SnapStream Media Leaps Forward In PVR Technology

Beyond TV 3.5 gives television viewers more control of their television viewing experience with new features like multi-tuner, Beyond TV Link, and Portable Media Center support.

SnapStream Media, Inc., a leader in digital home entertainment products, announced today the release of Beyond TV 3.5. Beyond TV 3.5 offers a series of new features, giving users more ways to control their television viewing experience. New features, such as multiple tuner support and a smarter recording scheduler, maximize the number of shows users can record. Other offerings such as Beyond TV Link and support for Microsoft Windows Mobile-based Portable Media Center support further delivers the “anytime, anywhere” aspect of Beyond TV 3.

The latest multi-tuner support gives Beyond TV 3.5 users the power to record as many shows at the same time as their PCs can handle. One additional tuner license is included free with Beyond TV 3.5, so users can begin using two TV tuners at the same time right out of the box.

Concurrent with the Beyond TV 3.5 launch is the release of Beyond TV Link. Beyond TV Link is Beyond TV’s network client. With Beyond TV Link, users can enjoy all the same great features of Beyond TV, providing full and complete access to their library of recorded shows, from other PCs on the home network. Beyond TV Link offers an experience that is similar to actually having Beyond TV 3 installed on other networked PCs.

SnapStream Media has also been working closely with Microsoft and companies such as, Creative Labs, to provide support for the recently released Portable Media Center. Beyond TV 3 offers built-in Portable Media Center settings, making it easy to both record and compress television shows in PMC-ready formats.

Under the hood, Beyond TV 3.5 has both a new encoder and a new decoder, which speed up processing and are more reliable. It also has a new SDK that allows 3rd party developers, PC OEMs and other partners to take advantage of what Beyond TV has to offer. The new SDK is what makes expandability, such as Beyond TV Link, possible.

“Beyond TV 3.5 is a huge leap forward in PVR technology for SnapStream and for the industry,” said Rakesh Agrawal, CEO of SnapStream Media. “Built on the powerful Beyond TV SDK, Beyond TV 3.5 delivers unprecedented power and stability. I’m particularly excited about Beyond TV Link, a new add-on to Beyond TV 3.5 that enables Beyond TV users to experience Beyond TV from any wired or wireless PC or set-top box in the house. SnapStream will continue to deliver the power of digital media while keeping it simple and easy for people around the world.”

“Microsoft is committed to working with companies that make it easier to enjoy digital entertainment anywhere, anytime. We are excited that SnapStream’s Beyond TV 3.5 will help people record their favorite TV shows in a format that will transfer quickly and easily to the Portable Media Center so they can watch their favorite shows on the go,” said Todd Warren, corporate vice president of the Devices, Services and eXperience Group at Microsoft.