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Boxee Box may integrate live TV via USB dongle, push the definition of 'awesome' to a new level
Google tried it. Countless others did, too. It's largely believed that the single reason Apple hasn't offered up a true television is the impossible nature of dealing with pay-TV providers, and in reality, trying to merge online programming and traditional cable / satellite is a chore that no one seems to be capable of completing. Based on a leaked software build (v1.5) obtained by GigaOM, Boxee is apparently toying with the idea of integrating live TV (as in, "broadcast TV stations") within the Boxee Box's interface; all you'll eventually need is a USB dongle. We're told that an EyeTV One USB TV tuner wasn't recognized -- even in the new software -- and while it was obviously nonfunctional as it stands, the verbiage is quite clear about what's in the pipeline. Unencrypted broadcast signals built neatly within Boxee's heralded, socially-adept interface? Bring it on.
Netflix hints at Watch Instantly integration on 'already-popular device'
Microsoft's Xbox 360 may call itself the only console to stream Netflix, but all that could be changing -- and soon. As Netflix continues to pull in new subscribers (and cash flow) like it's no big deal, the company is apparently looking to spread its wings even further by integrating its wildly popular Watch Instantly feature into "a device already owned by a large number of consumers." Naturally, the most fitting candidates for that would be Sony's PlayStation 3 or Nintendo's Wii, though the company has yet to come forward with anything concrete. Just so know you, Netflix credits the Xbox 360's streaming integration as the main reason some 2.4 million customers have signed up since late 2008, so it's more than apparent that it loves the game console. Any bets for when this will go down, or are you just plugging your ears in order to avoid potential disappointment? [Via Joystiq]
ZillionTV's ZBar and ZRemote crash down in FCC's database
While a nationwide launch of the ad-based ZillionTV streaming service isn't expected until Q4 of this year, it's good to see that things are obviously on track. Just today, both the ZBar and ZRemote (shown after the break) -- two crucial hardware components to the system -- have splashed down in the FCC, giving those who just can't shove enough set-top-boxes under their television hope that one more is destined for US shelves. Granted, an FCC appearance doesn't guarantee an immediate market presence, but obviously the beta testing and collaboration with ISPs has been going well.Read - ZBar filingRead - ZRemote filing
boxee's App Box and API go live, could come to other hardware soon
Not that there should be any shock surrounding the formal introduction of boxee's App Box and API -- after all, both were teased sufficiently during last month's bleeding edge alpha release -- but we're still thrilled to see things moving along nicely. This week, the open source media platform launched both an API and an application portal, both of which will act to bring all manners of third-party gems to the media browsing world. boxee doesn't plan on being any sort of gatekeeper (at least for now), which hopefully will spur innovation and get more developers interested. In related news, ArsTechnica has also found that boxee is currently in talks with a few big players in the hardware space, essentially hoping to get its 1s and 0s onto game consoles, Blu-ray players and other set-top-boxes. There's no clue as to the whens and wheres, but we suspect this means there will be no dedicated STB in the near future -- for better or worse.[Via ArsTechnica]
Is internet TV the key to la carte?
There's been a lot of controversy over the years in regards to à la carte cable programming, and more recently, Hulu no longer playing nice with Boxee. The two are related to each other because in both cases, consumers think they'll lead to cheaper content. And let's be honest -- both seem appealing because we want to spend less money for the same content. The problem, of course, is that if we're spending less money, then someone is going to lose that revenue; and it goes without saying that any decent business model requires more revenue, not less. So those big corporations collecting all of those subscription fees are obviously going to have a problem with the idea. Now the conundrum comes in when you throw Netflix in the mix. Rather than nickel and diming you to death (much like your cable company), Netflix wants to give you an all-you-can-eat buffet for a monthly fee. The irony here is that while Hollywood loves subscriptions when it comes to cable TV, that's not so much the case when it comes to Netflix. The reason is simple -- we know you see this coming -- it's because the monthly fee is about three times that of a Netflix bill.
ZillionTV adds The Weinstein Company films to its streaming library
ZillionTV may not have a price, launch date or even confirmed areas of availability yet, but that hasn't stopped the outfit from racking up a deal to stream films from The Weinstein Company over its service whenever it launches. For those who've already forgotten, ZillionTV is the streaming to TV service with designs on selling its hardware to customers via their ISPs, then streaming content free with ads as well as providing pay video on-demand. Even without flicks like Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and The Reader, it already had a competent lineup of content partners, but now ZillionTV is looking even more like a legitimate challenger, if only we had a few more details to go on.%Gallery-46534%
boxee releases new "bleeding edge" alpha, inks deal with Pandora
Now that ZeeVee's back in business with its much improved Zinc broadband video portal, boxee actually has some serious competition to keep an eye on. That said, the company is hosting a meetup in NYC tonight in order to launch a new "bleeding edge" alpha that will integrate Pandora radio / RadioTime and showcase a more robust API. Furthermore, you'll find a fresh XUL-based framework for the boxee browser to enable the app to more easily interact with any web-based video, and as if that wasn't enough, there will also be a PBS application baked in. We have to say, we're pretty impressed with the regularity of updates coming to boxee -- now, if only those big networks would allow hit shows to be broadcast online live alongside their TV airings, we'd be in television heaven. The full announcement is after the break.
