SnapStream's "Beyond TV 3" is a software-based PVR that turns your PC into a TiVo-plus-plus, capable of streaming stored programs to your browser and auto-skipping commercials. Basically, it's as though they made a TiVo whose only considerations were what you, the customer, would likely want to see, and not what the Hollywood studios would prefer.
The software streams to Web browsers, so you don't have to buy another copy for remote viewing. It's fairly simple to enable security so strangers don't have access to your television signal or recordings.
Beyond TV handles all the personal video recorder basics well. Users can pause live TV, rewind and set up recordings — all without an advanced degree in VCR technology. And like TiVo's Home Media Option, recording can be scheduled over the Internet.
But SnapStream also added commercial break recognition, which vastly simplifies ad skipping. It also supports a variety of video formats and lets you easily convert to a more tightly compressed file.
(via /.)
