SnapStream Blog

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

In the latest version of Beyond TV launched in late November 2008, version 4.9, without a lot of fanfare, we made it easy for Mac OS X users to watch recordings made in Beyond TV.

Here’s how:

1. Download VLC: First, download the open source and free VLC Player for the Mac.

2. Open the Beyond TV web interface: Open the Beyond TV web interface on your Mac.  Typically, you’ll do this by entering a URL like this:

http://<COMPUTER NAME>/

into your web browser (Firefox or Safari).  For example, if my PC running Beyond TV was named “BEYONDTV-PC”, I’d enter http://beyondtv-pc/ into my web browser.

From the Beyond TV web interface, get the list of recorded shows by choosing “Recorded Shows”.

3. Configure “Play” links in Beyond TV: The first time you enter “Recorded Shows”, you’ll see this window:

It will default to “ASX Remote Playlist” as long as you’re on a Mac – that’s the correct setting so click “OK”.

If you’ve made this setting before on your Mac, to change it again, scroll to the bottom of the page and choose “Change Play Options”:

…and then explicitly choose the “ASX Remote Playlist” option.

4. Choose the TV show: Now, choose the show you want to watch and click “Play” (under the “Options” menu):

Depending on your browser, you might see a message like this:

Just click “OK”…

5. And that’s it! VLC should grab the link and start playing back the show:

While VLC is playing back the show, you can seek around inside the file, fast-forward, rewind, etc.  And this should work with both standard definition MPEG-2 recordings as well as MPEG-2 transport streams that are created when you recorded clear QAM or over-the-air (OTA) digital TV (here’s a screenshot of a high-definition recording playing back on the Mac)

So all in all, it’s a pretty decent way to watch Beyond TV recordings on any Macs you might have around at home!

(And some additional notes:

• If you have “Security” turned on, you’ll need to go in and turn authentication “off” for file downloads.  Here’s a screenshot of the “File Downloads” option on the “Security Settings” screen.
• You can only playback completed recordings this way — this does not work with in-progress recordings (ie live TV).
• This should not only work with Beyond TV, but should also works with SnapStream’s Enterprise products — ie the SnapStream Server and the SnapStream Mini.
• This is something we haven’t tested that much and it’s NOT something we officially support, so your mileage may vary.)

2008 set-top boxes set up for a fight – 12/30/08
It’s amazing to think of how far set-top boxes have come in less than a year. But all that activity is just the calm before the very big (and very fun to watch) video storm coming in 2009. via NewTeeVee

Hotels adding bandwith to meet demand – 12/29/08
With streaming video becoming more popular for businesses at trade shows and conferences, hotels are struggling to provide big enough pipes. via NY Times

To really understand the Zeitgeist, you need to dive into the details – 12/10/08
Google released its 2008 Zeitgeist list of the most popular search terms for the year. Unlike Yahoo’s 2008 list of top search terms, Google looks at the fastest-rising searches of the year. That makes for a slightly more interesting list. via techcrunch

Tribune files for bankruptcy – 12/08/08
As feared, Tribune has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Tribune maintains that it has enough cash on hand to continue operating its media businesses, and it filed for bankruptcy in order to restructure its debt. via LostRemote

Setting up a PC DVR isn’t easy — you have to have the “right” combination of sound card, video card, motherboard, TV tuner card, and TV signal. And then they all have to be configured just right.

In an effort to try and help you troubleshoot your setup, here is a list of top recent technical support issues and common solutions to those problems:

• Recording from clear QAM
• Program guide is empty (or related problem)
• Video issue (stuttering or choppy playback, no video, audio/video sync issue)
• Web admin is inaccessible
• Problem with iTunes integration or H.264

Common solutions to “Recording from clear QAM”:

• List of supported clear QAM TV tuner cards

DVRs seen in 52 M homes by 2014 – 12/05/08
A new study from MAGNA predicts that DVRs will be in 52.3 million, or 44 percent, of TV households by 2014, up from 28.6 million, or 25 percent, at the end of the most recent third quarter. via NewTeeVee

Many HDTV buyers continue to take a pass on high-def programming – 12/02/08
Fewer first-time HDTV set buyers are arranging for HD program service from cable and satellite providers than ever, according to a recent study of HDTV owners by Frank N. Magid Associates. via BroadcastEngineering

[re-posted from over at the SnapStream Enterprise Blog]

Today, we’re taking pre-orders for a new TV search product from SnapStream — the SnapStream Mini.

There are many organizations that don’t need all of the power of a SnapStream Server, but still stand to gain alot from being able to monitor TV with our TV search technology. And that’s why we created SnapStream Mini.

So like the SnapStream Server, SnapStream Mini gives you all the same power to search inside traditional TV shows for mentions of whatever it is you might be looking for. With SnapStream Mini you can:

• Record traditional TV from regular cable, digital cable, or satellite (SnapStream Mini includes a learning IR blaster)
• Schedule recordings using our simple program guide
• Search by keyword within recordings
• Get e-mail alerts notifying you of mentions of keywords on TV
• Easily create TV clips and then download them or e-mail them
• Burn DVDs of full recordings or clips

But here’s how SnapStream Mini is different from SnapStream Server:

• SnapStream Mini costs $2,000 (vs. SnapStream Servers which start at $8,000).

