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Verismo Networks' PoD web video-to-TV box grabs release date
Remember that totally forgettable PoD that popped up and vanished back in June? You know -- that minuscule box (around the size of two cigarette packs) that plays back practically anything (torrents, web videos, etc.) on your TV without a PC in between? Yeah, that very unit has finally secured a legitimate release date and price, and we can safely say that we're riveted. For those needing a refresher, the wired / wireless unit scans your local network and detects any type of multimedia stored anywhere; from there, it streams content directly to your TV without any fuss -- much like the Neuros-powered WhereverTV, but with far fewer limitations. If you're intrigued, get set to pony up $99 on December 15th to quell your curiosity.
MGM agrees to host full-length films / TV shows on YouTube
YouTube has been dabbling in full-length professional content for a good while now, and as it seeks to compete more directly with the likes of Hulu, today it has landed a real big fish. Soon, a number of films and TV shows from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's archives will pop up on the video sharing site including episodes of the original American Gladiators and films like Bulletproof Monk and The Magnificent Seven. For all content added, it will obviously be free for anyone to view, though advertisements will be running "alongside the video." Now, if only we could convince Google to offer YouTube HD (or anything close), we'd be set.
Recast Digital makes HD Flash clips look good, load fast
At this point, there are simply too many online video viewers to count, but Recast Digital is doing something pretty special. Just spouting off about the technology is a real yawn-fest -- after all, it's not like you really care just how proprietary its "proprietary method of optimizing playback performance of HD video within Flash is, you just want it to look great. The outfit has established a "video showcase" site which shows off just what its technology can do, and at least on the surface, the results are fairly fantastic. Hard to say exactly where you'll see the tech end up (ads, trailers, etc. are our guesses), but you can have a peek at the showcase site by checking out the read link. Full release is after the break.
Boxee delivers Hulu to Apple TV
For Apple TV owners who don't shy away from tinkering, we've got some excellent news. As of today, video viewers can now catch Hulu.com content from within Boxee (and by extension, on their Apple TVs). No need to wipe the sleep from your eyes -- Hulu accessibility has arrived on Apple's set-top-box, as the embeddable player has been ported over to Boxee. Additionally, Boxee has added CBS.com to its list of viewable internet video sources; head on down to Boxee's website for more, and jump past the break for the full release.
Dailymotion's HQ online video player: for when HD is out of reach
If you're going to watch online content, it may as well be in high-def, right? But what if you're on a lousy connection, or even a PC built pre-Stalin that just can't handle the load? Enter Dailymotion HQ, a middle ground of sorts that looks distinctly better than the SD player yet doesn't demand all that the HD player does. The app delivers content based on the H.264 codec with audio using AAC at 96kbps; as for resolution, you'll get 512 x 384 at up to 30 frames-per-second. Reportedly, Dailymotion HQ requires any broadband connection, Flash Player 9 and a computer with a dual-core CPU. If you're interested in seeing what the fuss is about, hit the read link and surf over to the comparison vid (pictured above).
TV Worldwide to open America's largest internet TV studio
TV Worldwide, which was founded way back in 1999, is gearing up to open what will become America's largest internet TV studio. Hot on the heels of a report studying the importance of community in TV viewing comes this news, which explains that the outfit will be expanding its current Washington, DC-based facility to "support its growing network of internet TV channels and programming." It seems it'll be using the additional space to bulk up its offerings in the professional / commercial realms, but who knows, maybe it'll start serving up more general content when it can't find anything else to do with all the fresh space.
Community: internet TV's biggest leg up over HDTV?
Almost all experts agree that internet viewing is growing in popularity, be it TV shows or just random clips to escape from reality, but we've all wondered just how viable the world wide web was as a standalone source of programming. An insightful writeup over at The Daily Cardinal got us thinking even more, as it points out one advantage online TV has over standard TV in almost every instance: community. As the author stared into the 900+ options in a satellite EPG, he at first "marveled at the number," but soon he found the overload to be "just annoying." From there, he noted that internet TV brings near-instant viewing on anything you have a mind to search for, and while he couldn't remember the last time he and his pals had a great time hovered around the traditional tube (Super Bowl notwithstanding), he vividly remembers the first time his posse checked out the "Charlie Bit Me!" clip on YouTube. Frankly, we still don't think internet TV will be eating into pay-TV anytime soon -- if anything, it'll act as a complement -- but for those thinking the former had zero advantages over the latter, should you not think again?
