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The most useful and controversial feature of the upcoming version of Real’s media player, RealPlayer 11 (see our review), is the ability to download almost any online video to a user’s hard drive. This includes content from YouTube and Google Video for example, as well as mainstream media Internet properties such as Comedy Central or ABC.com — regardless of whether those site’s terms and conditions rule out downloading and saving video. In fact, the only content that RealPlayer 11 won’t enable users to save a copy of are those videos that explicitly use Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. Though, for now, in terms of free-to-watch online video, these are in the minority.
Archive for June, 2007
Could RealPlayer 11 encourage more DRM?
June 21st, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | 
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YouTube coming to iPhone
June 20th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV | Comments Off
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News that YouTube will be coming to the iPhone when it launches on the 29th of this month, should come as no surprise. Back when the device was first announced, Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, suggested that the iPhone wouldn’t need to support Flash video in order to access YouTube. Instead, Jobs explained, all Apple had to do was persuade the video sharing site to become a partner and re-encode its back catalog into the company’s preferred h.264 video format. Which is exactly what happened with regards to the AppleTV — and now the iPhone.
Opera responds to iPhone-envy
June 20th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile | Comments
Whenever Apple CEO Steve Jobs talks about the company’s soon-to-be released iPhone, you can guarantee he’ll mention the device’s Internet capabilities. Like a doting father he boasts, this isn’t the “baby” web, this is the real thing — never seen before on a mobile phone. From the very first time Jobs made such a claim, I felt (in fact I knew) he was being disingenuous. Nokia’s Series 60-based handsets run a full web browser based on Apple’s own WebKit source code — something which Jobs would be well aware of. However, one thing the iPhone can claim to be doing is raising the bar of what consumers can expect from the mobile web — after years of industry hype and bitter disappointment.
Enter Opera’s new version of its mobile web browser: Opera Mini version 4. The upgraded software (currently in Beta) brings in a whole host of features which will naturally bring about comparisons to the iPhone’s browser.
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VeohTV has Joost in its sights
June 20th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments
Over at our sister blog, Read/WriteWeb, Phil Butler has the scoop on VeohTV, the latest product from the video sharing site, Veoh. Subtly billing itself as a Joost-killer, VeohTV is a peer-to-peer online video application that, like Joost (and recently launched rival, Babelgum), runs in fullscreen mode so as to give a more TV-like viewing experience. However, Buttler notes a key difference in VeohTV’s approach which can be summed up by the company’s mantra: “Video Lives All Over the Web”.
This simple truth is demonstrated in the new VeohTV service’s approach to aggregating and utilizing all types of video. VeohTV allows users access to virtually any video with unparalleled functionality, quality and control from a very advanced viewing interface.
BitTorrent releases SDK for set-top-boxes and other devices
June 19th, 2007 | Posted in Audio, Net TV | Comments Off
BitTorrent, the company behind the popular peer-to-peer file sharing technology, has announced the availability of its Software Development Kit (SDK) for consumer electronics devices.
Similar to way the Skype officially sanctions its software for use in hardware such as headsets and WiFi enabled phones or DivX does for its video codec used by media players, BitTorrent will sell its SDK to company’s building set-top boxes, Network-Attached Storage (NAS) devices, and digital media adapters. In return for signing up, BitTorrent will provide a limited amount of technical support, as well as offer the chance for licensee’s products to become officially BitTorrent certified — a guarantee to consumers that they’ll be fully compatible with the BitTorrent protocol as well as be able to connect to and download files from BitTorrent’s Entertainment Network, which offers movies, music, TV shows, and games.
Related post: Joost’s new CEO points to a set-top-box future
7digital, music downloads done right?
June 19th, 2007 | Posted in Audio | Comments
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More evidence that the music industry might finally be ‘getting it’ came with last week’s announcement by 7digital of its revamped music download service. Not only is the company moving towards DRM-free mp3 downloads (which, thanks to a recent deal with EMI, now account for over 50% of its catalogue), but has also introduced a ‘locker’ feature whereby purchased tracks and videos are accessible by users “from anywhere with an Internet connection”. Additionally, if for some reason you lose your original paid-for downloads, through a hard drive failure for example, you’re free to re-download those tracks at no extra cost. For me, this is a must have feature that the market leader, Apple’s iTunes, sorely lacks.
