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Personal Review: SnapStream PVS
Hello,
I wanted to pass along some findings about SnapStream PVS software. If that interests you, then read on.
<hr>
<b>Software: SnapStream PVS</b>
<i>http://www.snapstream.com</i>
<b>What is it?</b>
<hr>
Simply, SnapStream is a software package that allows anyone with a TV tuner card, and a relatively good machine, to create a Personal Video Station.
<b>Their claim</b>
<hr>
SnapStream claims "Your Favorite TV, Anytime, Anywhere." They state that you can schedule, record, and watch TV programs from any device that can connect to your PVS.
<b>Test Bed</b>
<hr>
The machine used is a AMD Duron 700 running on a FIC motherboard with 256MB of standard PC133 memory and 40 GB of recording space. The OS is WindowsXP Pro with all of the default options turned on. For the TV tuner card, I am using a very cheap (~$40) WinTV-Go+FM.
As you'll see, I'm also testing this software across a network. The other machines vary from a Celeron 300a to 1.2GHz Athlon. The network used follows a HomePNA2.0 topology.
<b>Installation & Setup</b>
<hr>
Purchasing the software is done through a 3rd party online vendor. IMO, I don't like doing that. You give them your credit card and then wait for an e-mail response. The e-mail contains a link that expires after about a day. If you ever have problems with your Internet connection, you have to jump through the hoops to get another link.
Installing the software is simple. After it is downloaded, you simply run the executable. The standard options for install directory, desktop icons, and such are there.
Once the basic installation is done, you configure the server. Instantly, I liked their approach. Almost everything with this package is done through a Web browser. If you are used to this style, you can pick up administration of the server quickly.
There really is not much to configuring the server. If you have installed the TV tuner card, you set the server to use it. Along with that are options for quality preference (near-VHS, VHS, near-DVD, etc) and channel names. BTW, the channel names have to be entered manually (yes, painful).
At this point, you should have your server configured. The browser can be closed. A system tray icon is shown to relate the server is running.
<b>Kicking the tires around</b>
<hr>
The interface is very simple and Web based. You have main options to "Watch, Record, Network, and Transfer." The first two are pretty self explanatory. Networking is something I did not try because the service to support this is not available yet. Transfer simply means to copy the file to a PocketPC (make sure you have memory!).
At first, I wanted to record everything using some of my favorite codecs. I was highly dissapointed. Where are the options to change the codecs? There are none! Once I toyed around with it, I learned you can only use Windows Media Encoder formats. That is dissapointing. However, WME does do a good job for recording real-time, keeping acceptable quality, and not burdening the disk drives.
Another dissapointment is that the SnapStream does not run as a service. Instead, it runs just like any other system tray process. You have to log-in to the machin. This is not a
big problem, but still is annoying when you have multiple users on a single machine.
Scheduling a recording is done one of either two ways. The first is to manually enter the
information into a set of input boxes and push the "submit" button (ahhh, Web development).
I liked the ability to tag the recording with a name and a description. Other than setting
times, there are also options for changing quality, setting url's, and other metadata.
The other method of recording is to use a scheduler. You get a TV grid of programs and
their times to choose from. When you see a program you want, you click on the tape
icon. A simple pop-up dialog is presented where you confirm that you want to record the
program. Once that is done, the server is loaded with the settings automatically.
Keep in mind that you can only record one program at a time. If there is overlap in schedules, you get an alert about it.
Just a FYI about the scheduler, this is done through TitanTV. It is one of many Web TV schedulers out there. You'll need to create an account (free). Once that is done, you don't need to do it again.
I now have a large number of recordings set. As you might expect, you can see all of your scheduled recordings. They are editable as well. Another nice feature is that you can see what program is going to be recorded next at the bottom left of the GUI.
The recording went straightforward. I watched as the system tray icon turned to a red color to indicate it is recording. After each session is done, it turns back to its normal yellow. Oddly enough, there is some post-processing that is done. This takes a few minutes. When complete, a pop-up bubble appears to tell you that your show can be viewed.
There is not much to say about watching the program. I went to the list of recorded programs and clicked the play button. This launches the Windows Media Player with the file.
OK, that was all fine and good sitting at the server itself. I wanted to test how it worked through my home network.
I went to a couple of machines and started to hit it. Since the GUI is Web based, it is just like sitting at the server. The only difference is that you do not have the system tray icon staring at you.
Recording or playing through a hone network is great. Recording is almost as easy as before. The online scheduler did not work too well, but the manual recording went AOK. Getting the playback streamed is nearly transparent. The only item to be aware of is that some buffering takes place at start or when you manually advance/retreat the playback.
