Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[3 photo sharing sites for your new shutterbug - Holiday Gift Guide]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/29/3-photo-sharing-sites-for-your-new-shutterbug-holiday-gift-gui/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/29/3-photo-sharing-sites-for-your-new-shutterbug-holiday-gift-gui/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/29/3-photo-sharing-sites-for-your-new-shutterbug-holiday-gift-gui/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



If you know someone on your gift list is getting a camera or is a new shutterbug, you might want to consider getting them a "pro" photo sharing account where they can upload all their new photos. This is a nice gift for several reasons: 1. A pro account is a must have since most free accounts have a storage limit that the average photographer will easily exceed. 2. Pro accounts are ad free. 3. Pro accounts have more features and allow the upload of larger file sizes. 4. As the giver of the account, it stands to reason you might be given access to your shutterbug's photostream, although, it's equally possible you might not.

Here are my top picks for investing in a pro account. (Many thanks to our readers for enthusiastically recommending Smugmug).

Continue reading 3 photo sharing sites for your new shutterbug - Holiday Gift Guide

3 photo sharing sites for your new shutterbug - Holiday Gift Guide originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>flickrhggphoto sharingphotobucketPhotoSharingpro account features flickrpro account features photobucketpro account features smugbugProAccountFeaturesFlickrProAccountFeaturesPhotobucketProAccountFeaturesSmugbugsmugbugsmugmugSat, 29 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[ZunaVision lets you place images and videos inside your videos]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/29/zunavision-lets-you-place-images-and-videos-inside-your-videos/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/29/zunavision-lets-you-place-images-and-videos-inside-your-videos/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/29/zunavision-lets-you-place-images-and-videos-inside-your-videos/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

ZunaVision is a video technology that movie studios have had for years, brought to the average user by the computer science department at Stanford University. It lets you place images and videos within existing videos. Want to put a poster or an advertisement on a building in the background of your footage? ZunaVision's got you covered. How about changing the painting in a picture frame? It can do that, too.

ZunaVision isn't very hard to use. You can just select a surface, and it does a capable job of making your image look like it could plausibly be hanging there. It's not just pasted haphazardly on top of your video. It's cool enough that I'm already worried it won't stay free for long. The last Stanford web toy I fell in love with, Vector Magic, turned into a pay service after a while. Zunavision looks like it could be worth selling, too, but maybe the creators can just turn a profit by sneaking ads into other videos.

UPDATED: The URL for Zunavision changed, so the links in this post were broken. They should be working now. Thanks to all the readers who pointed that out!

ZunaVision lets you place images and videos inside your videos originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Stanfordvideovideo-editingZunaVisionSat, 29 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Wavexpress retires TVTonic online video service]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/26/wavexpress-retires-tvtonic-online-video-service/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/26/wavexpress-retires-tvtonic-online-video-service/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/26/wavexpress-retires-tvtonic-online-video-service/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

TVTonic
TVtonic is a Windows application for finding, watching, and downloading online video. The software can be integrated with Windows Media Center, which makes catching episodes of RocketBoom just as easy as recording episodes of The Office. But for financial reasons, Wavexpress, the company behind TVTonic has decided to retire the service.

If you've already installed TvTonic, you can still use it as a video podcatcher by subscribing to RSS feeds. And the download link for the Windows XP version of TVTonic still works, but the download link for the Windows Vista version appears to be dead.

[via AppScout]

Wavexpress retires TVTonic online video service originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>online-videopodcatchertvtonicvodcastwindows-media-centerWed, 26 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Sling.com online video portal is open to the (US) public]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/26/sling-com-online-video-portal-is-open-to-the-us-public/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/26/sling-com-online-video-portal-is-open-to-the-us-public/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/26/sling-com-online-video-portal-is-open-to-the-us-public/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Sling.com
Sling Media has officially launched its Sling.com online video portal, which we first checked out a few weeks ago while it was in beta. If you have a Slingbox, this site is all kinds of awesome, because it will allow you to watch live TV streaming from your home on any Windows PC with Firefox or Internet Explorer.

If you don't have a Slingbox, right now Sling.com is just another online video site that has an assortment of TV shows and movies from Fox, NBC, CBS, Sony, MGM, and web content providers like College Humor. Honestly, you can find most, but not all of the same content at Hulu.

