SnapStream's Beyond TV 3 - The Must-Have Home Multimedia Software
by Andrew Ku on May 12, 2004 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Web Admin - A Welcome Relief
The absolutely best thing that SnapStream has integrated into Beyond TV 3's architecture is the web admin feature. We haven't seen this with any other program that we have used, which includes MCE 2004, and this is what arguably makes Beyond TV 3 something to rave about. The fact that you can locally or remotely control a plethora of settings and access features from a browser gives it a big heads up over the competition.Because web admin can be accessed by any browser (you need java support), it isn't necessary to go through the Beyond TV 3 menu to get to it; the default address being http://(the ip address):8129.
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Starting off with clicking on the watch link brings up a list of the recorded TV shows in the video library. Each entry is a link that will play the episode in the media player assigned to that file extension, which by default, will always be Windows Media Player.
Click to enlarge.
Interestingly enough, you can also watch live TV over the network and internet. ATI's EazyShare is limited to the local network, while Beyond TV 3 takes it a step further.
Click to enlarge.
Going full screen is as easy as double-clicking the TV image in the embedded Windows Media Player applet.
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batorok - Thursday, May 13, 2004 - link
as a Sagetv user I'm pretty miffed they didn't compare the two. Sagetv 2.0 has a really nice new interface, handles multimedia (pics, mp3z, movies, dvds including vob files) pretty well, has multituner support, and better image quality of viewed tv (I demoed both before buying sage). Since tv is what it's all about, the picture quality is what's important to me.reboos - Thursday, May 13, 2004 - link
MythTv is very nice.mcveigh - Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - link
good question crazy_vagI don't think snapstream supports HD capture cards
crazy_vag - Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - link
When will I be able to record Soprano's in HDTV on HTPC???mcveigh - Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - link
I think you should consider comparing it to tivo/replay as I think this is more what it is aimed at replacing.also I would like to see more info about multile tuners.
how about a shoot out of personal video software in the future?
SnapStream vs. sage TV vs. windows MCE vs. ????
Jeff7181 - Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - link
Wonderful review. Looks like a very robust piece of software. If I was in the market to build a HTPC I'd probably buy it. From what I see, I like the information windows... they have a little bit too much info, but at least they're transparent so you can still see the show... unlike Comcast the last time I paid for digital cable.llamas - Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - link
Are you considering a review of SageTV 2.0 (just released)? It would interesting to hear how it compares with BTV3. SageTV supports multiple tuners, and has client software with the same interface as the server.