Future Enhancement Requests.

[Guapogiboy]

I've been using the product now for about 3 weeks and I had to buy it after 15 minutes of testing out the demo. I really like this product very much. I couldn't be happier. Now that I've had some experience I want to add a few requests that will enhance this product even further. Now feel free to reply if something I am requesting already exists right now.

1. It would be a cool idea if you can re-mark pre recorded shows as "new". Sometimes I check out my recordings to see if I have already seen a particular TV show. (I always record all episodes) So when I "preview" these pre-recorded show, the "New" tag dissapears. With all the shows I am recording, it's hard to keep track of what is new once I preview them. I would like to be able to mark these as "new" again. If this is not possible, would it be easier to let us know via markers when you are viewing the recorded shows page, to have a marker stating how many minutes you have been watching a particular show? (see attachment)

2. When adding a new recording for a new show that's currently not on my list, it would be better if during the "choosing to record" phase, it should also aske the priority rather than making it #1 or adding it to the last of the list.

3. Book Marking. It would be so amazing if there is a way you can bookmark a particular part of a show so that you can revert to it quickly if you want to show it to someone. Make it so that you can name the book mark and make it so you can review all the "Book marks" on a seperate menu page.

4. Screen shots? - Having the ability to take a picture of a paused item into JPG format? I mean I can just ALT+Print Screen too but it would be useful/user friendly if it's built into the system.

5. Taking your recorded shows an uploading to a PSP or Video Ipod. Is there a way to add MP4 compression for these two items and possibly future PVP's ie. Creative Zen Vision: M or Zen Vision? That way we no longer have to re-format / convert to fit these devices?

I think that's about it for now. Everything else is perfect. I love how thoughtful this product is, from watching where I last left off to conflict resolution. Keep up the good works.

[ghitt]

I have been using BTV since version 3 and it has only gotten better with time! I agree with the previous request, especially with the "mark new" option. I do of course have two requests:

1. This I feel is the most important.
In all cases identify the tuner device being used. ex. When displaying the Upcoming Recordings screen and a recording is in progress, show the device number beside the recording. AND MOST importantly, add the device number AND channel number to the file name! I like many live in a rural location. My cable is so bad at times I record a show from two different channels to make sure I got it. Then when I look at the show I sometimes can't figure out which channel it was recorded from. The device number would help greatly when you are having problems with a tuner. I tried Tuner View which is great but would like to see this functionality built in as it would be more stable.

2. This may sound a little trivial but.....
I am sure I am like many people that are trying to get all shows of a given program. ex. Stargate SG-1 or Gunsmoke. I can find the titles of all the shows ever broadcast by going to tv.com. But as it is now I have to manualy check the lineup each week and select each show I want. They repeat many of the shows over and over and some shows only broadcast once every few months. I would be great if there was some way to put all titles of any show you want into a database/spreadsheet/text file and this file could be read by BTV and it would automaticly flag it for recording. It would always record these until we manually removed them from the file. In otherwords like Ronco, "set it and forget it"! Hopes this makes sense.

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by ghitt

Then when I look at the show I sometimes can't figure out which channel it was recorded from.

The BTV playback screen (third screenshot in the previous post) does have the channel at the left of the Play option... The file names can already be pretty long, adding channel and recording devices would make it much worse...

I can find the titles of all the shows ever broadcast by going to tv.com. But as it is now I have to manualy check the lineup each week and select each show I want. They repeat many of the shows over and over and some shows only broadcast once every few months. I would be great if there was some way to put all titles of any show you want into a database/spreadsheet/text file and this file could be read by BTV and it would automaticly flag it for recording.

Presently you can do that with the app in my .sig (search tab and expert mode for auto-recording the search results), you can also check the download section for StephaneM Beyond TV Web Based Program Guide.

[ghitt]

Fonceur, thanks for your reply. I tried the screen you mentioned and yes it is there. There is one problem though. Like most people I process the shows on a faster computer. I have a 1gig ethernet connection to another computer where I use VideoReDo Plus to cut the commercials out and then put the show in it's own directory folder. The screen you mentioned only works if all shows are left in the default video directory. It still does not resolve the problem of knowing what tuner did the recording. With 3 tuners it is a pain to track down the problem. I know the file names are long but has not been a problem with me as they are later put on dvd anyway. But again thanks for the heads up. I am looking at the application you mentioned on searching etc. Looks promising.

Again thanks.

[bits]

I have two requests:

1. In the Snapstream.net Guide screen there should be a way for the user to enter a date they want to view. Many times I want to look at what is playing two or three days from now but you have to keep clicking on the arrow!

2. In the Setup Recordings screen I would like to have a "Search By Channel Number" There are times when I just want to see what is on specific channel for the next week or so.

Thanks

[cat6man]

as bits said:

a quick way to go to a particular day in the epg

maybe an 'advance one day' button and 'go back one day' button?

