 |
|
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Skinkers Ltd., Microsoft Research |
| Stable release | 2.7.0[1] / 3 April 2009 |
| Platform | Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh [2], Linux, iPhone[3] |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Internet_tv |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | Official Site; www.livestation.com |
Livestation is a platform for distributing live television and radio broadcasts over a data network.[4] It has been developed by Skinkers Ltd and is now a new company called Livestation Ltd. The service was originally based on peer-to-peer technology acquired from Microsoft Research.[5]
Contents |
Overview
Livestation aggregates international news channels online and offers them in a number of ways:
- Free to watch: a number of channels can be watched for free on the Livestation website or on their desktop player, a freely downloadable video application that presents all the channels through one interface.
- Premium service: some of the free channels are also available on a subscription basis both in higher quality (800kbps) and in lower (256kbps) delivered via an international content distribution network for higher reliability. Some channels due to join the plaftform shortly will ONLY be available on a subscription basis.
- Mobile: Livestation has launched BBC World News on the iPhone in 16 European countries and Al Jazeera English globally. The apps are available in the iPhone AppStore and stream the live TV channel 24/7 on both Wi-Fi and 3G connections.
Livestation broadcast streams encoded in VC-1 format (Livestation is not currently using peer-to-peer). Playback controls are overlaid on top of the video stream. Unlike services such as Joost which offer video on demand channels, Livestation streams live broadcasts.[6]
Current live TV news channels in the global offering (which comes with a default installation) include France24 in English, French, and Arabic, Al Arabiya in Arabic, Al Jazeera in English and Arabic, Bloomberg Television, C-SPAN, Deutsche Welle TV and radio in English and German, Democratic Voice of Burma, Euronews in English, French and Arabic (Italian, German, Russian, and Spanish are no longer supported [7]) Russia Today in English and Arabic, BBC World News, BBC World Service Radio, BBC Arabic, ITN, Press TV and BBC Persian. Otherwise, reception is limited through GeoIP filtering, and depends on the location of the receiver [8]. Despite advertisement boasting BBC World News or Deutsche Welle TV, these are not available in some locations, including but not limited to the United States [9]. Livestation viewers can add channels from a directory, and may add their own choice of channels to the directory (limited to Windows Media streams).
The software is currently available for Windows, Mac (including PowerPC) and Linux. The cross-platform compatibility is facilitated by the Qt framework. Social networking features have been added that include the ability to chat with other viewers and also find out what others are watching through a user generated rating system. You can search and select the available channels either from the website, or from within the software.
See also
References
- ^ "Version History". http://www.livestation.com/version_history?tracker=main_menu. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
- ^ "Livestation Download Page info Windows XP or Vista Mac Linux (Ubuntu Fedora9 OpenSUSE)". http://www.livestation.com/downloads?tracker=main_menu. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ "iPhone alpha in testing now". http://www.livestation.com/forum/categories/23-milestones/posts/2963-iphone_alpha_in_testing_now. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ "Live television and radio". http://www.livestation.com/channels. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ "Scalable High Quality Solution". http://www.livestation.com/broadcast_platform?tracker=main_menu. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- ^ "Livestation demonstration". http://soapbox.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=4da4263c-68a0-411f-8eec-58dc81bf22da. Retrieved 2007-07-05.
- ^ "EuroNews Broadcast cancellation". http://www.livestation.com/forum/categories/12-new_channels__your_suggestions/posts/2968-euronews. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- ^ http://www.livestation.com/forum/categories/3-error_messages/posts/392-nothing_view
- ^ http://www.livestation.com/forum/categories/12-new_channels__your_suggestions/posts/774-bbc_world_news_for_american_viewers?page=1#776
External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
This computer software article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