• SnapStream Mini can record 2 channels of TV simultaneously (SnapStream Servers can record as many as 10 channels simultaneously)

• SnapStream Mini can record and search over 1 terabyte of TV recordings, equal to about 1,100 hour (vs. SnapStream Servers have a default capacity of 2 terabytes space, about 2,300 hours, and can be purchased with up to 8 terabytes of usable space, about 10,000 hours.

• SnapStream Mini’s hardware doesn’t have any redundancy (vs. all SnapStream Servers have redundant power supplies and redundant storage arrays in RAID-5 configuration).

(this comparison table goes into a little more detail on SnapStream Mini vs. SnapStream Server)

So, SnapStream Mini is a $2,000 TV search appliance geared towards individuals and smaller organizations that want monitor television for whatever it is they are interested in.

We’re taking pre-orders now (place your pre-order here) and we expect to ship the first batch of SnapStream Minis on or before December 15th. And all orders include free U.S. ground shipping.

Justin at the New York Times’ Freakonomics blog writes about the economics of watching TV with a DVR, calculating that his DVR saves him 2 hours a week and the net present value of that savings every week for the rest of his life is about $200,000. And he ends the article wondering why more people don’t have DVRs (only 3 in 10 U.S. households don’t have a DVR). What do you think? Why don’t more people have DVRs?

Here are some recent new posts from the SnapStream Enterprise Blog*:

• Using SnapStream to study children’s television (November 27, 2008): an update from the front lines journalism research, Dr. Nancy Jennings checks in to share her experiences with SnapStream’s TV search appliance
• Automatic TV searches with SnapStream email alerts (November 26, 2008): learn how you can track the latest relevant TV mentions of things you’re interested in.
• Looking back on one year in ‘TV search’ (November 20, 2008): it’s been about a year since we shipped our first version of SnapStream Enterprise. A look back at what we’ve accomplished.
• SnapStream TV Search in the World of Politics (October 31, 2008): learn about how the Hillary Clinton Campaign for President and The Jed Report benefited from SnapStream Servers during the 2008 presidential campaign season.

* 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).

Since our last Beyond TV release we’ve been working diligently on two major new features: Clear QAM support and place-shifting! And after spending many long Friday nights in the office preparing beta releases and sifting through bug reports early Monday morning we are ready to release Beyond TV 4.9.

Clear QAM Support: With version 4.9, Beyond TV adds Clear QAM support. This means that all of you cable users out there can now record any channels that are transmitted in unencrypted QAM in their native digital format. Most cable providers transmit the local networks in unencrypted QAM, at a minimum, and there are often more channels on top of that like ESPN HD, Discovery HD.

Before this, the only way to record TV shows in Beyond TV in their native digital and possibly HD format was using an over-the-air antenna and clear QAM now adds a way to record more channels digitally. Using clear QAM in Beyond TV requires you to use one of the clear QAM cards that we support. Briefly, we support most of the Hauppauge devices that support clear QAM, including the Hauppauge HVR-1600, the Hauppauge HVR-1800, the Hauppauge HVR-1950 and the Hauppauge HVR-950Q. And on top of that we support some ATI TV tuners, the HDHomeRun, and some Avermedia TV tuners.

Placeshifting: We have incorporated a video player in the web admin, allowing you to access and watch all your TV recordings via the web interface! This new feature adds unlimited possibilities to where and when you watch your TV recordings, whether it be in a hotel room while away on business, or just on a different computer in your home. Here’s a screenshot of placeshifting in action:

iPhone/iPod Touch 2.0 Firmware Bug Fixed: When Apple released version 2.0 of their iPhone and iPod Touch firmware, it introduced an audio/video sync issue for SnapStream recordings. The issue is fixed now in Beyond TV 4.9, thanks in part to our H.264 codec vendor MainConcept.

Beyond TV 4.9 also adds beta support for the Hauppauge HD-PVR (read the note at the bottom of this page for the caveats on using the Hauppauge HD PVR with Beyond TV).

And for an entire list of new features and bug fixes check out the release notes.

Along with these new features and updates we have decided to make what used to be the DVD Burning & H.264 “plug-in” a standard part of Beyond TV. So the price of Beyond TV, for any new purchases, is now $99 (Beyond TV was $69.99 and the plug-in used to be $29.99).

And if you already own Beyond TV and never purchased the DVD burning and H.264 plug-in, that’s fine — you can still upgrade to Beyond TV 4.9 without the plug-in. And you can still add the plug-in at any point in the future using the upgrade store.

So download Beyond TV 4.9, whether you’re an existing user upgrading or a new user looking to try it out!

Updated (11/22/2008, 12:28pm): clarified the combination of Beyond TV and the plug-in and elaborated on the new features in this version.
Updated (12/8/2008, 11am): added link to “footnotes” about the HD PVR and highlighted the iPhone/iPod Touch 2.0 firmware fix in Beyond TV 4.9.