| Beyond TV 4 | 
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| From: SnapStream Media
Category: Software
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 5494
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows Xp Home Edition, Windows Xp Professional, Windows 2000, Microsoft Xp Media Center Edition
Media: CD-ROM
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
Model: BTV3-RETAIL
UPC: 856526000143
EAN: 0856526000143
ASIN: B000CR27A2
Release Date: November 15, 2005
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| Customer Reviews:
 No AUDIO May 18, 2007
I would give this product five stars, because of the terrific features and interface ... but I can confirm the bug others have reported here, in that it sometimes, randomly, just doesn't record any audio. And I wouldn't score down a review for a mere bug but for the fact that a) it's a show-stopper, and b) the bug has existed for YEARS now and has still gone unfixed ... apparently unacknowledged, even!
I was unfortunate enough to discover this _after_ I bought the full copy, but at least I got a very nice firefly remote out of it that I can put to use in an alternative like MCE or SageTV.
 Nice interfaces but seemed buggy May 11, 2007
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I tried out this program and ended up also trying out Sage and Windows XP Media Center which was installed on my computer.
I started with an AMD dual core desktop computer, 3 MB RAM, an HP 17" monitor and a Pioneer 42" plasma TV as my video displays, 400 GB of hard drive, new Hauppauge HDTV tuners (one a PCI card, HVR 1600 and one a USB dongle, HVR 950) for my computer, and also a Radeon X1300 video card to give me a video output.
Here are my impressions of the three programs:
Beyond TV4 (version 4.6) had little to no useful documentation but was pretty intuitive in the setup. It had my favorite interface for setting up recordings and it has the nicest Guide function. It also seemed to have the most optional and customizable settings but, without a manual, some were hard to find and harder to know what they really did. In the end, I just could not get it to work properly and consistently. At times it worked, at other times it didn't. I ended up getting some messages about rasterizing and other oddities which other users complained about in the Beyond TV forums. I was not happy with how long it took to load the program at each startup of my computer. Also, I was unable to get any closed captioning operational, a critical function for me due to hearing loss. I found its screen sizing function pretty clunky and problematic as I switched between my HP monitor and a 42" plasma TV. Regrettably, it just didn't work for me and I returned the product.
I tried Sage TV on a 15-day free look. It had a wonderful PDF manual (253 pages). It also was deficient in closed captioning ability. It had a very nice screen sizing setup that worked much better than Beyond TV. Its screen was clean and it really looked good. It set up faster then Beyond TV but I had problems getting it to output consistently and properly when I switched between my HP monitor and my plasma TV. It seems to be very comprehensive.
Media Center didn't work for me at all initially, which is why I tried the other two programs. After they frustrated me to death over four days of fooling with settings on video cards, tuner cards and displays, plus downloaded driver and software update issues, I used my new knowledge to search online for Media Center issues. I then discovered (silly me) that HDTV was supported by downloads (rollup versions) which I had not installed or known about in my first attempt to set it up. After the rollup download, Media Center set up easily and operated on both my HP monitor and my plasma TV, switching between them was just a matter of which screen I booted the program into. It also has closed captioning. The Guide is pretty good and everything works beautifully. I still like Beyond TV's interface better but this program is not giving me fits like the other two did, so it gets the overall win in my situation. The biggest plus for me is that Media Center has closed captioning. It is hard to see why the others don't have this function since the captioning is part of the video stream from broadcasters.
Each program has pluses and minuses. My final coice, the Media Center, is based on its closed captioning, apparent stability in displays and its general functionality.
 Buggy Product with Somewhat slow support May 2, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When it works, it rivals my Replay and Tivo experience. However, that said, it is "buggy". You cannot depend on it functioning as expected. THAT WAS MY ORIGINAL REVIEW! AFTER GOING ROUND & ROUND FOR NEARLY A MONTH, THE PROBLEM WAS SOLVED BY SNAPSTREAM. AM I A HAPPY CAMPER? YES! I still resent that you cannot talk to any support person -- it is all done via email back and forth. You cannot even get the phone answered at their Houston TX office. FIVE STARS WOULD BE MY CURRENT RATING!!! It just took awhile and lots of irritation to get there.
