last100 » LiveStation

Video: Livestation demos live Internet TV on iPhone and iPod touch

Steve O'Hear — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:39:28 +0000

Livestation is currently in talks with Apple to bring a version of its Internet TV application to the iPhone and iPod Touch. A working prototype already exists (see video below) that delivers Livestation’s channel lineup of live television news stations on Apple’s device, although this is likely to be supported over WiFi only. “We’re not planning to have this available on 3G, simply because operators would not be too happy with people using this on a 3G connection”, says Livestation CEO Matteo Berlucchi. It’s also unclear when Livestation on iPhone and iPod touch will be made publicly available, although the company is delivering a live demonstration of the app on a dedicated Livestation channel tomorrow at 5pm GMT, including an interactive Q&A session with Berlucchi.

Video demo after the jump…

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Exclusive first look: Livestation on Mac (screenshots)

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 19:15:20 +0000

We promissed you a first look at the upcoming Mac version of Livestation, so here it is.

A quick recap: Livestation is a desktop app developed by UK startup Skinkers which utilizes peer-to-peer technology to deliverer live TV to a user’s PC (currently Windows-only). Content-wise, Livestation focuses on 24 hour news stations such as Al Jazeera, BBC World News, Bloomberg Television and EuroNews. The software has been developed by UK startup Skinkers.

The new Mac version, which is very much a pre-release, is ahead of the version for Windows on a number of features including:

A visual carousel to choose channels

User channel search, watch and save from within the player

In client registration

Global chat room

A Livestation tutorial

Still to come

Livestation told us they are working on further features for the Mac client including:

Partner Channels & My Channels will be merged, to simplify navigation and channel selection.
Better feedback & information on user channels (status up/down, geography, language search, most popular…)
Better chat – channel specific and private chat
Multi-channel view
Basic timeshift – pause, replay

Verdict

The Mac version, even in its early development, is a very polished application, packed full of functionality. It ran very smooth on a fairly recent iMac running Tiger and proved very easy to use. Best of all it feels like a proper Mac app not a just a port from the Windows version. The only disappointment is that it’s Intel Mac-only. Otherwise, well done Skinkers.

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Livestation coming to Mac next month

Steve O'Hear — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:02:39 +0000

We just got word that a Mac version of the Internet TV service Livestation could be released to the public as early as next month. For those that don’t know, Livestation is a desktop app built on Microsoft’s Silverlight front-end that utilizes peer-to-peer technology to deliverer live TV to a user’s PC (currently Windows-only). The software has been developed by UK startup, Skinkers, and is in-part based on additional technology licensed from Microsoft Research (who got a small amount of equity in return).

In terms of content, Livestation focuses on 24 hour news stations. Formal licensing agreements include Al Jazeera, BBC World News, Bloomberg Television, EuroNews (English, French, Italian and Spanish), France 24, i>Tele, Russia Today and BBC World Service.

The most recent version of Livestation also offers a new aggregation feature called ‘My Channels’ in which users can add their own Internet TV streams by pasting a URL into the Livestation player. These unofficial streams are also offered in a directory on Livestation’s website.

We’re told that the new Mac version of Livestation will be offered to a small team of volunteer testers next week – which includes last100 – as the company gears up for the public release early next month.

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Live TV on PC: Zattoo and LiveStation showing steady growth

Steve O'Hear — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:44:57 +0000

Whether or not you’re convinced that in the age of on-demand there’s an appetite for live TV over the Internet, two services that deliver just that are claiming impressive growth.

“Zattoo is growing nice and steadily”, the company’s UK and Ireland Country Manager, Alexandra Illes, told last100 in an email. “We have reached over 2.4 million [users] and are now available in over eight countries.” Zattoo delivers live streaming of existing ‘over-the-air’ and cable channels, with various channel lineups depending on country.

IIles was writing to tell us about the latest Zattoo software update which adds features including new channel management functionality. “With a channel line-up that’s getting bigger and bigger, we thought it important to allow users to arrange channels in self-defined groups and change the order of the line-up. The idea is that each user can customise the Player to suit their viewing habits.”

In a press release put out on the same day, LiveStation, a similar service to Zattoo that streams a number of television and radio news stations, boasts that their users “have already spent seven years watching live news on their PCs.”

Whatever that means.

“These figures clearly demonstrate that there is an appetite for live news and events delivered direct to the desktop, whether in the office, at home or on the move”, continues the statement.

LiveStation’s current channel lineup includes Al Jazeera English, BBC World News, Bloomberg Television, EuroNews (English, French, Italian and Spanish), France 24, i>Tele, Russia Today and the BBC World Service. Unlike Zattoo, LiveStation hasn’t publicly launched and is still operating in a trial period.

The two services also differ slightly in the way in which they have chosen to work with broadcasters. While both company’s have formal relationships with a number of broadcasters, Zattoo has a different interpretation of UK copyright law, which it says gives it permission to retransmit any public service channel without a direct license agreement.

In contrast, LiveStation is taking a more cautious approach in which it only streams channels it has a direct relationship with, something that CEO Matteo Berlucchi appeared to allude to in the company’s press release.

“These figures tell us a lot about the importance of working in partnership with the broadcasters as we provide them with a new, global audience and drive traffic back to their channels and websites.”

Berlucchi added, “Imagine how this partnership with the broadcasters will change the global TV viewing landscape once there is heavy promotion and Livestation actually launches.”

The service is due for public launch later this year.

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