Miro 1.1: faster torrenting for better net TV

Miro -- the free and open Internet TV program that lets everyone participate in making and watching video -- has just posted a fantastic update. Version 1.1 includes a new BitTorrent engine that delivers dramatic improvements in download speeds.

Miro combines BitTorrent (a downloading system that gets faster as more people download the same file) with the open VLC video player (which lets you watch every video format without worrying about which program you're using) and RSS technology, so that you can subscribe to any of thousands of channels and get the new videos when they're published. Miro comes from the nonprofit Participatory Culture Foundation, who also make Broadcast Machine, a tool that lets anyone publish channels for their own video.

Miro is also hiring hackers and fundraisers, so here's your chance to help keep the world safe for open video. Link

(Disclosure: I am on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Participatory Culture Foundation)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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robbt

I just saw the 1.1 update for Ubuntu come out today.
patholio

It would be great if you could configure the proxy settings for it (apols. if it now can but you couldn’t in 1.0)
Burz

Funny how Linux developers are fond of saying how easy it is to compile software yourself. Yet they take an age before distributing their releases as compiled packages.

The Miro Linux packages are still sitting at 1.0 on getmiro.com, and I presume it will take 8 weeks or more for 1.1 to hit the Ubuntu repository.

I suppose I’ll just switch to my Mac and download & install the new Miro the way its supposed to be done on a personal computer.
RugerRedhawk

How does this compare to Joost? I tried using joost because of all the hype, but found it unusable due to the constant lag.
hyperkine

I like the idea of the I Heart Miro extension, but are these guys trustworthy?
Cory Doctorow

Rugerredhawk — have a look at:

http://www.getmiro.com/articles/miro_vs_joost.php
Brian Damage

@Rugerredhawk

For the most part Miro downloads content before it can be watched whereas Joost streams video on demand (though Miro can do this with content from sites like Youtube). Also, Joost is a closed publishing platform while anyone can post content on Miro. Miro has TONS more content than Joost, and I find Joost’s content to be largely superficial and crappy.

Miro > Joost!!
Burz

I think the torrent update was much-needed. Hopefully you guys have figured out how to handle Podcast feeds too (that is long overdue).

With that said, can anyone from your Foundation shed some light on the uptake of BM and your strategy for promoting the torrent distribution method? I am curious because I expected to see a lot more feeds using bittorrent by this time.
leo

Why does Miro use Xine instead of VLC in Linux?
hyperkine

It seems faster but Miro still doesn’t obey Windows DPI settings. That means fonts are too small to be readable on an HTPC.