Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Justin.tv makes it easier to start streaming
It's not spring yet, but Justin.tv is cleaning house. On Tuesday the video host is rolling out a new version of its broadcasting tool that makes it easier to get a live video stream going.
According to the company, a simple change has led to a 700 percent increase in the number of people who make it from clicking the "broadcast" button on Justin.tv's front page to actually beginning a live stream. At least that was the metric for a beta test the company ran on 10 percent of new users who were beginning a stream from Justin.tv's front page.
Now, when a user clicks the large, red broadcast button on the front door of Justin.tv, the site takes them to a page that requires just a few settings to get going--many of which can now be skipped. That quick transition means more streams, and a bigger potential to turn first-time Justin.tv users into frequent live streamers.
Another part of the change entails putting everything in one window, whereas before the options were spread out. For publishers, this means no more jumping back to their channel pages to stay on top of user chat, which now sits to the right of the video player. Also, the publishers now get a better view of what they're streaming since it displays the same sized viewer and chat window their viewers will be looking at. Previously the show controller tools looked akin to an airplane cockpit
Justin.tv's simplified broadcasting controls make the live streaming dashboard look less like an airplane cockpit to new users.
What I think is more interesting than the tweaks to Justin.tv's broadcasting tools is the shift in what its users are broadcasting. A Justin.tv representative told me that one of the biggest changes in the past year has been the growth of people who start live streaming themselves playing video games--be it consoles or on the computer they're streaming from.
For Justin.tv this ends up being a boon, not only for being able to sell the often-lucrative game related ads, but also for its users who can often see a game ahead of its street date release as gamers in "future" time zones can get the title a day early in some cases. More importantly, Justin.tv is filling in the gap left by places like Vimeo, which actually banned video game clips back in 2008, and YouTube, which does not yet offer live streaming with chat.
Justin.tv's revamped broadcasting tool should be out to all users Tuesday morning.
First look: Boxee beta
by Christopher Breen, Macworld.com
Until recently, Boxee, the social-media-centric media-center application based on the open-source XBMC, was available only to the invited and bore the “alpha” label. Boxee is now open to all and has matured to the point where its developers consider the Mac, Windows, and Linux versions worthy of the “beta” name (a beta version hasn’t yet been developed for the Apple TV). With that consideration comes a reworked interface, consolidation of local and Web-based content within that interface, more content, expanded social networking options, and big plans for the future. I’ve had an opportunity to play with the new Boxee for a week and these are my impressions.
Boxee's Home screen
The means for doing this are the Home screen and Global menu. The Home screen is divided into two areas—at the top of the screen are a row of icons that include Photos, Music, Movies, TV Shows, Apps, and Files. Below you find a Feed column that includes links to content recommended by your Boxee friends. Next to it, a Featured column offers pictures and links to content the Boxee people believe is worth your attention. And to the right of the Featured column is a Queue column, where you see a list of all the content that you’ve added to your queue.
When you select an icon at the top of the Home screen and press Return, you’re taken to a screen devoted to that kind of media. Media screens include a sidebar (which you can hide) that let you do things such as view photos as thumbnails or in a list; filter movies, TV shows, and music by genre; and search for specific hunks of media within that category—all your Michael Jackson music, for instance. You can also click icons to tell the world what you’re viewing or listening to via a Share command, add a shortcut, get more information about a TV show or movie (if Boxee has identified the TV show and movie and can provide that information), or add the media to your queue.
The Movies screen
To play media, just double click on its name. Play controls appear at the bottom of the resulting Now Playing screen. You’re welcome to leave this screen by pressing the Escape key—the music or video’s soundtrack will continue to play in the background. You can quickly return to the Now Playing screen by clicking a Play icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Boxee lists copy-protected music and video—such as the movies, TV shows, and non-iTunes Plus music you’ve purchased from the iTunes Store—but it won’t play it. Regrettably, there’s no feature that filters out this protected content.
To leave a media page, press the Escape key and the Global menu appears, which contains these same media icons plus a Home icon as well as Logout, Settings, Queue, Feed, and History icons. Select the item you want with the mouse or arrow keys, press Return, and the appropriate screen appears.
The Global menu
The changes to the interface are welcome but they don’t eliminate the hierarchical structure altogether. For example, if you want to add a folder full of media that lives outside your home folder, you’ll need to dash into the Settings window and dig down until your find the folder you’re after.
Media wherever
Boxee now attempts to erase the line between local and Internet media. For example, when you bring up TV Shows and type “Strangers With Candy” into the search field, Boxee will show you not only the unprotected episodes of the series on your Mac, but also any episodes that are available from Comedy Central’s Website. Similarly, you can move to the Movies screen, type “Love” in the Search field, and see titles that contain that word that can be found either on your Mac or the Web. You now access Hulu content this way rather than through a specific Hulu app.
Unfortunately you can search only by title at this point. So, if you’re in the mood for a John Wayne western, you’d better know the title of the movie you want to see.
Increased content
The beta version of Boxee has a lot of content—157 items can be found in its App Library. This includes such well-known sources as Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, Discovery.com, NPR, Shoutcast, and Vimeo along with a whole host of other sources. And Boxee is actively courting developers to bring even more content to the application.
Boxee's App library
One area in which Boxee has broken from other media player applications is in adult content. Within the Appearance setting there’s a Hide Adult Feeds And Applications setting (enabled by default).
This is an interesting approach but not entirely unexpected. Boxee serves as a conduit for streaming Internet media and this kind of content is available from any Web browser. Boxee is simply being forthright about its ability to deliver adult content and leaving it up to users to decide whether or not they wish to view it. Concerned parents should know that the Appearance setting also includes a Set Adult Content Lock that lets them password-protect this option.
Social interaction
Another thing that separates Boxee from Plex and XBMC is its social networking component. Content discovery (buzz-speak for “finding stuff you want to watch and listen to”) is increasingly important and Boxee’s attempting to take advantage of people sharing their tastes with others. Similar to Twitter and Facebook, you can follow other Boxee users and see what they’re recommending. Likewise, they can see what you recommend. Boxee also includes support for Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, and Tumblr so you can post your recommendations to those services as well. (Currently the social networking implementation is buggy and doesn’t work consistently.)
The Flickr app
When you make a recommendation, Boxee does its best to link to something associated with your recommendation. For example, I recommended Bleu’s A Watched Pot album and Boxee linked to Bleu’s Last.fm page.
