Wednesday, February 15, 2006
SnapStream Media's Beyond TV 4
Posted by Tim Adams in "SOFTWARE" @ 09:00 AM
Play It, Sam
Okay, so you've set everything up, hardware and software, and now you are ready to watch some Live TV. Now I imagine this varies from machine to machine, but on my box, it takes almost 30 seconds from the time I launch Beyond TV 4 (from scratch), to actually seeing a live stream. Not something that really bothers me that much, but if you are used to clicking a button and then instantly seeing content, know that from the main BTV screen, it takes me seven seconds before I can start changing channels.
Of course, you can simply browse the TV listings (Figure 11), with practically no delay by selecting the SnapStream.Net Guide option. A small orange stripe indicates the current time slice, and the channels are lined up in ascending order, cycling around to the start from the last channel. I was unable to find a way to filter channels (from this interface), say to just my favorites, or just the channels I subscribe to - unlike my DirecTV Tivo or PVR. You can hide channels via the Web Admin.
Figure 11: The SnapStream.Net Guide.
By selecting a show from the guide, you are then presented with yet another menu from which you can choose a new set of options including watching the show to recording an entire series (Figure 12). This is a nice step up from my DirecTV Tivo unit, which only allows me to record or watch a show from the guide. Select Watch, and Beyond TV 4 sends the signal to the set top unit, which after a slight delay, if you are using IR, will then change the channel.
Figure 12: Select a show from the guide and you have a new set of options to choose from.
Bringing up the guide while watching TV overlays the existing stream with a transparent version of the SnapStream.Net Guide (Figure 13). Dial the channel you want, and the guide will update accordingly.
Figure 13: The transparent guide overlaid on live TV.
Clicking the screen with your cursor (or pressing OK on the Firefly remote) brings up the current show info (Figure 14). Assuming, of course, that the guide info is correct (and I've run into a couple recent situations where it wasn't). You can also change channels using this method, but I found it much easier to deal with the full Guide.
Figure 14: Useful information about the show can be brought up by pressing OK on the Firefly remote or clicking on the screen.
You can also pause live TV (Figure 15), rewind to catch a bit you missed, and fast forward through commercials. Just like Tivo (or generally any other PVR). My biggest issue with the Beyond TV 4 buffer capabilities is that you can't go back to the main menu without losing the existing buffer. Which means you can't take a look at your existing recorded shows or add a new recording without losing where you currently are (unless you specifically choose to the record the show).
Figure 15: Pause, rewind, and fast forward like any other PVR.
While it may not seem like a big deal, with my current setup I don't have easy access to the volume knob on the speaker system. So having the option to adjust the volume from the remote or clicking the volume indicator is a real bonus (Figure 16).
Figure 16: The volume indicator is smaller and less obtrusive than than the version in BTV 3.
Decide that you want to record the show you are watching? You can do this either from the guide or pressing the record button on the remote (Figure 17).
Figure 17: Maximize your viewing capabilities with the ShowSqueeze and SmartSkip options.
The guide then reflects the fact that you are recording on that channel with a REC marker in the info area (Figure 18), and a red circle in the guide (Figure 19). If you had multiple tuners, you could record multiple channels, and watch another. Where with a DirecTV Tivo, the maximum recording channels is two.
Figure 18: Shows that are being recorded are marked with REC in the info area.
Figure 19: The guide also displays shows that are in the process of being recorded.