Discovery shakes hands with YouTube on content partnership
We're not sure who is in charge of marketing over at Discovery Communications, but no sooner did the company go public than two fairly substantial promotional deals were announced. Right behind the tie-up with Sony comes this, a content partnership with the worldwide leader in online video. The deal will see the creation of nine dedicated YouTube Channels which feature a "robust collection of clips from Discovery's family of world-class network brands." Leveraging the "global" nature of the source, Discovery is planning to introduce "a series of targeted international Channels showcasing localized and native language content for specific regions around the world." Check out all nine URLs in the read link.
Roku reaffirms desire to work with other content providers
We hear you loud and clear Roku -- now go prove to someone other than Netflix that your box is worth toying with. At the recent Streaming Media West conference, Roku CEO Anthony Wood reiterated details that we already knew: it really, really wants to work with companies other than Netflix. Said Wood, "We're opening up the platform to anyone who wants to put their video service on this box," and he continued by stating that "we're going to release the software developer kit, so anyone can publish any channel, and users can access web content on their TVs." Of course, both Netflix and Roku knew from the get-go that the relationship would involve other partners, though it remains to be seen who's willing to call for seconds at Roku's shindig.[Via CNET]
Vimeo now hosting one million videos, 10% in HD
While the competition is stiff (and all but dominated by YouTube) in the online video sharing space, Vimeo is still finding a reason to celebrate. Last week, the site announced that it had surpassed one million video uploads, and potentially more amazing was that a full 10% of those were of the HD variety. According to it, that figure makes it the "largest repository of high-definition video anywhere in the world," though we'd be interested in seeing just how far behind Viddyou is. Also of note, IAC chief Barry Diller stated in a recent interview that it didn't see anything particularly huge in Vimeo's future, though it did plan to "keep tending it and letting it grow." So, is one (or more) of your videos one (or more) of those 100,000 referenced here? Or are you rushing to Google "Vimeo" in an effort to find out what this service even is?[Via NewTeeVee]
Viddyou launches High Bitrate video sharing service
Viddyou already took online video sharing to 1080p... if you were willing to pay. Now, however, the distant YouTube competitor is bringing higher quality to the masses with the launch of its High Bitrate service. The new feature gives users the ability to "share near original-quality video from their digital camcorder or camera without the quality degradation typically seen in online video." We'll let you be the judge on which is which in the comparison shot above.
VUDU announces $0.99 extended rentals, "99 for 99" movie channel
Shortly after picking up its very own adult channel, VUDU is announcing a more, shall we say, family friendly bit today. Effective immediately, VUDU users will be able to renew any SD rental for $0.99 within seven days of first viewing the film, while renewals of HD rentals will cost $1.99. Additionally, VUDU has launched a new "99 for 99" movie channel which contains a rotating list of 99 films that can be rented for -- you guessed it -- just south of a Washington. Interestingly, VUDU calls the deals "summer blockbuster specials," though there's no sign of an end date for either. Can't say this totally changes the way we see the movie set-top-box, but it's certainly a step in the right direction. Full release after the jump.
NBC Universal to carriers: add temporary HD channels or live without Olympics streaming
For a whole slew of individuals across America (particularly those with lackluster Time Warner Cable lineups), the addition of two new temporary high-def stations has been quite the treat. Just prior to the start of the Beijing Olympics, many cable carriers opted to add in an HD Soccer and HD Basketball channel, but if you thought they were just doing so to be nice, you thought wrong. After scads of CableONE subscribers in Idaho were flat shut out of live online streaming, a bit of digging revealed the problem: NBC Universal bundled online streaming into a "premium package" with the previously mentioned stations, which CableONE declined to offer. For the CableONE users, the story does end in on a high note -- they are getting three permanent HD channels instead. For everyone else loving the convenience of online streams, at least you can sleep easy knowing that minor increases in your future bill will likely be used to pay for it. Then again, what is free these days?
NBC Olympics on the Go hears the starting rifle, goes live
It being August 2008 and all, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Olympics news will be flowing hot and heavy for the next few weeks. On the docket today (again) is NBC Olympics on the Go, which just went live for those looking to catch some of the action online. Powered by Wavexpress' TVTonic, this Windows Vista Media Center application enables fans to "create their own personalized, portable and high-quality viewing experience for the Summer Olympic Games." Anxious to get a real head start? Tag the read link, download, and enjoy.
Will web-based interfaces become more popular on HDTV gear?
