Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/%SiteURL%/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Watch Ustream over wi-fi or 3G on your Android device]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/26/watch-ustream-over-wi-fi-or-3g-on-your-android-device/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/26/watch-ustream-over-wi-fi-or-3g-on-your-android-device/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/26/watch-ustream-over-wi-fi-or-3g-on-your-android-device/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Android users have been able to broadcast video to Ustream.tv for a couple of months now, but there was no way to watch Ustream shows on your Android phone until now. Ustream Viewer has just hit the Android Market, allowing for free, unlimited on-the-go viewing of the popular video site.

Ustream Viewer will work over either wi-fi or 3G. The iPhone version of Ustream Viewer has been around since early this year, but Android still has the advantage, because Broadcaster is Android-only. It's not that the 3GS can't stream video, it's that Apple has been rejecting streaming apps. Mark this one down under "Droid Does," I suppose.

[via TechCrunch]


Watch Ustream over wi-fi or 3G on your Android device originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>androidstreamingustreamvideoviewerThu, 26 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Handbrake 0.94 transcodes DVDs even faster]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/25/handbrake-0-94-transcodes-dvds-even-faster/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/25/handbrake-0-94-transcodes-dvds-even-faster/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/25/handbrake-0-94-transcodes-dvds-even-faster/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Handbrake, the insanely great multi-platform video transcoder - or "dvd ripper," if you're really being honest - just got its first update in almost a year. The biggest new change is 64-bit support, which means a 10% jump in encoding speed. According to our sister site, TUAW, Mac users don't even need to be running Snow Leopard to get the 64-bit advantage: it also works on OS X 10.5 on 64-bit capable machines.

If you're a fan of the AVI or xVid formats, you're out of luck with this release of Handbrake. These formats have been dropped in favor of pushing H.264. The good news is that you should now be able to rip DVDs in real time, or darn close. There's also a time-saving Live Preview option, so you can check the quality of your rips without waiting until they finish.

[via TUAW]

Handbrake 0.94 transcodes DVDs even faster originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>64-bitdvdencodinghandbrakeripvideoWed, 25 Nov 2009 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Roku launches Channel Store, bringing web content to your TV]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/23/roku-launches-channel-store-bringing-web-content-to-your-tv/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/23/roku-launches-channel-store-bringing-web-content-to-your-tv/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/23/roku-launches-channel-store-bringing-web-content-to-your-tv/#commentsFiled under: , ,

If you've ever considered buying a Roku, the set-top streaming video box for your TV, you've got at least 10 new reasons today. Roku just launched its Channel Store, featuring 10 free content sources. You may have heard of some of them before: Flickr and Facebook Photos are available, as well as music from Pandora, and web shows from heavy hitters like Revision3 and Leo Laporte's TWiT.TV. On the paid side of things, Roku has already partnered with sites like Netflix, Amazon Video and MLB.com.

Will all this free content sell more Roku boxes? I'm not necessarily convinced that people will be willing to spend the money - please pardon the worn-out phrase I'm about to drop, here -- "in this economy," to get TV access to content they can already see for free on their computers. Web show creators might be more excited than consumers about the Channel Store, in fact, because they'll soon be able to create their own channels.

One question for Roku, though: why no YouTube? It seems like a pretty glaring omission from such a star-studded channel lineup.

[via NewTeeVee]

Roku launches Channel Store, bringing web content to your TV originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>amazonchannel storeChannelStorefacebookmlbnetflixonlinepandorarevision3rokustreamingTVtwit.tvvideoMon, 23 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Finally, serious competition for iTunes...from Sony!]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/finally-serious-competition-for-itunes-from-sony/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/finally-serious-competition-for-itunes-from-sony/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/20/finally-serious-competition-for-itunes-from-sony/#commentsFiled under: ,

They've been awfully quiet the last couple of years, except for the recent PS3 price reduction and slow drip-feed of good games. But it seems, after the appointment of a new CEO back in 2006, the results of some internal reshuffling might finally be coming to fruition!

