PlayOn Channel Store – Rock and Rolling: How to Add 35 Channels to your PlayOn and PlayLater

Since we launched the PlayOn Channel Store in December, we have added over 35 plugin channels available to PlayOn users. That doubles the number of PlayOn channels to 70, and includes a lot of the niche content that we all love. As of today, the most popular three plugins are:

#1 HGTV (Design Star, All American Handyman, Curb Appeal, Hidden Potential, House Hunters, My Yard goes Disney,Property Virgins, Real Estate Intervention, Spike Up My Kitchen, Tough as Nails, and many more)

#2 TV Land (with classics like Everybody Loves Raymond, The King of Queens, The Andy Griffith Show and Gunsmoke; and newcomers like Hot in Cleveland and Happily Divorced)

#3 The WB (Friends, Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, Smallville, The OC, Veronica Mars, Chuck, Fringe, and cool new takes like Batman motion comics)

Installing a plugin is super easy.
1- You just go to the channel store: http://www.playon.tv/channel-store/
2- And find a channel you want to add to your PlayOn lineup.
3- Click Download on that plugin

4- As long as your PlayOn is running on your PC, you will see this window

5- Hit OK and then Yes here:

6- When PlayOn Settings opens, go to the General Settings Tab, and click on Stop (to stop the PlayOn Server), count to 20 and click on Start

7- Go to your device, fire up PlayOn, watch your new channel!

If you like the channel plugin and it works well (or you don’t….), be sure to let others know by voting. To do this – just click on the logo of the channel and then click on the thumbs up or thumbs down to vote!

In addition to HGTV, TV Land, and The WB, the other channels available through the PlayOn Channel Store include:
Academic Earth
Beavis and Butthead
BestRussianTV (Live and On Demand Russian TV)
Bravo
CBS College Sports(BTN)
CBS Local
Chow
Countdown with Keith Olbermann
CSpan Live Feeds
Disney Junior
Free Radio
Giant Bomb
Howcast
KidsWB
Logo
Nascar
NBC.com
Open Yale Courses
Qubo Kids Shows
Revision 3
Rollercoaster POV Theater
Stanford Engineering Courses
Starcade
Storage Hunters
Street Fire
U.S. Department of State
UitzendingGemist
VH1
Wall Street Journal
Warriors of Wrestling
Yule Log
YuppTV (Live and On-Demand Indian TV)

Enjoy PlayOn and PlayLater with over 70 channels available!

How to Watch Hulu, CBS, Comedy Central, ESPN and Instantly Add More than 25 channels on your Roku

We just launched a new and much improved PlayOn channel for the Roku. PlayOn is the best way to add more channels to your Roku. PlayOn lets you watch Hulu (no Hulu Plus subscription required), CBS, Comedy Central, NBS, ABC, Fox, ESPN, and more TV, movies, sports, and entertainment channels on your Roku. PlayOn on Roku is a private channel, but it is oh so easy to set up. There are 4 great engancements that the new channel offers:

1. The new PlayOn channel on Roku has search. It’s the first PlayOn interface with search, so you can just type the name of your favorite show without browsing through multiple folders.

2. It has all the trick-play features properly implemented so you can fast forward, rewind and resume (woohooo!).

3. We also added personal media playing capabilities to the Roku. You can now watch your personal photo slideshows and play any music tracks from your PC on the Roku with the PlayOn Channel - just click on MyMedia.

4. The User Interface is cleaned up with pretty logos and nice thumbnails.

It’s easy to set up.

Step 1: If you have the “old” PlayOn channel, delete it. You can do this by going to your Roku and selecting Channel Store from the main menu. Under the My Channels category, select PlayOn and then click on Remove Channel.

Step 2: Install the new channel by going to your PC and clicking on https://owner.roku.com/Add/MYPLAYON and logging into your Roku account. Then click Yes, Add Channel.

Step 3: Go back into the Channel Store on your Roku so that it adds PlayOn right away (otherwise it takes 24 hrs to update)!

Being able to search for my favorite shows (my new favorite show is Revenge, though I think it is about to get old) is a great addition (I know – it’s about time!). You can also watch Happy Endings, Pan Am, American Horror Story and all the other 100+ Hulu shows that are “web-only” on your Roku with PlayOn. Of course – you don’t have to pay for Hulu Plus at all if you have PlayOn – just watch regular Hulu right on your Roku through PlayOn - no additional subscription fees required.

Of course, the perfect complement to PlayOn on Roku is a Netflix subscription, at least give it a try - it's free for the first month!

That's all there is to it. Now go enjoy the new PlayOn channel on your Roku!

We need a Web Developer!

If you have:
- A working understanding of of PHP
- Intermediate knowledge of HTML & CSS
- Experience with web graphics production/optimization
- Knowledge of how to translate and slice a layered PSD into front-end code
- Basic Javascript and/or understanding of JQuery
- Ability to troubleshoot/debug code
- Desire to learn all aspects of the website maintenance and production process
 
And, ideally:
- The ability to flourish in a fast paced environment where no two days look alike. Must be able to adjust quickly to changing projects/priorities.
- Design skills
- Knowledge of CMS systems (preferably Drupal)
 
Then, PlayOn could be a great opportunity for you. Please contact me by sending your resume to jobs@playon.tv.

