Torrents have gained some infamy as a way for users to share resources and quickly download large files, but their potential as a way to watch streaming video is comparatively almost unknown. StreamTorrent is a Windows app that taps that potential to let you watch online TV, including HBO, the BBC, and plenty of sports channels. It works the same way torrent downloads work, with a collection of users "seeding" parts of the video to other users as they watch.

It might not be practical unless you've got a lot of people watching and seeding, but you could theoretically stream your own channel over StreamTorrent. Users would only have to search for it to connect. This could prove to be an affordable way of providing large video files when you don't have the cash to pony up for high bandwidth fees, and it can, at least in theory, stream to an unlimited number of users.

[via gHacks]

Over the last few days, Hulu has pulled its streaming TV and movie content from TV.com and Boxee. The move has sparked a lot of criticism, and a lot of theories about what's actually going on. It's clear from the attitude Hulu CEO Jason Kilar is taking that this wasn't his idea. Rather, content owners seem to have requested the move. So what are they up to? Boxee and TV.com were allowing users to watch videos using the same terms as Hulu: The ads remained intact, so content owners should have been getting paid either way.

PaidContent speculates that the TV.com dispute might have been over the rights to display CBS videos on Hulu. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports today that cable companies are considering launching their own streaming video services as a value added proposition for subscribers.

Now Netflix CEO Reed Hasting is hinting that his company might launch a streaming video-only service later this year or early in 2010. Right now if you want to watch streaming videos from Netflix you need to pay at least $8.99 for a plan where the company will send you one DVD at a time using that old fashioned mail doohickey.

The National Film Board of Canada has decide to share its archive with the world, posting nearly 500 short films on their web site. Videos cover a wide range of subject matter, from war documentaries to offbeat animation. There are even four feature-length films to watch in their entirety.

Keep in mind that the site is new - the NFB is still learning how to cope with the increased traffic and you may experience the occasional hiccup. As backup, you can visit their YouTube channel.

For more information, check the NFB.ca blog.

[ via BoingBoing ]

There are 48.5 million Wii's out there, and Blockbuster may be positioning itself to deliver video on demand to them thanks to a newly-announced partnership with Sonic Solutions.

Sonic is the force behind the CinemaNow service, which is available on LG networked blu-ray players and other devices - like Nintendo's wildly popular gaming console.

With the "Everybody's Theatre" streaming anime service set to go live on WiiWare in Japan January 25th, the stage is certainly set for the Wii to gain some additional functionality.

As WiiBrew users already know, the two USB ports at the back work just fine for attaching external hard drives. The Wii has plenty of room for expansion, and it would certainly make sense for Nintendo to offer a service to compete with Netflix on the Xbox 360.

Personally, I'd love to be able to watch video on demand with my Wii. Since I'm in Canada, though, I won't hold my breath.

[ via BetaNews ]

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos says the company will be adding a for-pay streaming video option to its Amazon Unbox video store sometime in the next few weeks. Currently if you want to watch a movie or TV show from Unbox, you've got to download your video. Sure, if you've got a broadband connection you can typically start watching a few minutes after you hit the download button, but who's got that kind of time?

On a more serious note, the Amazon Unbox download client and video player only supports Windows XP and Vista. That leaves Mac and Linux users in the cold. A streaming video service could conceivably work on any platform. There's no word on the pricing or launch date. But we do know that the service will be pay-per-view. There doesn't seem to be any subscription plan in the works. Amazon Unbox currently offers a mix of rental and download to own options as well as a limited number of free videos, with rentals typically ranging in price from $.99 to $3.99. We imagine the streaming videos will be similarly priced.

Livestation is a new streaming television service from Skinkers, a British startup with support from Microsoft. While the service is still an invite-only beta, the company widened its beta this week with a promise to send out invites to pretty much anybody who signs up for one at the Livestation web site.

So what exactly does Livestation offer? Unlike streaming video services such as Joost and Babelgum, which offer on-demand videos, Livestation serves up live streams from channels you've heard of, like the BBC. While that might sound pretty exciting, keep in mind, the software is in beta and there aren't a ton of content partners just yet. While we often poke fun at Joost for its lack of content, you're much more likely to find something worth watching on Joost than Livestation right now.

