Webware

Live-streaming platform Justin.tv now supports high-resolution videos using H.264 encoding. The codec, which has made headway in consumer electronics, is also a great format for the Web since it can fit high resolutions in relatively small file sizes--making it ideal for something like streaming.

For now there are a few caveats that keep it from being accessible to the average user. For one, videos streamed in high resolution H.264 will not be saved into user archives, and there is no way to do it without using special software to process the stream before it hits Justin.tv's servers.

Users are encouraged to be running a rig with a fast processor and modern graphics card, as it takes some considerable horsepower to crunch down video in real time. Eventually the company hopes to offer such processing power on its own servers, so that you'll be able to get similar results with any commodity high-resolution Webcam and a good connection.

The company has posted how-to streaming guides for Windows and Mac on its blog.

I've really enjoyed seeing the lifecasting movement take off. I can't say I feel the need to visit these sites on a regular basis, but like a roller coaster built for children, they provide enjoyable moments mixed in with some less-than-incredible build-up. One of the newest entrants to the space is Mod My Life, which shares a lot in common with its other lifecasting brethren by mixing up live Webcam footage with user chat. The twist is that the person with the Webcam is an actor or comedian, and the audience gets to control what he or she is doing.

All the user-created actions are created and voted on by users, and they show up in an upcoming section that lets the group weed out the good ideas from the bad. The four most popular get dropped into a voting pool where users can vote on the item as many times as they like until the time runs out. The "Modstars," which are the people with the cameras strapped to their heads, then has to go do what people have told them to do.

To view old events, there's an archive section to watch short clips.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

While watching last night I was treated to several awkward moments of Modstar Jason Wilder Evans bothering people around the greater New York area before managing to somehow walk into what looked like an attempted robbery with a baseball bat. The robbery had just been broken up by the convenience store's security guard. We never really found out what happened, but the damage had been done, and I sat quietly in awe along with the rest of the viewers as Jason called the police and recounted what had happened with other witnesses.

The rest of the show wasn't nearly as gripping as that bit, but like the creators have told me, a lot of it depends on the Modstar, and other variables like location, time of day, and what ideas the community has got cooking. In many ways it's a lot like Justin.TV when they first started out. Far from what Justin Kan and company have expanded to now with their platform and live channel selection, Mod My Life is treading a slightly different path and trying to pack as much as they can into just an hour or less instead of going for daylong marathons. For that, I think viewers who are willing to base their watching around the "time slot" will be getting more bang for their buck (note: the site is free).

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On our weekly Real Deal podcast today, Tom and I discussed lifecasting (e.g., Justin.tv) and the live streaming tools ordinary people (as opposed to 24/7 exhibitionists) can use to broadcast their own cams in real time: uStream, Stickam, ComVu (review), and Veodia (review).

Here's the show:

Our discussion wouldn't be complete without a live demo of streaming, so Tom and I both streamed ourselves during the taping, using uStream. We had some problems (most related to the ancient laptop I used to record the show, I think), but I grabbed a recording of the stream.

We used uStream, by the way, because of all the live-streaming products I've tested, it's the only one with a good chat function. However, at the moment, the chat function uses IRC ports, which are blocked by many firewalls. A uStream co-founder told me that within a few weeks a new chat technology will roll out on the service, which will route around this problem.

Kyte.tv's (review) chat function actually comes close to uStream's, but it doesn't offer the real-time video, just timed snapshots.

If you want to join the ongoing discussion, come on over to the Real Deal forums .

Real Deal subscription links:
• For RSS readers: http://www.cnet.com/i/pod/realdeal.xml
• iTunes: Subscribe

Apparently, I did sign up for this.

Editor's note: This post has been updated from first publish. See note below for more.

This morning Justin.TV has relaunched itself as a live video platform. The site is planning to enable video livecasters to build out their own video broadcasting page, complete with a custom URL, branding, and chat room. Unlike uStream.TV, which has made similar functionality available to anyone and everyone for several months now, the initial crop of broadcasters who want to use the platform will be handpicked by Justin Kan and crew. Eventually it will be opened up to anyone.

For viewers, Justin.TV has added an interesting new feature to sort through archived clips. Called "tips," users can now vote on and add their own favorite moments of Justin.TV. Other users can vote up the clips, which gets its own top 10 section on the front page. This tipping functionality has been built into the Justin.TV flash video player in the form of a "tips" button, which will automatically spit out a URL to share with others, along with embed code to put it on blogs, Web sites, and social networking profiles. The goal is to make Justin.TV content more accessible and easier to sort through.

Justin.TV now features a top 10 most popular clips listing, along with a way to archive and share live clips with others...that is if Justin wakes up.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Another addition to Justin.TV is the new archive viewer, which shows up as a calendar where users can input the date and time of previous Justin.TV videos. They had actually rolled out this functionality earlier in the month, although it wasn't as well integrated with the live video. Finding old clips wasn't working so well when I tried it earlier this morning, but I assume they'll iron out the kinks as the day goes on.

Maybe the funniest part of this relaunch is that Justin was fast asleep well into this morning. Not to belittle Kan's dedication (the site has been going strong for more than two months now), but nearly every time we cover new and upcoming social sites, developers and site creators are glued to their screens on opening day--interacting with existing users and those checking out the site for the very first time. If this had been my first time visiting the site, I likely wouldn't have come back.

