Webware

Sending a Qik video stream to Facebook via Windows Mobile

(Credit: Qik)

In the live-streaming wars, mobile service Qik has a new weapon in its arsenal: integration with Facebook's video player.

Thanks to Facebook Connect, Qik members can now automatically upload their videos to Facebook, set their status messages to link to the video on Qik when they start live-streaming, and have the update show up in their news feeds. Windows Mobile smartphone users (non-touchscreen) can also selectively upload Qik videos to Facebook, an extra feature that the company hopes to roll out to other devices soon.

You can't use Qik to live-stream videos directly on Facebook, at least not yet. But regardless, it's the first mobile video app to allow automatic uploads to Facebook through the social network's application program interface, Qik representatives said.

Live streaming, much like location-based mobile networking, is one of those niches of social media that doesn't have a real frontrunner yet. There are a ton of players in the space, both Webcam- and mobile-focused, and getting a few extra steps ahead is often a matter of being the first to get on a popular platform.

Ashton Kutcher

(Credit: Andrew Mager/CBS Interactive)

What a pairing: Hollywood slacker-hottie icon Ashton Kutcher and Silicon Valley slacker-hottie icon Kevin Rose have teamed up to create 24 Hours at Sundance, a Web-based reality show set at the eponymous film festival in Park City, Utah, later this week.

Backed by mobile live-streaming start-up Qik, the competition-focused show will pit four "social media mavens" against one another for 24 straight hours as they complete a set of challenges surrounding the annual film festival and broadcast them via Qik software on Nokia handsets. Rose (best known for founding Digg) and Kutcher, the Dude, Where's My Car actor whose production company Katalyst Media has created a Web show called Blah Girls, will co-host.

The four "social media mavens" are VentureBeat editor Matt Marshall, gadget blogger Meghan Asha, Konsole Kingz founder CJ Peters, and video blog personality Irina Slutsky.

"I kind of feel like there's been a trend in entertainment in general that moves toward a more visceral, more live experience," Kutcher told CNET News. "We have an idea of what we want to happen, but who knows what's actually going to happen."

Kevin Rose

(Credit: Caroline McCarthy/CNET News)

"I don't think I've ever heard of anything else that's been done like this before, especially with the real time nature," Rose added. "It's only a matter of time before people in Hollywood and just everyone in general wants to participate and have a way to live-stream and connect with people they care about." Well, maybe not everyone.

From what it sounds like, dot-com culture geeks may find this fairly amusing. Kutcher told CNET News that one of the challenges will involve tracking down and interviewing dot-com icon Jason Calacanis, who will be present at Sundance. The Weblogs Inc. and Mahalo founder relocated to the L.A. area several years ago and has started to get a foothold in the Hollywood scene.

"It's unbelievable, it's like him versus (Robert) DeNiro for roles," Kutcher joked of Calacanis, who played himself in last year's film August, which chronicled a failing fictional dot-com. "It's getting out of control."

Click here for more stories from Sundance.

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 an extra touch, you can set it to update Twitter, Pownce, and Jaiku when you begin a new broadcast. That makes Bambuser more feature-rich, but it has an uphill battle to unseat the rival favored by tech blogger elite Robert Scoble.

Bambuser is in public alpha mode for Symbian and Windows Mobile phones, where Qik is strongest. You can look for your model here and get started with your broadcasts.

BlackBerry users feeling left out can start video streams from Qik.

(Credit: Qik)

California mobile video company Qik on Sunday announced the alpha release of version 1.0 of Qik for BlackBerry. The free, downloadable application (covered here and demoed here) lets cell phone filmmakers stream video live from their mobile phone to Qik.com, social networks like MySpace, Orkut, and Facebook, and to any personal blog.

When you're done filming, Qik also plays a post-production role by auto-publishing the recorded video stream to YouTube or Seismic. You can opt out by turning the feature off before or during the stream.

At the outset, Qik's alpha download will only be available for the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 and 8130, and for the BlackBerry Bold. Qik plans to follow up with support for the BlackBerry Pearl Flip and the Curve.

Initially, one of Qik's signature features will be absent from all BlackBerry models: the ability for viewers watching real-time videos to interact via instant messages. Qik tells us that the live chat feature is running into a "text and camera app issue." In Qik, the incoming instant message lays over the video, something that's not built in to the BlackBerry platform.

Qik's inclusion of the BlackBerry platform brings the company's mobile presence up to six major phone manufacturers, including the iPhone, many HTC models running Windows Mobile, and Symbian-revved Nokia handsets. The complete list of cell phone models that Qik's live streaming video application supports can be found here.

It's public beta time for Qik, the mobile live-video service that's captured the hearts of Web 2.0 bigwigs like Jason Calacanis and Kevin Rose. The service has been in private beta since late last year.

Along with its debut to the masses, Qik has made some tweaks: technological improvements mean that video has a lag time of only half a second to three seconds now, for example. "Groups" and "Events" features have been added to the mix, and the company has also announced that members no longer need a compatible phone to register for the service, though they'll still need a phone number to confirm their accounts.

"We've been working hard to maintain Qik's position as the world's leading mobile streaming service," CEO Ramu Sunkara said in a release. "Even if your particular phone model is still in the works, you can still sign up to participate in the Qik community, and as we roll out support for your phone, you'll be able to easily transition to streaming live as soon as it's available."

Requiring a phone number for accounts, Sunkara explained to CNET News, helps to cut down on one of the inevitable problems facing a streaming-video site: porn.

In addition, Qik has expanded its hardware reach and added more compatible handsets to the list of Windows Mobile and Symbian devices it currently supports. New additions from Samsung and Motorola bring the total count to nearly 30.