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by ghitt

I have a 1gig ethernet connection to another computer where I use VideoReDo Plus to cut the commercials out and then put the show in it's own directory folder.

Oh I see, then you are most likely striping the metadata describing the recording when doing that... I think there is another addon (Simple Show Info Editor) that might be helpful to put back the metadata in there or you could probably try asking in the VideoReDo forum for an option to keep the metadata intact, since the program is already BTV friendly with the smartskip support...

I am looking at the application you mentioned on searching etc. Looks promising.

To answer your email at the same time, there is basically 3 types of searches in my app:

- Search by Title will bring up the Series/Movies, but not the individual showing (episodes).

- Search by Keyword will bring up any Movies/Episodes containing the search. (Advanced search just add extra filtering)

- And finally the one you really want, the search by Episode will allow you to search for/record a specific Episode of Lost. But in order to work, you must first flag a Serie, most lists have an Episode search, add this Serie/Episode. Then you can use the Episode search tab and add extra Episodes using the format Serie: Episode (i.e. Lost: Outlaws). To have those recorded automatically, you'll need to enable the Expert mode and and enable the auto-recording of search results.

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by bits

1. In the Snapstream.net Guide screen there should be a way for the user to enter a date they want to view. Many times I want to look at what is playing two or three days from now but you have to keep clicking on the arrow!

There is key that is maped to skip 6 hours (pretty sure it is configurable for longer/shorter skip) at a time, so no need to do it half an hour at a time...

2. In the Setup Recordings screen I would like to have a "Search By Channel Number" There are times when I just want to see what is on specific channel for the next week or so.

In the mean time, you can do that with the app in my .sig or look in the download section for StephaneM Beyond TV Web Based Program Guide...

[krosfyah]

Here are my requests:


1. Automatically record by keyword search. Right now you can do a search but you have to manually select what you want. This is particularly helpful for sporting events. I'm a Rockets fan and I have to manually record each and every game since the listings display simply as "NBA Basketball." But a search of "Houston Rockets" properly gives me all upcoming games. Why can't I just automatically record like that?

2. SLOW MOTION. Please.

3. Be able to edit ALL properties of future recordings. For example, if I want to set a recording to switch from recording only "new" episodes to recording "all" episodes, the only way is to delete the entire recording and recreate it.

4. Option to Record on ALL stations OR not. In the options for recording shows, be able to find that show on any channel or only record that show on one channel. This is particularly true for sporting events (see #1). Sometimes a game is on ESPN and other times it is on a network broadcast. But also shows like CSI or on multiple channels (repeats vs. first runs).

5. On the Recorded shows list, have a logical way of highlighting the show when switching between "All" shows and "By Series." Right now, it doesn't make sense. But if I'm watching CSI in the "all shows" list, it should continue to select CSI if I switch to "By Series." It currently doesn't do that. argggg

6. Wishful thinking. For BTV Link, be able to have offline shows. If you have a laptop, set some shows as offline so you can easily take shows with you and watch them using Link.

7. Double wishful. For BTV Link, be able to set resolution. If you are watching via wi-fi, it would be nice to scale down the feed so it isn't jumpy.

[bits]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

There is key that is maped to skip 6 hours (pretty sure it is configurable for longer/shorter skip) at a time, so no need to do it half an hour at a time... http://forums.snapstream.com/public_html/ubb/wink.gif



In the mean time, you can do that with the app in my .sig or look in the download section for StephaneM Beyond TV Web Based Program Guide... http://forums.snapstream.com/public_html/ubb/wink.gif

Thanks for the keyboard tip! You can increase the number of hours to skip and it works by pressing the Ctrl + Arrow keys simultaneously. This is better than using the mouse but I would still like to just be able to select a date and go.....

I will take a look at your app, any special instructions on how or where to install it? I have intermediate computer skills so please be gentle (specific).

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by bits

I will take a look at your app, any special instructions on how or where to install it? I have intermediate computer skills so please be gentle (specific).

It is pretty straight forward, just unzip in any folder (or create a new one) and start the file BTV-Negociator.exe...

As for krosfyah, I do handle cases 1, 3 and 4 with my app...

[bits]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

It is pretty straight forward, just unzip in any folder (or create a new one) and start the file BTV-Negociator.exe...

Thanks!

[taborj]

My only request is to be able to manually tweak the font/text size in Viewscape. Everything else I'm cool with!

[krosfyah]

Originally Posted by Fonceur

...

As for krosfyah, I do handle cases 1, 3 and 4 with my app...

Very nice.

Not something my wife will appreciate but at least I can record my games reliably. thx.

[Jeff Haas]

Something I'd like is to search for shows that aren't currently scheduled.

Example: Let's say there's a movie you want to watch. It's not scheduled right now, on any channel. But it's likely to be shown in the future. I'd like to save a search for it and have the search run once a week until it finds the movie being shown, and then record it when it shows.

Fonceur...does your application do that?

Jeff