The USB Webcam gives your not just the ability to share audio and video online, but a cheeky way to launch foam missles at targets and friends via webcam.

Instant Messaging and Missle Launching…

Webcams serve as an excellent tool for messaging online, but maybe chat just isn’t enough these days. Perhaps the time has come to incorporate not just audio and video messaging, but the ability to blast missiles at one another!

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The BBC iPlayer continues to go from strength to strength. Last week saw the service win the Judges’ Award at the 2009 Royal Television Society Innovation Awards and get its own dedicated channel on the Nintendo Wii.

BBC iPlayer

The BBC iPlayer has shone like a beacon since its full launch almost two years ago in December 2007. The catch-up TV service lead the way not only in the U.K. but around the world, with Hulu being its big-name opposite in the U.S.

Rather than rest on its laurels, the BBC carried on improving the service despite already providing millions of streams to viewers. The current iteration of the iPlayer service is more user-friendly and easy-to-use than any Web application or online video site.

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The Sabrent USB2.0 Tuner Box is a TV receiving and video capturing device for notebooks and PCs.  The Sabrent is basically a device that allows you to watch normal television on your PC, but with additional DVD-style features such as fast-forward/rewind, etc.

Functions and Features of the Sabrent TV-USB20

In a nutshell, the Sabrent TV-USB20 is an external TV/video receiving box that will allow you to capture from any analog device, such as a VCR, camcorder, or basically anything with composite output jacks.  The device connection is made via a USB 2.0 port and receive TV broadcasts and capture video on the computer.

The compact design looks sharp and is small enough that it can conveniently be taken with you when traveling.  It features a variety of DVR-esque features allowing you to pause, rewind and record live TV.

This will use your PC’s own hard drive so how many hours of TV you can record depends on how big your PC’s hard drive is. Typically 80GB of free space will hold about 80 hours of TV, depending on your compression settings.

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Netflix’s ‘Watch Instantly’ streaming service is available on so many devices now it’s probably easier to list those that don’t carry it. The PS3 is the latest to join the ranks. And ‘Watch Instantly’ is now such a huge part of the service that it’s surely here to stay, and inevitably grow in the future.

From Mail To The Web

In the 12 years since Netflix launched as a purely by-mail DVD rental company, the world has changed considerably, particularly with the Internet becoming the distribution method of choice for all kinds of media, including of course television and movies.

So it’s no wonder that the company decided to introduce a streaming video service as part of its subscription package a few years ago. And the way things are going, it’s that part of the business which provides the future direction for Netflix.

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ZillionTV has had some trouble moving from being a good idea to an actual product. This has led to some particularly critical articles around the Web concerning the company, its management, and whether ZillionTV will actually ever deliver. ZillionTV is now fighting back, but the fight hasn’t started well.

ZillionTV or ZeroTV?

ZillionTV was announced back in March to some very positive comments and feedback. I myself stated that “good backers, a man in charge who knows the business, and a couple of innovations which could drive the sector forward” meant it had a chance of succeeding, despite entering a crowded market.

However, in September a delay in launching the service was announced. It was originally thought to be due for a launch in late 2009 but that slipped to the second half of 2010, which is nigh on a year later than first expected.

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The Roku Box, which started life as the Roku Netflix player before evolving to its current form, is getting some brothers in the shape of two new boxes. Roku is also promising new channels will be coming to the service soon. Which, with Netflix now headed for the PS3, is needed more than ever.

Roku and Netflix

Roku started out relying on Netflix’ ‘Watch Instantly’ streaming service as the be all and end all of its content offering to buyers of the $99 box. But since launching in May 2008, other content channels have been added, including Amazon Video-on-Demand and MLB TV.

Netflix soon moved on to a host of other set-top boxes and devices, including the Xbox 360, Internet-enabled televisions, and hybrid Blu-ray players. And it’s now adding a new one to its line-up in the shape of the Playstation 3.

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Netflix is finally looking towards a streaming future, with the death of DVD predicted, plans for services on other devices – notably the PS3 and Wii (probably) – and a move outside the United States and into unspecified international territories.

Netflix Of The Past

When Netflix formed in 1997 as a DVD by mail company in the United States, the Internet wasn’t the behemoth it is now, and online video was a concept rather than an actual living, breathing part of the Web.

Streaming video therefore wasn’t part of the plan for the company at that point. However, it introduced ‘Watch Instantly’ as part of its subscription service a few years ago and hasn’t looked back since.

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