Given the ability to view adult content, you’ll want to be careful about whose recommendations you keep track of. Should someone you follow recommend an adult video, a link to that recommendation (complete with thumbnail image) will find its way onto your Home screen. This could be a real problem if you use Boxee at work or have a Mac configured as a media center attached to the family TV. Fortunately, you can remove these recommendations—just stop following that person and the recommendations disappears.
Rough edges
You shouldn’t take the “alpha” and “beta” labels too seriously. In fact, the later alpha builds of Boxee were more stable than the first beta releases. But the beta builds are getting better. If you’re upgrading from an older version of Boxee, it’s worth your while to search your hard drive for any existing Boxee files (this includes preference and support files), delete them, and install a fresh copy. I had a lot of problems with the Boxee beta—video anomalies, content that wouldn’t display properly, and the application locking up when I attempted to quit it—after installing it over a copy of the alpha. Once I removed all traces of the alpha version and installed the beta, Boxee was more reliable.
Into the future
Boxee has big plans. The company showed off D-Link’s Boxee Box—a set-top box for delivering Boxee content to an attached TV—at a variety of private events as well as at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It also claims to be working to integrate Boxee into other devices in 2010. Additionally, it’s putting together the Boxee Payment Platform, a system that lets content providers sell their media via Boxee (and Boxee users to purchase it). Those frustrated with an Apple TV that consumes only content from the iTunes Store, pay attention.
There are a lot of companies playing in the media-center space, but Boxee is moving in some interesting and ambitious ways. If you don’t have a copy of Boxee, it’s free and worth your while to give it a try—rough edges and all.
Until recently, Boxee, the social-media-centric media-center application based on the open-source XBMC, was available only to the invited and bore the “alpha” label. Boxee is now open to all and has matured to the point where its developers consider the Mac, Windows, and Linux versions worthy of the “beta” name (a beta version hasn’t yet been developed for the Apple TV). With that consideration comes a reworked interface, consolidation of local and Web-based content within that interface, more content, expanded social networking options, and big plans for the future. I’ve had an opportunity to play with the new Boxee for a week and these are my impressions.
Boxee's Home screen
The means for doing this are the Home screen and Global menu. The Home screen is divided into two areas—at the top of the screen are a row of icons that include Photos, Music, Movies, TV Shows, Apps, and Files. Below you find a Feed column that includes links to content recommended by your Boxee friends. Next to it, a Featured column offers pictures and links to content the Boxee people believe is worth your attention. And to the right of the Featured column is a Queue column, where you see a list of all the content that you’ve added to your queue.
When you select an icon at the top of the Home screen and press Return, you’re taken to a screen devoted to that kind of media. Media screens include a sidebar (which you can hide) that let you do things such as view photos as thumbnails or in a list; filter movies, TV shows, and music by genre; and search for specific hunks of media within that category—all your Michael Jackson music, for instance. You can also click icons to tell the world what you’re viewing or listening to via a Share command, add a shortcut, get more information about a TV show or movie (if Boxee has identified the TV show and movie and can provide that information), or add the media to your queue.
The Movies screen
To play media, just double click on its name. Play controls appear at the bottom of the resulting Now Playing screen. You’re welcome to leave this screen by pressing the Escape key—the music or video’s soundtrack will continue to play in the background. You can quickly return to the Now Playing screen by clicking a Play icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Boxee lists copy-protected music and video—such as the movies, TV shows, and non-iTunes Plus music you’ve purchased from the iTunes Store—but it won’t play it. Regrettably, there’s no feature that filters out this protected content.
To leave a media page, press the Escape key and the Global menu appears, which contains these same media icons plus a Home icon as well as Logout, Settings, Queue, Feed, and History icons. Select the item you want with the mouse or arrow keys, press Return, and the appropriate screen appears.
The Global menu
The changes to the interface are welcome but they don’t eliminate the hierarchical structure altogether. For example, if you want to add a folder full of media that lives outside your home folder, you’ll need to dash into the Settings window and dig down until your find the folder you’re after.
Media wherever
Boxee now attempts to erase the line between local and Internet media. For example, when you bring up TV Shows and type “Strangers With Candy” into the search field, Boxee will show you not only the unprotected episodes of the series on your Mac, but also any episodes that are available from Comedy Central’s Website. Similarly, you can move to the Movies screen, type “Love” in the Search field, and see titles that contain that word that can be found either on your Mac or the Web. You now access Hulu content this way rather than through a specific Hulu app.
Unfortunately you can search only by title at this point. So, if you’re in the mood for a John Wayne western, you’d better know the title of the movie you want to see.
Increased content
The beta version of Boxee has a lot of content—157 items can be found in its App Library. This includes such well-known sources as Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, Discovery.com, NPR, Shoutcast, and Vimeo along with a whole host of other sources. And Boxee is actively courting developers to bring even more content to the application.
Boxee's App library
One area in which Boxee has broken from other media player applications is in adult content. Within the Appearance setting there’s a Hide Adult Feeds And Applications setting (enabled by default).
This is an interesting approach but not entirely unexpected. Boxee serves as a conduit for streaming Internet media and this kind of content is available from any Web browser. Boxee is simply being forthright about its ability to deliver adult content and leaving it up to users to decide whether or not they wish to view it. Concerned parents should know that the Appearance setting also includes a Set Adult Content Lock that lets them password-protect this option.
Social interaction
Another thing that separates Boxee from Plex and XBMC is its social networking component. Content discovery (buzz-speak for “finding stuff you want to watch and listen to”) is increasingly important and Boxee’s attempting to take advantage of people sharing their tastes with others. Similar to Twitter and Facebook, you can follow other Boxee users and see what they’re recommending. Likewise, they can see what you recommend. Boxee also includes support for Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, and Tumblr so you can post your recommendations to those services as well. (Currently the social networking implementation is buggy and doesn’t work consistently.)
The Flickr app
When you make a recommendation, Boxee does its best to link to something associated with your recommendation. For example, I recommended Bleu’s A Watched Pot album and Boxee linked to Bleu’s Last.fm page.
Given the ability to view adult content, you’ll want to be careful about whose recommendations you keep track of. Should someone you follow recommend an adult video, a link to that recommendation (complete with thumbnail image) will find its way onto your Home screen. This could be a real problem if you use Boxee at work or have a Mac configured as a media center attached to the family TV. Fortunately, you can remove these recommendations—just stop following that person and the recommendations disappears.
