I Miss Beyond Media

[emmanova]

OK Here is the deal. I've been a user of BM and BTV for quite a while now. I read forums, I got opinions, I search the internet. Since SS people (Ill try to reserve my opinion about SS and their Service with BM) are not longer supporting BM I've been looking around for options.

I want something that work as easy as BM and plugins are as easy as BM. I already tried SesameTV, Elisa, XBMC, MediaPortal, Meedio (YahooTV), SAgeTV, MCE and honeslty I cannot make anything work. Each product has individual features and none of them has everything like BM (thanks to the developers)

Right now I am happy with BM but I really dont like the Music Library part of it so here is my summary:

Beyond Media
- Play Videos
- Play DVD
- Photos
- Music
- Have Netflix Plugin
- ShowTime Plugin
- Game Plugin
- DVD Library Plugin
- Web Video Plugin
- Missing the Weather Plugin can't find it =(
Note: The only thing I dont like is the interface of Music and Videos

SesameTV
- IS not updated for quite a while now, and there's too many manual settings and configurations. I dont have time to figuret it out and the forum is now closed

Elisa
- Pretty good, but is still a virgin software, not too many pluggins, can't play dvds, netflix, etc

XBMC
- Love the interface, but still virgin, not too many plugins

SAGETV
- Im not going to pay for another software, plus I dont like the TV part of SAGE, dont like the interface either

MCE
- Kinda like the interface and the sounds and the compatibility, dont like the restrictions from Microsoft. Plus I cannot use the TV it doesnt detect my Hauppage cards. Oh! Im not going to pay for a software

Meedio and Myth
- Forget it too many manual settings, and copy and pasting pluggins everywhere in different folders, etc. Instead of making just one installation file

Meedio Portal
- Like the interface, like some of the plugins, but I couldn't make have of the plugins to work. Netflix, didnt work I have to do copy Netfix Id, and copy cookies, and copy folders, etc
- Showtime Plugin, no matter what zip code I put in it never find the theaters
- DVD Library never workd, it found a few of my movies, but didnt bring the cover of the Movie, just a folder. Plus I got so many movies ripped now that theres no way Im gona rip them again in iso format
- Summary, the plugins dont work too good, and too many steps to make them work.

[emmanova]

So here is my call to all those programers out there. PLease forgive my ignorance, I dont know anything about programing.

Is there anyway all you people that like programing can continue making plugins for BM, or redo BM, or come up with a whole new Media Center even if it doesnt integrate with BTV but at least create a link to open it. Can't you guys get together and collect the feedback from all users and lovers of BM and listen to the request, because definetively SS team dont give a ..... about us or how much we paid for the software, sorry I need to control myself.

Can't you guys? I miss BM.

[emmanova]

I was just thinking on something. What if you developer guys with so much ideas and programing gifts. Dont create a plugin for Elisa or XBMC, I like Elisa better cause it has more functionality than XBMC check it out

http://elisa.fluendo.com/
http://xbmc.org/

[LionRed]

I still enjoy using BM. They should just let people have it for free now...and or make it open source.
Even though I paid for it...it wouldn't bother me. Just to know there might be some more movement on it would be more then enough.

I..like you have tried almost everything out there. As far as I am concerned..BM is the best one. For ease of setup and use, it is far above the others. The only one I found close but no cigar XBMC.

Some of the others have some nice eye candy..but what a PITA to get it working.

Elisa looks interesting...I'll have to check it out.

[emmanova]

Yea I wouldnt mind either if they convert it into a free open source, anyway I already have it installed. ANd I will trust the people from here to create new better plugins than SS ppl. Yea I just installed Elisa, and gave it a try, the scanning folders took forverer, one of the features I want is the weather and it just open Brazil I cannot find a way to change it LOL

If you do please tell me. I went back to Bm for the moment

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by emmanova

Is there anyway all you people that like programing can continue making plugins for BM, or redo BM

The problem is that redoing BM from scratch is not worth it, with all the alternatives already available and so many users having moved to SageTV by now... There has been proposal to get SnapStream to release the code as open source, or even to keep it as a commercial application under a different company's ownership, but SnapStream/Rakesh just ignored those... SnapStream killed BM and don't want it to be resuscitated...

