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Miro - free Internet TV and Video Player
Sometimes, the product name might influence the product fate. When Democracy Player has been first released in February 2006, the software name drew negative responses from many Internet and computer users.
Americans associated the name with standard image of yet another left wing media project, and to the rest of the world it was, for some reason, being associated with the Bush administration policy. Under massive consumer pressure, the player was recently renamed to neutral Miro.
Miro is an open-source free Internet television application, supported on major Operating Systems as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It can automatically download videos from RSS-based "channels", manage them and play them with descent quality. The application is designed to mesh with other PCF products such as Video Bomb, a social tagging video website, and the Channel Channel, a TV guide for internet television. It integrates an RSS aggregator, a BitTorrent client, and media players (VLC media player under Windows, QuickTime under Mac OS X or Xine Media Player under Linux).
Among program prominent features:
* Miro’s provides perfectly organized list of over 1,500 podcast channels, with content filtered by popularity, editor picks, genre, tags, and language.
* Miro has a built-in search function which accesses content from YouTube, Veoh, Google Video, Blogdigger, Revver, DailyMotion, and Blip.tv, with possibility of the following clips downloading.
* Miro is compatible with most common video file types: DivX, Xvid, QuickTime, WMV, and AVI.
* Miro has a built-in BitTorrent client.
Download the software from authors’ Web Site: http://www.getmiro.com/
Additional Reading:
http://www.last100.com/2007/07/17/democracy-player-is-dead-long-live-miro/
http://www.webtvwire.com/miro-open-source-video-aggregator-in-depth-guide-to-the-new-democracy-player/
Update 05-01-2012:
Once awhile, I am checking the old posts to see, if the software promoted is still alive and well. The freeware market is constantly evolving. Some players disappear, other may change focus or switch to a new product.
So, Miro is alive and continues constant development.
The software version 5 is available for downloading from the developers' website.
Here are the main features of the latest product (you will notice many new capabilities reflecting the new market demands):
1. Works with your current music library
It's very easy to switch from iTunes to Miro -- without any copying. Just point Miro to your music and video folders and those files will appear. If you don't like Miro (impossible!), nothing's changed.
2. Converts and syncs to Android & Kindle Fire
You'd have to be crazy to use a music player that doesn't sync to your phone. Miro is simply the best music and video player for Android phones and tablets.
3. Buy Music and Apps inside Miro
The Amazon MP3 store is built-in to Miro. Buy, download, and listen, seamlessly. Buy Android apps from the Amazon or Google app stores and they will sync to your device.
4. Download and play almost any video
Do you still use separate programs to download, play music, play videos, and sync to your phone? Miro plays almost any video or music format and downloads from YouTube, podcasts, Amazon, and bittorrent.
5. Convert any video
You can convert almost any video with Miro into mp4/h264, with presets for almost any device you can think of (including iPhones, iPods, iPads, Android phones, and more).
6. Share Your Media on your Network
When two Miro's are on the same wifi network, they can stream and transfer music and videos to each other. It's the easiest way to watch a video or play music upstairs if the file is downstairs.
7. Open-source - don't lock yourself in!
Unlike some other media players (cough, cough), Miro is not trying to run your life! Not only is Miro 100% free and open-source, it's made by a non-profit organization. You don't need to be locked down by one corporation to have a great media experience.
8. Ultra-fast torrent downloading
Miro has some of the fastest bittorrent downloading in the world, built in. Try us head-to-head with any bittorrent application!