Rough edges
You shouldn’t take the “alpha” and “beta” labels too seriously. In fact, the later alpha builds of Boxee were more stable than the first beta releases. But the beta builds are getting better. If you’re upgrading from an older version of Boxee, it’s worth your while to search your hard drive for any existing Boxee files (this includes preference and support files), delete them, and install a fresh copy. I had a lot of problems with the Boxee beta—video anomalies, content that wouldn’t display properly, and the application locking up when I attempted to quit it—after installing it over a copy of the alpha. Once I removed all traces of the alpha version and installed the beta, Boxee was more reliable.
Into the future
Boxee has big plans. The company showed off D-Link’s Boxee Box—a set-top box for delivering Boxee content to an attached TV—at a variety of private events as well as at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It also claims to be working to integrate Boxee into other devices in 2010. Additionally, it’s putting together the Boxee Payment Platform, a system that lets content providers sell their media via Boxee (and Boxee users to purchase it). Those frustrated with an Apple TV that consumes only content from the iTunes Store, pay attention.
There are a lot of companies playing in the media-center space, but Boxee is moving in some interesting and ambitious ways. If you don’t have a copy of Boxee, it’s free and worth your while to give it a try—rough edges and all.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Watch out Sky: YouTube is becoming Google TV
YouTube is snapping up live sport and prime time TV shows. Will we soon switch on to Channel Google?
By Tim Edwards
Will 2010 be the year the world switched to Channel Google? Last week brought two announcements that suggest the internet seach giant intends to change the shape of television forever: it plans to stream live cricket to millions around the world, and introduce a new video 'rental' service. Both services will be made available through its video sharing site, YouTube.
Google enjoys a dominance that few other companies could dream of attaining. In the US alone, the company deals with 65.6 per cent of all internet search enquiries. Its closest competitor, Yahoo, attracts only 17.5 per cent of searches.
Its dominance in search has enabled Google to corner the market in online advertising. In 2009, 99 per cent of its $6.52bn profits came from advertising. Its stellar profits have allowed it to buy up any internet start-up it fancies, while developing free software like Google Earth, Gmail and its new operating system, Chrome OS.
But Google, which will sell its new Nexus One 'Googlephone' from its own website, now appears to be seeking ways of diversifying its income.
The company bought YouTube for $1.65bn in 2006 and has been trying to make the business profitable ever since. It has dabbled with charging for content such as music videos, but - fearful of scaring away the video-sharing website's roughly 280m monthly users - it has so far derived most of its profit from advertising, as in its 2008 deal with MGM to stream feature films from its archive to US customers for free.
Unfortunately for Google, the very proposition that made YouTube so popular has scared off corporate advertisers. As a video-sharing site for the masses, the cute videos of narcoleptic kittens are interspersed with hour upon hour of more unsavoury clips.
Now Google has announced that five films from the Sundance 2010 and 2009 festivals will be available to rent on YouTube from today until January 31. The films will only be available to US users and will mostly be offered for $3.99 to be viewed over 48 hours. But a statement on YouTube's blog suggests that the venture is a warm-up for a much more ambitious plan to start providing blockbuster movies and TV series.
"In addition to these five films, a small collection of rental videos from other US partners across different industries, including health and education, will be made available in the weeks ahead," it reads.
Outlining the terms, the statement adds: "Making content available for rent will give our partners unprecedented control over the distribution of their work - they can decide the price of their videos and the rental duration."
But the full extent of Google's ambitions for YouTube were hinted at in the Los Angeles Times, which quoted "people familiar with YouTube's plans" who say that "within months, the website will start to make available for rental other TV shows and films from Hollywood studios". Apparently, YouTube has been negotiating specific pay-per-view streaming rights to films and television shows.
The revelation is surprising, because despite Google's dominance elsewhere on the internet, it has struggled in the newish market for video streaming, even after buying YouTube.
The race to service the demand for film and television series over the internet is far from sewn up. Among others, Netflix, Amazon and Apple's iTunes all offer such services. Besides the intense competition, the big studios have always been suspicious of YouTube, because they are fully aware that much of their content ends up on the site anyway, illegally uploaded by fans - a problem Google has worked hard to fix.
Perhaps YouTube's main problem, however, is Hulu. This is a well-established website owned by NBC, News Corporation and Disney which streams much of their output, and that of other studios, for free. Unlike YouTube, Hulu is a safe environment for corporate sponsors: there is no possibility that you will stumble across a video of a woman giving birth.
With the success of Hulu, and its plan to introduce a pay wall within the next three months, the prospects of prising away such priceless televisual jewels as House and 30 Rock from News Corporation and NBC respectively seem fairly bleak: YouTube can at least hope to steal away the blockbusters of other networks, such as CBS, to offer as part of its own pay-per-view service.
But Google isn't concentrating solely on entertainment programming and another tantalising glimpse of YouTube's destiny was offered last Wednesday when it announced it had won the right to stream live Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket matches from March 12. Cricket fans across the globe will be able to watch the matches for free, with the IPL and Google splitting sponsorship and advertising money derived from the new YouTube channel.
The live IPL matches are seen by some as a highly convenient means for YouTube to raise its profile as a worldwide broadcaster without having to spend anything on new server capacity – and perhaps go some way to repairing the commercial damage done to Google by its high profile falling out with China over censorship.
Live streaming – as opposed to playing a video that you have downloaded – is sometimes a 'choppy' experience for the viewer; at peak times the video playback stops and starts, as anyone who has tried to watch the BBC’s iPlayer at 8pm can confirm. Google would normally have to buy more server capacity to be sure of providing a reasonable service for an event as popular as the IPL.
But live IPL matches will be broadcast at a time of low demand in the United States – the small hours. The result? A smooth experience for Indian cricket fans, while Google gets to make a lot of new friends in the only country with a population over a billion it hasn’t picked a fight with this year.
The pieces are falling into place. With its ambitions in entertainment, movies and sport laid bare, how long can it be before YouTube is a global TV network in its own right?
By Tim Edwards
Will 2010 be the year the world switched to Channel Google? Last week brought two announcements that suggest the internet seach giant intends to change the shape of television forever: it plans to stream live cricket to millions around the world, and introduce a new video 'rental' service. Both services will be made available through its video sharing site, YouTube.
Google enjoys a dominance that few other companies could dream of attaining. In the US alone, the company deals with 65.6 per cent of all internet search enquiries. Its closest competitor, Yahoo, attracts only 17.5 per cent of searches.
