by Steve O'Hear
July 24th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | 
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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.
by Steve O'Hear
July 17th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments Off
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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by Steve O'Hear
May 19th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV, Other, Social | View Comments
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.
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by Steve O'Hear
May 6th, 2008 | Posted in Net TV | Comments Off
HP has become the latest company to bring YouTube into the living room.
Owners of HP’s line of Internet-connected MediaSmart High Definition TVs, and the yet-to-be-released MediaSmart Connect set-top box, will soon be able to enjoy content from the Google-owned video sharing site “full screen” on their HDTVs, as well as log-in to their YouTube account via remote to share videos and playlists with other users.
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