14 DAY TRIAL // TV playing over the Internet is the coolest thing the Web can provide in the entertainment area. And there is a myriad of softwares that can give free access to channels all over the world. The catch is that no matter how many TV channels they come strapped with, there are very few you really want to watch. I mean, who would ever want to watch ?That '70s Show? on a Chinese TV station? And another downside is that most of the shows are recorded and broadcasted over the Internet. So you will be hearing about old news.
And, above all, most of the TV streaming softwares have a price tag. They can provide 2500+ programs for you to choose from, but there is no guarantee that all of them will work and that you will have something interesting to see.
But every once in a while, a costless such application is released on the market providing better quality channel ?reception? than most of the programs in the same category. TVU Player is trying to fill that position. It is a freeware released by TVU networks. The version we are testing is the newest beta and it already provides the necessary stream stability the users need.
The interface is modern and very easy to use. You have the channel list rolling in the left hand side of the window and the TV in the right. It takes a while to make the connection, but at least it is worth it as the streaming is live and the delay is of only a few seconds.
A downside of the player is that there aren't too many channels to watch, this edition featuring about 50 channels. But at least you have FOX and FOX news, NASA TV, or CBS. Due to the P2P TV streaming, the connection is really good and you will only have to wait for the stream to connect. So the basic principle is that the more users are watching a certain channel, the better the quality and faster the stream.
TVU Player's simplicity limits the software in providing additional options like controlling the bandwidth or any sort of properties. All you can do is turn on and off the channels and watch the stream in full view (without the channel list in the right) or fullscreen (the drawback is that Windows' task bar will still be visible). The playback controls are available as soon as you move the mouse inside the TV window.
Browsing through the channels can be a bit of a nag as mouse scroll does not work and you will be forced to use the up and down arrows in the channel list.
Storing your favorite channels for easy access is available. Also, for easy access to TV stations of a certain type (news or fashion oriented), there is the channel guide acting as a sort of toolbar. The sections are News, Sports, Networks, Movies, Lifestyle, Music and Science. Choosing one of the categories will list in the channel window that is providing that sort of show.
Sometimes you may want to know what is next on a certain channel. The traditional way to find out about the next show that is going to be on is to google it. Do that and you will be swamped with lots of results, few of them offering exactly what you need. An easier way is going to the developers? website into the TV Guide and see what is currently on and what is going to be on next.
The bottom line is that there are no settings to make, no properties window, absolutely no kind of option you may have been used to in other Internet TV playing softwares. TVU Player keeps everything to the minimum and only the quality of the picture is the one that goes over the scale.
The Good
The minimalist structure does not confuse the user with all sorts of options that may confuse you. It is easier to use than a TV set. The categories are displayed in plain view and you get to choose the station you want to watch very quickly.
All the streams are live and the delay, compared to a real TV broadcast, is minimal.
The Bad
The channel list is very modest and there are lots of Asian TV stations which are useless for me as I cannot understand a thing from what they are saying.
The Truth
Despite the short list of channels provided, there is FOX and FOX News, CBS, Spike TV, Comedy Central, Cartoon Network and NASA TV.
The P2P technology TVU Player is using provides a very good image quality.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
