Netflix Comes To Tivo, AppleTV, and … Linux !

Tivo announced a few days ago that, if you are a subscriber to Netflix and Tivo services, then you can start receiving many Netflix titles on your Tivo box for no extra charge.




Unfortunately, this is only available to subscribers with TiVo HD, TiVo HD XL and TiVo Series3 DVRs. The majority of Tivo's subscribers are still Series 2 owners, so they will be forced to “upgrade” if they want this new service. The switch won't be that easy for those of us on satellite. Tivo's current model lineup does not really offer a solution for satellite subscribers. The HD and HD XL are cable only and there is no sign of the Series 3 on their site.


Think different: Netflix is coming to Apple TV and Linux

Linux PC and AppleTV users are about to gain the ability to stream Netflix's movies and TV shows directly to their systems. Although Netflix's instant watch service only officially supports Windows and Mac, Boxee expects to release Netflix streaming support to the Ubuntu version of its free A/V media center software within a couple of days, and says that adding Netflix streaming support to AppleTV asap is its top priority.

Boinx TV : A Good Bye to Post Production Blues?

BoinxTV is a pioneering live production software to record video podcasts, sports events, concerts, interviews, speeches, sermons, seminars, and more using just your Mac and up to three cameras.




“For the rest of us”

BoinxTV’s goal is to make it easy to create professional “TV style” recordings. As a video producer, you currently have to spend many hours editing your takes to get a professional looking result. Post-production is a time-consuming part of the workflow. BoinxTV reduces the overall production time dramatically as you can apply cuts, graphic effects, titles and more during the live recording of the show. Everything done during live recording does not have to be done in post production.

In weather forecasts on TV, the presenter is standing in front of a large map. Actually this is a green or blue background that is replaced by a background image or video. You can achieve the same effect, as BoinxTV supports chroma keying. Of course you will need a background and a lighting set. If you need recommendations for studio equipment, find them here.

BoinxTV ships with more than 30 professional layers (video switcher, RSS crawler, lower third, interview setup, and others), and can be extended by custom layers designed with Apple's Quartz Composer software, which comes free with Mac OS X. You can also tailor BoinxTV layers to your needs or hire Boinx to create a specific layer for you.

A single user license will set you back $499, or $199 if you are willing to include a five second credit for BoinxTV in every video. Custom layers cost $999 each.

Sorry Windows users … this is a Mac only deal!

EyeTV Tuner - The Third Generation

If you're tuned into Macs more than Windows and have been using Elgato's EyeTVhardware and/or software, the new 3.0 version expands your options in a big way, enabling you to:

1. Watch, pause, fast-forward and rewind live television on your Mac, at your desk or in the comfort of your living room.
2. Search the Program Guide using any criteria.
3. Record hours of television.
4. Create subscriptions to TV series and topics of your choice.
5. Manage saved episodes, and organize them in Smart Playlists.
6. Edit unwanted content from your recordings
7. Put them into iTunes in one easy step.
8. Export for current media types and playback devices or burn to DVD.
9. Share EyeTV recordings with other Macs on a local network
10. Play back using Wi-Fi Access on an iPhone and iPod touch and selected smartphones.

Here is what Jeremy Horwitz, Editor-in-Chief of iLounge says:

"What's great about EyeTV is the incredible scope and generally smart, intuitive functionality of the software: what you get here is now officially leagues beyond what TiVo and its many lesser competitors offer in today's digital video recorders.

Media DRM Killer Created by “DVD Jon”

Yes, that could include your video too, if you ever thought of protecting it with any digital rights management (DRM) system or service....



Double Twist Ventures, “DVD Jon” Lech Johansen's company just released an open beta (doesn’t beta mean open to start with?) of DoubleTwist, a desktop application that allows you to copy media to any device. There's a Facebook app too. DoubleTwist can be downloaded at:

Doubletwistventures.com

Currently only Windows is supported, but a Macintosh version is on the way. Find out more on their Q&A page before shooting your next masterpiece. It’s an eye-opener!

The Apple of NBC's Eye

NBC has launched NBC Direct where most shows can be watched online and some shows are available for full episode downloads. This comes after NBC decided to pull out of iTunes. For now it's Windows only, XP or Vista, IE 6 or 7. No love lost here...!

Microsoft Knocks Itself Out Via SearchVideo

This true. I found out yesterday. Double checked today. On PCs with Windows you get to see only the Grey Rotating Arrow of Death, like this one:




for the SearchVideo widget I installed inder the logo in the right column a bare 2 days ago. However, it turns out about 95% of the videos found and served up by this new AOL search engine/service is for XBox 360 games, accompanied by lots of MS ads ;-(

LOL...and don't bother installing the very latest Flash player and browser: IE 7, Firefox 2, Opera 9 either. None works with this SearchVideo widget. Which is for the best, I swear. You can take my rotating arrow for it...if you are one of the lucky Windows users.