For those of us who have been around the block a time or two, we can distinctly remember just how hard WebTV fell. Granted, it is still around as MSN TV, but when is the last time you actually saw one being used? A new report put forth by ABI Research is asserting that web-based interfaces will soon become more popular than ever, potentially finding their way into set-top-boxes, standalone players, media streamers, etc. We've already seen RSS feeds and the like appearing on HDTVs, and the integration of Ethernet ports is certainly noticeable. Still, there seems to be a good deal of disconnect even now between bona fide internet content and HD programming, leaving us to wonder how accurate these suggestions really are. And furthermore, to what extent will being connected to the internet affect the way you utilize your living room TV?[Image courtesy of Ruel]
All-in-one PCs and internet TV to invigorate HTPC market, says study
Hot on the heels of our own poll asking you dear readers your opinion on HTPCs comes a new report from ABI Research asserting that all-in-one PCs and internet TV functionality "will fuel the nascent home theater PC market." More specifically, it's reported that more and more companies are cranking out compacted machines "with rich multimedia capabilities to appeal to new usage models around the home." Additionally, internet TV functionality packed within HDTVs is touted as something that could be "the next evolutionary plateau," although we -- and Mark Cuban, comically enough -- would beg to differ. All in all, it's tough to say what place an HTPC still has in the market (save for the niche that simply prefers a full-fledged PC in the living room), but integrating all of that functionality into an existing living room component won't be the easiest task.
Mark Cuban figures out how to "save internet video"
We won't restate the irony found in an internet tycoon bashing online TV (oops...), but Mark Cuban has seemingly come up with a few brilliant ideas since claiming that internet video was a failing enterprise back in March. Essentially, Mr. Cuban reckons that HDTV currently being delivered over the internet to LCD monitors around the globe should actually not be transmitted via the compressed methods currently used. Rather, he asserts that we should "move the video cloud to the node and encode and insert into traditional video distribution systems." In other words, deliver internet TV to your existing cable / satellite set-top-box, giving end-users the ability to create playlists and customize shows. We'll admit, we're warming to the idea in general, but trapping users into a cable / satellite bill isn't that appealing for those who lavish the ability to watch some of their HD via OTA and some of it via the 'net. Still, we're sure he's got that niggle all figured out too -- but why would he reveal his secrets before taking it to the bank?[Thanks, VANBROTHERS]
Online TV viewing catching on, traditional TV watching still preferred
We've known that individuals were turning to the internet to catch their favorite shows for some time now, but we aren't living in the future just yet. According to new research conducted by Nielsen and CTAM, most adults (94%) who "subscribe to cable or satellite television services prefer to watch television on traditional TV sets." Still, over a third of those surveyed who had a broadband connection admitted to watching at least one television program originally shown on TV via the internet, and nearly 40% of online TV viewers also use the world wide web to "get the scoop on actors and upcoming episodes." For numbers galore on this very topic, head on down to the read link and have a look.[Image courtesy of BebeReviews]
Netflix tidbits: DVD business could peak in a decade, Mac streaming on the way
Given Netflix's blatant plunge into the world of online content delivery, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the outfit's execs understand that physical media is at risk. Sure, DVD rentals far outnumber online rentals today, but Netflix is assuming that its DVD business could peak in around five to ten years. In a brief interview this week, CEO Reed Hastings told investors that "everybody peaks sometime," but he did note that Blu-ray was apt to make the "DVD ecosystem stronger." Even though the company is definitively moving at least some of its attention to online streaming, it's still quite aways from delivering a "standalone streaming service." On a slightly different note, we also learned that Intel-based Macs would be able to tap into the firm's "Watch Now" service "later this year," but unfortunately, it didn't get any more specific than that.[Image courtesy of ANPark]
Jittr Networks gets new Vusion name, same HD-over internet promise
In case you didn't catch it, there used to be an internet video platform operating under the codename Jittr Networks. Don't bother learning that factoid, though -- it has relaunched, official-like, under the name Vusion (please disregard that the Vusion name overlaps with a baby ointment). Competition to deliver streaming HD video over the internet is heating up, and Vusion is promising to give 95-percent of all broadband customers access to crispy, instant-on, 720p images. Vusion's secret sauce is the familiar combo of network infrastructure and a cleverly-acronymed WARP technology. Don't get us wrong -- we're all for internet streaming of HD, and we think know that it's coming; but we won't start lining up until content providers do. [Warning: PDF read link][Via HDTVMagazine]
