State of the SnapStream?

[Rob]

I've been following these forums since I was first turned on to SS. One thing I seem to see is a lot of early adopter types who are really hoping that SS will become even more than the very usable software it is today.

There seems to be some fairly common bugs/problems that haven't been rectified, but we plod on. Most of us probably fall into that 'early adopter' bin and as such are interested in where SS is headed. I saw a very informative post by Amit(?) on SS adding tech people and some references to the next release. That info was music to my ears and probably quite a few others who browse this board on a regular basis.

Might I suggest that SS give us a short "State of the SnapStream", just let us know whats going on...no need to divulge deep secrets, but something to let us know this board isn't /dev/null past the SS people who tend to post here. Throw the people who buy, use and recommend your software something to chew on. I'd say that SS doesn't spend an enourmous amount on marketing and that word of mouth is probably your best avenue of achieving greater market penetration. Help us help you.

-Rob


[This message has been edited by Rob (edited 02-03-2002).]

I would be nice to see some support for the $$ we paid for this software rather than casual answers on a newsgroup. A few more unanswered emails to support and I will be going back to WinVCR. Is this a rake the bucks in only software company or do you care if we purchase the next upgrade releases?

Originally posted by Rob:
I've been following these forums since I was first turned on to SS. One thing I seem to see is a lot of early adopter types who are really hoping that SS will become even more than the very usable software it is today.

There seems to be some fairly common bugs/problems that haven't been rectified, but we plod on. Most of us probably fall into that 'early adopter' bin and as such are interested in where SS is headed. I saw a very informative post by Amit(?) on SS adding tech people and some references to the next release. That info was music to my ears and probably quite a few others who browse this board on a regular basis.

Might I suggest that SS give us a short "State of the SnapStream", just let us know whats going on...no need to divulge deep secrets, but something to let us know this board isn't /dev/null past the SS people who tend to post here. Throw the people who buy, use and recommend your software something to chew on. I'd say that SS doesn't spend an enourmous amount on marketing and that word of mouth is probably your best avenue of achieving greater market penetration. Help us help you.

-Rob


[This message has been edited by Rob (edited 02-03-2002).]

I read the complaints and kudos before I bought the software.
I considered the money an investment in a software package I hope will fluorish. What I don't understand is the people who expect service levels on such a "cutting edge" app to be like those where we pay $200 or more.
I advise patience and a positive approach to encourage SS to move ahead, without the distractions of too much bitching.
There! I feel better now.
Hang in there SS...

[Magellan]

I agree, for $50 you can't go wrong. I have been using snapstream beta's since early last year. I decided to buy 2.0 even though I am still having the typical ATI choppy playback problems, which are not that bad in near dvd. I love the program and am glad I bought it.

Good work SS!!

[jmracek]

I think the product would be perfect for me. It controls my DTV reciever very well. I love it. The only thing I want to beable to do is beable to transfer some of my shows to DVD. This requires MPEG2. If someone could show me a way of converting the shows to MPEG2. I probably would not have any complaints.

Jack

[rkuo]

Hey guys,

Well internally, the goals of the next release...codenamed "Quartz", are

A. Complete object model rewrite of the software. Parts of this made it into 2.0, but we're looking to complete an around the world code rewrite and review this time.

Stability and compatibility is a really big issue for us, and it's especially tough for us to address in this sector with the myriad of different capture hardware out there, but we're doing our best.

Internally we've had debates about the direction to go with the software...new features, interface, ease of use, stability, and compatibility. We've settled on stability and compatibility in our internal vision statement for the project, and I think that's one you all agree with.

SnapStream is a cutting edge application in many many different ways. It pushes the limits of your capture card, your computer, your PocketPC, third-party SDK's...and that's just the start. I can personally tell you that we've worked with three major vendors in the past couple of months to resolve bugs in their software for the purpose of making sure PVS works correctly with their stuff. Working externally to resolve bugs is a tough process and takes time, but that is the nature of what we need to do.

