Player overload

I recieved an e-mail this morning asking me to try out the latest features and content added to the Azureus Zudeo trial. Including, for the first time - content to buy or rent.

This includes the first round of BBC content - at the moment limited to Ideal and The Mighty Boosh. To launch, for testing purposes they’re selling their pay content for 1p a shot.

However, despite being sent to me it isn’t actually avialable to me. As with most content trials it is XP/Vista only - fine there but also, in the opposite of the iPlayer trial is US only.

The sample content is primarily available for Windows XP/Vista users in the United States, however, we will be offering much more content that is available worldwide soon, and a Mac version is on the way.

So we should be able to download/pay for the content here in the UK soon then - that’s nice. There is actually some interesting stuff on there and when you add in the free stuff it looks even more attractive.

Just in case you’re wondering, the product will always be free, open, and with as much free original content as people are willing to publish. Nothing changes there

Of the two big trials out there that aren’t being built by the broadcaster this, to me, is looking like the most interesting at the moment. I’m loving the ‘instant’ factor in Joost but I just don’t like the interface very much - I like to play content in VLC or Windows Media Player - Joost doesn’t give me that option.

Player overload

My biggest concern though isn’t the functionality of this player or Joost - it’s the the number of players I’m going to have to have on my computer to get all the available content.

Here in the UK, if I want to get all the shows I enjoy or might enjoy in future I’m going to need the BBC iPlayer, 4OD, the five player, the ITV Player the SKY player, Joost, Zudeo, iTunes, the one from FOX and any others that might launch in future.

My computer isn’t THAT good, it can just about cope with running 4oD and iTunes - it WILL crash and fall if it has to run any more.

I’d like to see a mashup service - maybe a website that pulls in the RSS feeds of each section from all the other players so that I can see them all in one place.

Then I can just download the content I want without having to have seven players open.

Until they come up with a solution that pulls it all together I don’t think this will be any real competition (especially if I have to pay) to The Pirate Bay.

Radio Times

One site does seem to be having a go at doing what I suggested above. The BBC Radio Times website has a listing of all the on demand content and has links to on demand content from a page about a show currently on - but it’s clunky and buggy at the moment.

However, if they fix the issues this could be a BRILLIANT way of using on demand content.

OK so I’ll need all the different players on my computer but I don’t have to have them running - I could set them to launch when I click a link on a page in firefox.

I could just go through the radio times website for shows I’m interested in and when I find one click the ‘download now’ link on the description page and have it launch the relevant player on my computer.

The BBC does it again.

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