streaming

Netflix's streaming movie service is finding itself on more and more devices, and recently the company's blog featured a detailed account of exactly how movies are encoded. While many companies hide behind misleading resolution figures like "720p video," video geeks know that bit rate is a much better indicator of how good a video will look. Netflix gets pretty in-depth with the specifications of the new encodes:

"The VC1 encoders are more efficient than the WMV3 encoders, so we are currently encoding VC1AP at slightly lower birates: 375, 500, 1000, and 1500kbps, all square pixel. … Read more

Updated on 11/20/08 to correct details about Qik's social uploads.

Last week I learned of mobile video-broadcasting application Bambuser. Since then, I've compared it side-by-side with its direct competitor, Qik. The similarities between the two are more than skin deep: both turn the cell phone's camera into a live recorder and stream the video online, both allow viewers to chat with the videographer by flashing the message on the screen, and both are currently in development mode. They also both let you integrate with Twitter, Pownce, and a variety of other social networks.

While Qik, … Read more

Screamer Radio may not be the most feature-rich desktop app for streaming Internet Radio, but it is light, compact, and effective freeware that fits the way I like to listen to music while I work: without thinking too much about what's coming next.

To fulfill a set-it-and-forget-it listening experience, there's Screamer Radio's lengthy list of preset stations organized by global region, language, and genre. While many preset links work well, there are also many that don't, because the links point to a Web site and not to the streaming URL. If you like the station, you … Read more

You won't find absolute perfection in this free desktop app for streaming Internet Radio, but you will find a mess of language options, preset stations, and a few extra functions stuffed into a very light, fast app. For casual listeners, the combination will be just right. Not every preset station will be a success--we found that many URLs lead to a Web site, not to a stream. If that's the case, you can follow the link from Screamer Radio, do a little searching around the site, and manually enter the URL. Unfortunately, there's no way to edit … Read more

Video delivery platform provider GridNetworks on Monday announced that it has launched its GridCast TV service, which allows content distributors to stream online video to a viewer's TV.

GridCast TV is currently capable of reaching 35 million homes across the United States, thanks to the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Internet-enabled high-definition TVs.

According to GridNetworks, the service doesn't require the use of a set-top box or any other additional hardware, but it is a CDN overlay technology that requires to two main components: software embedded into set-top boxes, as well as the installation of the Grid Network Control … Read more

If you've ever wanted to watch streaming video right on your desktop, and organize all your favorite streams in a single bucket, it's worth checking out StreamDesk. This cross-platform desktop application plays video streams from a variety of sources in a simple player that cuts out the browser completely and turns each show into a small, floating window.

Included are more than 100 various streaming video shows from a small handful of providers. If you come across one that isn't live, you're out of luck, otherwise live shows begin to stream in almost instantly. Shows you … Read more

Q: I've finally decided to buy a HDTV, and I was just wondering what your input on DLNA was. Do you know of any good models out there that support this feature (that also allow access to several media servers)? Or should I wait until DLNA becomes more standard in HDTVs? -- Chris, via e-mail.

A: Hi Chris. We've covered in detail what exactly the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is all about before, and reviewed several models (as mentioned below) that support the specification. As for access to several media servers--most DLNA-certified clients (including all the certified HDTVs we reviewed this year) support several media servers at once. You will have to switch between them of course, but it's never been a issue with performance in our experience. The short answer to your other question, however, is DLNA is still in its infancy for being adopted by TV manufacturers. 2008 has been the year where it was introduced and perhaps 2009 will be the year that its more commonplace in HDTVs. As of now, you can expect to pay a hefty premium for the technology, as much as $500 above the average price of a HDTV. Then you have to consider the television's interoperability issues.… Read more

If Bambuser's mobile live broadcasting app sounds familiar, it's because it's trying to unseat Qik.

As one of the companies presenting at Wednesday's Under the Radar conference in Mountain View, CA, Bambuser is trying to convince investors and future partners to propel their business forward. Like Qik, Bambuser broadcasts the contents of your view finder from your mobile phone, which viewers can watch live online. Also like Qik, Bambuser viewers can chat with the filmmaker when the video is live. However, Bambuser throws in recording and geotagging from the Webcam in addition to the phone.

As … Read more

Musical curiosity is no dangerous thing with Pandora's iPhone app for music discovery, except that you'll soon be hooked. Take the Web radio engine's original concept of suggesting music by comparing the rhythms of a song you might like with one you already do and add to it a sleek interface, ratings icons, and quick links to bookmark the song or artist, or buy the track from iTunes. Add an explanation of why the bots picked your song to the ability to view the song progress, create a new station from a song or artist, and send … Read more