ZDNet review of SnapStream 3.0

[cgwaters]

I'm considering purchasing SnapStream 3.0. I recently purchased an ATI AIW 7800 Pro. My video source is a Dish Network receiver, via the S-VHS port.

ZDNet recently reviewed SnapStream 3.0. The review was very favorable, but one comment confuses me:

"The bad: Doesn't support TV cards with hardware MPEG-2 encoders"

What does that mean? Will SnapStream 3.0 limit me in some way?

Currently, I record using ATI's TV applet, in "Good" or "Best" quality. I believe that corresponds to MPEG-2. I know for sure that it is 720x480 resolution, which I believe is most compatible when the final destination is to be DVD. FWIW, I saw a reference in the SS FAQ that it records MPEG2 in 640x480 resolution.

Appreciate any comments. Thanks!

[cgwaters]

Thanks, Ian. You replied before I finished an edit to my original message!

Before learning about SS, I was contemplating purchasing InterVideo WinDVR--mainly because ATI's TV applet locks up--hard--if I lock my desktop while it is running / recording. WinDVR doesn't seem to have this problem--at least, with their five-minute trial. Any idea if this is a problem with SS?

Appreciate any feedback on my revised original post concerning 720x480 vs 640x480 resolution.

I have a relatively fast desktop (P4/2.66), so I'm hoping that encoding-on-the-fly will be fine.

Lastly, my source is Dish Network--which, it seems, isn't well supported when it comes to channel changes. I see various 'hacks' here and there; has anyone been able to get SS and Dish Network to work successfully in that regard?

[cgwaters]

2.66Ghz... You may still find it a little close to max cpu if you want to view live tv, record.. and maybe even stream at the same time. I can capture 640x480 @ 29.97fps on my 1600XP+ Athlon with about 40-50% cpu. But trying to stream or view the same in live tv pushes my cpu up to 90% or so and it drops frames.

Pardon my ignorance; why would I want to do that? How is viewing live TV different than recording that same signal? I'm speaking from the standpoint of being an ATI TV applet user where the content that is being recorded must be viewed at the same time.

Perhaps this illustrates my unfamiliarity with SS and its features. What attracted me here was ZDNet's review--specifically the mention that it is the 'only solution that works with satellite receivers', although it looks like Dish Network isn't one of them. That being the case, I'm not sure what SS will do for me that I don't already have. I gotta admit, the SS interface looks cool--as does the apparent ability to set up scheduled recordings over the Internet. I suppose that once I'd start using SS, I'd be "hooked" with its features. But at this point, I'm simply using the ATI TV applet to record content for viewing later.

Not sure about the desktop locking...I think it's down to an ATI driver issue, but I wouldn't like to say if WinDVR is any better/worse.

That's why I found it strange that the WinDVR trial didn't lock up when the desktop is locked.

re dish network. I think it's mostly an IRBlaster issue; various alternatives are emerging including one that drivers a girder plugin which in turn fires off events to other controllers.

http://www.snapstream.com/Support/IRTunerInfo.asp references http://www.tvscheduler.net, which indicates that a hack solution might be available. Where can I find out more about "girder plugins"?

[m j]

Pardon my ignorance; why would I want to do that? How is viewing live TV different than recording that same signal? I'm speaking from the standpoint of being an ATI TV applet user where the content that is being recorded must be viewed at the same time.

SnapStream has a really nice interface. There are mainly two different ways you can do stuff with the software.

1. You can use the Full Screen or Windowed interface which is more or less an interface intended to be used with a remote, and viewed from your TV.

2. They have a really cool Web Admin interface where you can schedule things localy, or remotely. You can also stream the live TV signal to another computer.

The core of SnapStream is run in the background, and you'll see a little icon in the task tray. That icon represents the program running.

Somehow SnapStream has the ability to do all the capture stuff behind the scenes, whcih means it doesn't have to be displaying what its recording.

The way the Full Screen/Windowed interface works is that when you view Live TV, SnapStream is actualy recording the whole time, and you are always watching the recording of the TV signal. Its usualy like a couple second delay or whatever because it has to encode everything.

A cool feature of the Web Admin interface is that you can use that same interface from another computer. SnapStream has a built in web server, which you can use from another computer to browse your recordings, and have them played over the network from another computer. They even have a slick spot where you can watch TV live from another computer. What it does is it encodes whatever channel the TV tunner is on, and streams that video feed over the network to another computer. You can adjust the quality of the stream, and you can also change the channel and other cool stuff remotely.


