OK - the 3rd version of the PlayOn beta is live. We sent it out to a select set  of Beta testers and it seems to be performing well, so now it is available to all Beta users - www.themediamall.com/playon.  It fixes a host of bugs and adds some of the most requested features:

YouTube (User Playlists/Subscriptions and Published videos)

Hulu (Movies, New categorization of episodes and clips with season and episode numbers)

Added an optional icon in the system tray to see the status of the server, and made it such that you can disable it from automatically starting when windows starts

We continue to crank away on incremental features as we move toward launch. We have been getting great feedback so far and are still listening! So please let us know if you have thoughts on PlayOn!

PlayOn is officially one week old (at least in its beta form). And - we have had 2 releases in that one week -- the initial release and a release that had a big bug fix and added support for Windows 64-bit. And - we have gotten TONS of great feedback - in the form of support requests, user forum entries, and just plain feedback.

All we can say is Thanks! Thanks to the 5,000 of you who have downloaded and installed PlayOn (or in some cases re-downloaded & re-installed PlayOn 2-3 times). Thanks to those of you who have helped identify and diagnose bugs and new features. Thanks to those of you who have figured out how to use PlayOn on other devices for which we do not have the testing facilities. And thanks to those who have written about us or told a friend about PlayOn.

We are humbled (and delighted) by the words of encouragement from many of you. We have worked long and hard on PlayOn with the goal of making it as simple and easy-to-use as possible, and appreciate your taking the time to send us your thoughts on how we are doing. We also take your words of advice/criticism very seriously - this is what helps us make PlayOn better - so keep it coming!

So - thanks again! - The MediaMall Team

Fascinating! - we keep receiving reports from Beta users that PlayOn works on their other DLNA compliant devices. So - thanks to the brave beta users who have been "playing around" with PlayOn - we can now report a much larger list of devices that you can PlayOn. In addition to the PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, and HP MediaSmart TV, we have reports that PlayOn works on:

D-Link DSM-520
D-Link DSM-750
Popcorn Hour A-100
Pioneer Elite PRO-1140HD TV
DirecTV HR21-100 HD DVR
DirecTV HR20 Receiver

If you have one of these devices, try it out - and let us know how PlayOn does. We haven't tested it on all of these devices, so we can't give you installation instructions, but if you get it figured out -- feel free to share your experience with the rest of us!

Richard Lawler, who writes for EngadgetHD, just gave PlayOn the Thumbs Up. The PlayOn Beta has only been available for the past 12 hours and he has already downloaded it and watched Psych on his PS3. Impressive. He says that while his experience was good, he'd wait before paying the $30 post-trial price. OK, we hear you. We'll earn your $30. We'll add Netflix and CNN as we move from Beta to GA (General Availability). We'll continue to make it better and better with your feedback. After all - there is no advertising in the interface (yes, Hulu has pre-rolls and mid-rolls to support their business), but the license fee is the only way we can support the product -- and we do have to eat...at least every once in a while ;).

www.getplayon.com

Let us know what you think!

Mike Smith of Yahoo! Games just wrote a great article entitled "5 Reasons to Cancel Your Cable" and named PlayOn as the #1 reason, since it allows you to watch Hulu on your big screen TV. He also mentions some other great technologies, such as Zune and Netflix's new on-demand feature (which will be available on your TV via PlayOn soon as well). As Mike mentioned, we are getting ready to release the Beta version of PlayOn today! We are buttoning up some last things, and getting ready to post the link and email all the folks who have signed up to be a Beta user. We are really excited to hear what folks think.

If you are interested, you can sign up to be a beta user as well -- and spread the word - getplayon.com!

Well, gotta get back to work on getting the website ready for the launch.

Well, as you can probably tell, we launched our new Website today. Kudos to Rachel Su who was a rock star during development and deployment! We hope you like our face-lift (OK - it is more like Face/Off - John Travolta's 1997 hit, except we are not evil now ;). This should give you a better sense of who we are and where we are going, and gives us the place to launch PlayOn -- first in Beta form next Monday, with the fully featured release to follow shortly thereafter.

If you want to become a beta tester, you can sign up to be notified on Monday via email when the Beta is available for download. And - of course, we will send you detailed instructions.

There are too many changes to the website to enumerate here -- so check it out yourself. And - if you have feedback, send it our way - via our new feedback form!

So this has been dubbed the Broadband Olympics. NBC has undertaken offering over 5,000 hours of streamed and on-demand Olympic coverage in the two week Olympic timeframe. All of this video is recorded in China, edited, and offered up to us, the consumers, in record time. WOW. The Broadband coverage is a great way to check out more esoteric sporting events, or to make sure you see that race you have been anticipating, despite the fact it will occur while you sleep.

Check out the recent amazing upset: Swimming Relay

So - what I want to know is - are you watching? Have you used NBCOlympics.com? What do you think? Oh, and don't forget to stretch before the competitive fever strikes you too!

We are not abandoning the DSM-520 or ActiveTV application! I know there has been a lot of buzz around PlayOn - the new Xbox360/PS3 product, but that does not mean that we don't love the 520. In fact, much of the development we are doing for PlayOn will enable us to enhance ActiveTV as well.

I received an email today asking: Was hoping to see something for the DSM520 and CBS.com...any details?

So - we currently have CBS.com running on the DSM-520 in a Beta version which I mentioned a while back. It is still Beta because we haven't perfected the ad units yet (we are working on that), but otherwise it is fully-functional. If you want to check it out, you can email me at tracy@themediamall.com and I can get you into the Beta program so that you can watch your favorite CBS shows on your big screen TV!

We are on track to launch the PlayOn Beta for the PS3 and Xbox360 in 19 days! It is looking great. We have decided on the name PlayOn (what do ya think?) for the product that will allow you to PLAY Hulu, YouTube, CBS.com, and ESPN.com ON your TV via your PS3 or Xbox360. We are still rounding up Beta users, and in fact I just received an email yesterday from a gamer that works over at Yahoo! Videogames, and I quote:

"Sounds awesome! I was just complaining to a friend the other day that I can't watch Hulu on my bigscreen because it doesn't let you download the video and stream it. So count me in for the beta. ;)"

Thanks Richard - we are excited too! And - if you have a PS3, Xbox360 or HP MediaSmart TV, you can be a Beta user as well -- just shoot an email to tracy@themediamall.com and let me know what device you have, and we will put you on the list for the August 18th Beta release. Oh - and like all Betas, the release will be free for Beta users! So, come on and join in the countdown fun!

Cheers!