NBC.com Streams Video to iPhone

NBC’s still got Steve and iTunes blacklisted (for now), though that hasn’t stopped them from making content available to Apple devices. Turns out NBC.com is providing iPhone owners video clips and full episodes (30 Rock, The Office) free, without commercial interuption. Video is selected via Safari and launched within the QuickTime player. Resolution isn’t high, … Read more

The ZvBox PC-to-TV Extender

Looks like we’ve got a new player in the PC extension business… Last last week, ZeeVee introduced the ZvBox – available for pre-order. The ZvBox transmits both PC VGA video output (up to HD resolutions) and audio (up to 5.1 surround via USB) over coax to televisions in your home. Re-using the existing coaxial cabling … Read more

Sezmi Demystified

Mari and I sat in on the Sezmi webcast briefing earlier this week and we’ve been slow in covering the news… As it turns out, this gives me an opportunity to provide some clarity in response to the widespread confusion. At a high level, Sezmi (formerly Building B) is a video service with the goal … Read more

Stage6, Part Deux?

In a Bob Dylan State of MindOver the past few days buzz has been building over the possible launch of a Stage6 clone. According to the DivxIT.net website, a Stage6 “alternative/cloneâ€? will be revealed on April 29th. If this is true, it would be an exciting development for fans who still crave the high quality Stage6 experience.

This isn’t the first time that someone has tried to hype the launch of a Stage6 replacement. As soon as Stage6 announced their shut down, there was a flurry of fake Stage6 clone announcements. Most of those sites fizzled out before they even got started.

NewStage6.com was the first “replacementâ€? to pop up on my radar. Initially they had a timer counting down until their launch, but today, the site is all but empty. Highlol.com was another website that tried to create buzz around the Stage6 collapse. They promised free HD DivX downloads, but there still aren’t any videos on the site today.

Having already been burned a couple of times, you can understand why I tend to be skeptical about these sorts of promises. With DivX Inc. having come out and denied any affiliation with the site, I can’t help but wonder how far they will let this get before they try to shut it down. On the other hand, because DivX benefits from having more of their content out there, maybe they are really better off ignoring it. Still, if DivxIT does gain traction, DivX might not be so happy about someone copying their site, especially when they don’t seem willing to sell it to begin with. If DivX does try to go the hostile route, I think that they may be up against more than they realize.

Read more

Blog Video Comments?

Seesmic has released a WordPress plugin to enable blog video commenting. I’m somewhat lukewarm to the idea of implementing them here on ZNF… One can be efficient scanning text for interesting keywords, while video comments (in their current form) only offer a text title and an automatically selected keyframe thumbnail without a rating system. Meaning … Read more

Sony Internet Video Link Now Shipping

Well, will you lookee what I discovered down at the Circuit City. Sony’s Internet Video Link ($299)! Turns out the Xross Media Bar-powered, Bravia-specific media extender started shipping a few weeks ago with zero fanfare. According to SonyStyle, initial network content consists of: select online music videos, movie trailers, user-generated videos, personalized weather, traffic feeds … Read more

An Apple TV Update

An Apple TV update (v2.0.2) was made available last week. Though, I wouldn’t have known about it without reading Sean Alexander’s blog. Since moving about a month ago, I haven’t bothered unpacking Ben‘s unit. Other than the video podcasts, I don’t have a whole lot of love for this device. Speaking of which, we’re going … Read more

The Best Video Game Podcasts

Below is, in my opinion, a list of the best video game podcasts ordered by preference. I have listened to, and abandoned, many video game-related podcasts. Those listed below have survived the culling and, with one exception, are recommended without hesitation. 1. The 1Up Yours Podcast: This is my favourite video game podcast. It ‘airs’ … Read more