Netflix launches $7.99 streaming-only plan, increases price of DVD plan originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Auto HD for YouTube is a fairly simple Chrome add-on, which has a similar function to the many Greasemonkey scripts that do the same thing: it makes YouTube default to high-quality playback. I've tried it out, and here are some quick thoughts:

• No auto buffering: Sadly, this add-on doesn't change YouTube's default behavior, which is to just start playing the video rather than buffer and wait for you to hit Play. So if you have a slow connection and still wish to enjoy HD, you might be better off with the Greasemonkey script called YouTube Auto Buffer & Auto HD & Remove Ads.
• Doesn't work well with channels: I've tried it out with the Pomplamoose video channel, and it just wouldn't work. The video played at 480p. Only when I clicked through to an individual video page did the add-on kick in.
• Handy options: You can have the player auto-widen, and you can set four different quality settings: "Preferred," "Secondary," "Fallback," and even "Secondary fallback." I must say, "Secondary fallback" sounds like a bit of an overkill to me, but it's available.

All in all, it does work. If you'd rather use native Chrome add-ons than Greasemonkey scripts, try it on for size.

Auto HD for YouTube lets you pre-set Chrome for 720p in YouTube originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

60 Minutes launches iPad app originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading IMDb for Windows Phone 7 reviewed, very yellow indeed (video)

IMDb for Windows Phone 7 reviewed, very yellow indeed (video) originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Let's say you have a girlfriend. And let's say that girlfriend is in a faraway land, and the only thing keeping you connected is that tangle of wires we fondly call "the Internet." Or maybe you've got a bunch of nerdy friends, each ensconced in his own basement, or perhaps in distant parts of the country.

These are just two situations where something like YouTube Social could come in very handy. It's a neat service for watching videos together with friends, synced in real-time, with chat thrown in for good measure.

What I like most about it is how easy it is to start with: you take the URL of a YouTube video (say, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G5JaicYuVU), and just stick the word "social" after "youtube." So you get http://www.youtubesocial.com/watch?v=6G5JaicYuVU.

You then get a rich (almost cluttered) interface with your video taking center stage, and a TinyURL link that you can send to your friends. They just need to click the link to join you. Now, whenever you play the video, pause it, or even scrub to a different position, their videos follow suit. There's a chat pane where you can all talk about what you're watching, too. You can also give the "remote" to someone else so that they get to control the video.

The only downside is that the service is heavily Facebook-driven. I mean, the only way to get a proper nick ("username") in the chat is to be logged onto Facebook. That's pretty annoying; other than that, it's definitely a handy service!

YouTube Social lets you watch videos with friends online originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 18 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Buyers of new Sony Bravia TVs or Blu-ray players can get 11 free weeks
• New Roku device purchasers get one month free
• Preview users will get one week free as a thank-you
• Current Hulu customers get a two-week free trial

Hulu Plus now available to all, price dropped to $7.99 a month originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Personally, I think TechSmith's Camtasia is the best screencast recording and editing suite available for Windows today. It's an extremely capable application, and one of its only potential drawbacks is the price - at $300, this is not a cheap piece of software. This is where the giveaway comes in!

TechSmith recently released Camtasia version 7.1, with several interesting new features. Since this is a screencasting application, I figured that the best way to show it off would be by recording a screencast. So I've created an 8-minute review that showcases some of the new features, and you can watch it after the jump. Here are some of the highlights:

• New callouts: There are several new types of callouts to draw viewer attention to where you want it, including animated "motion callouts."
• Shortcut key callouts: Camtasia now remembers what keystrokes you pressed while recording the video, and it can automatically show this in special callouts (shown in my review).
• A new playhead control: This new control makes it easier to select portions of the video. I've explained, in detail, how it works.

There are several other highlights, but I don't want to spoil any surprises. TechSmith has provided us with 10 licenses to give away to Download Squad readers, so go ahead and watch the video, and then leave a comment to take part in the giveaway!

Continue reading Camtasia 7.1 giveaway and video review

Camtasia 7.1 giveaway and video review originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

VLC 1.1.5 adds live WebM streaming support, Game Music Emu, Channels.com shows originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 14 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The top Windows Phone 7 app -- YouTube -- is just a website shortcut originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 13 Nov 2010 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

VidCoder now rips Blu-Ray discs, too originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Professional-grade Lightworks Open Source video editor to be released November 29th originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo Messenger for Android now does video calls, Yahoo Mail for Android updated originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

LoveFilm PlayStation 3 streaming now live in the UK for movies only originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading YouTube Remote for Android -- control Google TV or Leanback from your phone

YouTube Remote for Android -- control Google TV or Leanback from your phone originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BBC iPlayer to go international in 2011, shows could cost up to $10 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

YouTube finishes transcoding 80% of video catalog to WebM originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 05 Nov 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hulu Plus goes invite-free, comes to PlayStation 3, Sony TVs and Blu-Ray players originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Skyfire browser pulled from App Store due to high demand originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 03 Nov 2010 21:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

YouTube will have AirPlay support in iOS 4.2 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Netflix for Windows Phone 7 now available in the Zune Marketplace originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.