is it possible to upgrade beyond tv for free

[kevinf]

i am thinking about buying the beyond tv bundle with the hauppauge pvr-150mce. first of all what do you guys think about that bundle. also will i be able to upgrade to a newer verison of the software if a newer one comes out or will i have to buy it again

[rugby]

If you have version 4.X then you can download any of the v4.X installers and use them for free.

I don't know about that bundle although I can't imagine it would be bad.

[kevinf]

so if i buy that bundle and when a new version of btv comes out i can just upgrade using my key right. also just wondering is the btv that comes in that bundle a trial or the real version. so if btv 5 comes out i can't upgrade to it for free?

[nanook105]

Originally Posted by kevinf

so if i buy that bundle and when a new version of btv comes out i can just upgrade using my key right. also just wondering is the btv that comes in that bundle a trial or the real version. so if btv 5 comes out i can't upgrade to it for free?

In the past, point releases have been free, but releases to another version (like 3.X to 4.X) have required a minor upgrade cost.

[kevinf]

is the version included in the bundle a trial or full, might be a dumb quetsion but its better to make sure. also lets just say that btv 5 came out and i upgraded btv4 to btv5. how would i get btv 5 again if i reinstalled btv or windows

[Kustom Kid]

Originally Posted by kevinf

is the version included in the bundle a trial or full, might be a dumb quetsion but its better to make sure. also lets just say that btv 5 came out and i upgraded btv4 to btv5. how would i get btv 5 again if i reinstalled btv or windows

It's the full version. You can always download BTV from the website. As for upgrading, as stated earlier point releases are free up grades (4.5 to 4.6, 4.6 to 4.8 etc) and full version upgrades are at a reduced cost. Case in point if you had BTV 3.5 and were still using it you could upgrade to BTV 4.6 for $30.

To answer your original question the bundle is a pretty decent deal. You're getting the $80 software, a $70 card, and a $40 RF remote, that works quite well, for $100. I just recieve mine last Friday. I already had the Hauppauge 1600 tuner card and went with that bundle because I didn't really care for Hauppauge's remote control and I wanted another tuner as well.

[jkirk]

Originally Posted by kevinf

how would i get btv 5 again if i reinstalled btv or windows

when you upgrade you have to download the software to v5. take that software and burn it to cd and you will be able to reinstall v5 from that cd.

also snapstrean also allows free upgrades if you had purchased the current version within so many days of the new release. they tell those details when they release new versions.

[ZetaVu]

You are not required to upgrade, they will continue to support old versions. People are still using 3.x because they are not interested in hdtv and did not want to pay the upgrade price. When you buy the bundle, you get a key which works with any of the 4.x releases. When they move to 5.x (which will be an integrated solution, and those of us with 4.x and beyond media licenses will get a free upgrade, remember Rakesh's blog?) then you can upgrade but usually when you upgrade you can't go back, they change the key (those who went from 3.x to 4.x can't use their key for 3.x anymore, you had to contact them to get reverted back to 3.x if you were unsatisfied).

Do a search on the forums for 150mce, see what people using it have to say, what problems they saw, how they were resolved. You can also search other PVR websites, or just google, that's probably the best way to get feedback. Remember though, most people don't post satisfaction, just problems. You're looking for an excess of unresolved problems and people switching to other cards out of frustration, otherwise you're probably good.

[Khris]

Originally Posted by ZetaVu

When they move to 5.x (which will be an integrated solution, and those of us with 4.x and beyond media licenses will get a free upgrade, remember Rakesh's blog?)

That brought a smile to me this morning! lol

[ClamsTheCat]

Originally Posted by Khris

That brought a smile to me this morning! lol

True, but you chuckle any time someone jabs SS in the gut over integration

[ZetaVu]

Funny as it sounds, I am seriously holding them to this. Until they get an integrated product, they are stuck in 4.x, since they made an official comment stating those of us with 4.x and BM get a free upgrade. Possibly why they added dvd plugin rather than making an upgrade.

Either way, not trying to revivie the integration battle here, let's get the 4.6 bugs out of the way, and contrary to my previous beliefs I'd rather focus on firewire and network recording (with eventual ability to record HDTV from satellite)

And we go and hijack another thread.

[Khris]

Originally Posted by ClamsTheCat

True, but you chuckle any time someone jabs SS in the gut over integration

And I will continue to do so whenever the opportunity presents itself!

SS brought it upon themselves, without any doubt.

It will be interesting to see what kind of "improvements" are introduced to warrant the upgrade to 5.x.

[merrypig]

I wonder how many digits they can cram in before 5.0 arrives..

V 4.9999999999999 anyone?

[Khris]

Originally Posted by merrypig

I wonder how many digits they can cram in before 5.0 arrives..

V 4.9999999999999 anyone?

Stop giving them ideas! :P

Maybe they'll just completely skip version 5.x and move directly to 6.x!

[neilpickford]

Originally Posted by ZetaVu

You are not required to upgrade, they will continue to support old versions. People are still using 3.x because they are not interested in hdtv and did not want to pay the upgrade price. When you buy the bundle, you get a key which works with any of the 4.x releases. When they move to 5.x (which will be an integrated solution, and those of us with 4.x and beyond media licenses will get a free upgrade, remember Rakesh's blog?) then you can upgrade but usually when you upgrade you can't go back, they change the key (those who went from 3.x to 4.x can't use their key for 3.x anymore, you had to contact them to get reverted back to 3.x if you were unsatisfied).

Well I seem to be in this boat as I have been running V3.4 for some years wilth a full key and suddenly I have been put on a trial key with 4 days to go! My old full key does not work anymore. I have no faith that V4 or above will work on my box PIII 600.