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BBC Rolls Out AIR iPlayer, Ditches Kontiki P2P, Proposes Tiered Broadband Services
The BBC has just rolled out a new desktop version of its popular iPlayer service based on Adobe’s AIR platform. The new client is available for UK residents as part of the BBC iPlayer Labs beta test, and it will be released to the public some time next year. BBC’s iPlayer client previously only offered downloadable content for Windows PCs. The new client will also be available for Mac and Linux users.
The launch of the new client is a big blow for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based content delivery service startup Kontiki, whose P2P technology powered previous iPlayer versions. Beep Online media exec Anthony Rose cited falling broadband prices as a reason to shift away from P2P. But the move could also be part of a new approach to appease local ISPs that are increasingly voicing concerns about the growing iPlayer bandwidth footprint.
Open Thread: What’s on Your Holiday Wish List?
‘Tis the season of giving (and coincidentally, slow news days), so in that spirit, we thought we’d give you, the reader, the chance to tell us what’s on your holiday wish list this year.
What gadgets or gear are you hoping to find wrapped up and waiting for you? Are you pining for a new laptop? Hoping for a Flip HD? Lusting after a Roku set-top box (now with HD capabilities!)?
Personally, my fingers are crossed for a brand spankin’ new HDTV (hey, it’s a “wish” list, not a “likely to get” list), though I might be better off waiting a bit as prices might come down even further.
But this isn’t about me. What are you hoping for? If you aren’t already on vacation, or trapped in an airport, drop us a note in the comments.
2008: The Year China Dominated P2P TV
Joost has announced that it will discontinue support of its P2P TV application by the end of this week, essentially admitting that distributed content delivery for video streams isn’t worth the effort. But if 2008 taught us anything, then it’s that P2P TV is alive and well — in China, at least.
Western services like Joost may have struggled to convince users to share their bandwidth with other video viewers, but Chinese online video fans don’t seem to have a problem with P2P TV at all. In fact, Chinese P2P grew so big in 2008 that it’s putting the audience numbers of Western online TV offerings to shame.
How to Build the Perfect Set-Top Box
It’s the holidays — a time to give, right? Right. Which is why I’m making a list of what I’d like someone to give me this year. This isn’t a gift guide (I’ve already written one of those), but more of a fantasy. I’m making a list of all the features I’d like to see in the perfect set-top box.
What does the perfect set-top box do, you ask? A little bit of everything: It’s a DVR that records my favorite shows. It’s a media extender that lets me watch the video content I have stored on my PC. In a true fantasy world, it also replaces my cable box (but still lets me access my cable provider’s On Demand library) and plays back Blu-ray Discs.
Remember, this is a fantasy. I know that it’s not possible to get everything I want; some of the technology is simply not ready. But some of these features should already be options, such as the first item on my list:
EASY SET-UP/NETWORK CONNECTIONS: It shouldn’t take four days, a box of power tools, and repeated calls to tech support to install anything — never mind a gadget that I’m going to use to watch TV. Read more of this story
Bush Dodging Shoe Watched By 3.7 Million
Updated: You can say this for our current commander-in-chief: He’s got great reflexes. During a press conference on Saturday, Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi, a reporter with Cairo-based network Al Baghdadia Television, hurled his shoes at President Bush, who ducked the size-10 loafers pretty nimbly.
According to Matt Fiorentino at Visible Measures, which tracks the consumption and distribution of online video, as of today at 11 am EST there were over 550 copies of the video online with more than 3.7 million views and 38,000 comments. “It appears to be growing at a rate of more than 100 thousand views per hour,” Fiorentino says.
UPDATE: Visible Measures sent us another set of stats on the video. As of 4:30 p.m. EST, there were over 650 copies of the video that have generated more than 5.4 million views and 48,000 comments.
Al Baghdadia bureau chief Fityan Mohammed has not been able to make contact with Al-Zaidi since the shoe-hurling incident: “His phone is switched off,” Mohammed told the BBC. Al-Zaidi may have had more reason than most to be agitated by the current situation in Iraq: he was kidnapped and beaten by Shiite minutemen last year.
The press has been quick to point out that in Iraqi culture, throwing your shoes at someone is considered a grave insult. Though, as Boing Boing points out, how much danger was there of it being interpreted as a sign of friendship?
