YOUTV
YOUTV (until November 2015 SHIFT.TV , until March 2016 BONG.TV ) is a web-based online service where registered users can access the functionality of a video recorder . Since November 2009, the focus has been on German television channels. The service provides its service free of charge for seven days after registration. After this time, the user can opt for a chargeable term of seven days or three, six or twelve months.
The operating company is NETlantic GmbH based in Munich, Unterföhring.
history
YOUTV (at that time still BONG.TV) entered the German market in November 2009, but was already offering Italian TV channels in addition to German channels from May 2009. The Italian-language offer was discontinued due to legal disputes with the Italian private broadcaster Mediaset of the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and the state television broadcaster RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana . Both TV companies together hold a monopoly of the most important TV broadcasters in Italy.
In contrast to its competitors, BONG.TV does not rent a video recorder, but rents a memory on the World Wide Web (web space) with the free option of storing and loading television programs as a personal private copy. In Germany, Shift TV has been trying since 2005, as one of the pioneers in the field of German-language online video recorders, to fight a lawsuit brought by RTL, as a fee-based video recorder service, according to RTL, violates the broadcasters' rights.
October 2013 the offer was revised. In addition, users were offered the option of recording programs in high definition.
In spring 2016, BONG.TV was renamed YOUTV.
Recording and functioning
The offer offers several views that are intended to meet the different needs of users: a standard view with TV recommendations, a barrier-free view, an interface for smart TV and an offer for mobile devices.
The user has the option of recording the programs of his choice via the TV program ( electronic television program ) or by searching online. A click on the record button causes a program to be marked as "programmed for recording". The user can view and manage his broadcasts via the BongSpace area. Each recording is generally made available in two versions:
- HD stands for high definition and offers full 720p resolution at 50 full frames per second. The data rate is 3.5 to 5 Mbit - the quality is automatically adjusted depending on the scene.
- HQ stands for High Quality and offers full PAL resolution at a variable bit rate of 1.5 Mbit with 720 × 576 pixels (with 4: 3) or 1024 × 576 (with 16: 9) broadcast programs.
- NQ stands for Normal Quality (normal quality), offering in contrast a reduced quality, but according to the supplier compatible with a variety of media players such as video-capable iPod -Generationen, the Sony PlayStation Portable and several modern smartphones . NQ video files have a variable bit rate of 450 Kbit at 320 × 240 pixels.
Both HD, HQ and NQ recordings are MP4 video files encoded in the highly efficient H.264 format.
After the broadcasts have been recorded, the user will be informed of their completion by email. The download to your own computer can then be started at the same time. Alternatively, the service provider YOU.TV offers the option of streaming all programs directly in an online player. With direct loading or streaming, you can always decide freely about the displayed quality level (NQ, HQ).
Particular attention is paid to avoiding a proprietary download manager . Internet browsers as well as other free and commercially available programs for downloading documents can be used as desired, according to YOU.TV. CHIP Online (November 2009 edition) and the computer magazine c't (Edition 2, 2010) (excerpt from derStandard.at) paid particular attention to their comparative tests.
YOU.TV also offers the possibility of (a podcast -tauglichen) RSS - web feed, television broadcasts via any RSS-enabled program such as iTunes or Miro to load. Mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad can be used to download programs such as Air Video (available from iTunes Store ).
In November 2016, the Munich Regional Court described YOU.TV as illegal due to its "record all" function. However, since the function has not been active since August 2016, the offer could be continued. YOU.TV has appealed against the judgment.
Mobile offer
Since December 2009, YOU.TV has been offering YOU.TVmobile, a "video recorder for your pocket". In July 2011, the offer was fundamentally revised and based on the functionality of the iPhone app. The free app has been specially optimized for Android , iOS , RIM Blackberry and Palm / HP WebOS and enables the recording and viewing of programs via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.
YOU.TV has been offering a free iPhone and iPad application in the Apple iTunes Store since August 2010 . This app, already available in version 3.0.2 (as of June 2014), maps the entire YOU.TV online video recorder. The main advantages of the application are the extensive operation and the option of viewing programs directly on an iOS device. With the app, programs can also be transmitted to Apple TVs from the second generation using AirPlay and viewed on the television.
Version 3.5 of the free YOU.TV Android app of the same name in the Google Play Store offers the option of using Google Chromecast to stream programs directly to the TV set.
Channel
YOU.TV states that it is continuously expanding its offering to include additional channels. The program of the following 50 channels can currently be recorded: 3sat , Das Erste , Arte , Bayerisches Fernsehen , Disney Channel , Sport 1 , DMAX , tagesschau24 , Eurosport , hr-fernsehen , kabel eins , KiKA , MDR TV , NDR TV , Phoenix , ProSieben , rbb TV , RTLZWEI , Super RTL , SWR TV , Tele 5 , Welt , VOX , WDR TV , ZDF , ZDFneo , ZDFinfo , kabeleins Doku , ServusTV , Sixx , BR-alpha , Comedy Central , Nickelodeon , one , RTLplus , Anixe , Nitro , Sat.1 Gold , ProSieben Maxx , TLC , Zee.One , RiC , Anixe, Bibel TV , N24 Doku , ntv , Euronews , Toggo plus , MTV , Sky Sport News HD
MTV was deactivated on December 29, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. due to the change from Free TV to Pay TV . Furthermore, recordings from RTL were possible until the morning of March 14, 2019.
Until it was discontinued on September 30, 2016, you could also record ZDFkultur and einsplus. After they were discontinued, the channels were replaced by the new channels RTLplus and kabeleins Doku in October 2016.
Currently (as of January 2020) the recording of Sat.1 is no longer possible.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pit Klein: Shift-TV: Providers carry on - BGH judgment reinterpreted ( memento of June 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). In: Sat + Kabel , April 22, 2009.
- ↑ [1] CHIP online comparison test
- ↑ [2] c't article excerpt on derStandard.at
- ↑ [3] Website of the video player Miro
- ^ Regional court Munich: Online TV recorder YouTV.de loses before the regional court Munich - Golem.de . ( golem.de [accessed on September 22, 2017]).
- ↑ WebApp for smartphones from the BONG.TV offer ( Memento of the original from May 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
