LiveStream has in the past been a closed model for acessing live content via the web. Well the have changed the model and updated some aspects of the software –

The world’s leading TV channels

There are two types of channels you can watch on the Livestation player, our partner channels and those added by other Livestation viewers.

Partner channels: available in high quality, our partner channels currently include Al Jazeera English, BBC World News, Bloomberg Television, Deutsche Welle, euronews (English, French, Italian and Spanish), France 24 in French and English, Russia Today, BBC World Service radio and Deutsche Welle radio in German and English.

Add your own channels: Livestation also enables viewers to add any web streams to their own personal Livestation player. A Livestation viewer, Bernard Maltais, created this excellent tutorial. These channels may not have the same picture quality as the Livestation partner channels, and, because they are not being streamed by us, they won’t benefit from the features listed above, but they do offer added personal choice.

User-generated rating & alert system: What’s Hot & Chat

What’s Hot enables you to let others know about the content that interests you, with the click of the mouse, as you watch live TV. When you see or hear something interesting being broadcast on the player, you can hit the What’s Hot button and add your comments. If others are buzzing about the same content, the item will rise to the top of the What’s Hot buzz rankings, enabling everyone to see what is popular and, if they like it, to tune in.

Big deal? Well for LiveStation, its a move in the right direction. But this is just another indication of the shift to TVoIP. When TVoIP reaches critical mass then what? –

• TV broadcast licenses will drop in value. Not a little, but a lot.
• Revenues will shift to the content aggregators/providers.
• There will be a supply chain collapse even in the content aggregators as individual production house can now operate their own channels.
• Content will become more diverse and even further fragmented.
• The longtail theory will finally apply to live video. With the ability to call up episodes of shows long since aired they will have permanence.

Please note that though LiveStation is provided free its is not open source product.

Brave new world coming for the entertainment industry.

Linky

Cablevision’s Long Island customers now have access to 1.5MBPS symmetric WiFi. It’s a nice bonus from one of the usually villainous Cable Guys. At a cost of a paltry $100 per subscriber, it may be one of the most creatively inexpensive  customer retention ideas ever in the MSO business. I wonder if there will be a run up in the sales of VoIP WiFi handsets on LI?

The move helps Cablevision differentiate themselves from FiOS across their footprint. You might recall that Verizon once offered free Wi-Fi in Manhattan, but scrapped the project back in 2005 because they feared it cannibalized the sale of their (then) $80 EVDO service. Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge has stated that Wi-Fi and Cablevision’s planned DOCSIS 3.0 deployment combined will cost roughly about $315 million.

“This is the first update on our deployment and we’re announcing that we’ve activated service in the commercial and high-traffic areas of Nassau County, parts of Suffolk and on the LIRR commuter rail platforms and station parking lots across Long Island,” Cablevision spokesman Jim Maiella tells me. “This is already the largest consumer WiFi deployment in the country, with many more progress reports and updates to come over the next two years.” (DSL Reports)

Touting a $315 million investment in DOCSIS 3 sounds huge, except it works out to a measly $100 per subscriber. With the anticipated high cost of the Cablevision’s 30MBPS uncapped tier, that investment should be recouped in the first quarter or two. Very few businesses enjoy such handsome ROI’s. Having said that, I wish I could get it here at whatever price.

 Today, Cablevision’s fastest tier runs at 30Mbps over DOCSIS 2.0, and is truly uncapped — allowing users to get as much speed as the network will allow. Rutledge says the company spent nearly $20 million on both DOCSIS 3.0 deployment and their plan to offer Cablevision customers free Wi-Fi during the second quarter. “The total capital for that [combined project] over a three-year budget cycle is about $100 per customer or in the range of $315 million,” says the COO. (DSL Reports)