SnapStream PVS - install guide plus tips and tricks

By: Chris Kaminski 

Date: Sep 11, 2001

Version: 1.5

 

 

The install was very easy. The key to a successful implementation of SnapStream is getting your video tuner card working first. If you purchased the SnapStream package that includes that Hauppauge tuner, get WinTV running first and don’t forget to download the latest drivers from the Hauppauge web site. If you have someone else’s video tuner card, make sure it is working well before you install SnapStream. Support for Windows 98 and 2000 is included and we should be seeing an update for Windows XP soon. 

SnapStream can interface to your video capture card using DirectShow, Video for Windows, or Windows Media Encoder 4.1 or 7.0. SnapStream PVS supports Hauppauge, Matrox Marvel and ATI series cards with Pinnacle and Avermedia support coming soon. From reading the support message boards, it looks like Snapstream has the same problems with ATI based input devices that everyone else does – faulty ATI drivers.

Although the number of configuration options may seem overwhelming at first, I found that the default settings worked well for just about everything. The only thing you should immediately set is your save paths. Be sure you have loads of room on your C Drive if you leave the paths at their default setting. To change the save paths, go into “Configure>Stores”.

 

The entire interface for the application is written in HTML meaning you can manage your shows and recording schedules from any computer in your house (using your home network). Unlike many HTML application interfaces, SnapStream is neither confusing nor clunkey. The developers have given you multiple paths into important screens by hyper-linking the documents together in several logical ways. What you end up with is an application the feels less like HTML and more like a standard windows app.

 

The default TCP/IP port for the SnapStream server is 8129. When accessing the application from other computers, always type in the SnapStream computer’s IP address into your browser using this format, http://192.168.0.3:8129. In this example, my computers IP address is 192.168.0.3 – yours will probably be different. The :8129 on the end tells the browser to look for the SnapStream server application instead of a standard web server. To find out your computers IP address, go to a command prompt (dos) and type ‘IPCONFIG’.

 

Incidentally, this is also how you view pre-recorded videos across your home network.