Its dominance in search has enabled Google to corner the market in online advertising. In 2009, 99 per cent of its $6.52bn profits came from advertising. Its stellar profits have allowed it to buy up any internet start-up it fancies, while developing free software like Google Earth, Gmail and its new operating system, Chrome OS.
But Google, which will sell its new Nexus One 'Googlephone' from its own website, now appears to be seeking ways of diversifying its income.
The company bought YouTube for $1.65bn in 2006 and has been trying to make the business profitable ever since. It has dabbled with charging for content such as music videos, but - fearful of scaring away the video-sharing website's roughly 280m monthly users - it has so far derived most of its profit from advertising, as in its 2008 deal with MGM to stream feature films from its archive to US customers for free.
Unfortunately for Google, the very proposition that made YouTube so popular has scared off corporate advertisers. As a video-sharing site for the masses, the cute videos of narcoleptic kittens are interspersed with hour upon hour of more unsavoury clips.
Now Google has announced that five films from the Sundance 2010 and 2009 festivals will be available to rent on YouTube from today until January 31. The films will only be available to US users and will mostly be offered for $3.99 to be viewed over 48 hours. But a statement on YouTube's blog suggests that the venture is a warm-up for a much more ambitious plan to start providing blockbuster movies and TV series.
"In addition to these five films, a small collection of rental videos from other US partners across different industries, including health and education, will be made available in the weeks ahead," it reads.
Outlining the terms, the statement adds: "Making content available for rent will give our partners unprecedented control over the distribution of their work - they can decide the price of their videos and the rental duration."
But the full extent of Google's ambitions for YouTube were hinted at in the Los Angeles Times, which quoted "people familiar with YouTube's plans" who say that "within months, the website will start to make available for rental other TV shows and films from Hollywood studios". Apparently, YouTube has been negotiating specific pay-per-view streaming rights to films and television shows.
The revelation is surprising, because despite Google's dominance elsewhere on the internet, it has struggled in the newish market for video streaming, even after buying YouTube.
The race to service the demand for film and television series over the internet is far from sewn up. Among others, Netflix, Amazon and Apple's iTunes all offer such services. Besides the intense competition, the big studios have always been suspicious of YouTube, because they are fully aware that much of their content ends up on the site anyway, illegally uploaded by fans - a problem Google has worked hard to fix.
Perhaps YouTube's main problem, however, is Hulu. This is a well-established website owned by NBC, News Corporation and Disney which streams much of their output, and that of other studios, for free. Unlike YouTube, Hulu is a safe environment for corporate sponsors: there is no possibility that you will stumble across a video of a woman giving birth.
With the success of Hulu, and its plan to introduce a pay wall within the next three months, the prospects of prising away such priceless televisual jewels as House and 30 Rock from News Corporation and NBC respectively seem fairly bleak: YouTube can at least hope to steal away the blockbusters of other networks, such as CBS, to offer as part of its own pay-per-view service.
But Google isn't concentrating solely on entertainment programming and another tantalising glimpse of YouTube's destiny was offered last Wednesday when it announced it had won the right to stream live Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket matches from March 12. Cricket fans across the globe will be able to watch the matches for free, with the IPL and Google splitting sponsorship and advertising money derived from the new YouTube channel.
The live IPL matches are seen by some as a highly convenient means for YouTube to raise its profile as a worldwide broadcaster without having to spend anything on new server capacity – and perhaps go some way to repairing the commercial damage done to Google by its high profile falling out with China over censorship.
Live streaming – as opposed to playing a video that you have downloaded – is sometimes a 'choppy' experience for the viewer; at peak times the video playback stops and starts, as anyone who has tried to watch the BBC’s iPlayer at 8pm can confirm. Google would normally have to buy more server capacity to be sure of providing a reasonable service for an event as popular as the IPL.
But live IPL matches will be broadcast at a time of low demand in the United States – the small hours. The result? A smooth experience for Indian cricket fans, while Google gets to make a lot of new friends in the only country with a population over a billion it hasn’t picked a fight with this year.
The pieces are falling into place. With its ambitions in entertainment, movies and sport laid bare, how long can it be before YouTube is a global TV network in its own right?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Cable Cutters: Cheap Alternatives to TV
I don't like service providers. Cable TV, landline phone and fax, mobile phone, ISP, and even satellite radio companies have so little real competition that they know they don't have to impress me very much to get my business. I either pay the full fees and become connected to them by their cord (physical or wireless), or I don't get any service. Until lately.
Now those companies face new pressure from Web-based technologies and services that can offer similar features for far less money, or even for free. Many of these services ride in on the cord owned by the big service provider, relegating said service provider to the job of operating "dumb pipes."
Which TV executive knew just a few years ago that paid and free online services could threaten cable companies? Internet radio being a better value than a satellite subscription, and more.
Here I'll explain the alternatives that can help you walk away from the biggest corded companies that we love to hate. You can pick and choose which are still worth keeping and which to toss. Are you being pressured into buying a service provider's "triple play"? Try three strikes and you're out.
Pay for TV and Movies Instead of Cable Service
The cable--and satellite--TV model is on life support. Who wants to pay $100 or more a month for an endless well of unwatched shows? Even if you have an appetite for premium-channel shows, you can save money by buying some à la carte and watching others free online.
Paid, per-show TV sources are all around you. Apple iTunes, Amazon VOD, Zune Marketplace, Blockbuster On Demand, and Jaman store thousands of shows and movies.
All offer various purchase and rental options, often $3 to $4 to rent a movie for a day. Expect to drop about $30 to $40 per season of scripted, premium-channel TV (HBO, Showtime, and such), or, often, about $10 less for network shows.
That sounds pricy at first, and it often costs more than buying a physical disc. But total up four or five of those seasons and a handful of movies, and you could pay half as much as cable over the same time period.
If you want to watch video on a portable device, stick with iTunes for iPod and iPhone compatibility; or Zune Marketplace for Zune support. Unfortunately, the other stores don't offer portable media player support. If you have an AppleTV or an Xbox 360, you can at least watch your shows in the living room.
Netflix is a good base service for any cable TV-free home. The cheapest subscription for the DVD-by-mail service is $8.99 each month, but much of the value comes in the thousands of shows and movies you can stream from Netflix to your PC. Plus, Netflix can stream to a TiVo, Xbox 360, PS3, dedicated Roku device, and other hardware, so you can watch in the living room without a media center PC.
Similar streaming services like Amazon, Blockbuster, Jaman, and others can play on much of the same hardware. Check your TV-connected hardware against these services' support pages.
