Headline Feeds
Ustream Viewing Application, a mobile video application by Ustream.tv, is available for free at the App Store.
Approved by Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) just in time to broadcast President Barack Obama's inauguration ceremony Tuesday, a new live video streaming app lets iPhone and iPod touch users watch events in real time on their handheld devices. In addition, the app -- Ustream Viewing Application -- let users interact with other users via a built-in chat function while watching. Take that, HDTV!
So how does Ustream work? How does it look? The app is free, but is it worth bothering with?
I took it for a spin immediately after the swearing-in ceremonies today, downloading and installing it directly from my iPhone while on a WiFi connection. As always with most every iPhone app, installation was a snap. I was half expecting that I'd get a prompt to create an account for Ustream.tv, but the first screen offered up a "Featured" selection of live feeds. Of course, the inauguration was right on top.
I skipped the top "Inauguration2009" feed, opting instead for the option below: "CNN Inauguration 2009."
Easy Listening
I tapped the screen and within a couple of seconds of buffering, I was viewing a live feed of CNN's inauguration coverage. It was a full replica of CNN's regular coverage -- the main video with the bottom offering supporting information. The video wasn't super smooth -- there were some slight hitches -- but it was viewable.
Even more important than reasonable-quality video -- which is not as sharp as the H.264 encoded YouTube video clips -- is that the audio is fantastic for the iPhone. What I mean is this: While the video had some hitches, the audio was essentially devoid of any hiccups. Obviously, Ustream manages to give some sort of priority to the audio, which makes watching a live stream not only tolerable but enjoyable.
Occasionally, however, the video stream would speed up, showing President Obama wave his hand more rapidly than humanly possible. Still, the audio stream remained clear and consistent.
If you tilt the iPhone to the side, the screen will switch orientation to landscape mode, but it doesn't increase the screen size. In the upright position, a chat box resides below the video screen, and in the horizontal mode, it's positioned to the right.
The Features
Beyond the video, Ustream offers a few other handy features, like a Share button that launches an e-mail message with a video stream URL. That's handy, particularly if you stumble upon a live stream and want to share it right way. On the downside, once you tap Share and send the e-mail, you're in the Mail application on the iPhone and you have to relaunch Ustream and find the stream again. Hardly Ustream's fault, though -- Apple's development rules force Ustream to close once you leave the app.
At the top of the main screen, Ustream sorts your options into three buttons: Top Live, Featured and All Live. I assume they mean what they say. Next to the menu, there's a search button. Tap in your search term, and you search the available Ustream video feeds. It works. I tried "basketball" and found a variety of recorded basketball games, some high school and college, as well as a local school that has a Ustream site that wasn't active at the moment. I'm unsure if this was just happenstance or the if the app was somehow aware of my location.
At the bottom, three more buttons offer Live, Upcoming, and Archived lists of video streams.
The Chat
Making the video feeds more social, users can log in with their Ustream account information -- if they have an account via the Web -- and chat with other users in real-time as they watch videos. It seems pretty slick -- I attempted to open an account via the iPhone app directly, but failed.
I'm not sure if this was due to a glut of new users today or a bug. Either way, I suspect that Web-based account login details will work.
More Than Obama
Because I have CNN on my HDTV, I was able to check the iPhone feed versus the satellite TV feed. My iPhone feed was about 20 seconds behind the TV, but it was the same content.
Granted, Ustream's cool factor has jumped pretty high due to the live coverage of President Obama today. But what's further down on the menu? What other shows are available?
As near as I can tell, there's quite a bit of other content, but it's only loosely organized, and full of ... how should I say this? ... Stupid stuff.
The Shiba Inu Puppy Cam appears to be fairly popular, and as near as I can tell it's just a live stream of somebody's webcam on their dog. As I type this, the dog is sleeping, and there are 1,151 viewers. Another seemingly popular feed is Chris Pirillo Live. As near as I can tell, it's just some dude working in front of two large monitors with a 17-inch-MacBook Pro open next to him with a graphic photo of a guy in sunglasses slapped on the cover. It looks as if the graphic guy's nose is glowing where the Apple logo would be underneath the graphic. Chris Pirillo has some enviable equipment, including a nice chair, but seriously, why would 568 viewers tune in?
Moving on, there are also feeds of professional radio shows, a preliminary court hearing in Las Vegas, and puppy cams -- lots of puppies.
Bottom Line
Overall, Ustream worked well. A few times my feeds stopped with an error message that said "Connection closed." Tapping OK, I was able to restart the streams quickly. On the downside -- but not surprisingly -- Ustream for iPhone only works via a WiFi Internet connection -- it doesn't work via AT&T's (NYSE: T) 3G network.
Despite the random content and the WiFi requirement, Ustream is a good application. Call it the Obama effect. But seriously, the audio never wavered, and that was a pleasant surprise.