There's no name for the new software reported on by BusinessWeek. There's also very few details of the functionality Sony's iTunes-killer will actually utilize to draw people away from Apple's soft, white allure and into their black, serious grasp.

BusinessWeek suggests that the software will try to differentiate itself from iTunes by including Picasa- and YouTube-like functionality, allowing users to upload videos and photos from their (Sony?) cameras. Other than that... who knows what Sony has up their sleeves?

Sony are huge however -- multi-national robber-baron 'XBox' huge -- with an additional vast library of music and movies. They also have a large installed base of PlayStation owners (that's fast increasing!) It wouldn't be a surprise to see some kind of 'PlayStation App Store' included in Sony's new software.

We shall see!

[via BusinessWeek]

Finally, serious competition for iTunes...from Sony! originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>app storeAppStoreitunessoftwaresonyFri, 20 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Google introduces machine-generated captions for YouTube videos]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/19/google-introduces-machine-generated-captions-for-youtube-videos/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/19/google-introduces-machine-generated-captions-for-youtube-videos/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/19/google-introduces-machine-generated-captions-for-youtube-videos/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Google has given users the ability to caption their YouTube videos for a while now. But that can be a cumbersome, time-intensive process and most of the millions of videos hosted on YouTube are uncaptioned. That could change soon, as Google is beginning to roll out a new automatic captioning system that will analyze speech in videos and create machine-generated captions.

This means that users who are hard of hearing will have an easier time using YouTube. And because Google can translate text into 51 different languages, it means that you'll have a much easier time understanding those German and Japanese videos you're so fond of watching.

The technology for the machine-based captions is the same as the tech that allows Google Voice to automatically transcribe your voicemail messages and send them to you as emails. That is to say, it's not perfect, and we can expect to see a fair number of mistakes in YouTube captions for the foreseeable future. But this is an excellent start at making web video significantly more accessible.

Automatic captions are only available on a handful of YouTube channels right now, including Google, YouTube, PBS, National Geographic, MIT, and UCLA. A wider release is scheduled soon, with auto-caps expected on English videos by the end of the week.

Google introduces machine-generated captions for YouTube videos originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>automatic captionsAutomaticCaptionscaptionsonline videoOnlineVideoyoutubeThu, 19 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[YouTube 1080p roll-out begins]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/19/youtube-1080p-roll-out-begins/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/19/youtube-1080p-roll-out-begins/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/19/youtube-1080p-roll-out-begins/#commentsFiled under: , ,

We've just been tipped off that 1080p or 'the highest-quality HDTV standard' has begun to appear on YouTube.

So far there doesn't seem to be a way to search for the high-high definition videos, and the only example I have is a Nokia video of some poor, disadvantaged Indonesian farmer -- but I'm sure it's only a matter of time before YouTube/Google officially announce the changes to their video player.

In the meantime, if you find any videos that have been enabled for 1080p playback, share them in the comments!

The Nokia video is included after the break, if you want to see what the quality looks like.

[thanks to Revo for the tip!]

Continue reading YouTube 1080p roll-out begins

YouTube 1080p roll-out begins originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>1080phdtvyoutubeThu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Hulu gets into the music video biz -- one artist at a time]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/18/hulu-gets-into-the-music-video-biz-one-artist-at-a-time/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/18/hulu-gets-into-the-music-video-biz-one-artist-at-a-time/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/18/hulu-gets-into-the-music-video-biz-one-artist-at-a-time/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Hulu Norah Jones
While YouTube, MTV, Vevo, MySpace, and other online video sites compete for the title of "Hulu for music videos," it looks like Hulu is hoping to get in on the action itself. Hulu has made a name for itself as a destination site for professionally produced TV shows and movies. Sure, it's only available in the US, and it doesn't have nearly as many TV episodes or movies as you can find from your friendly neighborhod BitTorrent tracker. But Hulu is 100% legal, the ads aren't that annoying, and the video quality is pretty good.

