Those wishing to unplug from expensive cable and satellite TV services are increasingly turning to video content streamed across the Web. Media center applications such as Boxee and Plex provide this content in a unified interface. ZeeVee Inc., makers of the ZvBox (a device for channeling Internet video from a computer to an HDTV) has recently shoved its oar in as well by releasing a Mac-compatible version of its Zinc Internet video browser. I've spent some time with Zinc and here are a few impressions.
Not just a video browser
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Unlike Boxee and Plex, which are based on the open-source XBMC project, Zinc is a web browser that's been rejiggered to look like a media center application. Peer inside the thing and you find a heaping helping of Firefox 3.0.10. To make this relationship even more obvious, launch Zinc, place your cursor where the menu bar should be, and click the Restore button in the upper-right corner of the menu bar. Suddenly the Firefox interface appears--complete with address field, navigations buttons, and History, Bookmarks, and Tools menus. At this point you're welcome to use it as you would any other web browser. When you're ready to return to the Zinc interface, just click the Zinc button in the toolbar.
Within the Zinc interface you find navigation commands arrayed along the left side of the screen and 25 large icons representing content channels to the right. The navigation commands include Zv Presents (a view of the main channels offered by Zinc), Favorites, New, History, ZvHDTV (tutorials about using the company's go-between box), Settings, Help, and Exit. The channels include such old favorites as Netflix, Fox, CBS, ABC, Hulu, MTV, Nickelodeon, and ESPN. Internet-only channels such as YouTube, Yahoo, Revision 3, and CollegeHumor are also represented.
(Image Caption: Zinc's main screen.)
You navigate through the commands and channels much as you would with Boxee or Plex. On a computer keyboard use the arrow keys to move from one item to another and press Return to activate a highlighted item. You can use a mouse as well. And iPhone apps such as Rowmote and AirMouse that emulate a keyboard are options too.
Entertainment source
Zinc follows a well-worn path for providing its content--Media RSS (MRSS) feeds. If a website offers such a feed, it can be added to Zinc and played from its interface. Zinc hints at this capability with its More Content entry at the bottom of the channel icons collection. Click it and you're provided with a few MRSS links that, when clicked, show you the available content from the channel in an RSS Feed view. To easily access that feed in the future, select Add to Favorites and press Return. It's then available when you select Favorites.
(Image Caption: Zinc's Favorites screen.)
You can add standard RSS feeds too. When you select an entry from one and press Return, you're taken to the web page associated with the entry.
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