Joost Connects With Facebook
Web TV platform Joost launched its Facebook Connect integration this morning, allowing users to log into Joost using their Facebook account. Once in, users can see all of their Facebook friends that are on Joost, interact with them, find out what they are watching and watch with them, as well as receive Joost notifications through the social networking site.
Facebook Connect went live last week, and has a host of partners that have agreed to use it, including video sites Hulu and Howcast (which has implemented its Connect). According to Facebook, users who log into partner sites using Connect have a roughly 50 percent higher engagement rate when compared to non-Connect users (though Om calls this “marketing hocus-pocus”).
This continues the opening of Joost, which went to a download-free, all-Flash version of the service in October, and follows hot on the heels of its iPhone app, which launched in November.
Did All These Fledgling Video Startups Not Get the Memo About the Crappy Economy?
With the global economy in tatters, what are entrepreneurs to do? Stop believing in themselves? Never! Still, we at NewTeeVee are amazed by the unwavering flow of company launches that find their way into our inboxes. Especially in light of the utter instability of the media industry, why are so many people jumping into the online video biz now?
In recent days I’ve chatted with newly launched startups Clipgarden, a portal for paid training videos; Gawkk, a video feed reader; and Hitviews, a studio that matches brands and web stars. Meanwhile, this week my colleague Chris Albrecht profiled the launches of ZDONK, an online film financing community, and First on Mars, a premium video content aggregator.
So let’s look at those five companies that all happened to poke their heads up in the middle of this nuclear winter. Interestingly, all five are execution plays rather than original ideas or breakthrough technology. Read more of this story
HDTVs in Nearly a Quarter of U.S. Homes
New research from Nielsen out today notes that 23.3 percent of U.S. households owned an HDTV set as of Nov. 30. According to Nielsen, that figure is more than double what it was when the company started tracking HDTV sales in July of 2007.
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Nielsen’s numbers are lower than an earlier study by Leichtman Research Group, which found that 34 percent of U.S. homes had HDTVs. Nielsen shows a steady growth of HDTV sales over the past 17 months, but manufacturers who were hoping for a big jump this holiday season may find themselves disappointed. Read more of this story
YouTube HD on a Big TV (via Netgear)
Netgear threw a press event last night to show off some of the products it will be debuting at CES next month. Among them was its new set-top box, the EVA 9000 Digital Entertainer Elite, which, to my pleasant surprise, can stream HD YouTube videos to an actual HD TV.
How does it look? Awesome. Take a look for yourself. (The demo of YouTube kicks in around the 1:50 mark)
Watching YouTube HD on a big screen, you get a glimpse at YouTube’s future: premium content from networks and studios delivered straight to your TV sans any cable provider. And it makes you realize why the company reversed its position on pre-rolls as they will look just like commercials on a big screen and probably be more tolerated since people will be in their living rooms.
Beyond YouTube, the Netgear box can manage your BitTorrents as well as other video content on your network, and streams other web video like podcasts and such. It currently doesn’t stream Netflix content, but the Netgear rep didn’t rule that out as a possibility. The Digital Entertainer Elite will ship in the first quarter of next year and will be priced at $399. By Netgear’s own admission, the Digital Entertainer Elite is more for the tech-savvy, early adopter, not your average Roku user.
Dr. Horrible DVD: Yes, It’s Worth Your Money
Let’s face it — by now, the hardcore fans of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog have watched the series more than once on Hulu, downloaded and memorized the soundtrack thanks to iTunes, and maybe even bought themselves a Captain Hammer t-shirt. Of course, that won’t stop them from buying a copy of the DVD — but what do they get for this latest show of devotion? And what about the less-fanatical, who enjoyed the series but aren’t sure about dropping $10 on something they’ve already seen for free? In short: In these tough economic times, is the Dr. Horrible DVD worth your money?
Thanks to Dr. Horrible’s minions (OK, the very nice person who sent me an advance copy), I had a chance to explore the disc this week, and I’m happy to report that, no matter who you are, the answer is yes. The devoted fan who’s already pre-ordered four copies (one for themselves, three for the loved ones who are getting it for Christmas) will be more than satisfied. The online video enthusiast, seeking to better understand this year’s undisputed king of web series, will find plenty of insight in the special features. And newcomers to the phenomenon, looking to enjoy a funny media experience, will also walk away happy — because the DVD presents Dr. Horrible in the best possible light. Read more of this story
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