Today Hulu is announcing a deal with music label EMI. No, you won't find music videos from all of EMI's artists. Just one: Norah Jones. There's a new Norah Jones channel on Hulu with a few dozen videos including music videos and concert clips.

While this could certainly be the start of something big, right now it's pretty small. As much as I'd like to see Hulu become a one-stop shop for all-things web video, it seems like Vevo is much further along in working out partnerships to actually supply a fair amount of content. Now if only the site would go live.

Update: The folks at Vevo just annoucned that the service is set to launch on December 8th.

[via NY Times]

Hulu gets into the music video biz -- one artist at a time originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>hulumusic-videomusic-videosonline-videovevoyoutubeWed, 18 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Adobe release Flash Player 10.1 with GPU acceleration for HD video]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-release-flash-player-10-1-with-gpu-acceleration-for-hd-vid/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-release-flash-player-10-1-with-gpu-acceleration-for-hd-vid/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/17/adobe-release-flash-player-10-1-with-gpu-acceleration-for-hd-vid/#commentsFiled under: , ,

This morning Adobe is launching a beta version of Flash Player 10.1 with support for hardware decoding of H.264 Flash video. In other words, if you have a supported graphics card (PDF link), you should be able to watch high definition and high quality Flash video without killing your CPU.

This comes as particularly good news for people who have picked up small laptops and nettops based on the NVIDIA ION platform. While the graphics processor is powerful enough to decode Blu-Ray video and play many modern video games, the ION chipset uses a low power Intel Atom processor that seems to think that 1080p Flash video would look better as a slideshow than a video.

With Flash Player 10.1 beta installed, even these ION-based machines can handle 1080p Flash video from sites like YouTube, which is good because YouTube is getting ready to roll out a whole heck of a lot more 1080P video.

You can download Flash Player 10.1 beta from Adobe Labs.

NVIDIA loaned me an ASRock ION 330 nettop with NVIDIA ION graphics to test the new Flash Player, and it performed as advertised, easily handling 720p and 1080p HD video playback from Hulu and YouTube. The video at the top of this post shows the ASRock nettop playing video smoothly after installing the latest version of the software. To see what video playback looked like with the older version of Flash Player 10, check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Adobe release Flash Player 10.1 with GPU acceleration for HD video

Adobe release Flash Player 10.1 with GPU acceleration for HD video originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>1080p720padobeadobe flashadobe flash player 10adobe flash player 10.1AdobeFlashAdobeFlashPlayer10AdobeFlashPlayer10.1hd videoHdVideonvidia ionNvidiaIonTue, 17 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[TinyChat launches Ustream-style video streaming service]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/16/tinychat-launches-ustream-style-video-streaming-service/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/16/tinychat-launches-ustream-style-video-streaming-service/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/16/tinychat-launches-ustream-style-video-streaming-service/#commentsFiled under: ,

TinyChat has evolved from an ultra-light chatroom service (no sign-up required) into a quick way of setting up video chats. Now it's going one step further, launching a stream video service similar to UStream. This new project is called Tinychat.tv, and anyone can use it to start their own web-based broadcast.

Tinychat.tv pages are customizable, and bandwidth is free and unlimited, making Tinychat a great choice for anyone who wants to get started with livestreaming. It even supports multi-participant chats, in case your new show needs two or more webcams. You can also comment on shows through various social networking services, or subscribe to a channel.

[via TechCrunch]

TinyChat launches Ustream-style video streaming service originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>streamingtinychattinychat.tvustreamvideoweb showsWebShowsMon, 16 Nov 2009 16:45:00 EST<![CDATA[High-def junkies rejoice! Here comes YouTube in glorious 1080p HD]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/high-def-junkies-rejoice-here-comes-youtube-in-glorious-1080p-h/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/high-def-junkies-rejoice-here-comes-youtube-in-glorious-1080p-h/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/13/high-def-junkies-rejoice-here-comes-youtube-in-glorious-1080p-h/#commentsFiled under: ,

As consumer video equipment continues to get better and cheaper, high-definition video has become increasingly common on video sharing sites like YouTube. So far, YouTube will display HD video up to 720p, but the newest cameras offer even sexier 1080p video. Next week, so will YouTube, as it introduces support for "true HD." Your new HD video uploads will be viewable in their full 1080p, and any old 1080p you've uploaded will be automatically reencoded for full resolution once the feature launches.