ZeeVee Zinc TV viewer hands-on and impressions
ZeeVee just let loose its Zinc internet TV viewer, and we couldn't help but give it an install on our Windows XP-based machine. While it can be said that this is a competitor to Hulu, it actually provides access to Hulu material. In that sense, maybe it's infringing more on boxee's territory. Underneath, it really relies on access to public video RSS feeds, so obviously the options are pretty limitless. If you're interested in seeing just how quickly you should download / avoid this new piece of software, follow us past the break for a few impressions.
ZeeVee releases retooled Zinc internet video browser
It's been a few months now since ZeeVee showed its soft(ware) side by announcing the free public beta of Zviewer, and now we're pleased to announce that it's back with a new name, a new face and a slightly revised agenda. Rechristened Zinc, this latest version is -- for all intents and purposes -- a competitor of boxee. Once installed on a PC (a Mac version should surface by April), users can easily navigate to tons of internet-based TV content from the likes of CBS, ABC, etc. Also of note, this version bakes in access to your Netflix Watch Instantly queue, providing access to 15,000 feature length movies and tens of thousands of TV shows. For now, ZeeVee's committed to keeping the application free, and it believes its superior UI will win folks over. The full release is waiting just past the break, and those interested in giving it a go should find a live download waiting right here.Psst... you can check out our hands-on and review over at Engadget HD.
Netflix lays out official response to bandwidth capping allegations
After a small but vocal amount of Netflix users got the world thinking that it was pulling a Comcast and putting caps on computer-based Watch Instantly users, the outfit's Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt has come forward to clear the air. He makes clear that Netflix's aspiration is to "deliver to everyone the best bitrate that their broadband connection can support," also noting that congestion "could affect some users, but not others, at some times, but not always." He also notes that different titles and encodes for different playback device types "may come from different CDNs or different servers at a particular CDN, so they may have different paths and different bottlenecks." We'd encourage you to hit the read link for the full explanation, but we're already seeing enraged Roku users bark back by his dodging of the so-called out-of-sync audio issue that's evidently still present. We'll go ahead and warn you, Netflix -- you can't please 'em all.
Vuze brings online video to game consoles, portable media players
Sheesh -- this is dangerously close to getting out of hand. We've got Hulu, boxee, ZeeVee and Vuze (amongst others) all vying for your attention in the wide world of broadband video, but it's the latter dishing out a potent new offering with its latest version. Today, Vuze has announced a new iteration of its online video portal application that integrates playback with iPhone, iPod, AppleTV, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 devices. So far as we can tell, no other competitor offers that much integration (read: direct Mac / PC-to-device transfers) across so many products. Of course, none of this matters if you aren't a fan of Vuze itself, but you can surf on over to download it (gratis, naturally) in order to test the waters.
Poll: Do you watch internet-based TV?
With all the crazy Hulu / boxee happenings this week, it got us thinking -- how many of you out there are really into web-based content? By and large, most of what's on the tubes isn't available in "real" HD (read: broadcast quality), but we get the feeling that the convenience factor may still be drawing some of you in. Is this the case? Are you sold on internet TV? The pay-TV providers sure believe that you are, regardless. %Poll-27092%
Hulu blocks boxee browser entirely, gloves get ripped halfway off
As a wise man once said: "Damn, that's just cold, son." Merely hours after boxee announced its latest alpha build along with RSS feed support for Hulu, said video portal has now blocked off boxee's browser entirely from accessing its content. If you'll recall, boxee saw a huge increase in interest when it first added easy access to Hulu, and once Hulu demanded that it be removed, boxee sadly complied. The latest move just seems "cold blooded," as now boxee users who attempt to surf over via a Hulu RSS feed link will be greeted with an infinite amount of nothing. boxee is quick to point out that its browser doesn't access Hulu content "any differently" than IE, Firefox, Opera or any other browser, which does a good job of explaining just how deliberate this move is. Needless to say, we get the feeling this bout is just getting started.[Image courtesy of ZatzNotFunny]Update: boxee now says things are working. For the moment, anyway. Feel free to join us as we throw our hands in the air and give up on understanding this mess.
CE 3100-powered Gigabyte / Yahoo! widgets box eyes-on
A lot has changed in the TV widget world since we first caught wind of Intel's CE 3100 processor and Gigabyte's connected box that took advantage of it. Mainly, a metric ton of new players have emerged, and many companies are simply shoving the widget functionality within the HDTV and bypassing the extra set-top-box altogether. Nevertheless, Gigabyte had its Yahoo! Widgets box (the MD300) on hand this year at CeBIT, so we sashayed over to snap a few shots. At this point, it's tough to say just how viable this thing is. On one hand, it'll be nice to give existing HDTV owners the option of adding access to widgets; on the other, Gigabyte has to know that the appeal is limited now that almost every HDTV hitting the market has this functionality baked right in. Have a peek below, won't you?
