Elgato's EyeTV iPhone app isn't supposed to allow you to stream video from a computer to your iPhone over a 3G connection, but a recently discovered backdoor exploit allows users of the app's first version to do so anyway.
Apple reacted to the news of the backdoor exploit by quickly pulling the app from the App Store on Saturday. Today, we found out that the app has been restored to the store and was briefly for sale again--an unusual occurrence in the App Store. Elegato's backdoor-free 1.0.1 version is now available in the App Store, disabling the exploit.
We asked Elgato about the backdoor and received this response from company representative David Fanning:
Some test code that enabled live TV streaming over the cellular network was accidentally left in the the EyeTV App. Apple requested that we remove the code, since their agreement with AT&T does not allow redirecting TV signals over the cellular network. The code was removed, and a 1.0.1 version of the EyeTV app was submitted.
Of course, anyone wanting to keep 3G streaming could skip the the update. Those who accidentally updated the app can also downgrade iPhone apps to regain the backdoor version.
Users can stream video over 3G by following these steps in EyeTV 1.0. Note, however, that by doing so, users may be violating AT&T terms of service, which CNET does not condone. Proceed at your own risk.
- Make sure that Wi-Fi is currently turned off. Launch Settings. Tap Wi-Fi.
- Launch EyeTV on both your computer and your iPhone. Complete the following steps on the iPhone.
- Tap the name of the computer you want to stream video from.
- Enter your passcode if prompted to enter one.
- Tap Live TV.
- Tap a TV channel you want to stream.
- The following message will appear--tap the text above the OK button to activate the backdoor.
Wi-Fi networks - Off
EyeTV Live TV
Wi-Fi required for video streaming
EyeTV will now begin to stream live video over your 3G network connection.
Controversy over 3G video streaming lingers. The CNN iPhone app, for instance, can stream video about breaking news. It's not entirely clear why Apple and AT&T do not allow Elgato to offer the same feature.
(Credit:
Elgato Systems)
Elgato has released EyeTV for iPhone and iPod Touch (iTunes link), a new, $4.99 app that connects to any Mac running the latest version of Elgato's EyeTV 3.2 software. The app allows EyeTV users to view TV recordings and live TV from a remote location with one limitation: a Wi-Fi connection is required for viewing live TV. (Restrictions on the app by Apple and AT&T prevent live streaming via 3G.)
The mobile app accesses EyeTV running on a home Mac, allowing users to perform the following actions via their iPhone:
- Watch live TV and change channels anywhere (Wi-Fi connection required).
- Watch your EyeTV recordings.
- Browse the comprehensive program guide.
- Start recordings back home on your Mac immediately, schedule them for later, or watch directly from the TV guide.
- View and edit your recording schedules.
Channel 2 News Houston live morning news
(Credit: Channel 2 News Houston)
David's video recording library
(Credit: David Martin)
Local TV guide
(Credit: David Martin)
Watch or record from the TV guide
(Credit: David Martin)
Scheduled recordings
(Credit: David Martin)EyeTV connects automatically to any Mac and will find a Mac on the local network using Bonjour. The app can also find and access a remote Mac using "My EyeTV," a free service introduced with the EyeTV 3.2 update that allows you to connect to your Mac using any router that supports UPnP or NAT-PMP protocols. If that isn't sufficient, users have the option of configuring their routers manually or using a dynamic DNS service to make the connection.
EyeTV running on your Mac converts live TV to the correct format for streaming to the iPhone, ensuring optimal picture quality. Already recorded video will need to be converted in order to be viewed on the iPhone--if not, you'll see the error below.
Video has to be prepared prior to viewing on the iPhone or iPod Touch.
(Credit: David Martin)Overall, Elgato's EyeTV app looks exciting and it is a welcome add-on for EyeTV for the Mac.
Two great tastes that would taste great together?
(Credit: Matt Hickey)Netflix might be planning to bring its "Watch Instantly" feature to new devices soon. Currently built in to several products, like Sony HDTVs, and very popular on the Xbox 360, the feature lets subscribers watch any of thousands of movies in the Netflix library on their TVs. There are no physical discs; the videos stream via Web connection.
And according to Afterdawn.com, which quotes unnamed executives familiar with the situation, the Nintendo Wii and Apple's iPhone platform are next on the list. The Wii is a fairly obvious choice as Nintendo has been pushing streaming or downloadable content since the console launched a year and a half ago.
But the iPhone is something else. Apple--likely at the behest of AT&T--has kept much streaming video from the iPhone. Afterdawn points out that the streaming would likely be via Wi-Fi, only to keep bandwidth on the already overloaded network down.