This is a well-timed feature release, because I'm certain plenty of 1080p cameras are going to be sold this christmas. YouTube's new HD isn't just good news for fans of gift-unboxing videos and dogs in holiday sweaters, though. Also consider the possibilities for new movie trailers and game demos. Eye candy city, here we come!

[via Mashable]

High-def junkies rejoice! Here comes YouTube in glorious 1080p HD originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>1080pHDhigh definitionhigh-defHighDefinitionvideoyoutubeFri, 13 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[HTML5 YouTube viewer: close, but not quite there]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/08/html5-youtube-viewer-close-but-not-quite-there/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/08/html5-youtube-viewer-close-but-not-quite-there/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/08/html5-youtube-viewer-close-but-not-quite-there/#commentsFiled under: ,

Everyone knows Flash is a massive resource hog, especially on Mac or Linux. If you're sick of totally bogging down your system whenever you want to watch a YouTube video, the new video specifications in HTML5 might be the answer. By using HTML and plugging into the Mp4 streams on YouTube, the folks at NeoSmart have created an HTML5 YouTube Viewer. It doesn't quite work perfectly, and not every browser is ready for it, but it's nice proof-of-concept to try out.

The Download Squad team had mixed results watching videos with this viewer. Firefox was a bust - NeoSmart says it's because of proprietary codec issues - but some other browsers worked. I got working video (extremely smooth working video, actually) on both Chrome and Safari for Mac, but no audio. Meanwhile, on the Windows side, fellow Download Squad bloggers report that the HTML5 viewer works well in Chrome 4 in XP, and Chrome 3 on Windows 7.

Meanwhile,YouTube seems to be running its own HTML5 tests, including some examples of new in-browser 3D rendering features. Sounds like this could finally be the end of reliance on Flash ... once your browser supports it, or once YouTube starts supporting OGG Theora, Firefox and Chrome's video format of choice for HTML5.

HTML5 YouTube viewer: close, but not quite there originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>codechtml5neosmartvideoyoutubeSun, 08 Nov 2009 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Boxee media center to hit beta next month]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/06/boxee-media-center-to-hit-beta-next-month/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Boee Alpha
Media center application Boxee has grabbed a lot of headlines over the past year or two, and for good reason: Boxee provides Mac, Linux, and Windows users with an excellent solution for watching internet video on a TV. While web browsers were generally designed for viewing text and images with video thrown in as an afterthought, Boxee was designed to look and feel more like a consumer electronics application that you can navigate from the couch with a remote control.

Boxee can access online video from services including Hulu, Joost, and BBC's iPlayer. You can use it to enjoy audio and video podcasts. And you can access local media stored on your hard drive.

But despite all of its features, Boxee is still alpha software. That's going to change next month. Boxee is set to launch the first beta version of its software at an event in New York on December 7th. I suppose the day will continue to live in Infamy, although I doubt that decades from now we'll still be talking about it as the date that Boxee went beta.

The new version will have a new user interface, improved navigation, a user-controlled queue, and a new TV and movie search function among other changes.

Boxee media center to hit beta next month originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>boxeeboxee-betamedia-centerFri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Now finally available - ubiquitous media sharing with Orb for Mac]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/now-finally-available-media-sharing-with-orb-for-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/now-finally-available-media-sharing-with-orb-for-mac/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/05/now-finally-available-media-sharing-with-orb-for-mac/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,


It was pretty exciting news at Download Squad to hear Orb, the "sort of software version of Slingbox," was available for Mac. Orb allows you to broadcast your media to any device that has a web browser. After downloading Orb to your "always on" Mac with a high speed internet connection, you can access all your photos, songs, TV shows, and videos from any device with a browser and media player.