Just a quick opinion, but the VHS setting looks good on both a TV and a monitor. The G400-TV still reigns supreme with the DVDMax feature. Someone experienced in video can notice the quality difference. However, you can get over this if you understand it is meant to be a VCR-like device.
There is also an option to view the stream as it is recorded. This gives fairly mixed results. Sometimes it is a clean feed, while other times it is choppy.
What about the networking across the Internet? Well, I did not open up the server to the Internet. Also, the SnapStream service to be a broker is not online just yet.
The PDA feature is something I could not fully test. The hardware available to me does not have enough memory for a serious test. However, the simplicity of PocketPVS can be seen pretty quickly. If you have one of those new PocketPC2002s with a lot of memory, you might be happy with the results.
There are some other features of this software, but only minor. One useful feature I will mention, you can get a complete log of activity and current status on the server. That gives a full sense of how the system works.
After all of the features were kicked around, I let the server just keep working. WinXP is amazingly stable and works well for this platform. Weeks have gone by without rebooting it.
<b>The guts</b>
<hr>
Under the covers, SnapStream software is a composition of available components. Encoding is done through Windows Media Encoder. Streaming out the video is done through IIS. Scheduling is done via titantv.com. There is not too much more about it.
Really, these developers are pretty savy. They took the approach that others have done a large chunk of the work. It was up to them to do the systems integration. They put together a complete system just by writting some ISAPI libraries along with a few GUI pieces.
<b>What I don't like</b>
<hr>
<b>What I do like</b>
<hr>
<b>Final</b>
<hr>
After the "neat" factor is over with, I'm giving this a simple recommendation with a couple of caveats:
If you want more features and flexibility, consider ShowShifter (http://www.showshifter.com). I do caution you in that ShowShifter is more software to transform a PC to a set-top box vs a simple networked PVR.
This product has potential and then some. If you read their site, they are getting ready for MPEG4 enabled DVD players by adding a CD burning option. They are also adding .NET services, better scheduling, live TV viewing, and other features. One other tidbit is that this company has a relationship with Microsoft. This may/may not be a lead into MS's FreeStyle solution.
Finally, this software has displaced my VCR. I'm rarely in the room with the VCR that has the recording I want. This package is going to be excellent once a few more features have been added. Let's hope the price stays in the affordable realm.
I wanted to pass along some findings about SnapStream PVS software. If that interests you, then read on.
<hr>
<b>Software: SnapStream PVS</b>
<i>http://www.snapstream.com</i>
<b>What is it?</b>
<hr>
Simply, SnapStream is a software package that allows anyone with a TV tuner card, and a relatively good machine, to create a Personal Video Station.
<b>Their claim</b>
<hr>
SnapStream claims "Your Favorite TV, Anytime, Anywhere." They state that you can schedule, record, and watch TV programs from any device that can connect to your PVS.
<b>Test Bed</b>
<hr>
The machine used is a AMD Duron 700 running on a FIC motherboard with 256MB of standard PC133 memory and 40 GB of recording space. The OS is WindowsXP Pro with all of the default options turned on. For the TV tuner card, I am using a very cheap (~$40) WinTV-Go+FM.
As you'll see, I'm also testing this software across a network. The other machines vary from a Celeron 300a to 1.2GHz Athlon. The network used follows a HomePNA2.0 topology.
<b>Installation & Setup</b>
<hr>
Purchasing the software is done through a 3rd party online vendor. IMO, I don't like doing that. You give them your credit card and then wait for an e-mail response. The e-mail contains a link that expires after about a day. If you ever have problems with your Internet connection, you have to jump through the hoops to get another link.
Installing the software is simple. After it is downloaded, you simply run the executable. The standard options for install directory, desktop icons, and such are there.
Once the basic installation is done, you configure the server. Instantly, I liked their approach. Almost everything with this package is done through a Web browser. If you are used to this style, you can pick up administration of the server quickly.
There really is not much to configuring the server. If you have installed the TV tuner card, you set the server to use it. Along with that are options for quality preference (near-VHS, VHS, near-DVD, etc) and channel names. BTW, the channel names have to be entered manually (yes, painful).
At this point, you should have your server configured. The browser can be closed. A system tray icon is shown to relate the server is running.
<b>Kicking the tires around</b>
<hr>
The interface is very simple and Web based. You have main options to "Watch, Record, Network, and Transfer." The first two are pretty self explanatory. Networking is something I did not try because the service to support this is not available yet. Transfer simply means to copy the file to a PocketPC (make sure you have memory!).
At first, I wanted to record everything using some of my favorite codecs. I was highly dissapointed. Where are the options to change the codecs? There are none! Once I toyed around with it, I learned you can only use Windows Media Encoder formats. That is dissapointing. However, WME does do a good job for recording real-time, keeping acceptable quality, and not burdening the disk drives.
