Confessions of a SnapStream Tester
December 6th, 2007 at 6:19 pm by Melissa
From the creative mind of such posts as Beyond TV Hearts iTunes and iPhone, Top 10 reasons I heart my over-the-air antenna, TV Viewers Bill of Rights and much more we bring you Zack Price.
Lead tester of all things SnapStream and self-proclaimed tech guru, Zack will give us an inside look at the thought process behind Beyond TV 4.7’s iTunes® Integration feature. To bring those of you who might be unaware of this feature up to speed, the iTunes® Integration feature allows Beyond TV users to automatically sync their recorded TV shows to their iPods and iPhones.
So, sit back and relax as Zack takes us down the unbeaten path where developers and testers come to amends with the technology that is iTunes® Integration.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
iTunes integration is apparently much more in demand and therefore more worthy of hype than this other obscure feature that others want… I think they call it integration with Beyond Media.
Look at how often iPod/iPhone/iTunes has been mentioned on this blog lately. Maybe this should be Beyond Apple.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
I enjoyed this post. Good to hear about the feature from Zack’s viewpoint knowing he’s using the software he works with.
Zack, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to add a movie from your beyond media movie list to your iPod/iPhone also?
Great to see features of the SS crew. Thanks Melissa!
December 7th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
I couldn’t have said it better MarcP. Snapstream doesn’t care what people really want, just what they think is really cool. We need integration… well actually I don’t anymore, I am a happy SageTV user now. Snapstream needs integration though, or else it will lose it’s entire user base to SageTV. Have any of you guys read the SageTV forums lately? A bunch of people are switching to them and almost all of them are saying that they are doing it because of the lack of integration.
Oh, and they have a really sweet HD extender coming out soon. Snapstream told me a while back that they weren’t planning on making one. Between the Media options that SageTV offers and the HD extender that is coming out next week, the switch was easy.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
It will be useful and interesting when there are Zune integration features.
December 8th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Wow iTunes integration…I guess thats what we all meant when we said…We want INTEGRATION.
Oh wait we want integration with Beyond Media!!!
December 9th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Yeah, I guess I am the third to have to say this iTunes integration is pretty much an ultra useless feature for my DVR setup. I too was hoping for better media extender support, beyond media integration, or even something as basic as having a small window in the program guide that allows you to see the channel you are currently tuned to…… maybe even better power management support. These small releases with even smaller feature additions are annoying and have encouraged me to look elsewhere for PVR software. Sorry to be negative, but that is the reality.
December 10th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
I purchased Beyond TV when 4.6 had just come out. I loved the interface vs SageTV and others I looked at. The ease of setup was amazing.
After using Beyond TV for two months I tried Sage for some reason I can’t remember now.
I got an MVP and planned to use it with Beyond TV. I never got into using it with Beyond TV it after I booted the MVP and saw it located the Sage server as an ip to connect to. That was truly amazing. It was the Sage UI like on the server but with a thin client.
Similar issue with the HD Homerun. After seeing Sage support in progress I purchased one. Got it hooked up with Sage without much hassle. Still having Beyond TV on another system I figured I’d give it a try with the HDHR. I’m not a computer newbie. Even after getting the HDHR working in Sage I gave up after a few hours of trying to get it to work with Beyond TV.
I just ordered a Sage HD Extender today. That is something I have wanted for quite a while and looked at Beyond TV, MCE, MythTV, Sage, etc for
something that would work without having a PC as a client. I expect that to work very well and replace my PC client.
I’m not trying to put down Snapstream… They have the right to do what they please with their product. For me the iPod sync is not on my wishlist of something I would want as a BeyondTV user. I can see others enjoying that ability though.
December 16th, 2007 at 8:21 am
I will have to agree that Itunes integration has to be the most useless feature ever added to Beyond TV. Hopefully it took very little effort and was just a marketing thing for the “Itunes buzzword”. Why in the He// would anyone (over the age of 12) want to watch a TV show on a phone? They don’t. Maybe that’s why Iphone is a huge flop itself…. Maybe the next version of BTV will be capable of synching to a watch. Something even more useless.
December 17th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
I just don’t understand how and why iTunes support took priority over real (read: non-hacked/kludged) ClearQAM support. Vista MCE is starting to look better and better…
December 17th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
You all have a fine product, but it is lacking some very key things to make a hands down favorite:
1. Better integration with 3rd party products especially unencrypted HD channels-a must!!!!!!!.
2. Don’t sit on the sidelines lead!!! The TV Listing is okay at best, but it is not great! You need to provide more information and power to the user. Sorting/custom filtering capability. Sometimes I just want to see just movies for a specific time frame or certain favorite channels at a glance. date of the last update would be nice. How about clicking on day of the week to move forward or backward a day. TV Guide style is Okay–time to think out of the box! Provide an alternative style.
3. More powerful search capabilities. Advanced search functions.
4. Faster downloads I have a cable modem and a multi processor computer with tons of RAM and it still takes awhile to complete an update.