After downloading the app, Orb indexes your media and then prompts you to either log in to mycast.orb.com, or create a log in if you don't have an account. After you log in you can see your dashboard and all your media goodies.



Though my songs appeared immediately, my photos did not. There are various feed settings you can play with and channels to explore. Also, with a simple drag drop interface you can share your media with your friends via email, SMS, widget on your blog, or a public URL.



Checking it out from my home computer is one thing, but would it work on other devices? Success! I was able to access my media from my Dell PC.

A note for iPhone owners: The esteemed and indefatigable Jay Hathaway noted that he received errors when he tried to download the free version of OrbLive for the iPhone, which he tried from both his iPhone and his iTunes account on his Mac. There are 3 flavors of Orb available for the iPhone: OrbLive free, OrbMedia ($4.99) and OrbLive ($9.99)

Note to Orb: Please update your landing page to include PC and Mac, ok?

Now finally available - ubiquitous media sharing with Orb for Mac originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>iphoneMacmedia sharingmedia streamerMediaSharingMediaStreamermobileOrbThu, 05 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Best Buy + CinemaNow = sitting in a tree]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/best-buy-cinemanow/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/best-buy-cinemanow/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/11/03/best-buy-cinemanow/#commentsFiled under: ,

CinemaNow
US electronics retailer Best Buy is preparing to enter the digital video distribution business in a big way. The company is partnering with CinemaNow, an online video download service that lets users rent and purchase movies and TV shows.

Best Buy will load up CinemaNow software on internet-connected consumer electronics sold at the company's retail stores. That includes computers, portable media players, Blu-Ray players, set-top boxes, mobile phones, and internet-connected television sets.

Customers that purchase one of these items will be able to rent or buy videos from a catalog with about 22,000 titles. Movie purchases typically run between $10 and $20, while TV shows are $1.99 per episode. Movie rentals typically go for $2.99 to $3.99.

The move should give Best Buy and CinemaNow a much stronger foothold in the digital media space. CinemaNow already offers a pretty compelling user experience, allowing you to download a video and watch it on up to three devices. But the fact that virtually every consumer electronics device that Best Buy sells that can run the software soon will, means that CinemaNow is about to become a much bigger name in digital media, and that could help the companies take on Apple's iTunes and Amazon's video on demand services.

Best Buy is expected to roll out the new service early next year.

Best Buy + CinemaNow = sitting in a tree originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>best-buycinemanowonline-videovideo-downloadTue, 03 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST<![CDATA[First look at Epix internet movie channel]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/31/first-look-at-epix-internet-movie-channel/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/31/first-look-at-epix-internet-movie-channel/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/31/first-look-at-epix-internet-movie-channel/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Epix
As I mentioned yesterday, internet movie channel Epix launched this weekend. The TV channel is available to Verizon FiOS customers, who can also login to the EpixHD web site to watch dozens of movies including new releases such as Iron Man and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as well as older, more obscure titles including Bubba Ho Tep and Son of Rambow.

If you don't have Verizon FiOS you can request a 3-day weekend trial of the service, but I'm not entirely sure what the point is, since Epix doesn't plan to launch a web-only version anytime soon. Perhaps they're hoping you'll contact your local cable, satellite, or other TV provider and request they add Epix to the lineup.

If your invitation hasn't come through yet, you can take solace in the fact that I did score an invite. OK, that may not be much comfort, but I did manage to grab a bunch of screenshots of the user interface. It's kind of a mixed bag right now. The search function works quite nicely and you can click the watch button from the drop-down menu that appears when you're searching for a movie -- if the movie is available. Unfortunately, there are a ton of listings for movies that you can't actually watch yet, including Star Trek, GI Joe, and The Godfather I, II, and III.

You can also browser for movies by most watched, newest, genre, or other collections. You can also see all the movies from A to Z.