We've made significant progress with each release on making PVS more stable, and that trend is going to continue with the next release.

B. Option for a more advanced in-house managed program guide.

C. End-to end support for satellite/IR blaster tuning. This is a big part of the equation for a lot of users that we just haven't addressed up to this point. We're working on providing a reasonable and fully integrated solution for people with satellite or external cable boxes.

D. Live TV viewing...just like any app that you would get with your TV card. The implementation will do basic viewing, with timeshifting to come in a later release.

There's more coming that I'm sure will be a nice surprise, but I do want to let everyone know that we are listening and your comments do not fall on deaf ears.

[This message has been edited by rkuo (edited 02-04-2002).]

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by rkuo:
D. Live TV viewing...just like any app that you would get with your TV card. The implementation will do basic viewing, with timeshifting to come in a later release.

I'm sure this feature will be welcomed by all.

With regard to the "stability and compatibility", I agree that it will make your lives much easier. But I hope that you will also give consideration to those of us who can run the program seemlessly, and want to see it grow and evolve. With the exception of the one month delay between the release of Windows XP and SS v2.0, I've been running the program flawlessly with my Hauppauge card for about a year now. In that time, you've released two or three new versions of the software, and each has included mention of greater compatibility and related features like the hardware wizard.

Judging by some of the messages on these boards, there is still some room for improvement in the setup and configuration arenas. But it would be nice to see some significant new features, too.

Where is the "burn to CD feature? (Incidentally, this is still listed on one of your web pages as a feature. I understand that it is functionally possible to copy WMV files to a CD, but the blurb is currently a bit misleading IMO).

Will we ever see new CODECS?

Will SnapStream.net ever be functional again?

Now that XP is upon us, how about revisiting the "run as service" functionality?

I'm sure there were dozens of other good suggestions thrown out that I'm forgetting.

While I'm sure there are many customers and potential customers who want to see a more managable setup process. But don't forget about the hundreds or thousands of us who have it working great, and just want to see the program continue to grow and evolve.

[PBMax]

Is the Live Tv also a Live Streamable TV? That would be great to watch TV where ever your at.

[RedAvenger]

What I would really like to see from Snapstream is support for the new Windows Media Corona. I saw some presentation on it at CES and the it looks awesome. Will that get incorporated into SnapStream once it gets released? I personally don't feel that adding other Codecs is going to add much value to the software. WMV is better than MPG definitely and you can stream WMV too.

Things I would like to see is a snapstream remote controller solution. I look at it as a Tivo type device. The only thing that Tivo has over this is a remote control and a tv interface. If snapstream could come up with some hardware to fill that niche I would definitely purchase it.

The only other big thing that I can see is running the software as a service. That would be a huge benefit for me as I wouldn't have to be logged in all of the time.

And please forget about the Burn TO CD functionality. Give us a burn to DVD feature. That is where I think SNapstream should spend development time. THink of it you could have your own collection of SnapStream recorded DVD movies!

[Rob]

rkuo,

Thank you much for the briefing on Quartz. I didn't have intentions of turning this into a "I wanna see this or that feature" thread and will keep it that way, as I think those threads can be found many other places.

I believe that a short update like yours from time to time is probably most appreciated for those of us looking for info on where you are headed.

-Rob

[PBMax]

I'm sure once this MS Corona thing is released it would be easy to incorporate it into Snapstream.

As for the burn to DVD a severe limitation to the WMV codec is that NO standalone DVD player will play WMV encoded files as of yet. So this is a problem for burining onto DVD. If SSW supported MPEG then you could make VCDs or DVDs that would play in a standalone DVD player as well as your computer. That is why MPEG support is wanted so badly.

As for a stand along device that would be difficult to do because of the interface that snapstream has. It's not designed for a TV interface even though it can be used as such.

