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.
As already mentioned, LiveStation is designed to stream live television over the net, meaning that it competes more with Zattoo, as apposed to other Internet TV startups such as Joost or Babelgum, both of whom offer an on-demand experience. It’s also clear — based on very limited content — that LiveStation is at the early stage of showcasing their technology rather than launching to the public. While I’m not privy to any on-going content negotiations, the only currently available channel is a test stream of the BBC’s News24.
See also: Video: Livestation demos live Internet TV on iPhone and iPod touch
LiveStation’s picture quality is good, but doesn’t quite cut it running at full-screen. Doing a side-by-side comparison with Zattoo and Joost, the later faired the best, with Zattoo also slightly better than LiveStation. This suggests to me that the application is more suited to being viewed in one window on your PC while you multi-task in another. On the upside, I experienced virtually no buffering whatsoever, and if there was any, it was masked by a short pre-roll advertisement. Additionally, sound quality was excellent.
The UI for LiveStation is slick, making use of translucent overlays not dissimilar to Joost. If LiveStation is to be a showcase for Silverlight’s potential, it does a pretty good job.
Verdict
LiveStation’s emphasis on streaming of live rather than on-demand TV, keeps it from competing head-on with Joost and Babelgum (both of which are extremely well funded). However, as noted, others such as Zattoo are tackling the same problem as LiveStation. In the end, as ever, content will be king. And while we don’t yet know how many different Internet TV applications a user will welcome onto their desktop, it’s likely there’s room for at least one live and one on-demand offering.
(For a close look at LiveStation, check out this video demonstration.)
More last100 p2p Internet TV coverage
Good initial review! I look forward to giving it a shot.
watch tv
Well… I think that Microsoft wont release a Mac version 🙁
@Klian
There will be a Mac version eventually, from what I heard. The application is built on Microsoft’s Silverlight technology which runs on multiple platforms.
A free option is to watch myJose.TV
Livestation is now available for Mac, both PowerPC and Intel processors. Works on OSX Tiger and Leopard. The Mac version does not use Silverlight.
http://www.livestation.com/mac
Enjoy
Zattoo is not bad, I hope they will expand to users from other countries. But
picture quality is everything this is why HDTV is sweeping the nation. Once Joost
improves it’s picture quality I’ll jump on board.
Nice post. I’m not familiar with LiveStation but with so many new Internet media sites popping up these days and competing with the more established ones, it says a lot what the future holds. With different types of gateways to access free Internet TV/Radio/VOD, people need to be aware of the best products/services available that will meet their entertainment needs and ability, as well as compatible to their computers.
The individual’s decision comes down to how s/he wishes to access Internet media to watch on his/her PC. There’s hi-tech software that will easily make this task a lot easier and offers many benefits. For people that prefer automation, use of an all-in-one member’s area, and hi-tech Satellite TV player, top PC Satellite TV software packages offer instant access to Internet TV/Radio/VOD.
It also lowers the learning, organizes Internet media, and helps newbies and Internet media enthusiasts focus more on accessing the entertainment they love in lesser steps–rather than going to each Internet media website to access channels and VOD manually, which is time consuming, and may result in slow loading pages, including popup ads. MAC and Linux can also utilize this gateway with compatible software.
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Hey ,
RAI soft Total Media Player is one of the best and well known media
players…..its also known to its Youtube and Live Tv feature….
http://raisoft.tk/
Hey ,
RAI soft Total Media Player is one of the best and well known media
players…..its also known to its Youtube and Live Tv feature….
http://raisoft.tk/
Hey ,
RAI soft Total Media Player is one of the best and well known media
players…..its also known to its Youtube and Live Tv feature….
http://raisoft.tk/
Hey ,
RAI soft Total Media Player is one of the best and well known media
players…..its also known to its Youtube and Live Tv feature….
http://raisoft.tk/
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Ini menunjukkan kepada saya bahwa aplikasi lebih cocok untuk dilihat di satu jendela pada slot deposit pulsa Anda saat Anda melakukan banyak tugas di jendela lain. Sisi baiknya, saya hampir tidak mengalami buffering apa pun, dan jika ada, itu ditutupi oleh iklan pre-roll pendek. Selain itu, kualitas suara sangat bagus.
Построить дом можно и своими руками. Но, сказать по правде – это не будет очень быстро, тем более, если у вас нет достаточного опыта. Ввиду отсутствия опыта дом будет строится медленно и возможно допущение определенных ошибок. Лучше доверить строительство профессионалам.