I have a AIW card myself, and didn't like the ATI software that came with my card. I actualy didn't like the dumb thing popping up whenever it wanted to record. I did a lot of searching around for something that would work better, and didn't really find what I was looking for until I got a hold of a beta copy of SnapStream 3. Granted, I don't recomend using a beta of any software to try it out, but at the time they didn't have the trial available like they do now. Even though I wasn't able to get the beta to work right, enough of it worked that I was hooked, and everything else I tried I compared to SnapStream. I ended up trying a lot of other software, and I bought SnapStream because I found it to be the best.

It took me probably a full week to get everything working correctly. There are some issues you have to deal with using ATI cards, and some other insignificant junk, but it was worth the work, and I now know what querks I have to avoid with my system, and how to fix them if they do come up, and I have a very stable recording box now.

Oh, and its EASY TO USE!
And the forum is AWESOME!

[m j]

You mentioned you have a 2.66Ghz for your box. Mine is on a dedicated box just for recording movies, but its a 850 Mhz PIII with a AIW VE. My poor little box can just barely do Live TV when using the Fair MPEG-2 setting which is lowest setting for CPU utilization. Most of what I want from SnapStream is the nice interface, the great scheduling abilities, and the remote capabilities. Most of what I use it for right now is to do scheduled recordings.

But now that I have experienced Time Shifting in action, I really love it, and I now have a good reason to upgrade that box :-)

Oh, and incase you think my box is slow, It makes up for speed with storage space. I have 2 x 200 Gb WD Special Edition drives on it. I nice little ability to do lots of recordings.

[m j]

In case you do end up getting SnapStream, and I'm recommending you do, I have made some comments in another thread that you might find as some handy information when dealing with your ATI card. I don't know if it happens to all ATI cards, but it would be better to know then not, and get frustrated not knowing what to do.

http://discuss2.snapstream.com/vb/sh...&threadid=8232

[V_D_O]

As m j mentioned, you do not have to watch the recording in progress. You can have PVS running in the backround with no open windows, you can watch the recording in progress or another previously recorded program and pause/rewind/fast forward - just as you can with a live signal where no recording is taking place - and you can stream live TV, currently recording or previously recorded programs over your network or the internet. The Full screen interface is meant to be used on a TV with a remote control, the Windowed option providing more flexibility. The Web interface is more geared towards admin tasks and network accessibility.

Actually, a 2.66GHz processor should be fine. I have a 2.4B, and I can timeshift a recording-in-progress at best quality in the FSUI while streaming it and a previous recording at VHS quality over the network (yes, I actually do all of that sometimes ) all at ~80-85% CPU.

And with the support for HW encoding in 3.1, you can buy a WinTV-PVR card and drop the load to 20% or so...

[cgwaters]

Thanks m j & V_D_O; your comments were helpful. SS sounds like an incredibly cool product! What does it use for an EPG? I'm most familiar with TitanTV.com.

I would think that I would continue to use ATI's TV applet to do things like capture VHS content that I'm hoping to convert to DVD. I wouldn't think SS would help me there. Is that true?

m j: I'm running WinXP Pro. It appears that with the AIW, the desktop must remain unlocked at all times when SS will be recording; otherwise, the recording fails. Personally, I think this to be a limitation of ATI's drivers--a limitation that will likely never be resolved. (See http://discuss2.snapstream.com/vb/sh...&threadid=8261) If you are running WinXP Pro also, have you found this limitation to be a problem?

V_D_O: As much as I hate to think it--especially after spending so much $$$ on the AIW 9700 Pro--I'm wondering if I might be better off adding a "WinTV-PVR card" (is that a brand/model?) to the mix to do the recording. Does that sound realistic and feasible?

[cgwaters]

Does the Hauppauge interefere with the AIW's tuner/capture features?

What issues would I likely run into using a separate tuner card like the Hauppauge?

[James]

Originally posted by cgwaters
Thanks m j & V_D_O; your comments were helpful. SS sounds like an incredibly cool product! What does it use for an EPG? I'm most familiar with TitanTV.com.

We use our own www.snapstream.net One of the most powerful things about PVS is its integration with our own EPG. So not only do you have an EPG directly integrated into the application that is browsable with a remote control for ease of navigation and use, you can also perform tasks like scheduling recordings while on the road using a device ranging from you PDA to your web enabled cell phone--assuming your PVS install is turned on at home and has an internet connection, it would receive all the instructions it needs to kick off your recording.

slight plug since I'm one of the primary devs and architects for the Snapstream.Net side of things.