Getting Started
After you have installed TVTonic, the first thing you’ll
want to do is subscribe to a few channels (video podcasts are
called channels in TVTonic).
You subscribe channels via the Channel Guide
(Channel Guide icon:
)
section of TVTonic. In the Channel guide section you can browse the featured channels as
well as all available channels. To see details about a channel,
highlight the info button next to the channel button and select it. When you find
something interesting, just click the channel button to subscribe it. Once the channel is
subscribed, TVTonic will start downloading video and it will be available in the My Channels section.
After you subscribe a channel, it’s a good idea to go to
the Disk Cache Settings section of TVTonic and set the
maximum amount of disk space you would like the new channel to
use (see Manage Disk Space below for more
information). You can always adjust it later if you’re
unsure how much the channel should use.
Once you’ve subscribed a channel you may need to wait a
few minutes or hours before you start seeing content depending
on the size of the video files and your connection speed.
Navigating The Interface
Using the arrow keys either on your remote or keyboard, you
navigate the TVTonic interface. You can also use your mouse.
After you’ve subscribed a few channels, select the
watch icon
to load the My Channels screen. This screen has three sections. On the far left
are buttons that take you to the Channel Guide section
(),
the Settings section (
)
and other functions. The middle section is where
the video plays. To the right is the My Channels menu: a list of all
the subscribed channels.
Each channel button in the channel menu displays the
channel’s name as well as the number of videos currently
in the channel. Highlight the channel button and select it to
play all the videos in the channel. To see a list of the videos
in a channel, while the channel button is highlighted, hit the
right arrow key (either on your remote or keyboard). If
you’re using your mouse, click the small arrow on the
channel’s button to show it’s video menu. Once a
channel’s video menu is visible, simply highlight a video
button and select it to watch that video.
Video Controls
Use the controls on your Windows XP Media Center remote control
to stop, pause, fast-forward, and rewind videos. Internet
Explorer users use the on-screen controls under the video window.
Also, if you're using a mouse with a scroll wheel, you
can use the wheel to jog the the video forward and back. If the
video is paused this feature moves the video frame-by-frame.
Full-screen Playback
Full-screen is easy, just highlight the video window and press
OK on your remote control. Within Internet Explorer,
either double-click the video window or highlight it using your
keyboard arrow keys and press Enter to enter
full-screen mode. Windows XP Media Center users, select
BACK on your remote; Internet Explorer users, hit Esc
or Backspace on your keyboard to exit full-screen.
Adding And Removing Channels
You subscribe to channels in the Channel Guide. Go to the Channel Guide
at any time by selecting the Channel Guide button
()
on the left side of the TVTonic interface. Once you're in the Guide, select a channel's button
to subscribe to that channel. After you subscribe to a channel, video will start downloading and
the channel will appear in the My Channels section of TVTonic.
To remove subscribed channels, select the Settings button
(),
then select the Subscribed Channels button to go to
the Subscribed Channels category of the Channel Guide.
Once you arrive at the Subscribed Channels category, simply select
the channel button of the channel you would like to remove and confirm the removal. Each subscribed
channel's button in the Guide is marked, so in any part of the guide you can
select a subscribed channel's button to remove the channel.
Manage Disk Space
TVTonic features a convenient Disk Cache Settings
screen that allows you to manage the hard-drive space you
allocate for each of your channels.
To adjust disk cache settings, go to Settings and
select the Disk Cache Settings button. In the resulting
screen, you’ll see an overview of how much space your
video is using on your hard disk. Highlighting an individual
channel button reveals the details of how much space is
allocated to that channel in the lower area of the screen.
To change the disk cache settings for a channel, highlight the
channel button and select it. In the resulting screen, highlight
the cache usage slider and, using your right and left arrow
keys, move the slider to the new size you would like the disk
cache to use. You must select Save Disk Cache Settings
for the new setting to be saved.
Watch While Off-line
You don’t have to be connected to the Internet to use TVTonic.
To watch TVTonic while off-line, Media Center users can go to the
More Programs menu and select TVTonic. For Internet
Explorer users, if you don’t have a
Launch TVTonic shortcut on your desktop or in your
Start menu, go to Start → All Programs → TVTonic
→ Launch TVTonic.
Please note that you must be connected to the Internet in order
to receive new content, to add channels or to remove channels.
Subscribe Any RSS 2.0 Video Feed
TVTonic’s guide in the Add Channels section
contains tons of great channels and video podcasts, but it
doesn’t cover everything on the web. With TVTonic you can
subscribe to any RSS 2.0 video podcast
feed. Just select the
Add Custom button in the Add Channels section
of TVTonic to add any RSS 2.0 feed.
Find More Feeds
Some resources for finding feeds are:
Mefeedia.com,
VLOGDIR,
Podcasting News' video podcast
directory, Freevlog's New Vloggers
(will keep you updated when new feeds come online) and
Podcast Alley's video podcast section.
Step 1: Add Channels
Subscribe to channels via the Channel Guide section of TVTonic. (enlarge screenshot in new window)
Step 2 (optional): Disk Cache
After you add a channel it's a good idea to set how much disk space it is allowed to use (the default is 1.5GB, but most channels won't use that much). (enlarge screenshot in new window)
Step 3: Watch And Enjoy
TVTonic is designed to be used with a remote control—so kick back and enjoy! (enlarge screenshot in new window)
Channel Menu
Each channel button displays the amount of items in each
channel, the bright yellow button is the currently playing channel.
Integrated Video Controls
When using a mouse with TVTonic in Internet Explorer, you control the video
using the TVTonic video controls below the video screen.