Vudu, a Silicon Valley company with big ambitions, is positioning its new set-top movie box as the ultimate in convenience. 5000 movies. 25 studios and distributors providing content. A 5-button remote. 1 couch. 0 waiting.

With Vudu, I no longer have to drive to the local Blockbuster, only to find that the movie I want to watch is not in stock. I don’t have to wait for the mailman to deliver my next film from Netflix. I don’t have to rummage through lean video-on-demand and pay-per-view offerings, only to find there’s nothing worth watching.

Which is why the thought of watching nearly any movie, when I want to watch it, is so intoxicating. Maybe, I thought, the Vudu set-top box and movie service would be so compelling that I could get rid of Netflix and Blockbuster memberships.

I had to try it. After using Vudu for just over a week, this is what I discovered.

Continue reading “Review: Vudu set-top movie box” »

Winamp, that staple of media players, will soon turn 10! And its not letting it pass without a bang. On the 10th of October at 10:10am, Winamp 5.5 (PC-only) will be released sporting two new and potentially controversial features: support for mp3 blogs and the ability to stream your music collection over the Internet (a Beta version is available here).

Cashing in on the growing popularity of mp3 blogs, and the lack of tools to take advantage of them, Winamp’s Media Monitor can be used in conjunction with the software’s built-in browser to access any mp3s linked to on a blog page, presented as a playlist or even downloaded to your library. Winamp also includes handy links to a dozen or so music blogs to get you started.

Continue reading “Winamp goes where iTunes doesn’t dare” »

[Ed. GadgetTrak have replied to a number of Ryan's criticisms -- see the update at the end of this post]

Lots of consumer electronics devices connect to a PC via a USB connection, such as mp3 players, flash drives, digital cameras and mobile phones, and the amount and range of information that they can carry is astounding — gigabytes of music, video, photos and documents. Some of these can contain important information, such as personal details or business secrets, while others may just be of sentimental value and of little interest to anyone else. In either case, losing one of these devices, be it from theft or misplacement, is at best a nuisance, and at worst can be a disaster.

GadgetTrak have developed a software system that can be installed onto supported USB devices, which they claim provides a means of tracking those devices, in the event that they are lost or stolen. Various membership options are offered, starting at $12.95 for one device, increasing to $45.95 for up to twenty devices.

Continue reading ““GadgetTrak” USB device tracking software” »

A few minutes ago an email dropped into my in-box from YouTubeDesktop.com — a product that I’d never heard of before — inviting me to try out their private beta. Claiming to be “something special”, that many developers had said was “programmatically impossible”, I willingly put down my coffee and fired up Firefox.

The idea behind YouTube Desktop is to bring a desktop application experience to navigating and viewing YouTube videos through a web browser.

Continue reading “YouTubeDesktop.com - the slickest YouTube browser yet?” »

Ryan is a UK-based IT consultant and blogs regularly on digital content.

After much frustration, I finally received my iPlayer beta log-in details late last Friday. This allowed me to access the walled area of the BBC website that contains the mythical iPlayer. So, after a week of testing, here’s what I experienced, and, finally, what I think of the iPlayer.

Continue reading “BBC iPlayer review - one week later” »

Miro (formerly known as Democracy Player) is an open-source Internet TV application that combines a media player and library, content guide, video search engine, as well as podcast and BitTorrent clients. Developed by the Participatory Culture Foundation, Miro aims to make online video “as easy as watching TV”, while at the same time ensuring that the new medium remains accessible to everyone, through its support for open standards. Described by some as the “Firefox of media apps”, the resulting effort is a slick looking and easy-to-use application — not a mean feat when dealing in open-source methodology — that gives Apple’s iTunes (the default media player and video podcast client for many) a genuine run for its money.

Continue reading “Democracy Player is dead, long live Miro” »

Jalipo is a browser-based Internet TV service which offers on-demand (TV shows and movies) and live broadcasts on a minute by minute “pay as you go” basis. This, the company claims, will help encourage producers to offer more of their content online because it will “stimulate the world of PC owners to discover, enjoy, and gently learn to pay a little for TV…” Micro-payments have worked for things like ring-tones and SMS text messaging, so why can’t it work for online video, the company argues.

Continue reading “Jalipo offers “pay as you go” Internet TV” »

Similar to Zattoo (see our recent review), LiveStation utilizes peer-to-peer technology to deliverer live TV to a user’s PC. The software has been developed by UK startup, Skinkers, and is in-part based on technology licensed from Microsoft Research (who get a small amount of equity in return). But, perhaps most notably, the front-end for LiveStation is powered by Microsoft’s newly launched Flash-competitor, Silverlight.

LiveStation is currently running as a limited Beta (PC-only) and after several weeks waiting, I was finally able to get a look-in earlier today.

Continue reading “Review: LiveStation (more live TV on your PC)” »

Last month we reported on the Beta launch (invite only) of VeohTV, a full-screen online video application which is pitching itself as a more ‘open’ alternative to the likes of Joost or Babelgum. Rather than being restricted to formal licensing agreements, VeohTV pulls in videos from thousands of sources — which currently includes NBC, CBS, FOX, YouTube, MySpace, and Veoh’s own video-sharing site — with content browsable via a cable TV-style program guide. However, it was only today that I finally got a chance to test-drive the (PC-only) application.

Continue reading “Review: VeohTV” »

Zattoo is an Internet TV service which, like Joost and Babelgum, utilizes peer-to-peer technology to deliver streaming video to a PC. However, that’s where most of the similarities end. For a start, Zattoo isn’t an on-demand affair, and instead offers live streaming of existing ‘over-the-air’ and cable channels. And rather than attempting to re-create the lean-back experience of traditional television, the service is more at home used in a multi-tasking environment, where users watch television in one window on their computer, while accomplishing other tasks in another, such as chatting to friends over IM, surfing the web or writing email.

Continue reading “Zattoo - live TV on your PC” »

Vuze is an application for Mac or PC that allows users to search, browse, and download ‘near DVD’ and HD quality video content, using the peer-to-peer protocol, BitTorrent. In particular the company is pitching the platform as a way for independent video and film producers to distribute their content to millions of users — at no cost — and with a higher picture quality than other competing services. In addition to being an open platform where anybody can publish their content, Vuze has signed licensing deals with a number of larger players, such as the BBC, A&E, and Showtime, who are offering paid-for content (rental and to-own). Curiously, Vuze is also being used to distribute music and computer games.

Continue reading “Vuze - an indie-friendly video distribution platform” »

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.

Continue reading “Review: YouTube Mobile” »