AbcPlayer
Latest
ABC's subscription video plans leaked in consumer survey?
At Engadget HQ, we take great care not to trumpet the claims of a web survey, as it's always difficult to tell who's actually doing the surveying -- and even if we could, consumer surveys are all about a "what if" that may never actually come to pass. That said, it looks like maybe ABC is conducting a study asking folks whether they'd be interested in a subscription to an ABC.com streaming video service, and maybe that service might have a wide variety ABC shows, past and present, fully on-demand. Sound familiar? Interestingly, the subscription would seem to be offered alongside the existing free service, and both paid and free would have advertising, though reduced by 20 percent for those coughing up the fee. You can find a list of potentially potential shows included in the gallery below, forwarded to us by an anonymous tipster; we tried to take the survey ourselves, but were promptly rejected for our love of FlashForward. %Gallery-93824%
ABC Player for iPad updated, 3G streaming is a go
Well that was fast. That ABC Player for iPad update we heard about this morning has already made its way through Apple's approval process and is now available for download. Orientation lock is now, erm, on lock controls are more responsive, but most importantly, (lower bitrate) 3G streaming is now a go. With that settled, now no bus ride will ever get between you and an island chockfull of confusion and smoke monsters. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
ABC said to have 3G-compatible iPad app on the way
We had a pretty clear indication that a 3G-compatible ABC iPad app could just be a matter of a relatively simple fix, and it looks like that is indeed the case -- Silicon Alley Insider is reporting that ABC has already submitted an updated app that adds 3G streaming to Apple for approval. Barring some unforeseen issues, that seems to be all but assured, and it will presumably function much like the Netflix app by knocking things down to a lower bitrate when you leave your WiFi comfort zone. Still no official word from ABC on this, but we'd suggest keeping a close eye on the app store if you've been craving some Dancing with the Stars on the go.
iPad 3G's non-WiFi video playback restrictions detailed
We could hear the echoing howls of discontent over the weekend as thousands finally received their very own iPad 3G and learned they couldn't watch Dancing With the Stars whilst on the go. Now we have the details on why, exactly, and the repercussions. As it turns out, it's simply a carry-over of an iPhone OS HTTP Live Streaming rule that states quite clearly: You must include a low quality stream of no more than 64 Kbps for your app to resort to when network conditions demand it, along with the higher quality streams you want to deliver to your customers when the network can support it. It seems the ABC Player devs chose to skip that option, so when you lose WiFi you also lose Tom Bergeron's charm and wit. Other apps, like Netflix and YouTube, do provide a lower bitrate fallback, but that of course results in nasty compression artifacts when on the go. In other words: there's a very good chance that 3G streaming will come in a future ABC Player release, but when it does it ain't gonna be pretty.
iPad 3G denies ABC player, downsamples iTunes store video previews over AT&T
Well ain't that a kick in the pants. Reports are coming in from newly-minted iPad 3G videophiles that iTunes store previews and Netflix streams are getting downsampled over AT&T's network. The folks at iLounge have been tinkering enough to confirm the iTunes issue (we're still waiting for FedEx to drop off our 3G tablets so we can corroborate ourselves) and, lo and behold, ABC player flat out refuses to work over AT&T's 3G network, instead displaying an oddly familiar message: "Please connect to a Wi-Fi network to use this application. Cellular networks are not supported at this time." Perhaps an update will ensue to fix such limits, but in the meantime, we're sure at least someone at Sling HQ is having an awkward chuckle.
iPad Netflix and ABC Player hands-on over MiFi 3G and WiFi (with video)
Having ABC's entire catalog of programming stowed away in your iPad is a great trick that gets you within earshot of Hulu-level awesomeness. Granted, that's not quite what the free ABC Player provides -- we're only finding a handful of episodes for most shows -- but it's a start, especially considering how great the content looks. Flipping the iPad on its side automatically takes you to a full-screen view that streams almost instantaneously over a fast WiFi connection, though we've found one annoying bug -- triggering the orientation lock immediately pops it back to portrait, effectively rendering the lock useless within the app. Connected to a Verizon MiFi with good EV-DO Rev. A signal strength, we were pretty blown away by how good the video still looked; it took only a few seconds longer to start streaming, but otherwise, it's a fantastic option (of course, your 5GB monthly cap might be bruised and battered to a pulp within a few days if you're a heavy user). Netflix looked great, too, though the interface isn't as slick as ABC's -- it's clear that these guys threw the app together in a hurry. The first thing you see when you open it, for instance, is the company's standard web-based login -- it's literally just the Netflix website. Don't get us wrong, it works just fine, but there were definitely plenty of opportunities for iPad-specific customization here. The trend continues after you log in, where you see the same view you're already familiar with when you peep your queue and Watch Instantly selections from a browser on a PC. Streaming worked quite well in both orientations; it appears to just use the iPad's in-built video player, and that's fine with us. We noticed some stuttering over 3G after we stopped filming our demo, but the good news is that it only happened once, and the footage looked just as good over the MiFi as it did connected to our cable modem. Follow the break for video of both ABC and Netflix in action. %Gallery-89680% %Gallery-89687%
iPad apps: defining experiences from the first wave
There are now over 1,348 approved apps for the iPad. That's on top of the 150,000 iPad-compatible iPhone programs already available in the App Store. When Apple's tablet PC launches, just hours from now, it will have a software library greater than that of any handheld in history -- not counting the occasional UMPC. That said, the vast majority of even those 1,348 iPad apps are not original. They were designed for the iPhone, a device with a comparatively pokey processor and a tiny screen, and most have just been tweaked slightly, upped in price and given an "HD" suffix -- as if that somehow justified the increased cost. Besides, we've seen the amazing potential programs have on iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and webOS when given access to a touchscreen, always-on data connection, GPS, cloud storage and WiFi -- but where are the apps that truly define iPad? What will take advantage of its extra headroom, new UI paradigms and multitouch real estate? Caught between netbook and smartphone, what does the iPad do that the iPhone cannot? After spending hours digging through the web and new iPad section of the App Store, we believe we have a number of reasonably compelling answers. Update: Now includes Wormhole Remote, TweetDeck, SkyGrid, Touchgrind HD, GoToMeeting, SplitBrowser, iDisplay, Geometry Wars and Drawing Pad.