Snow Day

It's a snow day in Seattle - World Headquarters for PlayOn. And I gotta say - thank goodness for PlayOn (the product, though I love the company as well). Not only has it kept me entertained and informed, but it has also kept me from harming the 2 mini-people who are going stir-crazy in my house!

PlayOn is great for kids. They can watch Dinosaur Train, Curious George, and Sid the Science Kid on the PS3, Xbox360 or Wii from PBS kids through PlayOn. They can watch my son's favorite, Kung Fu Panda from Nick on the big screen TV through the Roku, Xbox, PS3, Wii. All with no cable charges!

Of course, my daughter just wants to watch on mommy's iPad (while my son prefers the TV screen). At 3 years old, she can watch countless episodes of Angelina Ballerina courtesty of PBS Kids and PlayOn - no need to pay for those episodes from iTunes (which are NOT cheap). I just record a bunch via PlayLater and she (I know at only 3, it's mind-blowing), knows how to open PlayOn on the iPad and start her Angelina Ballerina videos.

An then mommy can play Words with Friends!

PlayOn Ignites the Kindle Fire

Overheard on Facebook:

PlayOn on my Wii=good, Roku=better, iphone=versatile but on my Amazon Kindle Fire=AWSOME!
- Gary A.

PlayOn + Kindle Fire is like Hot Fudge on a sundae!
- Gary A.
 
And, what is a sundae without hot fudge anyway? Either way, it's true -- you can now watch Hulu for free (no HuluPlus subscription required) on the Kindle Fire – it’s easy with PlayOn. It’s also easy to watch Netflix, Amazon Prime VOD, HuluPlus, CBS, ComedyCentral, NHL, NFL, MLB.tv, ESPN, SyFy and all 30 other PlayOn channels on your Kindle Fire.
 
Detailed instructions are here: http://www.playon.tv/supported-devices. Just go to m.playon.tv in your Silk browser while you're on the same network as your PlayOn PC. You'll see the PlayOn menus on your Fire. Once you watch a video on your home Wi-Fi, if you have Mobile Access enabled in PlayOn Settings, you should be able to play videos from your PlayOn install even when your Fire’s on a remote Wi-Fi network.
 
If it doesn’t work right away, you may have your “Accelerated Browsing” turned on. This has to be off since it caches stuff which means you won’t be able to pull up the video you want (and I have found Accelerated Browsing is slower than the non-accelerated anyway, though I am sure the Silk team at Amazon is working on that). To turn off Accelerated Browsing just :
• Tap the menu button within the Silk Browser.
• Tap Settings
• Toggle Accelerate Page Loading to off. You will need to scroll down a bit to find the option.
More detailed instructions are here courtesy of laptopmag.com http://blog.laptopmag.com/how-to-disable-web-browser-acceleration-in-the...
 
So [Kindle] Fire Up your PlayOn!

Jobs at PlayOn

Technical Support Gurus Needed...

You know all about supporting software, you have done it and enjoy digging through logs to figure out what is going wrong. You are resourceful, reliable and friendly and like to work online and over chat and email. You write well. If this sounds like you, come join us.

Responsibilities Include:

• Respond to customer technical and non-technical support requests via email
• Help manage support on the forum, and encourage a community of user-based support.
• Monitor a user support email queue and be able to manage open customer issues real-time
• Understand and analyze technical support data logs from customers to help identify and troubleshoot issues
• Provide concrete guidelines and feedback to improve the logging functionality in PlayOn to streamline support issues, and allow for user self-help

The Ideal Candidate Is:

• A PlayOn user with multiple device consoles
• High-energy and focused on quickly solving problems, both technical and basic in nature
• Someone who loves the latest and greatest in technology
• Understand the role of technical support in a software company  
• Superior communication skills
• Technically advanced WRT customer support tools, forums, and technical diagnostic tools

Must Have Skills:

• Proficiency with Outlook, Thunderbird
• Microsoft Office Products (Excel, Frontpage, Word, Powerpoint, Access, Visio)
• Be a proficient web user with basic html editing ability
• Basic understanding of SQL and web-based data solutions
• Ability to learn web applications quickly.

If interested, please email us at jobs@playon.tv (and be sure to include your resume and summary of PlayOn experience).

PlayOn Premium is Coming

PlayOn Premium is coming! We will release PlayOn Premium on July 15th, 2010. It will include: Comedy Central (including South Park), NHL, TV.com, MTV.com, VH1.com, and more. It will be sold as an annual subscription -- $39.99 for the first year and $19.99/year thereafter. Your subscription will entitle you to all new content services over the course of the year (and we plan to release a lot), as well as functionality improvements (including a greatly enhanced and integrated Plugin experience, Gold version of the Wii, and much more). We will also be releasing iPhone support for PlayOn Premium which may carry a small additional fee.

