last100 » YouTube

Video: YouTube on the WD TV Live HD Media Player

Steve O'Hear — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:59:27 +0000

I gave Western Digital’s original WD HD Media Player a glowing review, describing it as a ‘kitchen sink an all’ media player that just works. As readers may remember, the set-top box does away with local networking or an Internet connection, instead featuring two USB ports only, to offer a near fool-proof way of watching almost any video downloaded from the Internet on the TV.

However, the lack of network connectivity, a potential shortcoming for some, has been addressed with the newly released WD TV Live HD, which adds an Ethernet port and support for YouTube and Flickr, Internet radio from Live365 and Pandora (US version only), along with content stored on a Windows PC or Mac on the same local network.

Like it’s predecessor, the device is being marketed based on HD video support (up to 1080p), and this, explained a company rep at a recent press event, is the reason why a wired connection was chosen over WiFi. Since many home wireless networks don’t stream High Def video reliably, Western Digital didn’t want to mislead customers. The company does, however, provide a list of compatible WiFi adapters – unofficially supported – for those who still wish to go down the wireless route.

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YouTube relaunches TV-friendly version of the site, Android ‘remote control’ debuts too

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:31:06 +0000

YouTube XL

It’s not the first time that YouTube has rolled out a version of the video sharing site designed specifically for viewing on a television but the application’s been given a polish and a new name to boot.

Now called ‘YouTube XL‘ the new version of the site features a ‘ten foot’ User Interface designed for viewing on a TV or large screen monitor, which despite running in a web browser, TechCrunch describes as having the look and feel of a ‘native application’. Like the previous version of YouTube optimized for the living room, XL is supported on both the PlayStation 3 and Wii games consoles, though the video quality is compromised on the Wii due to its limited processor and support for an older version of Flash video.

More interesting, however, is the release of an accompanying Android application:

YouTube has created an application called Gmote for Android phones. You can scroll around menus, and also input text if you’d like to search. It’s only on Android so far, but because it’s open source you can potentially develop for other devices as well. The input is sent over your Wi-Fi network.

This is very similar to existing ‘remote control’ apps on Apple’s iPhone to operate the AppleTV and Vudu set-top boxes, Sonos’ multi-room audio system, and the VLC desktop media player, to name a few.

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10 feet away: YouTube lands on PS3 and Wii

Steve O'Hear — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:15:21 +0000

Perhaps taking a leaf out of the BBC iPlayer’s book, Google-owned YouTube have launched a version of the video sharing site designed specifically for viewing on a television.

Currently in Beta, the TV-friendly YouTube initially targets Sony’s PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. That’s because both games consoles feature a built-in web browser compatible with Flash video, making it relatively easy to port over any browser-based video offering. From the US version of the official YouTube blog:

… the TV Website offers a dynamic, lean-back, 10-foot television viewing experience through a streamlined interface that enables you to discover, watch and share YouTube videos on any TV screen with just a few quick clicks of your remote control. With enlarged text and simplified navigation, it makes watching YouTube on your TV as easy and intuitive as possible. Optional auto-play capability enables users to view related videos sequentially, emulating a traditional television experience.

Google also reminds us that, through partnerships with set-top box makers such as Apple, combined with the YouTube API, it’s not the first time that viewers have been able to watch YouTube on the TV, although progress hasn’t been as fast as the company would have liked.

“Our hope is that this site may help to accelerate an industry evolution towards open television access to Web video. Over time, we plan to add support for additional TV devices that provide Web browsers.”

You can access the new TV-friendly version of YouTube by pointing your PS3 or Wii’s web browser to www.youtube.com/tv

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Vudu set-top box no longer a one trick pony, adds support for YouTube, Flickr and more

Steve O'Hear — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:46:54 +0000

My biggest beef with the Vudu set-top movie box is that it’s always been a one trick pony, and an expensive one at that. Focusing on paid-for movies (rentals and to-own), Vudu’s sole proposition was that you purchased one of its set-top boxes, starting at $299, so that you could begin purchasing content. Essentially paying to enter the store.

