Zato: road test
January 21, 2008 3:29 pm A few days ago I received an email that was waiting for a while: "You can start using Zattoo !
In fact, the service is available from last week in France. Directly from the company's blog:
La télé en direct sur PC "has as to France with a long-legged starter channel line-up. We have France 2, 3, 4 and 5 for you, Direct 8, Arte France, TV5 Monde, La Chaine Parliamentarian, and an exquisite choice of international channels for news junkies, luxury bunnies, video addicts, and the ex-pat society Homesick . And there are more to come in the future! No English channels so far, though ...
It was time! He spoke for September!
Of course I rushed to download the program and to register.
First positive surprise, the client exists for Linux. Good point!
The installation (done on two different PCs, one with linux and the other with WinXP) is spun smooth as oil, put username and password and apparlo video France2.
First impression? On the PC fair ... on TV lounge (40-inch LCD) definitely unwatchable! Pixels as big as the Lego building (it was better when I turned BitTorrent downloaded from Jamendo 
).
The interface is very basic, which I do not mind if it were not managing it with a remote control is not immediate, and even use keyboard and mouse from 6-7 feet away is not exactly easy.
Considering that are the same channels that I can have on digital terrestrial and yet there are no Italian channels .. we say that the lounge will be removed shortly.
Remains the PC here quality becomes acceptable, almost enjoyable on a 15-inch screen (even on a 19 should not be too bad).
The occupied bandwidth is significant, but not superior to other similar solutions (see Joost), the late image compared to DTT is a few seconds, for what little I could see the signal is quite stable, there are too many missing frames (those that make the artifacts such special effects in Terminator 2), and I never had to lock up the image (which I happened sometimes with Joost). The channel change is obviously a bit slow but still acceptable (obviously not a solution if you zap convulsive syndrome).
In general I like the idea, although I currently have little practical interest for several reasons:
- The offer follows the French digital terrestrial (or better .. it takes a sub-part), and collides with the enormous difference in quality of the image, and with easy access (no need a PC).
- The presence of some international channel could make it interesting, if not all ADSL providers in France offers a number of IPTV channels that often include all channels Free-To-Air in Europe, with quality still higher than what seems to be able to Zato do today
- On the other hand the company is not wills propose as a solution for the living room, but as a solution to have the TV on a PC. This puts them on one side sheltered from competition from traditional media, the other makes them collide with other types of solutions that are widespread in France. The first is that IPTV available to all PCs on your home network (this is called in Free.fr MultiPost) flow through multicast channels available through many set-top boxes are accessed using VLC player or similar from any PC the LAN. Almost all providers are beginning to provide similar services. If we add a USB stick for digital terrestrial costs from 30 to 50 euros ..
- What I do see a scope within departments, although I know a few network administrators who tolerate the bandwidth that a solution would entail.
My conclusion (but I promise to continue to use it and see if you do not change my mind) is that Zato arrives too late, in a very advanced market (perhaps the world's most advanced) in the field of IPTV: If Joost and / or Bablegum can groped a marketing differentiation based on content, Zato has few weapons from his.
It is a pity, because from my point of view is the only solution that meets P2P TV really need to, that of live TV over IP released by the infrastructure provider.
It 'also true that Zato has the technology to create this solution (the same can not be said for other solutions that are nothing more than platforms for P2P with nice graphical frontend) and did not surprise me to see this technology integrated into some future STB or any suite of Media Center.
Tags: france , iptv , mediacenter , P2P , TV , Video , Zato
7 Responses to "Zato: road test"
Mhhh course I'm not login with the account that I created in Switzerland by my ... then I remembered that if you call the Nissardo there is a reason-_-'
.. Enough for me regain France 2 that I took off after twenty years of "viewers" .. then France 3, 4, 5 (documentaries) and Art would see them also in Lego. But here's its issuer, cultural channels are not
welcome, only dwarfs and dancers!
I will hate you because you're in France you have to have everything and anything we here in Italy? Ugh
No joke, do not hate you. you're one of my favorite geek
Hello Andrew,
are Bea, I know that is not the same thing, certainly for the short films by artists sconosiuti Some no longer have available channels of large issuers, but "Streamit (www.streamit.it) is an interesting experiment and I believe with great potential, unfortunately I have no technical knowledge to be able to properly evaluate every aspect, but having tested on a 42 "plasma with a adsl connection" ridiculous "(2MB" supposed "), I must say that the quality is high and does not undergo some delay.
I repeat that I do not have adequate preparation to perform a technical assessment, so I defer to your opinion and since this is an all-Italian project, earthen us know what you think and if I can continue to boast of our intelligence. ... Dates the latest political and social affairs of our country as we console you can:)
thanks!
@ Alex: I agree with you. My analysis in fact everything points to the fact that if Zato provides channels that are already available via DVB-T or IPTV, it makes no sense. Completely different speech but if the platform is used to access content not otherwise available. I would have expected some Italian channels (Mediaset, RAI + La7 as already take it by IPTV) and instead the proposal is currently only a sott'insieme of channels already present in French DVB-T
@ Frankie: c'avete in your part of the bagels, mozzarella cheese and .. I envy you for these
@ Bea: Thanks to you I discovered this service. I went to try it immediately after listening PizzaCast episode 01 and I am glad I saw that also works in France. I gave myself some time before writing a post that analyzes the right thing, but since the first test I have to agree that the quality is good. And behind there is one thing that surprised me greatly .. using RMTP to get behind the DSLAM (as learn from you on their site I found nothing about it, if you send me a link where you read something I'd be grateful).
I honestly did not think the Italian providers were equipped to support RMTP until the last mile. From a technical point of view this is one of the first applications I've seen for the public, therefore doubly interesting.
If you consider that I personally know one of the people behind the version 1.0 of the Protocol
If you know of pià talk about email, the thing that interests me most is to know how they managed to use RMTP without engaging with the backbones and the ADSL provider.
A note that will make very happy with some of my readers work on Wii!
ah ... .... ... ... but my wife knows how many! too strong!
What a disappointment these WebTV P2PTV, IPTV, movies on demand from the web!
iTunes Movie Store when arriving in Italy will be a miracle, Joost does not take off
given the content offering (but why not at least localize the offer??)
Zattoo offers the same programs in each country seen already clear to any television (and with better video).
Internet could be a paradise Interactive viewer of 2008 and instead is completely blocked by the complete lack of
agreements and forward-looking interest to leave everything as it was for 60 years!
And the DTT (renamed TNT in France, for a change
) .. Pretending to be a "breath of fresh air ...!
Would you like to comment?