TVSquad

Snapstream has released a new beta version of BeyondTV, the company's PC-based personal video recording software. BeyondTV 4.8.2 includes a bunch of bug fixes, and a few new features that I've been looking for for a while:

• You can configure automatic Showsqueezing (WMV or DiVX compression) of HD, SD, or all videos
• Improved performance when recording overlapping shows. If one recording is scheduled to end at 10:02, and another begins at 9:58, the program with the highest priority will win.
• Set permissions for library folders (block your kids from watching Dora The Explorer as a prank -- or you know, programs they actually shouldn't be watching).

The feature I'm most excited about is integration of a Couchville-style program guide with the web admin. Snapstream launched Couchville to much fanfare last year and then shut it down a few months ago. The TV listing site is simple, easy to use, and apparently cost the company more money than it was worth to maintain. It's good to see Snapstream salvage the technology for use in its core product: BeyondTV.

Two more bits of Hauppage HD-PVR news today. First up, Hauppauge has launched an official preorder page. While the HD-PVR isn't expected to hit the streets until May, you can place an order for one today for $249.

In other news, Snapstream Media CEO Rakesh Agrawal wrote in to let us know that his team has received a prototype unit for testing purposes. Snapstream makes the BeyondTV personal video recorder software for Windows, so it's safe to say that HD-PVR support will be added to BeyondTV in the not too distant future. Agrawal says he's not ready to make any official statement yet, since Hauppauge is still working on the hardware.

Blogger Dave Zatz has already confirmed that SageTV will support the HD-PVR, which means that it's possible the only major commercial PVR application for Windows that won't support the device when it's launched will be Windows Media Center. But Windows Media Center support is expected later this year.

Snapstream has released the first public beta version of BeyondTV 4.8.1. And while you won't find a ton of major new features in the latest build, there are roughly a billion (give or take a few billion) minor updates in this release.

For example, you can now give different users different levels of access to BeyondTV. Say you don't want your spouse or kids deleting your favorite shows? Just don't give them access to the file deleting option (and try to endure the dirty looks they give you when they realize you've limited their access).

There's also a new keyword based recording feature that you can access using the Web administration feature. In other words, while you can't create keyword based recordings using the main application window yet (some might call these "wish lists,") you an login to your account using a web browser and set up automatic recordings for any program with the word "news," or "knitting," or what have you.

You can also now do frame by frame playback of recorded shows, receive email notifications of errors, and display your recording statistics like how many hours of TV do you record per day.

Keep in mind, this is still a beta release, and as such there's a long list of known bugs, and perhaps a few unknown ones. You'll need to sign up for a beta account to try out BeyondTV 4.8.1 beta. Once you're registered, you can download the software from Snapstream's beta site.

Less than a year after launching the free TV listing web site Couchville, Snapstream plans to shut down the service. Snapstream founder Rakesh Agrawal writes in the Snapstream forums that "simply put, it doesn't make business sense for us to keep the site running." Of course, the site has no advertising and no other visible means of revenue generation, so that makes sense. But I'm not clear why Snapstream didn't try harder to monetize the site which was easily one of the best TV listing sites on the net.

Snapstream is the company behind the BeyondTV personal video recorder software for Windows. Agrawal says the company will continue to focus on development of BeyondTV and enterprise software. It is possible Couchville could reappear down the road as a web interface for BeyondTV users who want to schedule recordings over the internet. Snapstream currently lets users remotely schedule recordings using a simple TV listing service at Snapstream.net, but Couchville's interface is much cleaner and easier to use.

[via Brent Evans Geek Tonic]

When I upgraded to BeyondTV 4.7 last month, I was excited about the new drive pooling, web remote, and community recordings features. But there's another nifty new feature that I totally missed: auto-detection of channel lineup changes.

SnapStream CEO Rakesh Agrawal points out in a blog post that Comcast made a bunch of lineup changes when they took over Time Warner's Houston cable operation. But Agrawal's PC was able to keep up with the changes without missing a beat.

Now if only BeyondTV would automatically record shows that I'd forgotten to schedule altogether.

Snapstream Media has released a new beta of their PC-based personal video recorder. BeyondTV 4.7.1 includes a number of useful updates:

• A new plugin allows you to automatically convert recordings to H.264 for viewing on an iPod or other portable device (earlier versions of BeyondTV featured automatic conversion to DivX or WMV only).
• You can generated an RSS feed that allows you to automatically import those files to iTunes.
• A new "drive pooling" feature lets you treat multiple hard drives as one recording source, effectively increasing your potential storage space.
• Use your internet connected PDA or mobile phone as a remote control with the new Firefly Nano/Remote Library feature.
• Automatically record the top shows based on BeyondTV Buzz community feedback.
• Burn DVDs using a BeyondTV Link machine.
• There's a new calendar view for upcoming recordings using the web interface.

Overall, this is a pretty exciting update. H.264 support is something that probably should have been included in BeyondTV for years. And drive pooling will prevent me from having to go out and buy a larger hard drive now that I'm recording HDTV programs.

The automatic BeyondTV Buzz recordings might not be quite as useful as TiVo suggestions or Guru guides, but they do offer a step in that direction.

Keyspan's new RF remote for Windows Vista Media Center has all your usual play, pause, and fast-forward style features. It's even got the signature green button in the middle.

But there's one thing that's missing. A huge price tag. It seems like every day a new company is releasing a remote control that's more powerful than your computer, and costs more to boot.

The Keyspan remote might not be as cheap as the universal remote you can pick up for your TV/VCR/DVD player at the local Radio Shack. But at $50, it's a pretty solid looking device. Since it's an RF remote, you can control your media center from up to 90 feet away without a direct line of sight.

Unlike Snapstream Media's similarly priced Firefly RF remote control, which is designed to work with BeyondTV, Keyspan's remote is made for Windows Media Center. That means you won't have to install any software to use it.

[via Business Portal 24]

Snapstream just pushed out a beta of BeyondTV 4.61. The big new feature? Support for the HDHomeRun. Why is that important? Because the HDHomeRun lets you record HD content in two ways.

First, it's got an ATSC over-the-air tuner. But you can also use it to record QAM unencrypted HD channels from your cable company. While most cable companies encrypt the majority of their channels, you can usually pick up your local network affiliates unencrypted. So BeyondTV 4.6.1 could let you record content from ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, and the CW on your PC.

Setup isn't for the faint of heart. But Snapstream's got a set of instructions in their beta tester forum.

Snapstream, the company behind BeyondTV, has launched a new product called Couchville. Odds are Couchville is the evolution of the secretive Columbus project Snapstream began beta testing last year.

So what is Couchville? Well, to put it simply, it's a TV guide. But it's a bit more than that. First, Snapstream has integrated BeyondTV Buzz. If you click the Buzz button, you'll see the top 15 programs recorded by BeyondTV users over the last week, as well as the top scheduled recordings for the next few days.

The other thing that sets Couchville apart from other TV listings sites like TVGuide.com or Zap2it is that it has a web 2.0, AJAX feel to it. Instead of clicking on a "next page" button to get more listings after a page refresh, you can click and drag the guide much like you would drag a map in Google Maps.

The first new show fall show to take a tumble into canceldom has been announced: Kidnapped is officially done and will complete with a total airing of 13 episodes.

So, in looking at all the entries, the person who chose Kidnapped as the first show to be canceled with the closest guess to the number of episodes (13) is ...

erroneous_nick, with Kidnapped in 7 episodes!
And was only the third entry in the contest -- nice call.

Congrats to you, Nick! Or is it erroneous? Well whatever it is, congratulations -- we'll get in touch with you shortly regarding where to send your new HD PVR system from SnapStream!

(UPDATE: Several folks have pointed out that they believe Smith to be the true canceled show here. After some discussion within the 'Squad and an analysis of the rules stated in the contest, our decision stands.)

This is just a quick reminder to everyone that there's still two more weeks left to enter our "Invent a TV condition" contest, the prize being a $250 Best Buy gift card and ten runners-up Scrubs prize packs.

There's also time to enter our "Which show gets canceled first" contest, though your guess is as good as ours as to when this contest will officially be over. The prize in this contest is a SnapStream BeyondTV do-it-yourself DVR system.

Then of course we've got the "Katie Couric sign-off" contest and the weekly Subtle Subtitles contest, though the prizes there are those ever-useful stars next to your name.