[RedAvenger]

PBMax I totally agree with what you are saying. DVD's that play in your DVD players are all MPEG2. What I was saying is have Snapstream do all the work for you. Obviously DVD Video Players aren't going to play Windows Media movies. What I was thinking of was having snapstream convert all your recordings into DVD video and then burn them to DVD.

You don't need to originally record in MPEG to accomplish this. In fact I have already done this using a DVD burner. I would just like the process to be streamlined into snapstream so I don't have to go through so many hoops.

[jmracek]

RedAvenger,
How did you convert those pesky wmv files to dvd format. I have been trying things for a week and nothing will work right. I agree though. Snapstream doesn't have to record in mpeg2 for me. Just give me a utility or something for archiving shows to VCD or DVD. Heck I'll be happy with just a
HOW TO for now.

Pleas help and save my sanity.

Jack.


P.S.
///My top items.

1) being able to archive to DVD and VCD/SVCD.

2) A better program guide. TitanTV is OK but it can be very slow to use some times.
Even on a T1 line. I would like to have it
cached locally. Then it would be as fast
and easy to use as the the satellite guides.
Heck someone could even throw in they're
advertisements up in the upper corner to
pay for the darn thing. But then snapstream
could implement a record everytime a show
is on.

3) Live Viewing module of some sort. It
doesn't have to live in a web browser. I
see myself using the system with the clients
watching recorded shows and the server
replacing my UltimateTV box.

4) Greater hardware variety. Right now
though I'll buy what ever hardware it needs
to run. That is the easy part.

Conclusion:
I guess what I really want is an
UltimateTV unit that will allow clients in
other parts of the house to watch recorded
shows with the ability to archive the
recorded shows however I want.
Either DVD or just saving the WMV files
somewhere.
Out of all the products that I've seen
out there SnapStream shows the most promise.
The Replay TV's are a second but they
are a proprietary format. That throws
out the whole idea of doing what ever I
want to the files.

Thanks for listening
Jack.

Rob, here is an excert from an email I recieved recently you may find interesting, it's from:- .NET UPDATE--brought to you by the Windows & .NET Magazine Network
http://www.winnetmag.net

"
* A .NET SERVICE WE CAN ALL RALLY AROUND

Greetings,

The concept of Web Services is good, but I've been waiting for the ultimate
example of why this technology makes sense. This week, after speaking with
SnapStream Media CEO Rakesh K. Agrawal, I think I've finally found that example,
and it's not some hard-to-explain techie feature, either. Instead, it's
something we can all rally around: television.

In the early 1980s, I dreamt of a future TV-on-demand functionality that
companies often promised but never delivered. The goal, I thought, was to
provide consumers with a catalog of TV shows dating back to the technology's
inception so that you could view, say, any episode of "Magnum P.I.," "M*A*S*H,"
"The X-Files," or whatever else floats your boat, whenever you want and wherever
you want. This technology would transform the TV industry in the same ways that
MP3s and Napster later transformed music: Instead of being bound by the rigid
programming schedule of the networks, new shows could "debut" at a certain time
and then be available in perpetuity. It was a grand plan, but it never happened.

Part of the reason for this failure is inertia, but most of the blame lies with
the maturation of the TV industry. Faced with competition from cable networks,
upstart national networks, movie rentals, and even video games, television has
largely stood still technologically as the industry grapples with new forms of
entertainment and consumer-enabling technologies. One such technology, digital
video recording (DVR), shows great promise, although it has never really taken
off. Essentially hard disk-based VCRs, DVR units from companies such as TiVo and
SONICblue have sold poorly because the units are expensive and hard to explain
to average consumers. But people who own such devices are often evangelical with
friends and family and wonder how anyone ever got along without DVR.

DVR units can record TV shows and pause live TV, and the units offer program
guides that let you search and set up automatic recordings. For example, you can
choose to record any show that features a certain actor, or every episode of a
show such as "The Simpsons," regardless of when it's on or what channel it's on.
DVR units don't offer the TV-on-demand features I've always wanted, but the DVR
units' features are pretty close.