That changed today, with the company announcing support for a range of free online video from YouTube, MSNBC, CNN, MTV, PBS, and National Geographic, as well as images from photo sharing sites Flickr and Picasso. “The new content will be available via a free firmware update that should hit all Vudu boxes over the next 24 hours”, reports Cnet. And best of all there’s plenty more to come.

That’s because Vudu isn’t providing access to said content through formal licensing agreements but is instead pulling in content through those sites’ own APIs or freely available web feeds. Better still, Vudu is going to open up this feature to third-party developers in the first half of 2009 who’ll be able to add support for more online content.

In other words, Vudu looks like it might be slowly morphing, to some extent at least, into the open Apple TV I’ve been long calling for.

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Netgear bringing YouTube HD to a High Def TV near you

Steve O'Hear — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:30:03 +0000

Our friends over at NewTeeVee got a glimpse last night of a new set-top box from Netgear that, amongst other features, can stream YouTube HD content directly to a high definition television.

Dubbed the EVA 9000 Digital Entertainer Elite, the device is aimed at “the tech-savvy, early adopter, not your average Roku user”, reports NTV, and, along with YouTube support, can download BitTorrent files, access additional Internet-based content, as well as stream video from any PC connected to the same local network. Netgear hasn’t ruled out the possibility of Netflix streaming too.

On the YouTube HD front, NTV says it looks “awesome” — see video below — and that overall the experience points to where the Google-owned video site is heading.

Watching YouTube HD on a big screen, you get a glimpse at YouTube’s future: premium content from networks and studios delivered straight to your TV sans any cable provider. And it makes you realize why the company reversed its position on pre-rolls as they will look just like commercials on a big screen and probably be more tolerated since people will be in their living rooms.

Check out the video after the jump…

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Zatz Not Funny: TiVo, Flip MinoHD, CES Unveiled and more

Steve O'Hear — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 18:43:30 +0000

A periodic roundup of relevant news from our friends at Zatz Not Funny (one of my all time favorite blogs)…

Flip goes HD, adds FlipShare software

Mari Silbey: Pure Digital unveiled its anticipated Flip MinoHD today packaged with new FlipShare software for editing and sharing… One of the issues with the Flip camcorders to date has been keeping a sharp focus for close-up shots. According to a Flip spokesperson, the MinoHD doesn’t necessary solve that problem, with the minimum focus range staying at 80 cm. However, it’s likely not a significant concern for casual users, particularly with the new HD resolution.

(Ed. I looked at purchasing a Flip but after reading multiple reviews I’ve plunged for the more expensive Sanyo HD800 – review coming soon).

Dave dumps XM (again)

Dave Zatz: See ya, XM. I was on the fence and you pushed. Our time together has been mostly positive, but the massive lineup modifications yesterday without any advance notification isn’t the proper way to treat your customers. So I’m walking.

The phones of CES Unveiled

Dave Zatz: Though CES Unveiled was a modest 3 hour event, both Samsung and Motorola were promoting their latest wares… While visiting Sling’s table, I also spent some time with their still-under-development Blackberry client. The Slingbox software’s currently in private beta, but is looking good – especially on the gorgeous Bold screen.

The CES Unveiled Proofs of Concept

Dave Zatz: I ran across two very interesting and diminutive products at CES Unveiled earlier this week — Micro “personal” projectors and “thin client” computers. While the technology is compelling, I suspect the implementation will have to improve and the challenge these products solve will have to be clarified before we’d see any sort of mainstream or mass market adoption. Generating positive attention and finding commercial success are two entirely different matters.

Unboxing Nero Liquid TV TiVo

Dave Zatz: Announced about a year ago, the Nero+TiVo collaboration has finally borne fruit. Here in North America. Interesting, as this was originally positioned as a means of international TiVo expansion.

Obama brings YouTube to the White House

Mari Silbey: Obama appears to be planning a weekly video address to be distributed on the White House’s own YouTube Channel. During the campaigns both political parties used online video extensively, but we’ve had no real indications until now of how much the government-based “new media” rage would continue post election.