I've also got my eye on the upcoming Boxee Box and Sezmi service; both will offer hardware that plays Internet-streamed video on a TV. Sezmi, which will be rolling out nationwide this year, even promises local shows and live sports, one of the biggest deficits in online libraries.
Next: Free TV, Movies, Phone Service, and more
Get Free TV And Movies
Hulu is still my king of free TV sites, although it's uncertain if it will--or won't--change to a paid model. And I've been occasionally frustrated when show episodes or seasons disappear just before I try to watch. But the majority of recent network shows are available. Plus, you'll find movie and TV favorites alongside B-level misses.
As I write this, you can watch "Spartacus" and "All the King's Men" alongside the Norm MacDonald vehicle, "Dirty Work."
Check Hulu first, but also scan other sites for free TV and movies. Crackle, Comcast Fancast, and even YouTube have movies and TV content. If you you're looking for a specific show that you still can't find online, visit its Web site or its network site directly.
Live sports can still be elusive. Check the network that's broadcasting the content for a stream; I saw a Monday Night Football game this way last fall. MLB.com hosts live baseball, but you'll have to pay for service. Justin.tv could be your best ace for any sport. While unsanctioned, many users play live streams of their local stations; just click the sports button.
And remember the cheapest, highest-quality TV source of all: an antenna. Over-the-air HD content looks great, often better than video compressed for a cable TV feed. You'll just need a TV with an HD tuner--typical for most sets built in the last several years--or a PC TV tuner.
Now those companies face new pressure from Web-based technologies and services that can offer similar features for far less money, or even for free. Many of these services ride in on the cord owned by the big service provider, relegating said service provider to the job of operating "dumb pipes."
Which TV executive knew just a few years ago that paid and free online services could threaten cable companies? Internet radio being a better value than a satellite subscription, and more.
Here I'll explain the alternatives that can help you walk away from the biggest corded companies that we love to hate. You can pick and choose which are still worth keeping and which to toss. Are you being pressured into buying a service provider's "triple play"? Try three strikes and you're out.
Pay for TV and Movies Instead of Cable Service
The cable--and satellite--TV model is on life support. Who wants to pay $100 or more a month for an endless well of unwatched shows? Even if you have an appetite for premium-channel shows, you can save money by buying some à la carte and watching others free online.
Paid, per-show TV sources are all around you. Apple iTunes, Amazon VOD, Zune Marketplace, Blockbuster On Demand, and Jaman store thousands of shows and movies.
All offer various purchase and rental options, often $3 to $4 to rent a movie for a day. Expect to drop about $30 to $40 per season of scripted, premium-channel TV (HBO, Showtime, and such), or, often, about $10 less for network shows.
That sounds pricy at first, and it often costs more than buying a physical disc. But total up four or five of those seasons and a handful of movies, and you could pay half as much as cable over the same time period.
If you want to watch video on a portable device, stick with iTunes for iPod and iPhone compatibility; or Zune Marketplace for Zune support. Unfortunately, the other stores don't offer portable media player support. If you have an AppleTV or an Xbox 360, you can at least watch your shows in the living room.
Netflix is a good base service for any cable TV-free home. The cheapest subscription for the DVD-by-mail service is $8.99 each month, but much of the value comes in the thousands of shows and movies you can stream from Netflix to your PC. Plus, Netflix can stream to a TiVo, Xbox 360, PS3, dedicated Roku device, and other hardware, so you can watch in the living room without a media center PC.
Similar streaming services like Amazon, Blockbuster, Jaman, and others can play on much of the same hardware. Check your TV-connected hardware against these services' support pages.
I've also got my eye on the upcoming Boxee Box and Sezmi service; both will offer hardware that plays Internet-streamed video on a TV. Sezmi, which will be rolling out nationwide this year, even promises local shows and live sports, one of the biggest deficits in online libraries.
Next: Free TV, Movies, Phone Service, and more
Get Free TV And Movies
Hulu is still my king of free TV sites, although it's uncertain if it will--or won't--change to a paid model. And I've been occasionally frustrated when show episodes or seasons disappear just before I try to watch. But the majority of recent network shows are available. Plus, you'll find movie and TV favorites alongside B-level misses.
As I write this, you can watch "Spartacus" and "All the King's Men" alongside the Norm MacDonald vehicle, "Dirty Work."
Check Hulu first, but also scan other sites for free TV and movies. Crackle, Comcast Fancast, and even YouTube have movies and TV content. If you you're looking for a specific show that you still can't find online, visit its Web site or its network site directly.
Live sports can still be elusive. Check the network that's broadcasting the content for a stream; I saw a Monday Night Football game this way last fall. MLB.com hosts live baseball, but you'll have to pay for service. Justin.tv could be your best ace for any sport. While unsanctioned, many users play live streams of their local stations; just click the sports button.
And remember the cheapest, highest-quality TV source of all: an antenna. Over-the-air HD content looks great, often better than video compressed for a cable TV feed. You'll just need a TV with an HD tuner--typical for most sets built in the last several years--or a PC TV tuner.
How to Watch TV and Movies in Media Center without a TV Tuner
Do you have a Windows 7 PC but no TV tuner? You may be surprised to learn that you don’t need one in order to watch streaming video and even popular TV programming on your Media Center PC or extender thanks to the numerous Media Center plugins currently available. In this post, we’ll look at the TV plugins you can use with Media Center, including those specifically designed for viewing Hulu content as well as other similar plugins for streaming video.
TV/Hulu Plugins
Plugins that allow you to watch TV shows via Media Center are very popular, especially those that provide access to Hulu, the online site where major TV networks have teamed up to provide free, streaming video. There are a number of different plugins to choose from, each with their own feature set and fan base. Which one you choose to install may come down to its offerings, ease of use, price, or just personal preference.
Hulu Desktop Plugin
The Hulu Desktop Integration 1.0 plugin offers an easy way to hop between using Windows Media Center and the Hulu Desktop application, the desktop software that complements the online site. Once installed into Windows 7 Media Center, this plugin sets up its own menu simply called “HULU.” When you click on Hulu in this menu, the software will automatically close Windows Media Center and launch Hulu Desktop already in full screen mode. When you’re finished watching the streaming videos in Hulu, you just click on “Exit” from the software’s main menu and Windows Media Center will return, it too in full screen mode. This easy switching also works with Windows Media Center remote controls but does not work with extenders like the Xbox 360.