5. Beyond TV needs to step up and lead development not fall behind and pick up crumbs. Become the viewers choice–not easy–but, profitable:)
December 18th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Hello everyone
I must say …. it seems as if everyone here loves Beyond TV enough to leave comments on blogs…i won’t deny I enjoy it too…
**as I stand like an alcoholic does at his first visit to an AA meeting, I timidly say**
“I’m Parker and I’m over 12 and I watch my TV shows on my I phone”
**everyone: Hello Parker**
I don’t have that precious time to sit at home in front of my nice big screen TV and watch my Beyond TV recordings with my Movie Theater Butter Popcorn and that refreshing Diet Soda, that honestly I’m just kidding myself with…Diet..cmon!!
So instead, I sync my shows to that shiny new toy of mine and take it with me everywhere I need to go….you know like a Master Card or some sh**. On my 8 gig..I can usually hold ohhhhh…about 13+ shows depending on how much music I sync up. I suppose I have to be on the other end of the see saw and say …Up to the Itunes support…it is a bummer that I had to purchase the DVD burning plug in to get the support but….oh well…..this reminds me of the argument I had with the liquor store….I believe cups should come with every bottle of Whisky…
On a side note: I hate apple by the way….don’t know why..maybe its something I can get help with down at AA…apple annonymous
So if you find me at your nearest Jack in the Box or lunch diner eating a juicy cheeseburger, kidding myself with that Diet Soda, watching Law & Order Criminal Intent
Stop by and say Hi….we can sit down and watch an episode of South Park
….
December 23rd, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Hi, I too think the itunes capability is a waste when there are other issues that Snapstream should address first in serving/satisfying customers. I have stuck with Snapstreams BTV3 and 4 simply because I can depend on the program that I wanted to record being there when I set down to watch it. But try to get technical help for the BTV4 to get it up and running like the BTV3 and you’re wasting your time. The email support, how can I put this delicately?, SUCKS! Not only does it take 24 hours or more in most cases to get a reply that’s your only option. I would gladly pay on my dime to speak with a live tech support person if they were knowledgeable with setting up the BTV4 software so that it works with my pc. I’ve decided that this late in life “work arounds” set up by myself are no longer acceptable when I’m shelling out $100+ for something I can’t get to work.
There are many features of Snapstreams BTV4 that sell me over anyone else’s product handsdown. The Burn to Disc option is one that sells the product by itself. I almost never get a coaster and it’s as fast as your burner and disc media. With my Memorex and their discs I can burn a high visual quality dvd movie/tv programs in less than 20 minutes, sometimes much less.
If I could just address the 3 error messages at the beginning I’d buy the product next thing.
thank you and Merry Christmas,
jim
December 25th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
After seeing everyone’s comment. I felt that I have to add my 2 cents as well.
First of all, I have not tried other DTV vendor’s software. Snapstream is the only one I have been using. The ipod integration is a nice to have feature may be for some. I live in LA and I don’t use public transportation and I certainly don’t have the luxury to watch TV show on buses or in the subway.
Secondly, I don’t even own an ipod. Like the comment from someone else mentioned before, who wants to watch a tiny screen if you have a big screen at home. I did the upgrade from v4.6 to v4.7 and my system became very unstable. I basically have to reinstall v4.7 (uninstall/reinstall routine) to get it working again. I wasted a day in the process. The good thing that came out of this is I learned more about the snapstream interface and realizing how incomplete it is. Some functions only can be found if you use the webbrowser. Others functions is very difficult to get to.
My suggestion to snapstream is to make the interface much, much more user friendly. Lay out all the functions and let us choose it ourselves instead of tucking them away somewhere in some obscure locations.
Lastly, Looking at the computer market, Approximately 90% of customers are using pc. Only 5% are using Mac. I wish snapstream would put more thought into taking care the 90%. This is simple economic. Snapstream is not a bad product. I like what it has to offer. But, please focus on user interface and make it more organize and easy to use!
Merry Christmas
January 4th, 2008 at 11:23 am
After reading these comments, and the various threads on the SS forums, I’ve come to the conclusion that everyone at SS is either blind, or they’re a group of complete and utter morons!
It couldn’t be any clearer what people want (Integration), and what they think is a waste of time/resources (DVD Plugin/iTunes Integration).
As was posted by someone else (forgive me because I can’t remember who said it)……but Snapstream has become the Palm of HTPC Software.
RIP Snapstream.
January 4th, 2008 at 11:41 am
I don’t own an ipod either, and if I did, I wouldn’t use it to watch tv.
I think an HD extender would be great as well as Closed Captions for HD.
