Sky Angel and Snapstream BeyondTV

[Shonsu]

Maranatha!

I have a Home Theatre PC (HTPC) connected to my TV that uses Snapstream BeyondTV to record television shows (currently from cable, previously from DirecTV).

I am going to be trying to setup Snapstream BeyondTV to control my Sky Angel IPTV box (as soon as it comes in) using a My.Tv Infrared Blaster. If it works then I'll be able to go from my Sky Angel box into my HTPC and record shows for later playback (beyond the 2 days that Sky Angel keeps them).

I'll come back here and post how it works out. If it works then I'll give instructions on how to set it up for yourself.

 

[Shonsu]

I just got the box in yesterday and am waiting for the programming to be enabled. Then I can start testing.

 

[Shonsu]

I finished setting it up last night. I'm going to post the results in the next few minutes since I just tried to and the forum won't let me post anything with <dot>net at the end since it thinks I'm trying to post a web link or email address and I don't have more than 2 posts. So after this post it should let me post it.

 

[Shonsu]

Good news. It works!

First, you'll need Snapstream BeyondTV with a capture card that works with their software (Hauppauge for instance). Then you'll need an IR Blaster (Snapstream sells a USB-UIRT that the software works well with).

Before installing BeyondTV you can install the IR Blaster and use the software it came with to "train" it to use the remote signals for the Sky Angel remote. Since I have a My.Tv IR Blaster and not the USB-UIRT I'm not sure what their software looks like. But for the My.Tv I had to go through each button and point the remote at the blaster so it could "learn" each key. It was a simple but tedious process.

Now you can install the capture card then BeyondTV.

During the install of BeyondTV you'll have to setup your account on the Snapstream.net web site to enable BeyondTV to get the program listings. Choose "Satellite", then "Sky Angel". Then, the BeyondTV setup will connect to the Snapstream.net web site and download your channels and listings. After that it will configure your capture card. Make sure to select "Satellite", then the IR Blaster as the controlling device.

That was all there was to it. It worked on the first try for me, luckily!

Just so you know, there is some pretty nice freeware HTPC software out there that may work just as well. MediaPortal (http://www.team-mediaportal.com/) is a good example.

 

[dougiep]

Hi. I'm a current Sky Angel subscriber and want to be able to record shows kinda like you can do with TIVO.

I checked out the Beyond TV site and it looks pretty cool. So I was wondering if you would still recommend someone in my position to go with Beyond TV or would you suggest a different route?

Thanks for your time and help!
Doug