Steve Jobs: iPhone is magical (battery life increased)
June 18th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile | Comments
With any other mobile phone manufacturer or model, an increase in battery life prior to release — however slow a news day — just wouldn’t be news. But this is Apple’s iPhone, one of the most anticipated new products in the mobile space we’ve ever seen — and certainly the most hyped.
In what veteran Mac journalist, Jason O’Grady, calls the company’s “under-promise and over-deliver philosophy“, Apple stated in a press release today that when the iPhone hits stores in just under two weeks time, it will have an increased battery life (up to 8 hours of talk time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback) and a more scratch-resistant screen than was originally announced.
CEO Steve Jobs is quoted as saying:
“… iPhone’s battery life is longer than any other ‘Smartphone’ and even longer than most MP3 players… We’ve also upgraded iPhone’s entire top surface from plastic to optical-quality glass for superior scratch resistance and clarity. There has never been a phone like iPhone, and we can’t wait to get this truly magical product into the hands of customers starting just 11 days from today.”
Did Jobs just liken the iPhone to magic?
Remember it was science-fiction author, Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Only 11 more days. Let the hype machine continue…
(Will you buy an iPhone? Take our poll.)
Microsoft rebrands its IPTV plaftorm, adds PC to TV functionality
June 18th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments
Microsoft today announced the availability of Microsoft Mediaroom, a re-branded version of its IPTV software platform that enables service providers to deliver interactive IPTV services into the home.
Along with the new name, the company has added a number of new features including PC to set-top-box media sharing (photos and music), multi picture-in-picture capabilities, and over-the-air digital terrestrial television support. Additionally, the new Microsoft Mediaroom Application Development toolkit allows service providers and third-party developers to connect to web services and develop TV-based applications that will run under Microsoft Mediaroom.
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Review: YouTube Mobile
June 17th, 2007 | Posted in Mobile, Net TV, Review | Comments
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With YouTube’s exclusive deals with mobile operators Verizon (in the US) and Vodafone (in the UK) coming to an end, the video sharing site has launched a mobile-friendly version that can be accessed by anyone with a compatible handset (capable of playing back .3gp video) and an appropriate data plan. With regards to the later, the first time you visit the site from your phone you’re given the following warning: “YouTube Mobile is a data intensive application. We highly recommend that you upgrade to an unlimited data plan with your mobile service provider to avoid additional charges.” What the site doesn’t highlight is that many providers impose a ‘fair use’ policy which means that in reality they’re unlimited plans aren’t unlimited at all, as well as prohibiting access to non-partnering video sites as part of their terms of service. It will be interesting to see how the mobile industry responds to non-exclusive access to YouTube Mobile.
Weekly wrapup, 11 – 15 June 2007
June 15th, 2007 | Posted in last100 weekly wrapup | Comments Off
Here’s a summary of the week’s digital lifestyle action on last100. Note that you can subscribe to the weekly wrapups, either via the special weekly wrapup RSS feed or by email.
Top digital lifestyle news
We kicked off the start of the week with rumors that Apple is planning its own online film rental service, noting that this is key if the company is to achieve its aim of making the AppleTV a DVD player for the Internet age.
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UK television networks to launch a Joost-killer?
June 15th, 2007 | Posted in Net TV | Comments Off
The Guardian newspaper reported earlier this week that talks are taking place between British broadcasters — BBC, Channel 4 and ITV — regarding a joint online video service that will “do for broadband what Freeview did for digital TV”. (Freeview is the UK’s free-to-air digital television service.)
Called “Project Kangaroo”, it is understood the new broadband service would pool BBC, ITV and Channel 4 programming for delivery on demand…
Initially it is expected Project Kangaroo will deliver programming to computers via broadband but the ultimate aim is to deliver it direct to televisions.
The report goes onto suggest that a PC-less version of the service could be achieved through the future availability of broadband-enabled Freeview boxes. In other words, viewers could buy an upgraded free-to-air set-top-box which also has Internet connectivity — enabling a live terrestrial stream and on-demand video via the Internet.
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Archos media player to offer direct access to film downloads
June 15th, 2007 | Posted in Audio, Mobile, Net TV | Comments Off
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Archos has announced its 2007 lineup of media player/recorders which include two high end touchscreen and WiFi enabled models that can access the company’s own content portal which offers paid-for movie downloads from CinemaNow. Customers can also purchase a version of the Opera web browser with Flash video support, making it possible to browse and view video from sites like YouTube.