Sling does plan to upgade its software so that Mac using Slingbox owners can also stream live TV. But right now anybody with a Flash enabled web browser running Windows, Mac, Linux or something else altogether can watch the web video streams from Sling Media's content partners - provided you're in the US. The content won't play outside of the region.

Sling.com online video portal is open to the (US) public originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>huluonline-videoslingsling-mediasling.comslingboxWed, 26 Nov 2008 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[HandBrake now encodes any video file, not just DVDs]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/25/handbrake-now-encodes-any-video-file-not-just-dvds/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/25/handbrake-now-encodes-any-video-file-not-just-dvds/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/25/handbrake-now-encodes-any-video-file-not-just-dvds/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

HandBrake
HandBrake is a cross-platform utility for ripping and encoding DVDs in high quality, compressed video formats including XviD and H.264. And the latest version of HandBrake lets you use the powerful application to encode any video file, no DVD required.

There are a handful of other changes as well, including a GUI for the Linux version, improved video quality, and more control over audio tracks. Queued jobs are also saved to your disk so that if Handbrake crashes, you'll be able to recover the list of queued jobs without starting from scratch.

HandBrake 0.9.3 is available for Windows, Linux, and OS X with Intel and PPC versions available for OS X 10.5.

[via TUAW]

HandBrake now encodes any video file, not just DVDs originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>compressiondvd-rippingencodingh.264handbrakehandbrake-0.9.3xvidTue, 25 Nov 2008 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Anyone can make animated digital clips with Xtranormal]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/24/anyone-can-make-animated-digital-clips-with-xtranormal/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/24/anyone-can-make-animated-digital-clips-with-xtranormal/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/24/anyone-can-make-animated-digital-clips-with-xtranormal/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

I can't remember how many times I've had a seemingly great idea for a skit with one of my coworkers. Sadly, most of us don't have the time or resources to produce our own animated shorts.

A beta web app by Xtranormal aims to level the playing field by making movie creation drag-and-drop simple. If you can write dialog that makes sense and click a mouse, you're well on your way to creating a digital masterpiece.

Choose a character, type in a block of text, and drag in facial expressions, actions, and sounds. The speech is surprisingly fluid, all things considered - no MS Sam here!

You're currently limited to one or two actors, but that's plenty for putting together a quick, fun clip. You can choose either Lego-style (my preference) or more life-like actors to play out your script.

When you're done piecing together elements, just click the action button and Xtranormal will render your clip. If you've registered for an account you can save your work for later. Finished clips can, of course, be shared for anyone to view.

Quite honestly, I don't have the time or skills to throw together 3d animations from scratch. Even if I did, I'm not certain the half-baked ideas I come up with would merit expending any serious effort.

Xtranormal is a great way to finally see your cinematic ideas in come to life with minimal fuss.

Anyone can make animated digital clips with Xtranormal originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>animationcartoonvideoMon, 24 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Online movie site CinemaNow sold for $3 million]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/online-movie-site-cinemanow-sold-for-3-million/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/online-movie-site-cinemanow-sold-for-3-million/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/online-movie-site-cinemanow-sold-for-3-million/#commentsFiled under: ,

CinemaNow
Long before Hulu, or even YouTube were offering online video, and long before Apple or Amazon were selling digital downloads of TV shows and feature lenght films, there was CinemaNow and MovieLink. The two sites may have been well ahead of their time, but they also never managed to get the kind of attention that newer online video sites have garnered. Last year Blockbuster purchased MovieLink for about $7 million. And this week, software firm Sonic Solutions picked up CinemaNow for just $3 million.

CinemaNow has a library of about 6,000 movies and TV shows. Sonic Solutions hopes to leverage CinemaNow's technology and assetts to expand its service that allows you to download videos and burn them to DVD.

[via paidContent]

Online movie site CinemaNow sold for $3 million originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cinemanowmovielinkonline-videosonic-solutionsThu, 20 Nov 2008 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[YouTube experimenting with 720p HD video]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/youtube-experimenting-with-720p-hd-video/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/youtube-experimenting-with-720p-hd-video/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/youtube-experimenting-with-720p-hd-video/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

YouTube HD video
Online video site YouTube has been offering a "watch in higher quality" option since earlier this year. But higher quality doesn't mean high definition. It simply means that the videos are encoded in a higher bit rate and if you have a fast enough internet connection to keep up, the videos look a little better.

But now it looks like YouTube is starting to add some honest to goodness high definition, 720p videos to the site. Members of the Video Help forums have spotted some videos available in HD, including the popular "Where the Hell is Matt" video.