For the recording manager, how about a feature that says “do not record this episode again” for syndicated programs.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:04 am
I’ve been a loyal BeyondTV customer for many years. I upgraded to BeyondTV 4 and Beyond Media as integration was mentioned as a feature. The only “integration” I can see is that I can switch BETWEEN the two products more easily now. It’s terrible. The sound levels are different when switching between products, the skins are different. It’s just lousy.I used to be able to brag about my BeyondMedia Movielink integration. I could rent movies from my couch for just a dollar or two. Unfortunately, that hasn’t worked for almost a year as Movielink has updated their website. No more renting videos from my couch…
I upgraded to a new computer this week. Which lead me to look at HD tuners ( I use two analog tuners from avermedia currently). BeyondTV claims to support QAM but instead they really just have a kludge workaround for using a separate $150 box that does the QAM for them. I downloaded and installed a copy of SageTV and purchased a HD tuner. I had QAM up and running in about 30 minutes. Not too mention SageTV has Beyond Media functions built-in for free! Also they integrated tons of web content like youtube, video podcasts and tons of videos from networks like HBO and Comedy central. It’s very slick.
I even played with free MythTV. It does QAM too!
SNAPSTREAM, We don’t want to switch. We like your product. We want to stay with you, but we need reasons to stay. QAM is crucial. BeyondMedia integration is crucial. Your competitiors are already doing both of these better for less money…
January 6th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
I don’t have an Ivid either, and probably will not buy one for awhile. I want BTV to focus on the core system and improve it. Setup and configuration needs tons of work – tuner setup should be plug and play. BTVLink is way to heavy weight. How about supporting native firewire channel changing on STB’s? There is a long list of core issues that need work. I’m not taking my recordings on an Ipod. I do want more HD content. I want cable card integration and firewire support. Ipod BTV is for folks that live in Japan. Do they use BTV? I doubt it. DVD recording is slow as a dog. But that doesn’t matter, soon Sandisk digital film will replace DVD/HDDVD/BLUERAY disks.
January 6th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I would concur with most of the comments posted here. I have run multiple licensed copies of BTV from back in the early 3.X days.
I very much appreciate the emphasis placed on platform stability. I also make frequent use of show squeeze, smart-skip, and the DVD plug-in. The fact that I have a significant number of configuration options and the ability to record and transcode in a variety of formats is a significant plus.
I am also concerned that there have been some opportunity costs for the current development path.
I also run Vista/MCE on one box and it obviously has very good integration between photos, DVDs, TV, etc.
I would hope that Snapstream hits my top four issues for the product:
1. Integration between Beyond TV and Beyond Media
2. QAM support without significant workarounds
3. Better technical support from Snapstream directly
4. Significant enhancements to allow all settings to be configured/adjusted from within the program rather than the webadmin
Best wishes for the new year all and happy recording,
Luke
January 8th, 2008 at 1:00 am
Hello all,
I’ve been reading many of these posts. I’ve very supprised to yet see an integraded product for the MVP or their own variation, as a simple extender. Much less HD version. I’m supprised and disapointed Snapstream is totally relies on 3rd party individuals to create such a product. Even Sage gets it with their Java thin client for the MVP.
Building a compelte computer system for BeyondTV Link as an extender is expensive. Wake up and retake your market back!
Common Snamstream. Wakeup and look to consumer demand. At LEAST look at your competition. Microsofts Vista Premium now has new extenders taking advantage of Blu-ray and HD and after the initiall release they are expected to come down under $300 or less each.
January 16th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
When the integration feature came out, I didn’t think much of it. I didn’t own an iPod (or any type of portable video player). But for Christmas I received a nice shiny new Zune 80. I love it. Now the thing I dislike most about the integration feature is the name. It works perfectly for my Zune (check the forums, a great little tutorial briefly explains which settings to use). There’s a few quircks in the naming process and the shows converted for podcasting show up next to the original show listing. I hope they find a way to keep this clean, but its not a big deal to me. I have a long commute and for days when I take the bus, I can catch up on my shows.
January 18th, 2008 at 12:34 am
I’m not a small media player owner, nor will I ever be a small media player owner. This update is useless when you could have been focusing on something good like better HD QAM features, such as the ones all your customers want. Stop playing with your iphones and do something that people are begging for before you lose more customers.
January 19th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I actually bought BeyondTV specifically for the H.264 support. I bought an HDHomeRun at the same time and expected to be able to encode those programs to H.264 and watch them on my AppleTV. Unfortunately, the audio and video are unwatchably out of sync if you do this (although H.264 works fine from my standard def recordings). The only thing that was worse than this expected feature not working was my experience with tech support. To say they were slow to respond would be a compliment.
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I have a video iPod and look forward to Snapstream getting things more stable in the Vista platform. Currently, it crashes (perhaps due Drm) for re-compression as well as smart chapters. There is no way I am un-installing the media player 11 for sake of this feature (i.e. TV on the iPod.)
Those who do not see future in the rss video feed, probably do not travel much or take public transportation where large blocks of time could be spent watching TV!
February 19th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Where is ClearQAM support i do not care about iTunes.?
March 17th, 2008 at 4:50 am
I am a newbee with Snapstream. I have always wanted to have the ability to stream live tv through the internet (i.e. like sling box) and also have the ability to change the channels withouth having to vpn. I am still learning and probably have not found it due to the complicated menus of having to flip back and forth with webadmin and the regular gui.
I believe for those who want to watch tv anywhere in the world and have control of the channels would be greatfull. Imagine being able to rewind and fastforward as well.