What's interesting is the lack of mention of the Apple TV. Sure, the iPhone and iPod Touch are much more popular devices, but the Apple TV--which already features streaming media via YouTube and the iTunes Movie Store--seems like a much more natural choice. People want to watch the movies on their TVs.
Apple wants you to rent or buy from iTunes and has never been happy with an "all you can eat" subscription service. But if Netflix can convince Jobs and company that "Watch Instantly" will be OK on the iPhone, then it can argue the same for the Apple TV.
According to a report on Open Salon, Apple appears to be preparing direct movie and TV show downloads on the iPhone.
Open Salon claims that an ad appearing in the free version of the app Twitterfon is the first place this new iPhone feature was discovered. However, the ad in question is nowhere to be found at press time and hasn't been confirmed.
iTunes TV ad
(Credit: Open Salon)According to the report, the ad supposedly led to a place that pointed to some movie and TV show listings. The listings were broken down by genre, and although titles were listed, none would work when accessed.
... Read more
If you don't mind the occasional commercial, you can watch shows like "The Office" for free.
Need a "30 Rock" fix? How about some "Friday Night Lights?" Forget paying Apple two bucks for every iTunes download: Just stream the shows to your iPhone or iPod Touch instead.
No, the rumored Hulu app hasn't arrived yet. But if you point your mobile browser to m.nbc.com, you'll find you can watch full episodes of more than a dozen NBC shows. Free!
NBC's mobile site has full episodes of over a dozen shows.
(Interestingly, the mobile CBS site (iphone.cbs.com) can stream video in the iPhone-friendly QuickTime format as well, but for the moment, you'll find only clips and recaps, not full episodes.) Note: CNET is published by CBS Interactive, a unit of CBS.
As you might expect, the shows are broken up into chunks that conveniently coincide with commercial breaks. An episode of "The Office," for instance, kicks off with a 15-second commercial, followed by the first eight minutes or so of the episode. Then it's on to chunk No. 2, which also starts with a commercial. It's all very Hulu-like, except that you have to start each segment manually.
In addition to the aforementioned gems, NBC has episodes of "Heroes," "Life," "Parks and Recreation," and (shudder) "The Celebrity Apprentice." The number of available episodes varies (rather inexplicably) from one show to another. You might find a generous 15 episodes of "Knight Rider," but only one "Medium."
Hey, beggars can't be choosers. The shows I streamed looked silky-smooth (even full-screen) and sounded great--at least over Wi-Fi and 3G. (EDGE streaming was predictably jerky.) So while we're waiting for that fabled Hulu app, we can park our browsers at NBC and get taste of what the streaming-TV life will be like. So far, it tastes gooooood.
Like most folks, I'm eagerly awaiting the Hulu app that's rumored to be heading to the iPhone. (I need my daily "Daily Show" fix!)
Of course, if and when it lands, it'll require a live Internet connection to stream content--and those are still pretty hard to come by in places like airplanes and underground government bunkers (sorry, I've been watching a lot of "Chuck"). That's why I'm using Replay Media Catcher to record shows off Fancast, not unlike a DVR records from cable.
Before you ask, no, RMC doesn't work with Hulu. It used to, but some change to the site's method of streaming rendered RMC incompatible.
Replay Media Catcher lets you record all kinds of streaming media, then convert it for iPhone viewing or listening.
(Credit: Applian Technologies)Fortunately, it records like a champ from Fancast (and dozens of other streaming-video sites, including DailyMotion, iFilm, and the like). I tried the $39.95 program with shows like "60 Minutes" and "The Colbert Report," and it made simple work of saving the streams as FLV files on my PC.
From there I used RMC's built-in converter to create iPhone-friendly MP4 files. (It can also extract MP3s if you're interested in turning, say, a music video into a song file.) This takes a bit of time, of course, as does the actual process of recording streams, which happens more or less in real time.
But when you're done, you'll have a video file you can watch wherever and whenever you want, no Wi-Fi or 3G required. Not too shabby.
i.TV can set up TiVo recordings on the run.
TiVo and iPhone, the gadget superpowers of home and pocket. Don't you think it's time they joined forces?
As it happens, your iPhone can perform all kinds of nifty TiVo tricks. Here are my five favorites:
- i.TV Forgot to set your TiVo to record the big game/new show/classic "Simpsons" episode? No problem. Just find the listing in i.TV's guide and tap the TiVo icon. You can even choose which TiVo to use (if you have more than one) and tweak the recording settings. Hard to believe this handy app is a freebie.
- Kwiry An SMS alternative to i.TV, Kwiry lets you program your TiVo via text message. After creating a free account, just text "Tivo 30 Rock" (or whatever) to Kwiry and presto: your unit records the next scheduled episode. Perfect if you're in a hurry.
