 30-foot range. The smaller form factor gives the remote a nice, compact hold. We’ve streamlined the button count leaving just the essentials making it that much easier to use increasing the WAF. My favorite part is that it is a HID-compliant device, so there are no additional drivers to install. Also, since more and more applications are supporting standard HID media keys (such as play, pause, stop, etc), Firefly Mini will support many other media applications right out of the box. Beyond TV 4.1 and Beyond Media 1.1.1 already support the remote’s special buttons (such as the guide button).

More info coming soon…

DivX is a popular format but it’s pretty tough to record your shows directly to DivX with most of the hardware out there today. The best quality you can expect using a software encode TV card and a 2.4 GHz P4 is medium quality DivX Portable — definitely not suitable for a TV (see the Beyond TV FAQ, section 3, question 13 for more on this).

So what’s a DivX fan to do? The solution is: The Plextor ConvertX PX-TV402U (yes, the model number is a mouthful). The Plextor ConvertX is natively supported in Beyond TV 4 and it has a DivX hardware encoder so you can record shows directly to high-quality DivX even if you don’t have the latest multi-core processor from Intel or AMD. And now you can purchase the Plextor ConvertX in the Beyond TV DivX bundle (great if you are new to Beyond TV) or you can purchase it standalone (great if you want to add the ability to record straight to DivX to your existing Beyond TV system).

Enjoy recording to DivX!

Sometimes when I’m using Beyond TV at home, I have movie cravings. It’s hard to explain exactly what I’m in the mood for, but there is something deep down that is screaming, “Entertain me!�

Before Beyond TV 4 was released, my cravings could only be satisfied by flipping through the program guide, or by searching for keywords in the search tool. Admittedly, these are great features, but with my short attention span, sometimes this would take too long.

Then Beyond TV 4 came out and everything changed. Now I can use the new “Browse by Category� feature, and browse my local listings for sports, movies, and if I am in the right frame of mind, even educational listings. It’s a nice surprise to come home with a queue of movies ready to be watched at my convenience. I like to call if “NetFlix for the monetarily challenged.�

I have a movie craving right now, but it looks like it will be satisfied after watching Mel Gibson blow things up in The Road Warrior tonight at 7:00!

We know that many of the readers of this blog are not just technology users, but also technology creators. So if you’re an experienced C#, .Net, or C++ developer and would be interested in working at SnapStream, please visit our Jobs page.

New hires would need to join us in Houston, Texas. SnapStream offers a great boundary-less work environment where every voice is heard.

Please spread the word to your friends and family as well. Digital media enthusiasts preferred!