What instantly comes to your mind when you see the word Seesmic?

If you are thinking video, then you are right!It is a video sharing service just like YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, etc. The difference is that Seesmic has done away with much of the extras that come with the other services.  When you first login into seesmic you are welcomed with a control panel from there you can see recent videos uploaded by other users of seesmic, your friend’s videos and your own. On the right hand side you can see which friends are online as well as see a list of friends you are following and people who are following you.

Recording video through seesmic is very easy, as long as you have a webcam and microphone, all you have to do is select your audio and video inputs and click the big red record button. To stop the recording again just press the stop recording button in the left hand side of the player. You are also asked to input a title and description and then all you have to do is click the save button. Unlike YouTube, the website takes a very short amount of time to upload. It is almost magical.

So far, I have really enjoyed playing around with the service. Although there are so many video sharing services out there, I think this one may have a chance because, unlike other services, Seesmic is easy and fun – Two key ingredients for a great user experience.  On the other hand, Seesmic is missing a lot of features that those other services offer, so I am guessing most are not going to leave the current for the new. Not yet anyway.

I have been using BeyondTV 4 for a little while now, and I must say, it is fantastic. This fully featured program is worth every penny and would recommend it to anyone.

OK, now that I have that out my system, I can go on with the review. If you are unfamiliar with SnapStream BeyondTV line, it is a PVR program that gives a computer Tivo-like functions. I was asked by a few people, why not just go out, and purchase a Tivo–the real deal. TV on computer seems to be a popular thing these days. The percentage rate is steadily increasing. Some of the benefits of outfitting your computer with Tivo-like functions are that you can configure it any way you want, record multiple shows on multiple channels, you can add as much storage space as you want, and the files that most PVRs produce are usually MPEG-2 files, which can be played back on your PC with no conversion required, and can also easily be archived to a DVD.

My PC came with Windows Media Center, and It is nice. I do like it. It has a very nice, simple user interface that reminds me of the user interface of the Playstations; Only blue, not black like I think their color is. It is a fair statement that most people want a simple user interface, and the overall experience to be fun. BeyondTV is at the top of my list, giving you a nice, simple user interface.

The main screen gives you every option you need to get started: Recorded Shows, Live TV, SnapStream.Net Guide, Setup Recordings, Settings, and Exit. Let’s start with recorded shows. When you record a show, this is where all your recorded content will go and you can select a show or movie and begin watching. In Live TV mode, you are able to watch live television, flip channels, pause, rewind, fast-forward, and record. You can also see what is coming up next with the mini guide. Information is provided by SnapStream.net, which automatically updates periodically so you will have the latest guide. Setting give you all sorts of options such as letting you set up recording quality, ShowSqueeze (which can compress shows automatically using the Divx codec so they take up less space) SmartSkip (which lets you skip commercials), and much more.

I am going to go back to recording shows. There are many options, but one option that I love is the auto-conversion of each recorded show into iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, etc. This makes life so much easier. Once you set this up, you subscribe to the feed and the shows that are converted will show up in your Podcast tab. Any show recorded will convert, and automatically show up there. I really like this feature. The problem I have now is trying to not to convert so much. I only have but so much hard drive space on my iPhone!

Snapstream has paid a lot of attention to this piece of software, and it shows. I went crazy picking shows to record and at some point I lost track of all my recordings. I recorded Judge Judy, but there was another show that I wanted to record on Animal Planet called Profiles of Nature. I knew Judge Judy had already been set to record at 4EST, but I went ahead and set Profiles of Nature to record also, just to see what happens. I haven’t seen a “conflict” message yet, and wanted to see how it handled it. I clicked record on Profiles of Nature at 4EST and nothing happen. Knowing that I had already set Judge Judy to record, I was a little bewildered, so I check to see if that was still going to be recorded and it was still set to record at 4. To my surprise, it had realized that there was a time conflict, looked to see if the same episode was playing later on and just set that one to record instead. Magnificent!

The remote that comes with BeyondTV 4 is cool and gets the job done, but I also got a chance to use the elite of all PC remotes. The Firefly PC remote allows one to use this remote anywhere. I normally wouldn’t need or use this, but I figured I’d try it out since that was a main focus. My computer is in my bedroom and I went into the kitchen (about 15 feet away, with doors shut) with the remote and was able to operate everything. I couldn’t see anything, but it works. This nice feature would be for those with a large living room with a 80inch monitor. Other features this remote has is the ability to go into “mouse” mode and control your desktop. You are able to program the remote to open certain programs, control your media player, and more. Not bad. It is my main remote now.

In conclusion, I must say that BeyondTV 4 is great. With iPhone support, makes me even more of a happy camper. BeyondTV is a great choice, and is definitely my first choice when it comes to recommendations. It has almost replaced Windows Media Center. I say almost, because Windows Media Center still has feature like radio, internet TV, and a few other features I like to use. If you are looking for a good PVR with iPhone/iPod support, this is the PVR for you.

Price of BeyondTV 4 is $69.99 for download, and $79.99 for download and backup CD.

SnapStream Firefly PC Remote