Update: Justin.TV's producer Michael Seibel dropped us a line, and wanted to note: "...we are building a platform for live video online and not a video blogging tool. In addition, we are opening up our network in the near future and right now we are selecting participants so we can slowly scale up our network." This post has since been edited to reflect those changes. - Josh

[via TechCrunch]

Kyte.tv is a new service that lets people create their own TV channel. It's a bit of a mashup between a live blogging tool, a social network, and some of the live Internet TV channels we've been seeing lately with Justin.tv, and UStream.tv. Although, instead of strapping a camera to your head, you can use a cell phone.

The mobile client is a small Java application for several Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones that allows Kyte.tv users to upload photos and chat with others in a Kyte.tv channel. The mobile live blogging component is called "Lifecasting" which lets users upload pictures from their camera phone in real time. You can set it to automatically take a picture every few minutes, or every time you click the shutter. Either way, photos will show up on your channel instantly and viewers will get a visual notification that you're "live."

Kyte.tv's interface lets you swap between programs, chat, and live polls.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Kyte.tv channel owners can create as many channels as they want and add music, photos, videos, polls and text. A channel consists of a display screen, a playlist, and integrated chat room. Each channel also gets its own custom URL and branding, which is chosen by the channel owner. Alternately, there's embed code to place the entire Kyte.tv experience on a social networking profile or blog post (like we've done after the break).

One thing to note about adding music: you can't upload your own tracks. Instead you have to pick from a small selection of music from indie music service IODA. It's a lot like the music integration you get with Photobucket's video Remix tool.

What Kyte.tv has done really well is the live chat room. While it's lacking admin controls and private conversation options, you're getting the same chat experience on your computer and your phone. It's also really easy to use, as long as you're handy with your phone's keypad.

Kyte.tv is a fun service that opens up a lot of options for live blogging. Like we've seen with Twitter, mobile blogging has exploded with the help of easy-to-use tools that can be used and accessed on multiple platforms. Likewise, live video broadcasting has become something normal people can do with services like Pocketcaster and UStream.tv. Kyte.tv is happy medium between the two.

We'll be broadcasting live at various points during the day, so to visit our Kyte.tv channel, just click the read more link below.

Ignite finished strong with presentations from Justin.tv, RobotReplay, and Omnidrive.

Justin Kan of Justin.tv talked about how easy it is to promote your site or product with the right strategy. It also doesn't hurt to have a camera hooked to a laptop, with an EV-DO connection streaming every second of your life. Our previous Justin.tv coverage here and here. Surreal moment of the talk? Checking Justin.tv and seeing him talking to us. Creepy

Andre Charland discussed the difficulty of launching his new site RobotReplay, which lets Web site owners keep track of where their visitors are going, and what they're looking at for free. Related: Atten.tv, which we checked out last week.

Nik Cubrilovic of Omnidrive talked to the crowd about its new proposed protocol called WebFS, which the company wants to be a standard interface for transferring files around the Web. In laymen terms, it means you've got one central storage point for all your files stored online, and that storage is used by multiple services. Interesting.

That's it for Ignite. The rest of the Web 2.0 Expo kicks off tomorrow, so be sure to check back for continued coverage. And don't forget, if you're in San Francisco, it's not too late to grab your free exhibition pass.

A slide from Justin.tv's presentation about how to get free publicity. For the record, we're hefeweizen fans

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Justin.tv-- the live helmet-video blogging site we wrote about last month--went live this morning. The site combines a live video feed, public chat room, and head blogger Justin Kan's daily schedule--which loosely resembles a content programming guide. Entertaining bits of content are archived for later viewing, complete with a blog post with context for what's going on. The entire production is run through Kan's backpack, which holds a laptop hooked up to an EV-DO card.

Chatters can discuss what's happening on the show with other viewers (using Lingr, the live updating chat service we covered earlier this month), and they have the option to call or text message Justin with feedback or comments about what's going on. Earlier this morning, Justin and his buddies were talking to a man on the street, and one of the chatters text messaged Justin to move closer so we could all hear better. A few seconds later Justin got the message and moved closer. It was very surreal.

Mundane moments aside, Justin.tv is pretty entertaining. In about 10 minutes of watching I felt like I was inside his head, in a Being John Malkovich kind of way. Whether they can keep the quality going--as they dodge the inevitable stalkers flurry of phone and text spam they're bound to get by making their number public--is questionable. In the meantime, I expect the site to grow as long as Kan and crew keep it up.

Justin.tv lets you embed the live feed in your blog, Web site or social networking profile, which I've done above.

Justin Kan, cyborg videoblogger

(Credit: CNET Networks)

At the Stirr event last night, I met Justin Kan, who was walking around the event with a camera strapped to his head. Kan is making himself into a cyborg for his new streaming service, Justin.TV, on which he will make available a real-time, Justin's-eye view of the world. In his backback is a laptop with an EV-DO card. A future setup, he says, will have four EV-DO cards that he'll link together in order to deliver live high-definition video over the Net.

But that's just the technology. Will people pay attention? I asked Kan, "What makes your life so interesting that people will want to watch?"

"I'm going to go to a lot of cool parties and talk to interesting people," he said.

Before my inner editor could intervene, my inner narcissist took control. "Are you recording me?"

Kan smiled, but didn't answer.

Look for the launch soon.