Not all videos are going to be available in HD rigiht away, because most videos uploaded to YouTube aren't high definition in the first place, and because YouTube appears to be quietly testing the feature on a small number of videos. It appears YouTube is also experimenting with stereo sound for its online videos. Up until recently most videos were mono only.

YouTube is hardly the first online video site to dabble in HD. DailyMotion, Vimeo, and several other video portals have been offering HD movies for a while, but YouTube is stll by far the most heavily trafficked web video site.

[via Wired]

YouTube experimenting with 720p HD video originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>hd-videohigh-definitionyoutubeyoutube-hdThu, 20 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MiniTube Winamp plugin adds YouTube videos to your playlist]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/minitube-winamp-plugin-adds-youtube-videos-to-your-playlist/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/minitube-winamp-plugin-adds-youtube-videos-to-your-playlist/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/minitube-winamp-plugin-adds-youtube-videos-to-your-playlist/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

MiniTube
MiniTube is a plugin for WinAmp that attempts to find music videos from YouTube for every song in your playlist. Here's how it's supposed to work: A song starts to play, and MiniTube will automatically find the best music video available for the song and start playing it. That's the theory anyway. But the actual practice is a bit shakier.

That's because MiniTube just grabs the first video it can find that roughly matches the song's metadata. That means there's a pretty decent chance you'll get the wrong video from the right artist, a video of an amateur musicians performing the correct song, or something else entirely. Sometimes MiniTube will find the right video, but if the metadata on your MP3s is anything less than perfect, more often than not, it won't.

MiniTube does address one potential problem fairly well. Because the audio of the YouTube video will undoubtedly be out of synch with the audio file, you can choose to either play your audio file and mute the audio on the video, or mute Winamp and play the audio and video from the YouTube video.

[via gHacks]

MiniTube Winamp plugin adds YouTube videos to your playlist originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>minitubemusic-videoswinampyoutubeThu, 20 Nov 2008 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Get the "Obama effect" in Photo Booth with the Obamafy plugin]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/get-the-obama-effect-in-photo-booth-with-the-obamafy-plugin/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/get-the-obama-effect-in-photo-booth-with-the-obamafy-plugin/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/get-the-obama-effect-in-photo-booth-with-the-obamafy-plugin/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Although the presidential election is over, Obama-inspired design seems to have made a lasting imprint on American culture. If you loved those Shepard-Fairey-designed HOPE posters that the whole Internet seemed to be making parodies of, you can have the effect for yourself in Apple's Photo Booth. Here's how to do it, using the Obamafy plugin.

Once you've downloaded the .qtz file, move it to Compositions in your Library folder. Once you've done that, open up Photo Booth and click effects. You might have to cycle through to the last page of your effects to find Obamafy, but it should be there. It took a little bit of experimenting for me to find the right lighting to get a result that looks like the posters, so don't give up without playing around a little bit.

Get the "Obama effect" in Photo Booth with the Obamafy plugin originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>barack-obamaObamafyPhoto-Boothshepard-faireyThu, 20 Nov 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Strewth! YouTube's Monty Python channel gets official]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/strewth-youtubes-monty-python-channel-gets-official/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/strewth-youtubes-monty-python-channel-gets-official/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/20/strewth-youtubes-monty-python-channel-gets-official/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Apparently fed up with horrid, low-quality ripoffs of their work being posted to YouTube, Monty Python has decided it's time to act. They're fighting back by uploading high-quality videos straight from their private vault.

Though there are currently only two dozen clips available, many have been uploaded recently. It's likely only a matter of time before favorites like the Cheese Shop, Fish Slapping Dance, and Nudge Nudge surface on the channel.

Don't fret - they quintessential Python clips are already there: the Black Knight, the Lumberjack Song, and even Pilate talking about his "vewwy good fweind in Wome," who shall remain nameless. Better yet, they've promised to upload HQ versions of the most popular clips.

Just what are they up to? The welcome message is honest enough: "None of your driveling, mindless comments. Instead, we want you to click on the links, buy our movies & TV shows and soften our pain and disgust at being ripped off all these years."

Works for me, I've been a supporter for ages (I think I still have my copy of the old Complete Waste of Time "game").