 BeyondTV Works Dependably for Me! February 18, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
(Note: this is copied from another spot reviewing the same software. I saw that the one guy plastered his comments in several places, so I wanted to voice mine to retort ... but only to 2 spots).
I'm not sure what got into a couple of the previous reviewers, but he inspired me to provide my quite contrasting opinion. I'll note up front that I have no interest in any software's 'DivX' capabilities; I just wanted a Tivo-like device for my room. One that didn't charge $12.95 a month for an online TV schedule. My Tivo was and is wonderful, but I figured I could do better without the monthly overhead.
I purchased an older (used) 1.8 Ghz Dell and a Hauppauge PVR-150 card; the PC already had a TV-out on its video card, so I was all set. Ok, I added a 300Gb drive to it.
I spent considerable time trying EVERYTHING I could find, software-wise. And I mean everything (Windows-based). In the end, I had to choose between BeyondTV and SageTV. I found enough quirkinesses in SageTV that I went with BeyondTV and have never really looked back.
Oh, one more note. In between the Tivo and this machine (I call it my PC-VO! :), I also had purchased an HP Media Center machine. This for my personal use AND to watch and record TV while I worked. This featured a 2002 Media Center setup, and it worked pretty well (TV card is currently broken ... working on a replacement). Except that I had to jump through hoops to convert the resulting .ms-dvr files to MPEG so I could edit them and make DVD's out of them. Creating my own DVD recordings was a primary goal for me, and MediaCenter IS NOT the best source for DVD-recordable media. It can be done and was, but everything else records to ready-to-go MPEG files. Even Tivo.
So, I've been using BeyondTV for some time now (currently at v4.5). There are some things I could see being improved, but for me, it's been nothing but a trooper. I have a Wireless USB network connection and can copy MPEG files to my HP for DVD creation. And the 300gig drive is a great holding place for these recordings until I'm ready for them.
I can't claim to have 42 shows scheduled to record, but I have a decent amount of them, and my list has changed over time. I've never seen a problem maintaining or using this list. It finds the shows I ask it to and records them.
In all, I've very happy with BeyondTV and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. For fun, I've just ordered parts for my first "ground up" build of a HTPC machine, and after I fiddle with Linux and MythTV for awhile, I have a feeling I'll be back to Windows and BeyondTV on this machine, too.
Gripes? Well, perhaps one. Maybe 2. I do see some occassional pokiness in the video and/or sound. Occassional is the key, and I blame this partially on my older machine and ancient video card. I could try beefing these up, but it doesn't bother me enough. The BIGGEST gripe I have may also be machine-centric, but BeyondTV also fails to tell me when there is a problem. Every 3-4 weeks it seems I lose my network connection. Well, BeyondTV doesn't see it and cannot connect to refresh the program guide. Now that I know this happens, I simply check once a week and boot about once a month. Perhaps if I was hard-wired this might not happen, I can't say. For me, booting on occassion isn't such a bad thing.
Bottom line? Beyond TV was an excellent choice for me. They still offer a 21 day free trial, so it's easy to try it for yourself. I have no affiliation at all with SnapStream, I just don't like to see the software I use (successfully) given an unjust bad rap. Please try it for yourself!
It's a shame I can't give a 4.5 rating ... I didn't feel right with 5 stars, but a 4.5 would have been more accurate.
Nick
 GREAT PRODUCT January 12, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
This product is soooo cool.
I am currently using it w/ a hauppauge card and an ati tv wonder card. This one application will support multiple cards (as many as you can fit) and can record shows just like other set top boxes. It also sets up a web server that allows you to access any tv shows and download them from across the network and set recordings. As if thats not enough you can also log into [...] and add shows when your away from your home network. This software IS PERFECT. Do not waste any more time and BUY THIS.
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