Remember Azureus? Once upon a time it was one of the most popular BitTorrent clients around. And then the company behind the software tried to build a business model around it by going legit and partnering with content companies to offer free and paid BitTorrent downloads.

The problem is that the people who were already familiar with Azureus, which was renamed Zudeo and then Vuze, were used to getting their media for free, so it's a bit tricky trying to convince them to pay. A few months back, Vuze tried to make its platform a bit more attractive by adding social features. But more importantly, Vuze 3.1 made it easier to search for videos hosted on sites besides Vuze. So you could find legal videos, but you could also search sites like Btjunkie and Mininova for slightly less legal files.

Vuze 4 was released this week, and like in Vuze 3.1, the Torrent search box is front and center, making it almost easier to find illegally shared videos than the legit cntent from the "Vuze HD Network" that Vuze really wants you to find. The goal is undoubtedly to attract back some of the BitTorrent users who have fond memories of Azureus but have since migrated to other platforms with a slick client that lets you search for, download, manage, and even watch videos from a variety of sites.

The paid downloads seem to be gone, but select content in the Vuze HD Network (not all of which is available in high definition, by the way), is ad-supported. For example, you can watch Season 1 of Dexter for free if you're willing to put up with a few ads. And if you don't bother trying to download the ad-free DVD rips from another site first.

[via NewTeeVee]

When Azureus launched the Vuze desktop video player with built in BitTorrent support last year, a lot of folks shrugged. A few checked out the new Vuze client, but many kept using the company's trusty old BitTorrent client. Now the company is killing off the standalone client and changing its name to Vuze. There's also a new version of the Vuze client which adds a few new features.

Probably the most significant change in Vuze 3.1 is support for searching multiple BitTorrent tracking web sites. Previously if you wanted to find a video, you could only search through the Vuze catalog of free and for-pay downloads. Now you can find a whole lot of results from other sites including Mininova and Sumotorrent as well. You can also add other sites to search simply by clicking the add/edit button.

Vuze 3.1 also adds some basic social networking features. Users can create profiles, add friends, and recommend torrents that they think their friends would like. There's no way to chat or see if your friends are online, so these social elements feel tacked on rather than tightly integrated into the experience.

When you install Vuze 3.1 you'll be asked to install a browser toolbar as well. Feel free to uncheck the box next to this option. The wording is a bit tricky since it makes it sound a bit like you need to accept the terms and install the toolbar to continue the installation. But this is not the case.

[via NewTeeVee]

Lately, some ISPs have been using BitTorrent throttling techniques to prevent BitTorrent programs from working properly. It is understandable that ISPs need to manage their networks in order to ensure that every customer gets a fair share of the bandwidth pie, but as individuals, traffic throttling techniques take away from the service we were promised when signing up.

If you choose to share the data collected via the Network Status Monitor, the Azureus team may analyze and compare it with the data collected from other users in order to develop ways of circumventing BitTorrent throttling. The plug-in only works on Windows machines for now, but Mac support is coming.

Azureus is opening up its Vuze online video platform to third party video producers. Or rather, the company is expanding its already-open platform, making it easier for pretty much anyone to upload a video and make money off of it. Up until now, you've been able to add videos, but you couldn't insert ads or charge for downloads unless you signed a content deal with Vuze.

Azureus launched Vuze in January, and Gilles BianRosa tells us that since then, the video client has been downloaded and installed 10 million times. Vuze has also partnered with between 60 and 70 major content companies to distribute content. Those companies include CBS, Showtime, and the BBC.

We recently had the chance to ask BianRosa a few questions about Vuze, online video distribution, and the company's new open monetization platform.

Download Squad: Tell us a little more about Vuze.

Gilles BianRosa: Our users are in five countries, mostly Northern America and Western Europe. We use Azureus' backbone to distribute music, movies, and games.

You have a lot of companies that are launching new services, but not many of them have an actual user base that's engaged. We've had 2 million new installations of the client in September alone. And everything's growing. We are seeing our users engaging significantly around Sci Fi, anime, sports, music videos, so we are learning a lot from that.

We are seeing a lot of media companies looking for new ways to reach this audience, and it's an audience that we've known for a long time because they were using Azureus. And we think that it's creating a company where large companies as well as small companies from the media space can engage directly and learn from the way this generation is about to consume long form and short form entertainment.

Azureus has renamed its Zudeo BitTorrent client Vuze, and the new program includes some new features, and more importantly, new high definition content from networks including Showtime and the BBC. Limited content was already available form A&E Networks, G4 TV, National Geographic, and Starz Media.

While most users probably think of BitTorrent clients as software for downloading TV shows and movies illegally, Vuze is all about partnering with networks and independent video producers to sell content.

And while there's not much premium content available right now, Azureus has snagged the right to distribute some interesting programming, including Showtime's Weeds, Dexter, and The L Word. Vuze will also distribute the BBC series Sorted, which is otherwise unavailable in the United States. This should come as good news to anyone hoping that other BBC content such as Life on Mars, or the original version of The IT Crowd might one day be distributed via Vuze or BBC's own online video service.

Azureus has also updated the program's search engine and navigation system.

[via Ars Technica]