Starting on May 20, 2010, we will no longer sell PlayOn as a lifetime license for a single fee. We will start selling PlayOn as a subscription ($39.99 for the first year and $19.99/year thereafter) on May 20, 2010. Customers who purchase PlayOn on or after May 20,2010 will automatically receive PlayOn Premium upon its launch on July 15th, 2010.

We will continue to honor the lifetime licenses for those that purchased PlayOn prior to May 20, 2010 (which we are now calling PlayOn Basic). Your PlayOn Basic will continue to work with the existing non-beta content (Hulu, Netflix, CBS.com, ESPN.com, CNN.com, YouTube, MyMedia and Plugins) as well as Amazon VOD, MLB.tv, and Pandora. After July 15th, 2010, The Daily Show and the Colbert Report will no longer be supported in PlayOn Basic as these are being launched out of beta as part of the full Comedy Central integration in PlayOn Premium. PlayOn Base will continue to receive new features and development support, but no new content will be added into the core (though you can always add more plugins).

To thank our loyal customers, if you purchased PlayOn prior to May 20, 2010, we will be offering a founding member discount for PlayOn Premium. You may upgrade to PlayOn Premium for only $4.99 for the first year ($19.99/year thereafter). Once you purchase the upgrade, you will receive a new license key which will unlock the new PlayOn Premium content. You may also cancel your subscription at any time, and go back to PlayOn Basic (be sure to save your original license key). We are sure you will enjoy the new content and features so much, you will never want to go back.

Between now and July 15th, 2010, you will see a number of content services in PlayOn listed as “Premium Preview” – this is to give you a sneak preview of some of the content that you will have access to as a Premium subscriber. Please note that this content will no longer be accessible after July 15th 2010. We hope you enjoy these previews and encourage you to upgrade on July 15th.

Why are we doing this? The annual subscription fee will fund continued development and support. We want to ensure that we can always give the latest and greatest content and service to our entire user base. The on-going subscription fee will allow that. Give it a shot – we think you’ll like what you see.

If you have any additional questions, please contact us at support@playon.tv

Looking for a C# Rock Star

If you love PlayOn, and you are a C# programmer - we may have the perfect job for you! We are currently looking for a project designer/coder to help make PlayOn even better.
 
Skills: C#/ .NET, Interop/p-invoke/COM (Win32 APIs)
 
Experience: Building robust fully-featured commerical applications; experience with Media Applications
 
General: Rock Star!
 
If interested, please contact jobs@playon.tv.
 

Technical Support Specialist Needed

OK - if you are a PlayOn junkie, and you know all about supporting software. If you enjoy digging through logs to figure out what is going on. If you are resourceful, reliable and friendly and like to work online and over chat and email...and you write well. We need to hear from you. Email us at jobs@playon.tv and let's figure out if we have your dream job!

PlayOn Launches Wii Beta

We are excited to announce that PlayOn officially supports the Nintendo Wii -- in Beta. That means the almost 25 million Wii owners can watch Hulu, Netflix, CBS, CNN, ESPN, Amazon VOD, YouTube, AdultSwim, Crackle and much more on their TV, from their couch, using their Wii Remote. Here is what it looks like:

This is the first device where we have control over the User Interface, and we have tried to make it as intuitive, user friendly and pretty as possible. You be the judge.

PlayOn for the Wii is available for a free, full-featured 14-day trial, and after that licenses are available for a one-time fee of $39.99. That same license (and the same software download) will support your PS3, Xbox 360 and other DLNA devices.

How it works: PlayOn uses the "Internet Channel" on the Wii - so if you don't have this, you will need to get it. After downloading and installing PlayOn on your PC, you then open the "Internet Channel" web browser on your Wii, press the "WWW" button and enter playon.tv as the web address. You should add this page to your Wii Browser "Favorites" to make it easy to access in the future. 

That's it! You can click on Hulu and find your favorite shows, or Netflix and watch that movie you have talking about seeing - right from your couch and Wiimote.

Wii support has been one of the most requested features from our users, and we are thrilled to offer this Beta release to folks who would like to give it a whirl.

PlayOn supports the broadest selection of Internet-to-TV premium content, including Hulu, Netflix, XBS, ESPN, CNN, Amazon VOD, and YouTube. And the selection of niche content is growing daily via the open PlayOn Plugin architecture, which currently includes:

• Adultswim
• Cartoon Network
• Channel9
• Crackle
• Food Network
• GameTrailers.com
• HGTV
• Local Files
• NBA
• NFL
• Southpark Studios
• Spike TV
• Podcasts (OPML Player) -- with dozens of available feeds!
• International channels: Danish DR and Spanish TVE

PlayOn works on a broad range of devices including PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Moxi HD DVR, VuNow, and many other DLNA-compliant devices.

We hope you enjoy the Wii Beta and encourage you to send us feedback at support@playon.tv.