Official HQ Python on YouTube: the videos have been posted, and there was much rejoicing.
[ via gHacks ]

Strewth! YouTube's Monty Python channel gets official originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>funnyhumormonty-pythonvideoyoutubeThu, 20 Nov 2008 09:30:00 EST<![CDATA[How to embed high quality YouTube videos]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/15/how-to-embed-high-quality-youtube-videos/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/15/how-to-embed-high-quality-youtube-videos/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/15/how-to-embed-high-quality-youtube-videos/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

A lot of people don't know that YouTube has high quality videos, as well as the generally poor-quality standard versions. The links to the better (not HD, but still pretty good) versions are easy to miss, but there are a few steps you can take to make sure you're watching (and even embedding) the good stuff. Jason Kottke ran through a few of them recently on kottke.org.

First, make high-quality your default setting. You can do this in the Account menu, under "Playback Setup." That takes care of playback, but what if you want to link to the high-quality version of a video? Just paste "&fmt=18" or "&fmt=22" at the end of the URL. 18 is the 480x360 version, and 22 is the 720p version. Some videos will have one, but not the other, so try both if you need to.

When it comes to embedding, you can make a quick change to the embed code to get better video quality. Just add "&ap=%2526fmt%3D18" to the end of the URLs in your embed code. Here's an example:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oHg5SJYRHA0&hl=en&fs=1&ap=%2526fmt%3D18"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oHg5SJYRHA0&hl=en&fs=1&ap=%2526fmt%3D18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[via Kottke]

How to embed high quality YouTube videos originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>480p720phigh-quality-videoskottkevideoyoutubeSat, 15 Nov 2008 14:59:00 EST<![CDATA[Barack Obama plans to post weekly YouTube address]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/14/barack-obama-plans-to-post-weekly-youtube-address/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/14/barack-obama-plans-to-post-weekly-youtube-address/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/14/barack-obama-plans-to-post-weekly-youtube-address/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Obama YouTube
For years, the president of the United States has delivered a weekly radio address to the nation. President-elect Barack Obama plans to be the first to videotape that weekly address and post it on YouTube.

The move shouldn't come as a huge surprise. The Obama campaign used new media tools like Twitter, YouTube, and text messaging as a key part of its effort over the past two years. But it's a bit silly to point out that Obama will be the first president to use YouTube in this way, as Obama's transition team is trying to do. The video sharing site didn't exist when President George W. Bush was running for office. So all it really means is that President Bush didn't use YouTube.

While Obama won't be sworn in as president until January, he has started to deliver the weekly Democratic Party radio address, which will also be videotaped and uploaded to YouTube and to Change.gov.

[via Mashable]

Barack Obama plans to post weekly YouTube address originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>barack-obamaobamapresidentradioweekly-radio-addressyoutubeFri, 14 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[First look at Sling.com online video portal]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/12/first-look-at-sling-com-online-video-portal/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/12/first-look-at-sling-com-online-video-portal/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/12/first-look-at-sling-com-online-video-portal/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Sling.com
Online video portal Sling.com is set to open to the public on November 24th. It's currently in private beta, but we got an early peek at the service. The online video player is easy to use, and there's plenty of content from a number of major US television networks as well as ton of videos from web sites like College Humor and 60frames.

While the selection of videos is pretty extensive, that's not really what makes Sling.com special. In fact, the content library looks pretty much like what you can already find at Hulu. That makes sense, since many of the TV episodes and full length videos are coming straight from Hulu.

What makes Sling.com unlike any other online video site is the way it works with the company's Slingbox hardware. If you have a Slingbox plugged into your TV set, cable or satellite box, or TiVo, you can use Sling.com to watch live video over the web. Sling Media has offered the ability to stream video over the internet since the company's inception. But Sling.com allows you to access live, pre-recorded, and web video all in one central location.

If you have a Slingbox, there's plenty of reason to choose Sling.com over Hulu. If not, the case isn't quite as compelling at the moment. Eventually Sling Media plans to roll out social tools that let users do things like record clips of TV shows and movies using a Slingbox and share them with other users at Sling.com. But that feature isn't available yet.

You can watch Sling.com's web videos in pretty much any browser. But if you want to watch live TV, you'll need to be running Windows and using Firefox or Internet Explorer. Mac support is coming soon. I also noticed a glitch during my test that caused Firefox to crash every time I switched from watching a live program to watching web video, and then back to live video again. Hopefully that issue will be worked out by the time Sling emerges from private beta later this month.

