SnapStream Beyond TV 3 - TeleVision without Limits review:4 stars (Excellent Product - once you get it installed!) - Although it seemed to install OK, I couldn't get it to record for my life. I uninstalled and reinstalled twice. After lots of fooling around with the configuration I finally was able to record!
This thing is absolutely great. One of the first things you come to appreciate is the free online TV guide. With the guide I can find my show easily and then tell it to record all new episodes. It then skips old episodes and will even follow the show when it moves from one night to another (i.e. goes from Wednesday night @ 7pm to Thursday @ 8pm). Try that with your VCR!
Recordings can take up a ton of disk space - about 2.4 gig per hour. Beyond TV has an option where it will shrink the disk space required after the show completes. You can tell it to do the shrinking during non prime-time so it doesn't interfere with your usual work. Net effect is about 1/4 of the space is needed (.7 gig versus 2.4 gig) and I can't detect any quality difference!1 stars (beyondtv cant install) - I tried to install this for 2 weeks and can't intall it. The installation wizzard complains that it can't find an internet connection. The tech support could not identify the problem and told me to wait (forever?) until they fine a fix. Apprently, BeyondTV has problems communicating with some ISP's. This is a known problem that Snapstrem didn't disclose. Now I'm stuck with software that will not even install (dell 2.5ghz with 1g memory). My $62 purchase is worthless. The warrenty specifically states that installation problems are not covered. Totally dissatisfied.5 stars (This product is great) - It is so easy to record your favorate shows. With a product called mpeg-vcr, you can edit commericals out in seconds. Then burn to dvd. Way better than tivo, and no monthly fees! |