- DVRPics This 99-cent app lets you view your iPhone photos on your TV (by way of your TiVo). Thankfully, a forthcoming update will enable slideshows instead of just one-at-a-time viewing.
- DVR Remote Much like the Windows Media Center-specific Mediamote app, DVR Remote turns your iPhone into a TiVo remote (great if you need a spare or your regular remote goes missing). It also features a Now Playing list, a keyboard for easy searches, a Favorites list, and an editable button layout. Well worth $2.99, IMHO.
- DVR Shows Want to know what's on your TiVo without turning on your TV? DVR Shows lists recorded shows alphabetically or by date. Not earth-shattering, but handy. It costs 99 cents.
Know of any other TiVo tricks you can perform on your iPhone? Tell us about 'em in the comments!
(Credit:
Equinux)
If you're like my colleague Eric Franklin, who'd rather watch Speed Racer on his iPhone than on a big screen, you're in for some good news.
Equinux, the company that provides the TV-watching solution The Tube for Mac, announced Wednesday its all new hardware TV tuner called TubeStick. The device, when coupled with free iPhone apps Live TV and TubeTogo, allows you to watch TV right on the screens of your iPhones and iPod Touches.
With Live TV, you can stream live television programs directly via Wi-Fi to your iPhone from your Mac that runs The Tube. TubeToGo, on the other hand, allows you to access and program TV recordings on the iPhone via the Internet while on the go.
The TubeStick hybrid brings the joys of your TV to your tiniest of screens.
(Credit: Equinux)TubeToGo also offers the possibility to share published recordings with friends. TubeToGo uses MobileMe or any other FTP server for online storage.
Both Live TV and TubeToGo applications are now available for free download at the iTunes App Store and are compatible with Equinux's TV receiver TubeStick.
TubeStick also works with Windows-based Media Center, with limited functionality.
The new TubeStick TV hardware receiver comes in two versions: the TubeStick hybrid that supports both digital and analog television is available right now in the U.S for $99.95. The TubeStick for DTT/DV-T is only available in Europe and costs 49.95 euros (about $65).
TubeStick comes with everything you need, including the TV receiver, the matching white miniantenna, an adapter for external antenna and a USB extension cable, and The Tube software for your Mac, which costs $39.95 if you buy it separately.
Updated at 10:00 AM Pacific.
Six months after announcing its intention to bring SlingPlayer to the iPhone 3G, Sling Media has another announcement to make--just not the one you're wishing for.
SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone isn't ready yet, Sling said on Tuesday, but it is on its way.
Like SlingPlayer Mobile for Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, UIQ, and BlackBerry (beta) platforms, this iPhone version will let you access one or more Slingboxes from your mobile device, and watch your TV stations on-the-go. It will also be compatible with the iPod Touch.
You'll also be able to manage your DVR from the iPhone, and can synchronously add and remove favorite channels directly from the phone's interface--a first for the SlingPlayer Mobile line.
In our demo, the client streamed live, high-quality video of stations like MTV and TBS on both Wi-Fi and the iPhone's 3G network. Swiping the screen horizontally advances you through favorite stations, and flicking up and down rotates through all your home channels.
Sling Media says it will submit the file to the iTunes AppStore by the end of the first fiscal quarter. While Sling Media shared no firm price tag, it could mirror the $29.99 lifetime fee of SlingPlayer Mobile on other platforms.
Before getting too excited, just remember that Apple has been known to kill promising apps, ostensibly for the crime of a large data transfers. SlingPlayer Mobile for iPhone could suffer the same fate. Assuming it doesn't, the client still faces competition from Orb, whose full version, OrbLive, delivers live TV and media stored on your PC for $10.
Video host Blip.tv has just launched support for iPhones letting mobile users view the entirety of its video collection on the go. Like visiting the site on your computer, you can both browse and search through Blip's videos and get them to play without having to download a special application.
As a result of the upgrade, Blip.tv's embed code can now point iPhone users directly to the .m4v QuickTime stream while still delivering the Flash version to users with it installed. Unfortunately this does not carry over to previously embedded Flash-based Blip.tv videos. Visiting an earlier post where I embedded a Blip.tv video, it still shows up with the giant Flash-fail icon.
Blip.tv's CTO Justin Day tells me there's no way to add backward compatibility to these old embeds, but that video publishers can go back and manually update the video to support it.
Below is an example of the new content portal iPhone users are greeted with:
Watch Blip.tv shows right on your iPhone with a new content browser that streams QuickTime files.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Update: Here's a how-to video posted by Day. You should be able to view this if you're reading from your iPhone.