And its Web reach has broadened, too: Qik applications are now available for social networks Facebook, MySpace, and Orkut.

Qik, the mobile phone-based video-streaming service favored by blogger Robert Scoble, is coming to the Windows Mobile platform.

Previously only available for Nokia phones like the horrendously overpriced N95 ($500 unlocked), the service will soon roll out for the millions of Windows smartphones now on the market, like the Samsung Blackjack (free with activation) according to Qik co-founder Bhaskar Roy.

While still in private beta, Qik for Windows will soon be available as an open download. Roy told me that he hopes to sign some carrier deals soon too, getting Qik preinstalled on phones.

Qik turns anyone with a capable mobile phone into an on-the-spot live reporter. The service also records its live streams so users can view events after the fact.

As VentureBeat says, don't get too excited. We're expecting a new 3G iPhone on Tuesday, and who knows what cool video capability will be built into it.

See also Kyte, Flixwagon, and ComVu.

Today, Israel-based video blogging service BlogTV is releasing a new version of its service for mobile users. We checked out the desktop version back in June and came away impressed. Today's release brings mobile viewing to the equation, letting anyone with a compatible phone watch shows live using their phone's Web browser.

Users who visit m.blogtv.com on their phones get a small array of thumbnails for live shows, along with matching text links and descriptions. Opening the links launches the phone's media player and gets the show streaming. Also included in the stream are user and host comments, that match similar mobile entertainment offerings from Kyte and Qik.

The coolest new feature to come along with this (and what I think sets BlogTV apart) is its alerts system. The system lets users subscribe to shows, and receive SMS alerts when a show is coming on. This lets users avoid having to check online, or worry about missing a show away from their computer. I'm not sure how many people are going to take part in this, but it could definitely be handy in certain circumstances.

To see the service in action, here's a video of BlogTV's Senior VP Product and Content, Nir Ofir, giving it a spin on a pretty standard (read: not a smartphone) handset:

I'll be a bit honest here. If I see another live video broadcasting tool for Nokia phones my head is going to explode. These things are all over the place, but admittedly far from useless. There's always a need to record something, and if you can do it from your phone without having to carry around a bunch of memory cards, you're coming out a winner.

Flixwagon, which quietly launched its private alpha site this morning, has been kicking around a small community of developers and testers for the past few months. Like Kyte, Qik, and Comvu, the aim is to broadcast live video from your phone, and interact with the people who are watching your stream. No computer required.

The tiny (and we mean tiny) broadcasting application can be downloaded to most recent model Nokia and Sony Ericsson phones, and broadcasts over either a Wi-Fi connection, or a speedy 3G signal from your carrier. In testing over AT&T's 3G network, I found the quality to be about in line with the stuff you would find on YouTube, which is a serious compliment considering it was streaming live from a pocket sized device and didn't need to go through any processing on my end. Admittedly our test device was a Nokia N95 which retails in excess of $500, and has the best built-in camera of most other Nokia models (or any cell phone for that matter). Your mileage may vary.

I personally prefer Qik's phone software just a smidgen (it lets you pick what camera you want to use, and pause the video), but the performance was a little better on Flixwagon. The killer application for any of these services is involvement, both for a live audience, and for users watching other user streams right on their phone. It's that second step that I think Kyte has taken the lead, and others like Qik and Flixwagon need to catch up with.

Flixwagon is in private alpha. If you're interested in giving the service a try, you can sign up here. I've embedded an Israeli, swingset version of Burning Man after the break. You can also check out my perilous journey to get coffee earlier this morning (my apologies in advance for the shoddy camera work).

View videos people have created live, or later as they're archived. Don't try this after a big lunch.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

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A new video streaming service called Qik has been getting some buzz lately. If you're familiar with UStream.tv, Veodia, and Comvu, the idea for Qik is similar: take a mobile phone with a video camera on a fast mobile connection, and stream video live for other people to watch. The service borrows a page from Kyte.tv and UStream in integrating live chat that allows broadcasters to interact with the users--although Qik steps it up a notch by letting the broadcaster simply reply using the phone's integrated microphone instead of having to type out text on the phone's keypad.

To compensate for network lag, the application will calculate the delay and show it in the corner of the screen. In testing over a 3G connection I got the delay up to about a minute, although if you're using the service over Wi-Fi, it's extremely nimble. You can also record videos for uploading later, when away from a data stream of Wi-Fi hot spot. The next time you connect, it'll automatically upload your video--which is a nice touch.

Live video on Qik is a little on the grainy side, but what do you expect--it is almost live from your pocket.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

The beauty of Qik is that it's wonderfully simple to use and participate in. People viewing your video either via Qik.com or on a video embed can chat if it's live, and the second it goes offline, the player acts just like any other Web video, and turns the live chat into a comment thread. While the quality of the video leaves something to be desired when compared with Web video hosting services like YouTube, Viddler and Vimeo, it's limited to the mobile network connection and the often lackluster lenses found on camera phones. Qik's creators tell me there are plans to add a higher quality stream to the Nokia N95 and other high-end handsets in the near future.

The service is currently in private alpha, and limited to a range of Nokia phones on the S60 platform. The application itself is only a little over 300k, and downloads in seconds. We didn't get a chance to give it a spin over a slower connection like EDGE, but based on the 3G performance, you likely wouldn't want to. In the pipeline for future updates are mobile-to-mobile streaming (sending and receiving video), integration with social networking sites like Facebook, and additional handset support.

I've embedded an example of Qik after the break. You can also check out whoever's live streaming at the moment on the service's live page.

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