MediaMall has long been thinking about streaming video on the internet. Back in 2004, CEO Jeff Lawrence developed the idea for PlayOn, a service that allows internet video to be viewed in an optimized way by streaming it to devices that allow you to watch it where you like, such as using a networked Wii to watch on a large screen TV. According to Lawrence, 40 percent of the people with PlayOn have reduced or canceled their TV cable service. PlayLater takes the idea to the next level – not only letting you watch video where you want, but when you want –because it’s an internet DVR that streams along with the PlayOn channel or can be used on your portable devices.
I got a free subscription to PlayLater from Lawrence to test at home. The first surprise was how easy it is to download and install. PlayLater’s interface has four main menus: Guide, My Recordings, Settings, and Help. The Guide shows buttons for every supported channel, although there are plug-ins for other channels available online. Hulu, Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Video, all the networks, and a nice selection of cable and subscription sports channels are all built-in. To be clear, PlayLater doesn’t provide a subscription to any of the subscription services, but rather has access to them. So, while there are shows that Hulu makes available for free online but not for viewing on a TV, PlayOn and PlayLater allow for that show to be viewed on a TV.
Searching for shows is straightforward. Click on the service you want to search, and a search box appears. You can sort the results by default, title, or air date. Find what you want, click on it, and hit record now. Here’s where I had my next surprise – even though streaming starts immediately, PlayLater is truly a DVR. Recording a 30-minute show takes 30 minutes. You can queue up the shows you want to record and let it run in the background while you use the computer for other purposes or even queue it up and let it record at night.
Right now you may be wondering why anyone would need to DVR online content. Isn’t the point to have it immediately available? Two uses quickly grew apparent. First, PlayLater is a way to preserve shows that are only online briefly. Who hasn’t intended to watch a missed episode of a show online, only to find that the episode is no longer available? And of course, PlayLater allows travelers to watch their free online content while they’re on the go with unreliable internet connection. That means commuters can record their Netflix movies at night to watch on the train on a laptop, and parents can have content ready to play on a long cross-country drive on an iPad. The more I use PlayLater, the more I realize how convenient it is.
PlayOn was originally used heavily by gamers who have consoles connected to their home networks, but as the company has become more successful, its market has also changed and grown beyond the mostly male, young, tech-savvy crowd. To meet that change, PlayOn has developed a channel for Roku, and has a bundle that offers a Roku with a lifetime subscription to PlayOn. There is no formal relationship between the companies, however. PlayOn and PlayLater are offered as a bundle and also available separately; you don’t need a subscription to PlayOn or a way to stream the PlayOn channel to use the PlayLater DVR service on your computer or to transfer those files to your portable devices.
Both PlayOn and PlayLater were developed for the PC, but can run on a Mac using Parallels or Bootcamp.
PlayLater is available for an annual fee of $24.99, a limited-time offer of 6 months for $9.99, or a lifetime subscription for $49.99.
PlayOn is available for an annual fee of $39.99, six months for $14.99, or a lifetime subscription special offer bundled with a free Roku LT for $69.99.
The PlayOn/PlayLater bundle is available annually for $59.99, 6 months for $19.99, or lifetime for $99.99.
Both services are on my short list of holiday gifts for my family this year.
I really like Play Later but I see one area they fell short in, as far as making this program a DVR for PC, actually there are two areas they fall short in. 1. They have not created a scheduler to be able to record shows later, such as in the middle of the night for people who, for example, have satellite internet, which has very little data usage allowance during the daytime but many have a “free time” for unlimited or another whole set of data for use during the night. 2. They have not created such a program for use on a MAC OS based computer. There is, however, a free program called ClickWhen for PC, which can be used in conjunction with Play Later to schedule recordings. It’s not convenient, but it works.