PlayOn wants to make sure you can get your daily dose of Barackrolls and
Airwolf episodes beyond the desktop, while
Hulu might not have a slick
streaming set-top box of its own, this media server software turns flash video RSS streams into easily browsed folders for your
DLNA-compliant hardware. PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and
HP MediaSmart HDTVs being at the top of that list (with Nintendo Wii support planned by year-end) owners can grab the beta release of the software and stream low-res episodes of
Psych, or any assortment of YouTube video they please. With Netflix support "just down the road" this could provide an end around for PS3 owners looking for streaming love, or Xbox 360 owners
without Xbox Live Gold (we know you're out there.) Bad news is the beta only lasts 60 days and there's a $30 pricetag waiting at the end of the free lunch highway. Our experience was good, with no stutters in a
Psych episode streamed via Wi-Fi to the PS3 (albeit with no choice of
HD clips), but we'd wait for confirmation on the whole Netflix bit before dropping any dough.
Update: Getting 69-C00D36C4 / folder could not be accessed errors on your PS3 or Xbox 360, or waiting for 64-bit Vista support to dive in? PlayOn CTO David Karlton updated the official
blog to let users know fixes and additional support is in the works, so keep an eye out for more news shortly if things aren't working just yet.
[Via
PS3 Fanboy]
posted Aug 19th 2008 at 5:52PM
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
CubeGuy @ Aug 19th 2008 4:29PM
I'm excited by the Netflix news, but the Hulu is really the selling point for me. I've got this installed, and I'll try it out as soon as I get home. =D
Tracy Burman @ Aug 19th 2008 5:08PM
Thanks for the thumbs up Richard. Glad you had a positive experience with PlayOn. We hear you on the license fee - and will do what we can to earn your $30! Keep the feedback coming!
http://www.themediamall.com/blog/?p=32
eric f. @ Aug 20th 2008 11:10AM
Lovely. Another Windows-only solution... WTF?
SludgeHeap @ Aug 19th 2008 5:58PM
I agree Hulu has the stuff, but Netflix does seem to have a growing number of online delivery options, too. I always wondered it there'd be a way to watch them on something other than a PC screen.
Oh, and although I don't know about Barackrolls, I'll keep watching Airwolf. When I'm too lazy to pull out the DVD, I stream it from here: http://series.airwolf.tv/episodes
Alton @ Aug 19th 2008 6:25PM
Has anyone got this to work on a 360? I get a codec error ever time.
Ben Wraith @ Aug 19th 2008 6:25PM
360 owners who want to stream Netflix can also just use one of the plugins for Vista Media Center to let them use Netflix in Media Center on their PC and console.
Joe Rosenberg @ Aug 19th 2008 7:00PM
The Netflix Roku Box is awesome-- Much better content than Hulu.
I think this innovation (at the $100) price point obviates the need for cable TV. My wife and I switched from Blockbuster to NetFlix/Roku and cancelled our cable TV. Roku needs to offer adult videos too! Otherwise the Vudu box is worth the extra money, and may win just like VHS beat Betamax. It would be nice for us to get our adult stuff from SugarDVD.com via Roku instead of the postman!
scyber @ Aug 19th 2008 8:05PM
It works on the PCH! Well mostly. some of the Hulu.com videos play, some don't. I seem to be getting about an 80% success rate so far. A very small sample size though.
I assume it is doing some sort of transcoding b/c I know the PCH doesn't currenlty support flash.
jim @ Aug 19th 2008 8:27PM
how do you add hulu to your media center?
Spiza @ Aug 19th 2008 9:15PM
If they get everything on Hulu in HD, this would warrant a purchase.
THizzle7XU @ Aug 19th 2008 10:14PM
Ya, does the new Hulu HD work as well?
jim @ Aug 19th 2008 9:35PM
does not work on my 360.does not allow video play.
DrGabber @ Aug 19th 2008 10:41PM
This didn't work on my Xbox 360 either. Every video I tried to play gave me an error.
Dan @ Aug 19th 2008 10:44PM
Doesn't work on my PS3. I get "the file could not be found" when I try to play anything from Hulu/ESPN/CBS.
Michael @ Aug 19th 2008 11:12PM
my tversity only worked on my ps3 for a couple hours then the contents of my library mysteriously dissappeared AAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDDD most of the time my ps3 doesent detect the server at all while my other computers still do detect the server all the time albeit an empty server.
Greg @ Aug 19th 2008 11:47PM
on the PS3, it doesn't work. Every video says: "The folder cannot be accessed. This content may have been deleted from the media server.
RockinOscar @ Aug 20th 2008 4:06AM
my question is if it's streaming directly from the websites? TVersity when it decides to work (which is often) and is streaming from let's say G4TV or DL.tv it had cached does videos into my hard drive first. will this do the same?
scyber @ Aug 20th 2008 9:08AM
According to the docs, the server determines whether the devices supports the container of the stream. If it does support the stream, it simply proxies the stream. If it doesn't support the stream, the server will transcode it to mpeg2. This is great for devices that don't support flv.
Paul Brown @ Aug 20th 2008 7:29AM
What I want is something like this for Mac OS X!!!
And before anyone says Medialink, remember that it doesn't have the Hulu -- if you can get it to work at all!!
squiggleslash @ Aug 20th 2008 10:39AM
It would be nice to see something truly platform independent or, even better, not requiring the use of a computer at all.
I really think Hulu, Netflix, et al, should consider writing apps for the various consoles to access their services directly. A $5 Wii Store app to access Hulu is something I'd buy in a heartbeat, especially if it also supported some kind of buffering so I could download the movie first and then watch it without having to be bothered about whether my Internet service is too slow or not.
Scott @ Aug 20th 2008 10:08AM
I had to uninstall this from my PC not only because of the 69-C00D36C4 error but because it blocked access to my existing shared video folders. Obviously, PlayOn is supposed to have media sharing but isn't implemented yet (it's in one of the setup tabs).
If they can ever get this working fully, I'll definitely be interested.
Woody @ Aug 20th 2008 10:30AM
Nice!
squiggleslash @ Aug 20th 2008 11:00AM
It would be nice to see something truly platform independent or, even better, not requiring the use of a computer at all.
I really think Hulu, Netflix, et al, should consider writing apps for the various consoles to access their services directly. A $5 Wii Store app to access Hulu is something I'd buy in a heartbeat, especially if it also supported some kind of buffering so I could download the movie first and then watch it without having to be bothered about whether my Internet service is too slow or not.
Paul_AV @ Aug 20th 2008 2:03PM
TVersity works great with my Xbox 360 and PS3. I still might try PlayOn though.
Matt @ Aug 21st 2008 5:55PM
Works Perfectly fine on my PS3, no error codes at all and I am still able to use my Google Desktop and WMP media servers as well. Best feature is the ability to save and copy movies directly to my hard drive. only downer is the quality is so so..