Browsing is sort of a cumbersome task though, since you have to scroll through thumbnails of movie posters. If it's not clear what movie you're looking at, you can mouse over the cover to see the title, but it may take a moment for the title to show up. And in the genre section, many movies are listed more than once (for example, the same title might show up in comedy, award winners, and action). And it's clear the web site wasn't really designed for geeks, because the sci fi category is dead last, which means you have to do a lot of scrolling before you get to it.

On the bright side, video quality was pretty good and you can even click a button to check your bitrate and other settings, which are automatically adjusted based on your internet connection settings.

Gallery: Epix internet movie channel


First look at Epix internet movie channel originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>epixepixhdinternet-videomoviesvideoweb-videoSat, 31 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Internet movie channel Epix launches this weekend]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/internet-movie-channel-epix-launches-this-weekend/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/internet-movie-channel-epix-launches-this-weekend/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/30/internet-movie-channel-epix-launches-this-weekend/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Epix
After months of planning, the new TV/internet channel Epix launches this weekend. Verizion FiOS subscribers will see the new movie channel as part of their TV lineup, and they'll also have access to the EpixHD.com internet movie channel with 175 on-demand movies including some newer movies such as Iron Man and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

If you're not a FiOS customer, you can still request an invite to check out the service. Just sign up at EpixHD.com/invite and you'll register for a 3-day weekend trial of the internet-only service. The invites are being given out on a first come first, served basis, so you might not get one right away. But Epix plans to offer invitations between now and Thanksgiving.

Epix is run by Viacom, Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM, so the company has access to a decent collection of movies, although it looks like most of the titles available at launch are older movies.

[via NewTeeVee]

Internet movie channel Epix launches this weekend originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>epixfiosinternet-videoFri, 30 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Convert audio and video files in 2 clicks with Oxelon Media Converter]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/convert-audio-and-video-files-in-2-clicks-with-oxelon-media-conv/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/convert-audio-and-video-files-in-2-clicks-with-oxelon-media-conv/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/convert-audio-and-video-files-in-2-clicks-with-oxelon-media-conv/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Oxelon Media Converter
There are dozens of great programs for converting media files from one format to another. Some of our favorites are Super, MediaCoder, and WinLAME, and VirtualDub.But if you're looking for a fast and simple solution, you probably won't find many programs that are as simple to use as Oxelon Media Converter.

Oxelon adds two shortcuts to your Windows context menu: one for transcoding audio files, the other for transcoding video. All you have to do is right-click on any media file in Windows Explorer and select the file format you want to convert it to. Oxelon will open a new window and ask you where you'd like to save the file. You can also change audio and video codecs, framerate, bitrate, and video dimensions as well as other settings. But all you really have to do at that point is hit the "Conversion" button to start converting your file.

The free program does have a few quirks. The most annoying one is that every time you close the program, Oxelon Media Converter will open its homepage in your default web browser. The other is that I had trouble converting some of the video files I had shot with my digital camera. The only way I could get them to encode was by selecting the "no audio" option, although it's possible that if I had spent more time fiddling I could have found another option that would have worked. Admittedly, my digital camera records audio at an odd sampling rate.

Oxelon recommends downloading and installing a plugin file to add support for a wide variety of audio and video formats. You can find a picture of the settings screen after the break.

[via Instant Fundas]

Continue reading Convert audio and video files in 2 clicks with Oxelon Media Converter

Convert audio and video files in 2 clicks with Oxelon Media Converter originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>encodemediamedia-convertermultimediaoxelon-media-convertertranscodeThu, 29 Oct 2009 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Share unlimited media files for free with Libox]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/share-unlimited-media-files-for-free-with-libox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/share-unlimited-media-files-for-free-with-libox/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/29/share-unlimited-media-files-for-free-with-libox/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Libox got my attention with free and unlimited - as in unlimited - media sharing. It's a new beta desktop application that allows you to share all your photos, videos and music with your friends and contacts. Unlike other social media sharing sites, whose free accounts are 1 GB or 100 photos/files, Libox is unlimited.