[cfaslave]

I totally agree that Beyond Media should be open sourced or shared sourced at least. Unfortunately it's been three-plus years of us asking for that from Snapstream and it appears they don't want to spend any money or resources towards doing that (legal costs, etc).

I used BM for a long time and it worked for my purposes, but really the only truly functional piece of it (without lots of third-party programs behind the scenes) was DVD Library. Once I figured out how to get that same functionality from alternatives I really haven't missed Beyond Media a bit.

I recommend XBMC or Meedio as good front-end alternatives to Beyond Media. Both have usable ways to work with BeyondTV. If you want a workable, integrated front-end with PVR, DVD-Library, Music, Photos etc then I recommend SageTV (with SageMC add-on) or GB-PVR. You've already mentioned your issues with the alternatives so I understand you've already decided to deal with the dead BM for now, but I thought I'd put in my 1 1/2 cents of opinion on the subject. I gave up on hoping for anything Beyond Media-related a LONG time ago and unfortunately gave up any hope on an integrated HTPC front-end from Snapstream over a year ago as well - anyone still hanging on a thread thinking Media-related functionality is coming from Snapstream any time soon hasn't been listening to Snapstream.

BeyondTV is a great product so if you're wanting to stick with it, I really encourage you to give XBMC and/or Meedio a second look. Both are great front-ends both with ways to "connect" to BTV. I recommend XBMC and SageTV as highest on the list because they have the most active users, the most user-development and the most frequent updates to their software - all of these are integral to the success of an HTPC software imo.

[emmanova]

Well I dont mine using another software, but I dont want to pay for SAGE and the other ones I cannot make the DVD Library to work they way I have it. Honestly I need a front end that those:

Weather
DVD Library
Music
Photos
Videos
Showtime (theather movie time)
Add a link to BTV

That's really all I use it for right now, Im just looking for different look I guess to manage pictures and music. I ripped my DVD's using DVD Decrypter which copies the DVD the way it is to the HDD, but for some reason I couldn't make Mediaportal to create the covers for the movies like DVD Library does. If you guys can recommend a front end I try it, or help me how to make the DVD library to work without redoing it.

[cfaslave]

I'm thinking XBMC has all of the plugins and functionality you're asking for. Is there something in particular it didn't have that you're wanting? I know XBMC's setup for movies is a little different, but it does everything that DVDLibrary does as I remember.

[emmanova]

Does anyone has the weather plugin for the BM?

[LionRed]

Huh? It is included with BM.

[emmanova]

Nope, or at least mine doesnt.

[hmb29]

in order for SS to make BM open source, i'm pretty sure they would have to strip it of any third party codec's and players they have in it, so I'm guessing it would be Beyond Media Basic after they do that.

DVD Player - isn't it just powerdvd(they probably have a license for it and it would be gone.)
I'm assuming the same for the music player and all the other plugin's they have that come with BM, so it would be like getting a stripped down version or BM Basic as I stated before.

I would also assume, they probably don't have the guys that originally coded BM there anymore and it would take some developers time to open source it.

[blaze818]

i am pretty sure that BM should come with the weather plugin...mine did, make sure you have the newest version avail.

[Nacho]

I installed XBMC in two link servers already and I love the interfase for the photos and music. The other thing that I do like about it is that it reads ISO files (for DVDs) without problems as well as MKV files.

Now, can you guys point me to a good site / thread showing how to better integrate the two applications (XBMC and BTV) so that one calls the other and everything is managed using the remote? I currently can exit both applications using the remote, but don't know how to start them. I thought there was a plug in involved as well.

Thanks,
IB