Before installing this application, you’ll need to install Hulu Desktop. Make sure both it and Windows Media Center are closed before you install the plugin
PlayIt Plugin
With the Playon Digital Media Server, you can stream video on your Xbox 360, HP MediaSmart TV, or any other DLNA-compliant device. However, it wasn’t until the release of the PlayIt plugin that Media Center owners could get in on the action, too. Thanks to a user by the name of Elutmann1 on Microsoft’s Green Button forums, a site for Media Center enthusiasts, the PlayIt plugin lets Media Center users connect to a PlayOn server to stream video as well as use the Media Center controls like rewind, fast forward, play, pause and stop. With PlayIt installed, you gain access to Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, Hulu, CBS, CNN, ESPN, YouTube, and more, all of which become available for viewing within the Media Center application.
However, although the PlayIt plugin software is free of charge, the PlayOn server software is not. PlayOn is $39.99, but a free 2-week trial is available. You can download PlayOn from here then follow these instructions to install the PlayIt plugin. The plugin works on Vista Media Center and up.
For additional plugins designed to operate with PlayOn server, visit the community site at playonplugins.com where a number of developers share additional third-party plugins that works with PlayOn. For example, check out the Channel 9 plugin available here.
Boxee
Boxee is an open source media center type application that received a lot of attention in recent days thanks to its ability to stream popular TV programming to your PC or TV while also incorporating “social” elements like the ability to friend other users, rate content, and make recommendations.
Within Boxee, users have access to content from major TV networks like ABC, CNN, CBS, Comedy Central, and the WB as well as online content like Blip.TV, MTV music videos, MySpaceTV, Revision3 programs, Apple movie trailers, BBC iPlayer shows, Joost, SHOUTcast, Jamendo, Last.fm, NPR, and YouTube. In addition, you can add picture displaying plugins from Flickr and Picasa and RSS feeds.
Hulu support, however, has been off and on because Hulu’s parent company, NBC Universal, was asked to remove it from Boxee by their content partners. Boxee later re-added it using Hulu RSS feeds. Again, Hulu blocked access until Boxee introduced a new architecture which uses Firefox so that Hulu now sees Boxee as a Mozilla web browser so it won’t get blocked.
Thanks to the enthusiast site, Missing Remote with help from MVP Andrew Cherry, there’s a way to added Boxee support to your Windows 7 Media Center. You’ll first need to download this zip file and extract it to your Boxee installation directory (e.g. “C:\Program Files\Boxee\BoxeeMCE”). Then you’ll right-click to launch the file “installBoxee.cmd.” Detailed instructions are here. Although written for Vista Media Center, it works with Windows 7 works too.
To add Boxee onto Media Center’s start menu in Windows 7, you’ll need to navigate to Media Center’s “Extras” menu where you’ll now see Boxee listed. Right-click on the icon and choose “Add to Start Menu” from the menu that appears.
SecondRunTV
SecondRunTV is a plugin that allows you to launch the Hulu desktop application right within Media Center. Since Hulu Desktop works with a remote this makes SecondRunTV feel like it’s just another Media Center application.
The interface for SecondRunTV lets you sort through the available TV stations by Network or by Title. Movies and Trailers are separated in the two other menus. Unfortunately though, the plugin doesn’t work on extenders like the Xbox 360, so it’s only worthwhile if you do most of your TV viewing on your Media Center PC itself. You can download the SecondRun.tv plugin for free here (donations accepted), but be aware that it’s still in beta status.
TunerFree MCE
TunerFree MCE is a Windows Media Center plugin that brings several of the United Kingdom's main TV providers (BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five), as well as all of the BBC Radio stations to your Media Center PC and extender. They’ve also added full Hulu support for their U.S. users.
The program’s interface displays the various channels’ logos for easy access as well as a “favorites” section for tracking your most frequently watched programs. You can also sort the programming by date or search through the available content by keyword.
For a little bit of extra fun, the developer even added a Twitter section which lets you tweet what you watch right from Media Center itself. To use this feature, go into TunerFree’s preferences and enter in your Twitter credentials. You’ll then have a new Twitter icon on the TunerFree start page in Media Center.
TunerFree is a free download (donations accepted) and works on both Vista and Windows 7. (On a personal note, I use this plugin myself and found it to be one of the easiest ones to install and configure.)
HuluMCE plugin
Again thanks to the Missing Remote blog, there’s information on how to add the Hulu Desktop program to MediaCenter as a shortcut from the main screen. This is similar to the functionality provided by SecondRunTV so you would want to try one or the other, not both.
To install this plugin, you’ll need to grab the zip file called HuluMCE Plugin and unzip it into the same folder where you have the Hulu Desktop application installed. (By default - C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\HuluDesktop). There are a few more steps involved to get it properly configured which you can follow by reading through the online guide available here.
Once installed, the HuluMCE plugin will appear in your TV+Movies menu on Vista Media Center or in your Extras menu on Windows 7 Media Center. You can then browse and view Hulu content via the plugin and you can even use your Media Center remote to control Hulu.
ZeeVee
The Zinc Internet browser is a free downloadable software program from ZeeVee, a company known for their commercial and residential solutions for HD video. With the Zinc software, you can browse through a number of channels, including major TV networks like FOX, ABC, CBS, CW, and ESPN as well as online sites like Hulu, Revision3, and YouTube.
A Green Button forum member, Rob Rogers, at one time made a ZeeVee plugin available for Windows Media Center users that lets you launch and browse ZeeVee’s Zinc player in Media Center. Sadly though, he decided to take it down because he didn’t see much interest. However, we reached out to him to ask him about it and he shared the details of how it was made in case anyone wants to duplicate his efforts.
Basically, he downloaded the HuluMCE plugin (above) and modified it to point to the Zinc files instead. That’s it. After doing so, unzip the files it contains in the same folder as your Zinc install (which you must first get from ZeeVee’s website). Typically, the installation location is %ProgramFiles%\ZeeVee\Zv\zviewer\ZeeVeeMCE\. Next, run the InstallZeeVee.cmd as an administrator. You’ll then find Zinc available from the Extras menu in Windows 7 Media Center or the Picture & Videos menu in Windows Vista Media Center.
TubeCore
TubeCore is one of the newer plugins for streaming TV shows from the internet via Windows Media Center. The software finds online video from websites like Hulu, CBS.com, the Onion, Revision3, and many others, and lets you watch it on your Media Center computer or on a Media Center extender like the Xbox 360.
To use TubeCore, you’ll need a Vista or Windows 7 PC, a TV connection (either direct or an extender), and media server software.