First look at Sling.com online video portal originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>huluplaceshiftingslingsling-mediasling.comslingboxweb-videoWed, 12 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Google adds Video and Audio chats to Gmail web interface]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/11/google-adds-video-and-audio-chats-to-gmail-web-interface/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/11/google-adds-video-and-audio-chats-to-gmail-web-interface/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/11/google-adds-video-and-audio-chats-to-gmail-web-interface/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

It's been over two years since Google brought text-only Chat to the Gmail web interface: and whilst the feature has certainly seen a number of small additions in that time, I think it's fairly safe to say that the efforts with Chat to date will pale into insignificance with Google's announcement on the Gmail blog that Video and Audio chat will shortly be arriving in an inbox near you.

The features, which require a plugin [available for both PC and Mac OS X] allow you to initiate video and audio chats from within the web browser. You can even expand the size of the video chat, and thanks to the feature being based on a number of widely used standards, you should in theory be able to chat with a fairly large number of contacts who don't need to be using the web interface [it's also worth noting that one-way video and audio chat is also possible].

Unfortunately, the feature isn't available just yet: the Googlers say the feature has only just begun rollout - however you can visit the Gmail videochat page to download the browser plugin and get ready for your account to be enabled in the next few days.

Google adds Video and Audio chats to Gmail web interface originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Googlegoogle-talkGTalkVideo-Chatvideo-chat-mac-pcTue, 11 Nov 2008 16:15:00 EST<![CDATA[Yahoo! Live video streaming service is dead]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/04/yahoo-live-video-streaming-service-is-dead/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/04/yahoo-live-video-streaming-service-is-dead/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/04/yahoo-live-video-streaming-service-is-dead/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Yahoo! Live
Yahoo! is pulling out of its quest to bring live video streams of mundane things to the masses. The company has announced that it will shut down Yahoo! Live on December 3rd. Much like startups Justin.tv and UStream, Yahoo! Live provided anyone with a webcam with the tools to stream video over the internet and interact with large groups of people.

Yahoo! Live has been around since early this year, and represented one of the first efforts from a major web company to get involved with live, social video streaming. While it's tempting to read into the company's decision to shutter the service, the truth is that Yahoo! never really promoted the service widely and it doesn't appear to have been very popular. It's quite possible that companies whose sole purpose is to make this business model work will have an easier time coming up with a way to make live video streaming profitable.

Yahoo! Live video streaming service is dead originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>justin.tvlive-videoustreamyahoo-liveTue, 04 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[How to (finally) stream Netflix movies on a Mac]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/01/how-to-finally-stream-netflix-movies-on-a-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/01/how-to-finally-stream-netflix-movies-on-a-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/11/01/how-to-finally-stream-netflix-movies-on-a-mac/#commentsFiled under: ,

Netflix Mac

The rumors are true: Netflix is beta-testing a new a streaming movie player based on Microsoft Silverlight. As you may have read on Download Squad earlier this week, the new Silverlight-based player is compatible with Microsoft's DRM scheme, which means that, yes, you can finally watch Netflix instantly on your Mac. For Windows users, the player may be an upgrade, but for Mac users, it's a whole new feature.

To try the new player, you'll have to opt in. The first time you try to watch a movie, you'll be prompted to install Silverlight if you don't already have it. From there, you're good to go. Netflix warns that once you opt in, you can only use the Silverlight player, even on other machines. They also mention that the selection of movies for the new player is limited, but I didn't have trouble finding or playing any of the movies I tested.

How to (finally) stream Netflix movies on a Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>microsoftnetflixnetflixplayersilverlightstreaming videoStreamingVideovideoSat, 01 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Netflix watch instantly videos heading to TiVo]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/30/netflix-watch-instantly-videos-heading-to-tivo/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/30/netflix-watch-instantly-videos-heading-to-tivo/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/30/netflix-watch-instantly-videos-heading-to-tivo/#commentsFiled under: ,

Netflix TiVo
It's been about 4 years since TiVo and Netflix announced they were working together to stream video to TiVo set top boxes. Since then, Netflix has developed technology that lets you watch videos on a PC, and more recently a Mac, without waiting for a DVD to arrive in the mail. Heck, even the Xbox 360 got more Netflix love than TiVo this year.

But apparently good things come to those who wait. And wait. And wait. Because today TiVo and Netflix have finally announced plans to begin rolling out the "watch instantly" feature to TiVo set top boxes.