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YouTube adds select TV shows from CBS; takes aim at Hulu for long-form video content

Daniel Langendorf — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:52:05 +0000

We wouldn’t call YouTube a sleeping giant necessarily, but when it comes to long-form video the world’s dominant video-sharing site certainly seems to be cat-napping.

Other sites such as Hulu, the joint venture between Fox and NBC, have been getting much of the long-form video attention and name recognition, whereas YouTube remains known for short-form content that lasts 10 minutes or less.

Google, YouTube’s parent, is seeking to change this as it has added select full-length content from CBS in an attempt to take on Hulu and attract other network content to YouTube. [YouTube blog]

Available full-length shows include 20- to 48-minute episodes from CBS’s past and present lineup, including “Star Trek,” “MacGyver,” and “Beverly Hills 90210.” The season premiers of “Dexter” and “Californication” and current episodes of “Young and Restless” will also be shown on YouTube.

To improve the viewing experience, YouTube has introduced a new player for long-form video — known as Theater View — which plays video in a less pixelated 16:9 format. It’s no where near as nice as watching a full video on Hulu, but it may suffice for most viewers.

“When you go to full screen you can actually kick back and watch it,” Shiva Rajaraman, senior product manager, told AdAge.

To support the effort, Google is also experimenting with advertising [see NewTeeVee]. The content will be supported with pre-, mid-, and post-roll ads. YouTube will get a revenue cut, but neither CBS nor YouTube would discuss the terms of the agreement or revenue sharing.

If long-form video gains traction on YouTube, the balance of power — already in YouTube’s favor — will shift even more toward the Google property.

YouTube served up 5 billion videos in July, representing more than 44 percent of online videos viewed in the U.S. The next closest competitor was Hulu, with a share of 3.9 percent.

The YouTube giant has 330 million users, according to comScore, while Hulu has just 3.3 million. Even so, Hulu’s relative success with long-form video content has caught the attention of the cat-napping Google.

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Comscore estimates 5 billion videos were watched on YouTube in July

Daniel Langendorf — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:04:29 +0000

We’re obsessed with keeping score. And not just in sports. In politics, movie box office takes, the number of times Meredith and McSteamy glance longingly at each other in “Grey’s Anatomy.”

And YouTube. We love to see the YouTube balloon keep expanding, which means that online video is growing, breaking into the mainstream even more, and will one day rule the networks.

Comscore issued its July Website traffic and online video report and one number stands out: 5 billion. Comscore estimates that U.S. online videoaholics watched an average of 235 minutes of video, with 91 million viewers watching 5 billion videos on YouTube.

That’s 54.8 videos per viewer. In one month.

Just for grins, 51.4 million viewers watched 400 million videos on MySpace, about 8 videos per viewer.

Overall, Comscore says that 75 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience watched online video in July.

Marshall Kirkpatrick over at ReadWriteWeb asks a question that has been on my mind for a while: How accurate are the Comscore numbers? Are they any better than Hitwise, another analyst firm that has argued the online video market in general is declining — except for YouTube.

Numbers and statistics, of course, are subject for interpretation and barroom debate. The trend I see is right here in the house: The Kid, now a freshman in high school, has been spending even more time than usual watching YouTube videos. So are her friends. No one comes over any more to hang out and watch TV or a movie. They hang out and watch YouTube.

It’s The Kid’s TV channel of choice. After all, you can only watch MadTV’s “Can I Get Your Number” sketch twice — once if you happen to catch the original airing and a second time in rerun. On the Web and on YouTube, you can watch it over, and over, and over, and over.

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YouTube gets dedicated Olympic channel, but it won’t be available in the U.S.

Daniel Langendorf — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:09:57 +0000

The 2008 Olympic Games will be broadcast online to more than 70 countries on a dedicated YouTube channel, but the United States is not included.

NBC holds the video-on-demand rights in the U.S., but these have not been sold on an exclusive basis in other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Vietnam, Iraq, and India (see the complete International Olympic Committee list here).

The IOC will stream about three hours a day of exclusive content — mostly summaries and highlights — from Olympic Broadcasting Services. YouTube will sell ads, but only to Olympic sponsors. The channel will be available on Wednesday.