However, unlike some of the other plugins on this list, TubeCore is not free. You can try it for 2 weeks at no charge, but afterwards, you’ll have to purchase it if you want to continue to use it. At that time, the plugin is available for a one-time fee of $19.99. Since you are paying, though, you’re entitled to support via the company’s tech support email address and forums.
Sky Player
Just in time for Windows 7’s launch, the Sky Player add-in for Windows 7 Media Center has been announced (although not launched). This plugin, designed for UK customers, lets you watch live and on-demand programming from Sky TV’s online TV service, Sky Player. The player currently offers 24 channels as well as an online library containing 500 movies.
Existing Sky TV customers can simply install the plugin and watch the programming on their Media Center PC or extender. New customers can access the content by paying for a monthly subscription.
Others of Interest
There are a few other plugins that may also be of interest to Windows Media Center users. While these below don’t provide you with access to streaming TV and movies directly, they do provide other ways to watch streaming video on your Media Center PC.
My Trailers and In the Movies
My Trailers and In the Movies are actually two different plugins from the same company. “My Trailers SE for MCE” allows you to watch movie trailers with via Windows Media Center while “In The Movies SE for MCE” delivers information about movies in the theaters now.
In “My Trailers” you can watch trailers for current releases as well as for movies that are coming soon. You can scroll through the releases using the left and right arrow buttons and you can maximize the playing trailer to view it full screen.
“In the Movies” has a feature called "In Theaters" which shows you the movies that are currently playing plus a "Showtimes" which shows you where and what time the movie you want to see is playing. "Reviews" displays comments about the movies and "Coming Soon" gives you a sneak peek upcoming releases. Finally, the "Box Office" section shows the weekend box office top 50 movies.
Both plugins are Windows 7 compatible.
HD Movie Trailers
HD Movie Trailers, which is hosted on Codeplex, describes itself as a "proof of concept." However, a blogger over at Hack7MC.com installed it in order to add movie trailers to the information screen for each movie in his collection. Like it sounds, this plugin lets you watch HD movie trailers via Media Center, but unfortunately, you have to first download them manually and place them in that movie’s folder. You then have to create an XML file so Media Center knows where to find them.
The plugin is designed to work with MediaBrowser, which is a popular alternative UI for Media Center.
Obviously, this is one of the geekier plugins to use, but some of you may find it helpful.
Last But Not Lest, Netflix!
Of course, one of the best ways to stream movies (and TV shows available on DVD) is via Netflix. If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you can access the new option which only appeared days ago from Windows Media Center’s “Movies” menu.
The first time you click on the “Netflix” option, you’ll need to check the box agreeing to the Terms of Service and then click the “Install” button. You’ll then sign into your account or, if you don’t have one, you have the option to sign up for a free trial right there. Once signed in, you can browse through and manage your DVD queue and your instant queue as well as search through Netflix’s database of available movies.
To watch a movie from your instant queue, just click on the thumbnail and then click “Play.” The movie will begin immediately.
So Many Choices…
As you can see, there are numerous choices for watching TV and movies within Windows 7 Media Center even if you can’t afford to invest in a TV tuner card at the moment. Many of the options above are even free to install and use. Although a lot of the plugins focus on Hulu integration, a U.S.-only site, international users will still be able to take advantage of those plugins which stream other content like YouTube videos or Revision3 web shows. No matter which plugins you choose to install, you can be sure it will make Windows Media Center a lot more fun to use.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Where to Watch Australian Open 2010 Tennis Live Online
First grand slam tournament of the season – the 2010 Australian Open Tennis Championship is about to begin. The tournament which starts on 18th January will last for 14 days till 31st January 2010. Online streaming sites such as UStream, Justin.tv and the official Australian Open website will be broadcasting the event LIVE. You can watch the top tennis players in the World including 15 times grand slam champion Roger Federer, as they all compete for one of the biggest prized crown of the year.
You can follow the action Live through one of the following ways.
The Official 2010 Australian Open Championship App on iPhone
Tennis Australia in association with IBM brings the official iPhone app for the 2010 Australian Open Tennis Championships. You can follow the Live ball-by-ball coverage, scores, results, draws & schedule and live twitter feed from the Open right on your iPhone and iPod touch. This app can be downloaded for free from iTunes App Store here.
UStream.tv
UStream is a an online video sharing and streaming site that provides a platform for broadcasting live video. Some members of UStream.tv have setup channels which streams the action Live from Australian Open 2010 Championship. You can access these channels here.
Justin.tv
The famous online streaming and sharing website Justin.tv will be broadcasting the event Live on various different channels. You can watch the action Live from all the courts in high quality from the one of the channels found here.
The Official 2010 Australian Open Championship Website
The official Australian Open website will be streaming action from more than 150 matches which comprises of about 300 hours of LIVE tennis action for $22.95 (10% off) on australianopentv.com. This 10% discount offer is valid till 18th January only. You can sign up for this service by following this link here.
How to Watch African Cup of Nations 2010 in the USA, UK and Australia
Unless you have a ticket to an Angola 2010 game, there are basically three ways to watch the African Cup of Nations 2010. Option One is to watch it on TV. Option Two, you can watch a legal, high quality internet stream. Option Three, you take your chances with a barely legal pirated internet stream. Let’s start with Option One.
1. Watching African Cup of Nations 2010 on Television
The news isn’t great I’m afraid. If you want to watch the Africa Cup of Nations 2010 on American television, it seems the only channel (that I know of) showing the tournament is the Malian channel ORTM, which is only available via certain satellite providers.
In you’re in the UK then the bad news is that the BBC aren’t offering the coverage they offered in 2008 (when games were live on either BBC Three or via the red button). Good news is that British Eurosport are showing games live (also on British Eurosport HD) but you’ll need Sky or Virgin or similar to see it. Basically, it’s not on freeview. The BBC will show both semi-finals and the final live though.
If you’re in Australia, then you’re in luck if you have Setanta. Details of Setanta Australia’s Africa Cup of Nations coverage can be found here.
Now onto Options Two and Three…
2. Paid-For Internet Streams
If you’re in the United States, then you can pay to watch live via MyAfricanFootball.com. It costs $7.20 per game, $28.81 for the Group Stage package, and $21.60 for the Final Stages Package (ie, the knockout rounds). It’s pricey, but it’s legal, reliable and apparently good quality. If you’re outside the USA, be aware that this coverage is unavailable in most European, Middle Eastern and some African countries. More details here.