Here's how it works. You'll need to be a paying TiVo and Netflix subscriber to use the service. But if you meet those requirements, you'll be able to browse a library of 12,000 movies and TV episodes from your couch using a TiVo Remote control.

The service will only be available to TiVo Series3 and TiVo HD users. Older TiVo units don't have the hardware to handle the video codecs Netflix is using to encode the video.

Netflix watch instantly videos heading to TiVo originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>netflixonline-videotivoThu, 30 Oct 2008 12:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MTV Music: Hulu for music videos, or too little too late?]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/27/mtv-music-hulu-for-music-videos-or-too-little-too-late/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/27/mtv-music-hulu-for-music-videos-or-too-little-too-late/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/27/mtv-music-hulu-for-music-videos-or-too-little-too-late/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

MTV Music
MTV launched a new music video hub today at MTVMusic.com. And it looks remarkably like online video site Hulu. Except instead of hosting hundreds of movies and TV shows, the site hosts thousands of music videos.

The site has a nice mix of new and older videos. You can watch videos on the site or embed them on another web page. And you can watch in full screen.

There's also a handy "similar artists" feature that will let you know that if you like Tori Amos you might want to look for videos from Fiona Apple. But the recommendation engine is far from perfect. For example, when you click on the page for Mike Doughty, you'll discover that Jack Johnson is a similar artist, but there's no link to the 5 music videos from Soul Coughing, the band Mike Doughty used to perform with.

The biggest challenge MTV Music faces is the fact that there are dozens, if not hundreds of places to find the exact same content on the internet, and then some. You can find a much wider selection of music videos on YouTube or dozens of other online video sites than you can on MTV Music. It's true that some of those videos may not have been uploaded legally, but they're out there.

So while Hulu is one of the few places you can go for free, legal, and full length TV episodes, MTV Music is jsut the latest music video portal to hit the web. And while the web page is new, it's not like MTV hasn't had hundreds of music videos on its website for years.

[via Silicon Alley Insider]

MTV Music: Hulu for music videos, or too little too late? originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>mtvmtv-musicmusic-videosMon, 27 Oct 2008 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Zviewer offers an almost-useful full screen browser for web video]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/27/zviewer-offers-an-almost-useful-full-screen-browser-for-web-vide/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/27/zviewer-offers-an-almost-useful-full-screen-browser-for-web-vide/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/10/27/zviewer-offers-an-almost-useful-full-screen-browser-for-web-vide/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Zwiewer
Web sites like Hulu, YouTube, and TV network sites turn your computer into a sort of video on demand terminal. Missed last week's episode of The Office? Just go online and watch it for free. That's all well and good when you're sitting in front a web browser. But what if you want to watch TV from the comfort of your couch?

ZeeVee is a company that offers offers an overpriced $499 set top box that you can stick next to your TV to your computer to grab internet video which you can then transmit to your HDTV for viewing with a remote control instead of a keyboard. Today the company released a beta version of its Zviewer software for PC so that you can try the interface for free on your computer. And if your computer already happens to be plugged into your TV like mine is, and you already happen to have a wireless remote control like I do, there's no reason to pay a dime.

So I was pretty excited to take Zviewer for a spin. But after playing around with it for a few minutes, the excitement has dissipated. First of all, the software is really designed for users with HDTV displays. The menu text is really too small to read on a standard definition TV. I know that the digital cutoff is coming soon, but would it have been that tough to let users toggle between high resolution and lower resolution modes?

Second, the Zviewer browser is basically a frontend for Firefox 3.0.3. That's good, in that it means any web video you can play in Firefox you can also play with Zviewer. But it also means that once you find the program you're looking for using the custom Zviewer interface, you click play and a version of Firefox opens up. If you have a $130 ZvRemote control that's designed to let you navigate the web pages without a keyboard and mouse, you're golden. If you have a standard media center remote control, things might be a bit more complicated.

Zviewer certainly shows promise. The software has the potential to turn your computer and television set into an easy to use video on demand terminal that's reliable enough for you to cancel your cable or satellite subscription. But today it's still just a bit too awkward to use unless you shell out the cash for ZeeVee's custom hardware.

Zviewer is free while in beta and is available for Windows only. A Mac version is expected soon.

[via ZatzNotFunny]

Zviewer offers an almost-useful full screen browser for web video originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>online-videoweb-videozeeveezvboxzviewerMon, 27 Oct 2008 11:00:00 EST