A colleague and I gave the app a trial run today and we liked it. After downloading and installing (7.9 MB Mac and Windows) the beta, Libox prompts you to import your files from your computer. The UI is clean, minimalist and intuitive. After importing your media files from your computer, you can share them by email with your friends and groups. Your friends will also have to install the app to open the files you send.

Libox allows you to sync your media files with all the computers in your house. There is also a web app where you can access your media in your browser, however, it is in alpha and can only be used on your local computer and if it is not behind a firewall.

To accomplish all this, Libox uses a combination of P2P networking, cloud and grid computing. It does not store your media or metadata on their servers and when you share media with your friends, Libox creates a "private secure network" on those specific files with those specific friends. The files are received in their original format, no compression, resizing or degradation.

Many questions abound, like how will this service make money? Once out of beta, will it be a paid service? What about the private secure networks? How private and how secure? The web access in alpha - how will that work? What are the compatible file formats? Any plans to add other file types like EPS or Docs? Does Libox work with Linux? Tell us more about the company and mission. Is their plan complete world domination? Is Libox too good to be true?

Stay tuned. Hopefully, we'll get these answers and more if you leave your questions in the comments.

Share unlimited media files for free with Libox originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>free media sharingliboxonline media sharingOnlineMediaSharingsocial media sharingSocialMediaSharingunlimitedunlimited free online file sharingunlimited online file sharingUnlimitedFreeOnlineFileSharingUnlimitedOnlineFileSharingThu, 29 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[TubeRadio.fm turns YouTube into a powerful music player]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/26/tuberadio-fm-turns-youtube-into-a-powerful-music-player/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/26/tuberadio-fm-turns-youtube-into-a-powerful-music-player/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/26/tuberadio-fm-turns-youtube-into-a-powerful-music-player/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Using YouTube to listen to music is nothing new. Search for a song you want to hear, and you're very likely to find it, even if there's no official music video. YouTube isn't built to listen to music though, and that's where TubeRadio.fm comes in. It's a slick music player that lets you create playlists from YouTube, and can even find entire albums at once, using track listings and album art from Last.fm. The TubeRadio homepage describes the service as "iTunes meets YouTube meets Spotify," and that's not much of exaggeration.

TubeRadio.fm puts more emphasis on the "radio" than the "tube": the videos themselves take up very little space in the UI. More space is devoted to the tabbed info box at the bottom of the screen, which automatically pulls up lyrics and artist bios. TubeRadio does a good job of getting the album versions of songs when you use 'Discography Mode' to grab whole albums, but occasionally it will find a live version instead. Fortunately, there's another mode that searches all of YouTube, and you can manually add the version you want, if it exists.

TubeRadio.fm turns YouTube into a powerful music player originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ituneslast.fmmusicmusic playermusic videosMusicPlayerMusicVideosplaylistspotifytuberadio.fmyoutubeMon, 26 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Yfrog now supports photo and video tweets from your webcam]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/24/yfrog-now-supports-photo-and-video-tweets-from-your-webcam/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/24/yfrog-now-supports-photo-and-video-tweets-from-your-webcam/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/10/24/yfrog-now-supports-photo-and-video-tweets-from-your-webcam/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Yfrog, one of the most popular photo-posting services for Twitter, is making a move into video and offering webcam support. You can record and tweet, right from the Yfrog site. To get started, check the space where you'd normally see the option to upload an image or enter a URL: the new webcam option has been added right next to those. When the video window pops up, you can record a video, take a still shot, or take a still shot on a 5 second delay.

As always with Yfrog, the photos and videos you take are only a click away from being posted to Twitter. Because Yfrog is already one of the top players in the Twitter photo uploading game, and supported in several major Twitter apps, there's a good chance it could start to dominate the Twitter video arena, too. Currently, Twitvid and Twiddeo are two of the most popular options.

[via CNET]

Yfrog now supports photo and video tweets from your webcam originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>photosrecordingtwittervideowebcamyfrogSat, 24 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST