I wonder if SnapStream will get in on the action?

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glugglug

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I wonder if SnapStream will get in on the action?

#1

Post by glugglug » Thu May 07, 2015 12:38 am

I used SnapStream BeyondTV in 2003-2005. Sad that they stopped developing the consumer version in 2010, but it looks like they've added a TON to it since moving on to Enterprise. In a lot of ways it was actually a BETTER DVR than WMC!

Some advantages BeyondTV had over Windows Media Center back then:
  • Built in commercial skip, which worked really well and included a skip bar similar to the one added by RecordedTV HD, with markers for scene changes as well as commercials.
  • Built in configurable transcoding to other formats (H.264, WMV, etc), with options for the space/quality tradeoff. Like MCEBuddy, but fully integrated with the rest of the UI.
  • Better looking (at least for the 2 foot experience).
  • Later revisions (after I had already switched) have built in real-time "Placeshifting", like RemotePotato streaming.
  • Built in options to rip recordings to DVD (which I'd imagine today would be to shrink for portable devices).
Downsides:
  • More limited tuner support, even back then. I still don't think they support CableCARD, even copy freely.
  • Less remote friendly. By this I mean remote as opposed to mouse. There was a BeyondTV Link option before Microsoft added Extender support.
  • Resource hungry (at least by 2005 standards)
  • Less stable (although I suspect this had more to do with the buggy NVidia software RAID10 I was running at the time and the transcoding and commercial scanning keeping the drives busier). This was my primary reason for switching to WMC after the RAID array broke and I had to reinstall anyway.
I'd imagine they probably moved from the consumer to the enterprise market because the sales dived when WMC was included as a viable alternative with every copy of Vista and Windows 7. Since the MS options is disappearing, they could use that as an opportunity to get back in the game. It would be amazing if this happened, and the SiliconDust kickstarter ended up having a BeyondTV client plugin.

RyC

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#2

Post by RyC » Thu May 07, 2015 12:50 am

It seems like they've gone all in with the Enterprise/Business market. I highly, highly doubt they would want to reenter the consumer market.

Also what would a HDHR DVR plugin for BeyondTV even do?

glugglug

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#3

Post by glugglug » Thu May 07, 2015 12:56 am

RyC wrote:Also what would a HDHR DVR plugin for BeyondTV even do?
View/Manage HDHR recording server through the BTV interface. Although probably simpler and better to just add OCUR support as a new tuner type.

RyC

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#4

Post by RyC » Thu May 07, 2015 1:04 am

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems BTV is pretty much discontinued. I don't see why SD would support a dead platform, and it seems SnapStream doesn't really want to either considering it hasn't been updated in almost 5 years. And it looks like you're right, their Enterprise product doesn't seem to support CableCARD. It seems like people who use all 10 "tuners" hook up 10 cable/satellite boxes over component resulting in a cabling monstrosity :P

LuckyDay

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#5

Post by LuckyDay » Sun May 10, 2015 3:46 am

I would say there is a zero percent chance Snapstream comes back to consumer products.

I honestly can't even comprehend how they stay in business in their current model. I can't think of a scenario where an office or business would need a enterprise level TV Tuner/DVR.

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