Best-kept secrets
One thing I haven’t mentioned of late is Zattoo. Zattoo simulcasts TV, legally, over IP, using a variety of techniques (including peer-to-peer).
Zattoo is interesting on a few fronts: first, it’s another completely proprietary solution; second is the fact that I’m actually fine with this.
Why?
Because Zattoo is independent of the broadcasters themselves. Zattoo UK carries the five standard channels, plus a good selection of others that are free-to-air (including Al Jazeera, BBC Alba, and Bloomberg). A limited selection of the channels are even available in “HiQ” variants, which although not 720p, is somewhat better than your average PAL stream.
My only real gripes are that the actual client software is a bit poor on the Mac (nothing wrong with it per se, but it’s not exactly the pinnacle of the Mac user experience), and that the actual details of the deals with Zattoo has done with broadcasters to allow them to carry the content are a complete unknown. Can I set up a simulcast service? Who do I need to talk to? Are they paying fixed fees, a percentage of revenues, or nothing at all? Would I get comparable deals? If not, why not?
I’m not expecting any kind of an answer on the latter anytime soon, but it’d be nice if Zattoo could do something about the former. Not holding my breath, though.