Agrawal and SnapStream have entered the DVR market from a different angle,
however. Instead of requiring consumers to purchase set-top boxes that cost $500
or more, SnapStream offers a $50 software product that brings DVR capabilities
to the PC. This product lets you take advantage of that whopping hard disk you
probably already own, and the PC-based solution is almost infinitely expandable
(a new 100GB hard disk costs far less than a hardware-based DVR unit, for
example).

But it's SnapStream's plans for the future that excite me most. Beginning in
March 2002, the company will offer a new version of its SnapStream PVS product,
called SnapStream.NET, that will integrate with the Microsoft .NET platform and
offer consumers an affordable and exciting way to record, share, and watch TV.

Here's how SnapStream.NET works. A subscription service that will likely cost
about $5 a month, SnapStream.NET will offer an online version of the SnapStream
programming guide, which includes TV listings and search functionality, fully
integrated with the company's PC-based software. Another component, called
SnapStream Anywhere, will let users hit a server from any Internet-enabled
location and program recordings on their home PCs. Thus, you could "tape" a show
on your home PC, even though you're accessing the server from a hotel across the
country. And if you have a broadband connection on either end, you can watch any
of the shows you've already recorded. Agrawal tells me that, during the January
2002 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, he would regularly
watch the evening news broadcast from his hometown (Houston, Texas) by using the
broadband connection in his hotel to access his home PC across the Internet.

So where does .NET come in to all this? Agrawal says that SnapStream is using
.NET technologies throughout SnapStream.NET, from the Microsoft .NET Password
authentication system for logging on to its servers to .NET Alerts, which will
notify users when their favorite actors, actresses, and TV shows are airing.
"It's tied into the [Windows] Messenger service," he says. "So you can get an
alert each morning about your favorite TV-related events. If, say, Tom Cruise
will be appearing on two shows that day, you can get alerted about that and will
be provided with a link so you can record the shows automatically."

SnapStream is also working on a concept for a future release that will integrate
a .NET feature called Session Invite. Used today by Windows Messenger and
Microsoft's online games, Session Invite lets users connect with each other for
purposes such as application sharing, Remote Assistance, and video conferencing.
SnapStream.NET will use Session Invite to let two broadband-connected users
share a recorded show. For example, one user might use Windows Messenger to send
a second user an invitation to watch a show. If the second user accepts the
invitation, they can watch the show simultaneously and chat through Windows
Messenger.

"This all relies on .NET technology," Agrawal says. "If the .NET My Services
[formerly code-named HailStorm] infrastructure wasn't there, I'd have to build
my own messenger client, and I don't want to do that. Instead, I can create a
great user experience based on existing Web Services and clients."

The initial version of SnapStream.NET won't rely on XML and Simple Object Access
Protocol (SOAP), but the next version will be fully rendered as a Web Service.
"That way, it's just a Plug and Play scenario for users, and it just works,"
Agrawal says. For security, users can close their machines to the outside world,
until the consumer logs on and reconfigures the software to allow remote TV
viewing. Users can change settings through a central SnapStream server as well.

"The key is anywhere, anytime access, not just to TV listings, but to the actual
content," Agrawal says. "It has to work from any device [and] from any network
connection. It's that simple; that's the strategy."

I think he might be on to something.
"

[Rob]

Thanks for the info/cross-paste Ian, IMO that should have been posted to 'Announcements' right away, that the kind of info that helps understand where a product is going.

SnapSteam people: I would make a strong suggestion that you open a rec or assign a current person (Mkt Director/MVP or associate) to browse these boards on a daily basis. I wouldn't think it would take to much investigation to see that a good net presence is advantageous to swing the 'early adopters' or 'grougnards' who tend to champion a technology.

I don't think anyone is asking for 30min response to tech or feature question, just a "Hmm, I don't know but will find someone who does to answer your question."

-Rob


[This message has been edited by Rob (edited 02-12-2002).]