Q: What
kind of home network do I need to use Beyond TV Link?
A: Wired 10/100 Ethernet or wireless 802.11a/g
will all work. 802.11b will not work due to bandwidth constraints.
Q: Can I watch live TV using Beyond TV Link?
A:
Yes, you can, just as if you were at the local computer.
Q: What if someone else is already watching live
TV on another computer?
A: If the server has multiple tuners (a
capability added in Beyond TV 3.5) and one of those tuners is available,
you will watch tv on that tuner. If there
are no free tuners, you will be asked if you want to watch the live TV session
that the other person is currently watching.
Q: Say I join the session and watch what someone
else is watching and then decide to change the channel. What will happen
then?
A: The other user will see the channel change as you make
it.
Q: Can I schedule shows to record using Beyond TV
Link?
A: Yes, just as if you were sitting at the Beyond TV Server.
Q: Can I use Windows Media for live TV?
A:
No, only mpeg-2 is supported for live TV. You can, however, watch pre-recorded
Windows media files using Link.
Q: I have a machine that does not meet the minimum
specifications for Beyond TV Link. Can I still use it?
A: Probably
not. That being said, you could possibly upgrade the machine to make
it fall within spec.
Q: How does Beyond TV Link work?
A: The Beyond TV server is built around a new component
of Beyond TV, the Beyond TV SDK. The Beyond TV SDK uses web services to make all
the functions used by Beyond TV accessible over the network. Instead of
accessing data from a local server, Beyond TV Link sends a request to the
networked copy of Beyond TV Server to schedule recordings and view TV.
All of this happens seamlessly in the background as you use Link. Note:
For the technically inclined, the "Beyond TV SDK" is
available for hobbyist users to create their own interfaces to
Beyond TV.
Q: Can I watch HDTV over Beyond TV Link?
A:
Yes, provided you have a 100mbit or faster wired network.
Q: Do I need to upgrade Beyond TV Link to work with
Beyond TV 4?
A: While you do need to upgrade the software for Beyond
TV Link to match the version of the server, you do not have to pay for a
new Beyond
TV Link key if you had one for version 3.
Q: Can I use the
DVD Burning Plug-in to burn DVDs over the network with Beyond TV Link?
A:
No, the DVD Burning Plug-in only works from within Beyond TV -- it does
not work in Beyond TV Link.
Q: What
is the DVD Burning Plug-in?
A: The DVD Burning Plug-in is
an optional add-on to Beyond TV Link that allows you to burn recorded
shows to DVD directly from the PC running Beyond TV Link (DVD burner
required).
Q: How does the purchase and
activation process work?
A: The DVD Burning & H.264 Plug-in works through
a "DVD
Burning & H.264
Plug-in" flag that we set on your Beyond TV 4 product key.
Once you purchase the plug-in and we set this flag, you simply
have to
re-run Beyond TV to have the DVD Burning & H.264 Plug-in activated
within the software.
Note: after re-starting Beyond TV, it can take
approximately 30 seconds for Beyond TV to update.
Q: Can I try it before I purchase
it?
A: Yes. Simply download and
install the latest version of Beyond TV Link.
If you own Beyond TV Link stand-alone: When
you download and install the latest version of Beyond TV
Link, a 21-day trial to the DVD Burning Plug-in will automatically
be started.
If you are trying Beyond TV Link:
You will automatically have a 21-day free trial of both
1) Beyond TV Link and 2) the
DVD Burning Plug-in.
Q: How much does it cost?
A: The cost of the DVD Burning Plug-in is $19.99.
Q: What DVD burners are supported?
A: Pretty much any drive that can burn a DVD should
work with Beyond TV's DVD Burning & H.264 Plug-in. The plug-in uses
burning technology from Sonic Solutions, the same burning technology
used
by Microsoft
(in Windows XP and Vista), Adobe and many other companies. So this
technology is well-proven.
Q: How many hours of shows can I fit on a single
DVD?
A: If you use one of Beyond TV's pre-defined
MPEG-2 qualities, Good
(DVD Ready) or Best (DVD Ready), and are burning
a video DVD, use the charts below.
MPEG-2 "Good (DVD Ready)" quality
level:
| DVD Type |
Capacity |
| Mini DVD |
40 minutes |
| Regular DVD |
2 hours |
| Dual-layer DVD |
4 hours |
MPEG-2 "Best (DVD Ready)" quality
level:
| DVD Type |
Capacity |
| Mini DVD |
20 minutes |
| Regular DVD |
1 hour, 20 minutes |
| Dual-layer DVD |
2 hours, 20 minutes |
If you are burning a video DVD with any
other MPEG-2 format, the DVD Burning Plug-in's DiscSqueeze™ technology
will compress whatever you select so that it fits on the DVD
media you
are burning to.
Finally, if you are burning a data DVD, it's simply a matter of
the file size of the shows you are trying to burn and the space available
on the DVD.
Q: Will my SmartSkip chapters get burned to
DVD?
A: Yes, if SmartSkip has run on your recordings,
they will be burned to DVD. With a video DVD, SmartSkip chapters
are created as DVD chapters
within a particular show so you can press "next chapter" on
your DVD player to skip commercials. With a data DVD, the SmartSkip
data file is simply copied along with the show to the DVD.
Q: Which file types are supported? Can I burn
my over-the-air digital TV recordings?
A: See table below:
| File type |
Description of support |
| MPEG-2 (.mpg) |
Burning directly to video DVDs and data DVDs
is supported. It's recommended to use one of the "DVD Ready" quality
levels (Good or Best). |
| MPEG-2 Transport Stream (.ts) |
Burning directly to data DVDs is supported.
Burning to video DVD is supported, but it's a two-step process.
You first have to ShowSqueeze to WMV or DivX and then you
can burn to video DVD.
|
| Windows Media Video (.wmv) |
Burning directly to video and data DVDs is
supported. |
| DivX (.avi) |
Burning directly to video and data DVDs is
supported. |
Q: How long will it take
to burn a single video DVD?
A: DVDs get burned in the background so you can continue
using Beyond TV to watch live TV, record shows and perform other functions
while
a DVD is being burned.
That said, burning a video DVD requires two potentially time consuming
steps: transcoding and burning.
Transcoding
The time required to transcode depends on the quality and file
format of the shows you are burning.
If your recordings are made in MPEG-2 in one of the pre-defined
DVD-ready MPEG-2 formats, Good (DVD Ready) and Best
(DVD Ready), then no transcoding is required. If you'll be
frequently burning DVDs, we highly recommend recording shows to
one of these formats.
If your recordings are in any other MPEG-2 format or in the Windows
Media or DivX format, transcoding could take up to a couple of
hours.
Burning
And, finally, the time required to burn a DVD depends entirely
on the speed of your DVD writer -- the faster the writer (ie 8x
is faster than 4x, 4x is faster than 2x, etc), the less time it
will take.
Q: What will the DVD menus look
like?
A: The DVD menus look similar to the Beyond TV menu.
Here's a screenshot:
There is a 10-second preview of each video on the menu. Also,
the show's name and episode name are included under each video.
Q: Can I burn Video CDs or data
CDs with the plug-in?
A: No, the DVD Burning Plug-in only supports burning
to DVDs.
Q: Am I able to control the
speed at which a video or videos are burned to DVD?
A: Yes, you are able to choose a burn speed from the
DVD Burning Settings screen from within Beyond TV Link.