Currently Livestation offers up just a handful of television and radio news channels. What you get is based on where you live. For example, if you're in the UK you can watch BBC News 24, but if you're in the US you'll have to make due with the BBC World Service and Channel 4 radio streams, Al-Jazeera in English, and France 24.

But what Livestation lacks in content it makes up for with efficiency. The video quality is fairly decent, and there's virtually no buffering if you've got a high speed internet connection. There are no fancy controls like you find in Joost or Babelgum. Livestation isn't meant to replace your television set. It's just a simple way to watch streaming TV content without a web browser.

If you're a news junkie or if you're interested in checking out the player, you might want to pop on over to the LiveStation web site. If not, you might want to wait until the company signs a few more content deals.

Currently Livestation is available for Windows XP and Vista only, but a mac version is in the works as is support for "other platforms."

Like the idea of a single application that lets you find streaming television channels, but don't like having to watch them on your PC screen? MiraWorldTV is a plugin for Windows Vista Media Center that lets you find and watch dozens of television streams using a 10-foot interface. That means you can sit on your couch while you survive the writer's strike by watching brainless TV shows from around the globe instead of brainless TV shows from New York and LA.

Once you install MiraWorldTV, you'll notice a new button open up next time you run Windows Media Center. Click on it and up will pop a screen filled with tiles representing television stations with online streams. You can click on a tile for more information or to start playing the video stream in the background or in fullscreen mode. You can sort channels by category, country, or you can save your favorites for easy access later.

The only problem is that the content is pretty bland for the most part. This isn't the developer's fault. MiraWebTV doesn't host any content. It just provides links to freely available internet streams. The most exciting channels we've found so far are the BBC World News, some Japanese pop music videos, and nature documentaries from the Discovery Channel. But if you're the sort of person who likes to complain that there's nothing worth watching on TV, MiraWorldTV can give you a few more things to watch... or complain about.

[via Missing Remote]

Netflix customers have had the option to watch selected videos on a PC without waiting for a DVD to show up in the mail since earlier this year. But up until recently there were three major restrictions on the service:

1. It only works with Windows.
2. You could only watch a limited number of hours of programming per month.
3. The selection was on the small and obscure side.

While the service is still Windows-only, several users have reported that Netflix is addressing the other two issues. Netflix is sending out emails letting customers know that there are no longer monthly restrictions on how many shows they can watch. The email also states that Netflix now has over 6,000 movies and TV episodes available, which is about twice the number the service seems to have had this summer.
[via Zatz Not Funny]

This summer the BBC launched its innovative iPlayer software. The service lets you watch selected shows that've aired on the BBC over the last seven days you:

1. Are running Windows XP
2. Are using Internet Explorer
3. Use Windows Media Player
4. Live in the UK

The service drew protests from folks complaining that the BBC was including DRM in the videos and that Mac and Linux users were left out in the cold.
Well, it looks like at least some of those issues are being addressed. The BBC plans to launch a browser-based version of the iPlayer using Adobe's Flash technology to stream videos. Up until now, you had to download videos. The move to streaming video means that Mac and Linux users will be soon able to us the iPlayer.

Now if only the BBC would release a version of the iPlayer for non-UK customers. We're sure there'd be plenty of folks willing to pay a small subscription fee to watch new episodes of The IT Crowd Robin Hood without resorting to illegal BitTorrent downloads.

At some point we're going to stop calling all of these internet TV platforms "IPTV" and just start calling them TV. Of course, one of the main differences between live TV and Joost is that Joost isn't well... live. But it looks like that could change early next year.

PaidContent:UK reports that Joost will start offering live streaming television programs to US customers during the first quarter of 2008. While most of the content available through the peer-to-peer software right now is on-demand, Joost officials say the platform can also transmit streams at the same time as they are broadcast on television. Once the program is finished, users will be able to watch an on-demand version.

If Joost can pull this off, and if the company can sign enough content partnerships with networks and sports associations like MLB, Joost could eventually provide the ability to watch TV on any computer without first installing a TV tuner. Better yet, since you're not limited to local broadcasts, you'll be able to watch television programs from around the world.

On the other hand, something tells us most networks are still going to want you to watch their programming live on television or via their own websites where they have more control over the advertising.