Another dissapointment is that the SnapStream does not run as a service. Instead, it runs just like any other system tray process. You have to log-in to the machin. This is not a
big problem, but still is annoying when you have multiple users on a single machine.
Scheduling a recording is done one of either two ways. The first is to manually enter the
information into a set of input boxes and push the "submit" button (ahhh, Web development).
I liked the ability to tag the recording with a name and a description. Other than setting
times, there are also options for changing quality, setting url's, and other metadata.
The other method of recording is to use a scheduler. You get a TV grid of programs and
their times to choose from. When you see a program you want, you click on the tape
icon. A simple pop-up dialog is presented where you confirm that you want to record the
program. Once that is done, the server is loaded with the settings automatically.
Keep in mind that you can only record one program at a time. If there is overlap in schedules, you get an alert about it.
Just a FYI about the scheduler, this is done through TitanTV. It is one of many Web TV schedulers out there. You'll need to create an account (free). Once that is done, you don't need to do it again.
I now have a large number of recordings set. As you might expect, you can see all of your scheduled recordings. They are editable as well. Another nice feature is that you can see what program is going to be recorded next at the bottom left of the GUI.
The recording went straightforward. I watched as the system tray icon turned to a red color to indicate it is recording. After each session is done, it turns back to its normal yellow. Oddly enough, there is some post-processing that is done. This takes a few minutes. When complete, a pop-up bubble appears to tell you that your show can be viewed.
There is not much to say about watching the program. I went to the list of recorded programs and clicked the play button. This launches the Windows Media Player with the file.
OK, that was all fine and good sitting at the server itself. I wanted to test how it worked through my home network.
I went to a couple of machines and started to hit it. Since the GUI is Web based, it is just like sitting at the server. The only difference is that you do not have the system tray icon staring at you.
Recording or playing through a hone network is great. Recording is almost as easy as before. The online scheduler did not work too well, but the manual recording went AOK. Getting the playback streamed is nearly transparent. The only item to be aware of is that some buffering takes place at start or when you manually advance/retreat the playback.
Just a quick opinion, but the VHS setting looks good on both a TV and a monitor. The G400-TV still reigns supreme with the DVDMax feature. Someone experienced in video can notice the quality difference. However, you can get over this if you understand it is meant to be a VCR-like device.
There is also an option to view the stream as it is recorded. This gives fairly mixed results. Sometimes it is a clean feed, while other times it is choppy.
What about the networking across the Internet? Well, I did not open up the server to the Internet. Also, the SnapStream service to be a broker is not online just yet.
The PDA feature is something I could not fully test. The hardware available to me does not have enough memory for a serious test. However, the simplicity of PocketPVS can be seen pretty quickly. If you have one of those new PocketPC2002s with a lot of memory, you might be happy with the results.
There are some other features of this software, but only minor. One useful feature I will mention, you can get a complete log of activity and current status on the server. That gives a full sense of how the system works.
After all of the features were kicked around, I let the server just keep working. WinXP is amazingly stable and works well for this platform. Weeks have gone by without rebooting it.
<b>The guts</b>
<hr>
Under the covers, SnapStream software is a composition of available components. Encoding is done through Windows Media Encoder. Streaming out the video is done through IIS. Scheduling is done via titantv.com. There is not too much more about it.
Really, these developers are pretty savy. They took the approach that others have done a large chunk of the work. It was up to them to do the systems integration. They put together a complete system just by writting some ISAPI libraries along with a few GUI pieces.
<b>What I don't like</b>
<hr>
- Fixed to WME codecs (at least give me QuickTime!).
- Does not run as a service.
- No option to network to multiple servers.
- No option to watch regular TV (aka stream live TV).
<b>What I do like</b>
<hr>
- Web based
- Quality is more than acceptable
- Easy to use
- Networking of video works great in a home network
- Works with my existing hardware
- Lots of potential
<b>Final</b>
<hr>
After the "neat" factor is over with, I'm giving this a simple recommendation with a couple of caveats:
- You are interested in networked PVR/PVS technology
- You have hardware that can handle WME
- Understand the marketing has some theory in it.
If you want more features and flexibility, consider ShowShifter (http://www.showshifter.com). I do caution you in that ShowShifter is more software to transform a PC to a set-top box vs a simple networked PVR.
This product has potential and then some. If you read their site, they are getting ready for MPEG4 enabled DVD players by adding a CD burning option. They are also adding .NET services, better scheduling, live TV viewing, and other features. One other tidbit is that this company has a relationship with Microsoft. This may/may not be a lead into MS's FreeStyle solution.
Finally, this software has displaced my VCR. I'm rarely in the room with the VCR that has the recording I want. This package is going to be excellent once a few more features have been added. Let's hope the price stays in the affordable realm.