Promising App... Here's some initial feedback

[Krell]

Hello. I downloaded W3b.tv and tried it out last night. This is a
very promising app and helps me do exactly what I want to do with my
HTPC, which is watch TV on the web.

Here's some initial feedback/questions/feature requests:

1. Is there any way to choose the browser that opens, or is it just
the default browser?

2. Right now, the "Shows" list (and search results) seems to be
limited to just Hulu. Is there any way to broaden this to CBS.com,
TNT.tv, etc.?

3. Please add setting to turn off highlighted shows on the top of the
main screen (or make it only show the shows I am interested in -- I
don't care about Glee).

4. BIG REQUEST: Can support be added for Hulu Plus accounts? I am a
member of Hulu Plus, but when I search for a show (an example being
Body of Proof), instead of the whole season (which is available on
Hulu Plus), only the last 5-6 episodes are shown. If I go to the Hulu
web site, all are available.

5. EVEN BIGGER REQUEST: Please support Hacker's keyboard. This is
the only way we'll have full control over the browser, etc. Here's
the relevant link:

http://code.google.com/p/hackerskeyboard/wiki/KeyboardSupportInApplications

[Krell]

One more question:

6. Is the server program exactly the same as the Gmote one? Or
should I replace the Gmote server with the W3b.tv one? Prettier
icon? More functionality? Please advise.

[Marc Stogaitis]

Hi Krell,

Thank you very much for your feedback! Please find my answers inline:

On Tue, May 31, 2011 at 5:31 AM, Krell <kr...@krellempire.net> wrote:

Hello.  I downloaded W3b.tv and tried it out last night.  This is a
very promising app and helps me do exactly what I want to do with my
HTPC, which is watch TV on the web.

Here's some initial feedback/questions/feature requests:

1.  Is there any way to choose the browser that opens, or is it just
the default browser?

At this time, shows launch in your default browser.

2.  Right now, the "Shows" list (and search results) seems to be
limited to just Hulu.  Is there any way to broaden this to CBS.com,
TNT.tv, etc.?

Sounds good. Adding more video sources is on the top of our list. We'll look into CBS.com and TNT.tv. Please let us know if there are others you enjoy.

 

3.  Please add setting to turn off highlighted shows on the top of the
main screen (or make it only show the shows I am interested in -- I
don't care about Glee).

We're planning on making a much better algorithm for selecting shows to put in this list that is based on your interests (i.e. based on the shows you watch or star).

 

4.  BIG REQUEST:  Can support be added for Hulu Plus accounts?  I am a
member of Hulu Plus, but when I search for a show (an example being
Body of Proof), instead of the whole season (which is available on
Hulu Plus), only the last 5-6 episodes are shown.  If I go to the Hulu
web site, all are available.

Yup, we didn't have time to do this for the first release but it should be going in soon.

 

5.  EVEN BIGGER REQUEST:  Please support Hacker's keyboard.  This is
the only way we'll have full control over the browser, etc.  Here's
the relevant link:

I've heard good things about hacker's keyboard. I'll look into it. 

           http://code.google.com/p/hackerskeyboard/wiki/KeyboardSupportInApplications

As for the server, right now it's a slim down version of the Gmote server, so if you use gmote you should keep using the Gmote server. When we update the W3b.tv server, we'll update the Gmote server as well.

Hope this helps!

Cheers!

Marc

[Krell]

Awesome, thanks for the quick responses. If you need help testing
anything, I'm always willing. I've got a Droid 1 and an Acer A500,
and I use an Ubuntu machine as my HTPC.

> >http://code.google.com/p/hackerskeyboard/wiki/KeyboardSupportInApplic...

[Krell]

Hi Marc:

I've been continuing to use W3b.tv and really, really like it. I am
eager to see if you can bring in other video sources like CBS.com and
TNT.tv. Might also be worth checking into USA, FX, as well as the
other major networks ABC, NBC, FOX, etc. Also, it might be kind of
cool if you had links to special events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans
that was just on this past weekend, or the US Open (tennis) this
summer. There are also several golf tournaments that are streamed
online. I realize that'd require a lot of searching, etc., but it
could also be user driven somehow (I'd be happy to help support these
efforts).

My only gripe right now is that Chromium is my default web browser but
this app launches Firefox. Not a huge deal, except that Firefox seems
a bit less stable (it crashed a couple times when I tried to stream Le
Mans with it, whereas Chromium didn't crash once). Like I said
previously, I'm on Ubuntu (technically Linux Mint 10). I might switch
over to plain old Ubuntu at some point in the future; we'll have to
wait and see.

Also want to reiterate my request for Hacker's Keyboard support. It
would be great if I could use all F-keys, ESC, etc. through W3b.tv.
This would enable me to control the browser without resorting to using
the mouse.

Happy to help test features if that'd be helpful at all.

Thanks.

On May 31, 11:50 pm, Marc Stogaitis <marc...@gmail.com> wrote:

> >http://code.google.com/p/hackerskeyboard/wiki/KeyboardSupportInApplic...