Open-source and cross-platform media jukebox Miro upgrades to version 2.5, and the improvements bring drastic changes to performance and useful tweaks to the interface. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Miro 2.5 introduces a database overhaul so intensive that users with large collections of video and music might face a delay of more than 10 minutes when they first launch the new version. However, Miro states that the delay should be a one-time event.
Miro's new Audio interface.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Once you've installed the update and launched it once, subsequent restarts should find program launch speeds of two to four times faster than before, says Miro.
Along with the database refresh, torrent fans should find better support for those file types and keyboard shortcuts have been redone to make it easier to navigate the program. Developers will appreciate the new documentation for hacking the database, while podcast junkies finally get direct support for audio podcasts.
Interface enhancements include a new library UI, categorized by the simple Video, Audio, and Other labels. Downloading from YouTube has been made easier, too, with a new button to facilitate that feature when you add YouTube as a sidebar site. Audio playback has received some surface tweaks as well, making it easier to navigate.
The full list of changes and bug fixes can be read here.
When open-source video jukebox Miro was in beta and known as the Democracy Player, the biggest problem it had was stability. Graduating from beta fixed most of the problems, but not even a name change could erase the feeling that this Webware 100 winning program wasn't firing on all cylinders.
Miro's new interface is based on a faster-running foundation.
(Credit: CNET Networks)In version 2.0 for Windows and Mac, all that's changed. At the top of the list of changes is a serious attempt to improve the usability. At least on my Windows XP machine, with 2GB of RAM, those modifications have paid off. The program flies now, where it used to struggle with takeoff. Using it all day, shutting it down, and restarting it intentionally, has produced no crashes or hiccups--it's as smooth as a CRT screen.
Miro 2.0 sports a pop-out button to watch videos while you browse.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The interface overhaul streamlines the design while keeping button controls in the same place, basing it all on widgets. It's not readily apparent what this means for the average user, because the workflow is practically identical to previous versions. Search for a video or channel, add it to the sidebar or subscribe to it if you want all content from that producer, and Miro begins to download the video. It defaults to delete videos after five days, but a button on the UI toggles a "save" switch.
Besides the interface, the other major change is that you can now pop out your playback screen from the main player. A button located near the controls at the bottom right of the window does the deed, so you can now continue watching videos--or at least playing them--while you surf in Miro for more even more vids.
Miro also defaults to grab HD content whenever available, including from YouTube. It also supports streaming Web sites, such as Hulu, and there's new support for audio podcasts as well. If you're familiar with previous versions, this one will be instantly recognizable, but if you're not you should still be able to use it without looking up instructions. If you're new to Miro, it does manage the all-important torrent. The new torrent engine is based on libtorrent, a faster delivery system than before.
The pop-out window offers a compromise between full screen and in-player playback.
(Credit: CNET Networks)The flaws left in Miro are minor. There's a lack of mouse-over labels, which would take the edge off the learning curve for new users or those who just can't be bothered memorizing what each button does. There are two search boxes, one on the sidebar and one at the top right of the main window. They both seem to do the same thing, so it'd be good if the designers could either label how they're different or get rid of one.
The new Miro is faster and easier to use, and worth checking out if you've dismissed it before.
The Participatory Culture Foundation's universal video player has finally left the development world with its first non-beta release, Miro 1.0 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There are very few changes to distinguish this version from the previous beta versions that have come out in the past two months. Beside the fact that you can now delete a video while it's playing with impunity, all the changes are minor bug fixes to sort out stability concerns and other small tweaks.
The biggest crash issue that was fixed on the Windows version was a bug where video thumbnail regeneration was causing the app to die. Another problem, where the Avast antivirus program was incorrectly flagging the Miro beta as spyware, seems to have been resolved, too.
Poised to become the ultimate desktop video app, Miro handles every major video format we tried, including MPEG, Quicktime, AVI, H.264, Divx, Windows Media, Flash Video, 3GP, and others. It downloads torrents and has a wealth of settings geared for user customization: You can e-mail videos, auto-delete, auto-download, set favorites, organize your video collection, and more. Also, by arranging content feeds into "channels," Miro has shown that there's no need to reinvent television terminology when it's useful.
With most of the stability issues resolved, Miro has jumped from a good idea with unfortunate usage problems to one of the strongest desktop user experiences combining the influx of Web-based video content with an open-source sensibility.
Miro is a repository of free video programming, similar to Joost. It also might tell this fur seal where its bucket lies.
(Credit: Participatory Culture Foundation)
Miro Public Preview 3 has been unleashed for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It seems like this is the version of the freeware Internet TV channel player and aggregator that we've all been waiting for. Crashes seem to be a problem mostly of the past. The smart player, able to download content on the fly as well as play nearly any video on your machine makes Miro's appeal hard to resist.
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