RSSSnapStream Reveals New Personal Video Station
By Nate Mook | Published May 22, 2003, 11:07 PM
As the PC continues its march into the living room as a centralized home entertainment device, SnapStream Media has aimed to bridge the gap between familiarity of a television and the power of a low-cost computing platform.
The upcoming version 3 of SnapStream's Personal Video Station takes this digital convenience even further, giving users complete control over their TV viewing experience.
Call it TiVo for the PC - without the subscription fees. Previous versions of the software-only package were intended for recording, but Personal Video Station 3 was designed with live television in mind. PVS 3 can instantly pause, fast forward and rewind live TV, a feature SnapStream calls "timeshifting."
In addition, users can move around with a 7-second instant replay feature and a 30-second skip button for jumping over commercials (screenshot).
PVS 3, like most of today's personal video recorders, includes an integrated program guide that is always kept up to date. Users can browse show listings to schedule recordings and perform detailed searches (screenshot).
Taking a cue from Microsoft's Windows XP Media Center Edition, the most notable change in Personal Video Station 3 is a redesigned user interface that can be viewed from across the room. The full screen interface enables quick access to PVS functionality and can be navigated via remote control.
Portability is key according to SnapStream. The company has added MPEG-2 support to PVS 3 in order to simplify copying recorded programs to CD or DVD. Windows Media is also offered as a recording option, but when selected as the default file format, timeshifting is disabled.
Networking plays an integral role in Personal Video Station 3. Users can access recorded programs and even watch live TV over a home network or the Internet. This streaming functionality of PVS enables playback of shows on a television using PRISMIQ's networked MediaPlayer or Sony's Playstation 2 running BroadQ.
When on the run, users can watch recordings on a Pocket PC, but at a much lesser quality. Recordings can also be scheduled remotely using the SnapStream.Net service from any Web browser, WAP cell phone or Pocket PC.
SnapStream plans to release Personal Video Station 3 in early June, although a release candidate is currently available for download from BetaNews. A TV tuner card is required and can be purchased directly from SnapStream. PVS 3 is expected to retail for $99.99 USD and will not require any additional subscription fees.
if it ends up being restricted horses*** up and a** over a pink hill.. its gonna SUCK just like everything else flabbergasted with DRM in every bodycavity nearby... if NOT.. then its prolly gonna KICK ASS..I'm a bit curious about the newly announced MPEG 1 2 and 4 external encodingbox that Plextor of all people announced...
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|Looks like they studied TIVO well and designed their softwares exactly like it. Although it looks more like MS Media Center but I'm sure MS based their designs on TIVO also. I like the FULL screen BIG fonts design. Always thought its stupid to have a remote when you can't read the TEXT far away from the computer. I think it's worth it if they keep the price of PVS3 around the price of version 2. I hope Intervideo is watching the progress of this because this looks FAR better than WinDVR 2.0 from www.Intervideo.com. Will definietly download and test out PVS 3.0, hope my Nvidia Personal Cinema remote will work with this.
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|I was a 2.0 user and I've been participating in the beta since beta 2 and it has come a long way. It really is a good product but I don't recommend running it on your older PC's - especially the Live TV and timeshift. The best part about SnapStream though is the forums and the support. I don't think I have ever participated in a beta where they were so responsive to specific user issues.
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|I have found SnapStream to be inferior to even the most general of TV software. The picture is, for the most part unclear, especially in full screen. The ATI tv video is sharp and clean in comparison.
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|I agree on this. Even the proggy that came with my inexpensive Hauppauge card is more clear. Actually way more clear. I like the Snapstream product, but am disappointed with the picture quality.
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|For a short period after launch I believe they will be selling it for a discounted price of $49.99. This includes the Snapstream.NET service. Also, users of 2.0 will get a free upgrade. I believe a 3.1 version is planned to add many of the requested features. As I understand, this will be a free upgrade as well.
This is a great piece of software and is definitely worth the $. I believe they are letting you try it out at this point. You should definitely take advantage. My household uses this as a TIVO replacement & I use it as my cable source in college. It can stream any live channel or recording to anyplace in the world!
Let me know how you like it.
-bryan
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