If you’re in the UK and don’t have Eurosport as part of your television package, then you can watch online fairly cheaply via the Eurosport Player, which will simulcast Eurosport’s coverage online. It’s just £3.99 for a one month pass, which will get you through the 2010 African Cup of Nations. I’ve never tried this service, but suspect it’s reliable.
3. “Other” Internet Streams
After that, it’s all about your semi-legal options. Basically internet streaming. The obvious upside is that these streams are free. The downside is that the quality is sometimes questionable (though sometimes decent) and not always reliable. Beggars can’t be choosers. But if you’re going down this route then I would suggest trying the following links:
Iraqgoals.net – Provides a list of streams for current games. Just click and the stream (usually via justin.tv or similar) will open. Sometimes it’s very watchable, sometimes not.
Atdhe.net – Similar to Iraqgoals.net, but less football focused.
1. Watching African Cup of Nations 2010 on Television
The news isn’t great I’m afraid. If you want to watch the Africa Cup of Nations 2010 on American television, it seems the only channel (that I know of) showing the tournament is the Malian channel ORTM, which is only available via certain satellite providers.
In you’re in the UK then the bad news is that the BBC aren’t offering the coverage they offered in 2008 (when games were live on either BBC Three or via the red button). Good news is that British Eurosport are showing games live (also on British Eurosport HD) but you’ll need Sky or Virgin or similar to see it. Basically, it’s not on freeview. The BBC will show both semi-finals and the final live though.
If you’re in Australia, then you’re in luck if you have Setanta. Details of Setanta Australia’s Africa Cup of Nations coverage can be found here.
Now onto Options Two and Three…
2. Paid-For Internet Streams
If you’re in the United States, then you can pay to watch live via MyAfricanFootball.com. It costs $7.20 per game, $28.81 for the Group Stage package, and $21.60 for the Final Stages Package (ie, the knockout rounds). It’s pricey, but it’s legal, reliable and apparently good quality. If you’re outside the USA, be aware that this coverage is unavailable in most European, Middle Eastern and some African countries. More details here.
If you’re in the UK and don’t have Eurosport as part of your television package, then you can watch online fairly cheaply via the Eurosport Player, which will simulcast Eurosport’s coverage online. It’s just £3.99 for a one month pass, which will get you through the 2010 African Cup of Nations. I’ve never tried this service, but suspect it’s reliable.
3. “Other” Internet Streams
After that, it’s all about your semi-legal options. Basically internet streaming. The obvious upside is that these streams are free. The downside is that the quality is sometimes questionable (though sometimes decent) and not always reliable. Beggars can’t be choosers. But if you’re going down this route then I would suggest trying the following links:
Iraqgoals.net – Provides a list of streams for current games. Just click and the stream (usually via justin.tv or similar) will open. Sometimes it’s very watchable, sometimes not.
Atdhe.net – Similar to Iraqgoals.net, but less football focused.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Watch American Idol 2010 Online - American Idol Season 9 Premiere on FOX
As television's No. 1 reality series, American Idol 2010 is ready to kick off. In all-new American Idol season 9, a batch of aspiring stars hope to prove to the judges that they have what it takes to be the next American Idol. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you're from, it just takes a moment to become a star. Don’t miss the Season Premiere of 2010 American Idol Tuesday, January 12th 8/7c on FOX.
AMERICAN IDOL
Air Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Time Slot: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM EST on FOX
Episode Title: (ID-901/902) “Boston Auditions”
American Idol 2010 comes with all-new contestants, a new judge and the best and worst of auditions. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, television's No. 1 series promises to deliver the most unforgettable season yet as Ellen DeGeneres joins the judging panel to sit alongside Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi. This season, AMERICAN IDOL travels across the country to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and Orlando, where the good, the bad and the outrageous audition for their shot at stardom. Don’t miss the auditions that everyone will be talking about the next day when AMERICAN IDOL premieres Tuesday, Jan. 12 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (ID-901/902) (TV-PG D, L)
Watch American Idol 2010 Season Premiere Online Streaming
I guess you don’t have a television like me, so it’s impossible to switch to FOX channel on nights. For Internet users, live streaming video online for American Idol season 9 is the best approach. Since there is no live streaming from American Idol official, all we can do is 3rd party live FOX channel streaming online. Try the professional service from SlingMedia, or free live channels by TVUNetworks.
AMERICAN IDOL
Air Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Time Slot: 8:00 PM-10:00 PM EST on FOX
Episode Title: (ID-901/902) “Boston Auditions”
American Idol 2010 comes with all-new contestants, a new judge and the best and worst of auditions. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, television's No. 1 series promises to deliver the most unforgettable season yet as Ellen DeGeneres joins the judging panel to sit alongside Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi. This season, AMERICAN IDOL travels across the country to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles and Orlando, where the good, the bad and the outrageous audition for their shot at stardom. Don’t miss the auditions that everyone will be talking about the next day when AMERICAN IDOL premieres Tuesday, Jan. 12 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (ID-901/902) (TV-PG D, L)
Watch American Idol 2010 Season Premiere Online Streaming
I guess you don’t have a television like me, so it’s impossible to switch to FOX channel on nights. For Internet users, live streaming video online for American Idol season 9 is the best approach. Since there is no live streaming from American Idol official, all we can do is 3rd party live FOX channel streaming online. Try the professional service from SlingMedia, or free live channels by TVUNetworks.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Annular Solar Eclipse 2010 Webcast
The biggest astronomical event of the year the annular solar eclipse 2010 can be seen on the January 15th. This event is visible to African countries such as Chad, central Africa, Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia and the Asian countries such as Maldives, Sri Lanka, south India, Bangladesh, Burma and china.
For Sri Lanka the best observation site would be Jaffna which is located in the Northern Province. The eclipse will have an annularity of 10 minutes and 18 seconds.
In partnership with Express Newspapers, Sri Lanka Astronomical Association, Astronomical Association of Royal College and many other astronomical societies, skylk.com is bringing you a web stream live from Jaffna over the internet.
Come to witness the ring of fire on the January 15th on eclipse.skylk.com…
For Sri Lanka the best observation site would be Jaffna which is located in the Northern Province. The eclipse will have an annularity of 10 minutes and 18 seconds.
In partnership with Express Newspapers, Sri Lanka Astronomical Association, Astronomical Association of Royal College and many other astronomical societies, skylk.com is bringing you a web stream live from Jaffna over the internet.
Come to witness the ring of fire on the January 15th on eclipse.skylk.com…
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