SnapStream Blog

Here are the latest posts from the SnapStream Enterprise Blog*:

• Stratatech automates TV recording and analysis with SnapStream (February 25, 2009): an in-depth look at how Stratatech is using SnapStream to monitor and analyze television
• SnapStream gets namecheck’ed at Republican tech event (February 18, 2009): In an article on Slate.com, Christopher Beam mentioned that SnapStream got a nice shout-out at the Republican Party’s Tech Summit
• VHS is memorialized… in craft. (February 11, 2009): a collection of photographs showing cool and unusual uses for old VHS tapes
• Industry Spotlight: Using TV to Enhance Curriculum in K-12 Schools (January 29, 2009): how K-12 schools are using SnapStream servers to bring TV into the classroom
• SnapStream TV Search in Action: Plane Crash in the Hudson (January 22, 2009): how quickly could you publish a story on a plane crash?
• Chatting With FreshDV’s Matt Jeppsen About How “The Soup” and Others Are Using SnapStream (January 6, 2009): Rakesh talks with Matt about how different industries – including entertainment programs like “The Soup” – are using SnapStream TV search servers
• The era of VHS tapes and VCRs is ending (December 26, 2008): Rakesh shows off a collection of photographs of lots of old VHS tapes, VCRs, and finally, some more tapes
• Searching television for breaking news (December 5, 2008): Rakesh talks with Matt about how different industries – including entertainment programs like “The Soup” – are using SnapStream TV search servers

* If you’re wondering what SnapStream Enterprise is, it’s our TV search technology. Like Beyond TV, it lets you record television. But unlike Beyond TV, SnapStream Enterprise also allows you to search inside those TV shows to locate mentions of whatever you might be looking for on television… a celebrity, a political candidate, a topic you’re writing about, your government, a country, a person, etc. And it’s delivered on turn-key pre-configured hardware (the SnapStream Mini and the SnapStream Server).

A number of our users are reporting problems with their TV channel line-ups right now in Beyond TV.  We license TV listings information from Tribune aka Zap2It.com.  And it seems, perhaps in the midst of the switch to digital, some of their channel line-up data is incorrect.

We simply takes the data that we received from Tribune and we pass it down to Beyond TV users.  So for your line-up to get fixed, we need to let Tribune know about your problem so they fix it in their data feed.

While we’re working as fast as we can to take discrepancy reports and pass them to Tribune, the fastest way to get Tribune to fix your line-up is to contact them yourselves.  Per the instructions on Zap2It.com, you can submit a channel line-up discrepancy report to Tribune by emailing them the following information at feedback@zap2it.com:

Please fill-in the “Subject:” line as “Lineup Discrepancy,” and include the following information or your request will not be processed:

• Cable System Name (please copy exactly from our list of providers)
• Specific Description of Problem (channels missing or incorrect, program data incorrect, date/time of specific occurrence, etc.)
• Provider Phone Number
• Provider Service (cable, satellite)
• Apartment or Hotel Complex Name (if applicable)
• City
• State or Province (and country if outside of the United States)
• Zip or Postal Code

While I don’t recommend it, as a quickfix you could create a custom line-up using the same technique used for the HDHomeRun to customize an existing line-up and re-arrange the channels yourself.  But if you do this, you’ll lose the ability for Beyond TV to automatically update your program guide in the future.  You can find more information about customizing your line-up in this thread on the SnapStream forums.

This weekend, Lifehacker published a great article on cheap upgrades to your home theater.

Mentioned in the article is rolling your own DVR using a TV tuner card and 3rd party software (like our Beyond TV).

They also mention using iTunes, Airport Express and an iPhone or iPod Touch [link] to achieve “whole home audio” akin to what you get from a Sonos. This setup is a big hit at my house — now my family can listen to any of our music in the backyard (apologies to my neighbors).

Check out the Lifehacker article for more solid ideas.

Home Theater PC – 02/04/09
The case for computers (HTPC’s to be exact) over extenders. Home Theater PCs are by design (and by name) Personal Computers and there are still many good reasons to use a computer by your TV instead of an extender I’ll explain why today. Via GeekTonic

Attention, Analog Users: You have until June 12th – 02/04/09
The House has passed the bill that delays the digital-TV transition from February 17th to June 12th. If you’ve got any analog TVs bumping around the house that aren’t connected to a digital source, you’ve got slightly under four additional months to (A) buy a converter, (B) supply them with a digital-ready set-top box, or (C) buy a snazzy new TV. via Technologizer