Hulu returns to boxee via RSS feed support, in flies App Box and Auto Update
Before we get you all excited, we'll quote boxee's ending of its announcement before anything else: "This is a bleeding edge release, not for the faint of heart since it didn't go through much testing." If you're the brave type, you're going to want to install the latest version of boxee this instance, as it not only brings back Hulu (in a sense), but it also throws in a boxee application market (App Box) and a much-needed Auto Update feature that will inform you automatically of future builds. So, you're hungry for more on that Hulu bit, right? This version of the application brings along a built-in RSS reader optimized for video, and obviously, it fully supports Hulu's public RSS feeds. Needless to say, we're loving the direction this little app is going, so make sure you give it a go and report back with any praises or complaints.
Lots of Hulu content comes to Dailymotion
See this sense of friendship? We admire it. Rather than keeping all of its content to itself, Hulu has decided to shake hands with online video portal Dailymotion in order to give its viewers access to loads of Hulu material. A newly reached distribution agreement will give Dailymotion's audience "access to an additional 40,000 premium videos from Hulu's online video library, including full-length episodes from major television studios, full-length feature films from major film studios, as well as news and other content from more than 130 content providers." The new videos from Hulu will be slotted into Dailymotion's channels (Funny, Film & TV, Music, Sports & Extreme), and by using the company's own Videowall, Videozap or Jukebox, viewers will also be able to program Hulu content into their own channels and playlists. No wonder pay-TV providers are hastily trying to get in while the gettin' is good.
DirecTV shows interest in internet TV initiative, TWC chief gets even more serious
We heard that the cable industry (or at least TWC and Comcast) could begin offering up a lot of pay-TV content to subscribers via the web by this summer, but frankly, we didn't believe it. But thanks to new quotes from Time Warner chief executive Jeff Bewkes and DirecTV CEO Chase Carey, you can safely put us in the "believer" camp. Reportedly, TWC is looking to provide pay-TV content via the internet and even on mobile devices for no extra charge. Bewkes even noted that "everything on television should become available to [customers] on broadband for free," which is pretty amazing for a cable guy to say. DirecTV also seems kosher with the idea of giving in before customers simply jump ship, with its head honcho intelligently stating that "in the past, when a company tries to stop or block something from happening, it's usually failed." Oh, and this whole regime could totally be the shot in the arm mobile TV providers have been yearning for.Read - TWC names TV-by-internet offeringRead - DirecTV following suit
ZillionTV brings ad-based streaming content to the television
Just in case hooking up ZeeVee's ZvBox and getting access to all available online media is too difficult, there's ZillionTV. This admittedly interesting startup is looking to pick up where Hulu, ZeeVee, Netflix Watch Instantly and all the rest have left off by bringing true on-demand content to one's television (read: not PC or mobile device) for almost nothing. For a one-time fee of "under $100," users will be given a ZBar and a ZRemote, both of which enable interaction with the VUI interface. Put as simply as possible, ZillionTV is hooking up with ISPs, content producers and advertisers in order to bring loads of popular material to the TV sans a subscription, though you will have to watch ads (which are optionally customizable to preferences) in order to play along. The company asserts that SD quality content can be achieved with a 3Mbps connection, while HD material will need upwards of 7Mbps. Currently, a beta program is ongoing, but a nationwide launch is expected by Q4. To be frank, this whole setup is rather complicated, so we'll point you past the break for a more detailed breakdown.%Gallery-46534%
Verismo's VuNow internet TV platform gets props from CableLabs
Ready or not, Verismo Networks' VuNow internet TV platform is making its way out. After ambushing the OEM market earlier this year, the company is now proudly announcing new praise from an unlikely suspect: CableLabs. As the story goes, executives from the CableLabs Forum voted VuNow as the "best new product idea" during so-called "informal polling" at a meetup in Colorado Springs. At first glance, one might wonder why cable proponents would be supporting a platform that needs no subscription, but considering that Comcast and Time Warner Cable (and likely others) are already looking to wrap internet content into pay-TV bundles, we suppose it's no longer a shock. The whole cable-internet media relationship is about to get a lot more interesting.
Big Cable's take on internet TV could land as early as summer
It was but days ago that we first caught wind of Big Cable's plans to bite a chunk out of the online TV pie, and now we're already hearing that things could be ready to roll by summer. According to undisclosed sources quoted by Reuters, both Comcast and Time Warner Cable are heading up talks with major content providers like Viacom and Discovery Communications. We're told that their plans are at "different stages," but pay-TV subscribers could be tuning into bonus coverage on the web or via smartphone "as soon as this summer." Tick, tock...