YouTube will use geo-blocking to prevent access to the channel in countries where the video-on-demand rights have been sold, like in the U.S. Geo-blocking is based on a user’s IP address.

The geo-blocking in the U.S. shouldn’t be that big of a deal, unless you’re one who wants to see everything broadcast night and day or you’re surfing videos at YouTube and want to catch up on the Olympic action without leaving the site.

NBC will show more than 2,000 hours of live content at NBCOlympics.com. That’s more than enough content to keep any Olympic fan happy — and in need of sleep.

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Verizon bringing Internet TV to its set-top boxes

Steve O'Hear — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:46:47 +0000

Another major player enters the PC to TV space. Verizon is currently beta testing web video on their set-top boxes, reports Zatz Not Funny.

Unsurprisingly, the content looks like it will be mostly user-generated or that which has been created specifically for the web, and therefore won’t compete directly with the telco’s own video-on-demand offering. Initial “marketing partners” to include Veoh, Blip.tv, Break.com, and YouTube.

On the downside, a PC is still required to act as a bridge between Internet content and the TV via Verizon’s DVR set-top box, notes Dave Zatz.

Unlike TiVo which taps directly into YouTube’s H.264 content, Verizon utilizes their Media Manager PC software as an intermediary. Sites are indexed on a regular basis and when a video is selected from the DVR, the PC software automatically transcodes and streams content on the fly.

In addition to pulling in content from supported video aggregation sites, Verizon’s Media Manager software “also facilitates shipping virtually any video podcast to your DVR”. Podcast subscriptions can be added directly to Media Manager in the standard way via the PC’s web browser.

The new features will be offered as part of Verizon’s top tier DVR package, which currently includes PC photo sharing and multi-room DVR playback, and is expected to be offered to customers later this year or early next year.

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Video: YouTube finally arrives on TiVo

Steve O'Hear — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:54:40 +0000

Although announced back in March, it’s only today that TiVo users can finally access YouTube through their set-top boxes — and a minority of TiVo users at that. The new feature is made possible because of YouTube’s decision to re-encode its library of content to H.264 video, a format that only TiVo Series 3 and HD models can support. The result, says Streaming Media’s Dan Rayburn, is that of TiVo’s four million subscribers, only 750,000 get access to YouTube, and even then only if they have their set-top box connected to the Internet, which many don’t.

Nonetheless, for those that can get it, YouTube access will be a welcome addition to TiVo’s existing lineup. And typically, TiVo appear to have implemented it well. Don’t take our word for it though, and instead judge for yourselves by watching the video after the jump (courtesy of our friends over at Zatz Not Funny).

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PlayStation 3 games can now offer YouTube uploads

Steve O'Hear — Mon, 19 May 2008 16:18:52 +0000

It’s no secret that we’re fans of the PlayStation 3. And with the news that Sony’s next-generation console will now offer game developers an easy way to integrate YouTube uploads, we’re gushing once again.

By taking advantage of YouTube’s recently updated API and tools, Sony has added support for the video sharing site to its Software Development Kit to allow developers “to create games that enable direct upload of in-game video captures to YouTube”. While a few titles on both Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s XBox 360 already offer the ability to save game replays and share them over the Web, it’s the first time that a games console has offered YouTube support as a built-in and officially supported developer feature.

Best of all, the new YouTube upload functionality can be potentially incorporated into existing PS3 titles, not just new releases, through the ability of games to push out network updates. Typical use cases for YouTube uploads could include action replays from sports simulations or first-person shooters, as well as user-generated content from titles such as Sony’s Singstar karaoke offering.

In our Year in review 2007 for Internet TV we noted how YouTube remains the largest online video destination, both in terms of traffic and mind share:

When people talk about online video they often refer only to YouTube. As a result, a number of hardware companies have added YouTube support to their devices in 2007, such as YouTube-compatible cameras and mobile phones capable of viewing and publishing video to YouTube. And then there’s the strong relationship between Google and Apple, which this year has led to YouTube support being added to both the AppleTV and iPhone…

And in 2008, this trend continues. TiVo has announced support for YouTube, along with a number of television makers. Now we can add PlayStation 3 games to the list.

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