Kicking off the week with a thank you... to YOU!

In April we sent you a survey so you could tell us about your PlayOn and PlayLater experience. We were curious about why you use PlayOn and PlayLater and how you felt about cable. We wanted to see what was working well for you and what could use some work on our end.

The results blew us away.

More than 4,000 of you responded, and we got a lot of great feedback! So, as a thank you, we’re dedicating this week to you - the folks who are always willing to put in your two cents through surveys, Facebook conversations, tweets and emails, to help us create a better user experience. Take a look at the survey results below to see what you and fellow PlayOn and PlayLater users had to say.

Thanks again, loyal friends, for filling us in on your PlayOn and PlayLater experiences. We can’t wait to see what you have to say during next year’s survey! In the meantime, be sure to join the conversation on our awesome Facebook group where there’s never a dull moment with our followers! We’re also available to chat on Twitter or by email.

Give PlayMark a Shot! Here’s How to Get Started

PlayMark is the new browser extension we told you about a couple of days ago. PlayMark lets you easily mark online videos and send them through PlayOn right to your TV. We wanted to take a quick opportunity to show you just how easy it is:

1) Enable PlayMark in your PlayOn Settings.

2) Select a bowser. You can hook up PlayMark with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Opera.

3) Find a cool video that you want to stream to your TV. Whether it’s YouTube, Funny or Die or your best friend’s blog – nearly any video on any site (as long as it's in Flash, Silverlight, or HTML5) will work.

4) Mark your video. Right click on the web page that contains the video and select “PlayMark” to launch the PlayMark app. (If you use Opera, PlayMark will be installed as an icon in your toolbar.)

5) Send the video to your TV. If you have a Digital Media Renderer (DMR) device like a Roku or Xbox, you can send the video straight to your TV. Just select “save and send to TV." from PlayMark.

6) Watch the video on your TV! PlayMarked videos can be found in the PlayMark channel on PlayOn.

Tips to remember:

• You’ll need to update to the latest version of PlayOn to use PlayMark.
• If you use the Opera browser, you can access PlayMark as a toolbar button rather than using right-click.
• PlayMark works with videos (in the Flash, Silverlight, and HTML5 format) from any website – even those that are online only! We recommend checking out sites like YouTube, MySpace.com, Break.com, UStream and Justin.tv. You can even check out your local news stations to see what clips they’re streaming online.
• PlayMark is in beta, which means we want to hear from you. Your feedback will help us make PlayMark the best it can be. Find a site that doesn’t play nice with PlayMark? Is there a feature that you really love? Tell us at support@playon.tv.

We hope you find PlayMark a useful addition to PlayOn. All of this information is handy on our PlayMark page and we have a PlayMark User Guide for folks who want more details.

So – go try it out, enjoy, and let us know what you think! As always, you can reach us on Facebook, Twitter or via email.

Three exciting new features for PlayOn and PlayLater.

PlayOn just gave birth to triplets…3 new features…introducing, drum roll please, PlayMark, PlayTo and RecordTo!
 
 
PlayMark
We’re so excited. For starters, PlayOn can now let you watch VIRTUALLY ANY web video on your TV. It’s called PlayMark – and it is a web browser extension. Picture this – you’re browsing the web on your PC, you come across a cool video that you want to show to your family later on TV. You click the PlayMark icon in your browser menu to mark the video, and then continue happily browsing the web. Later that evening, you’re in front of the TV looking for something to watch – oh yeah, I wanted to show you guys something! Bring up PlayOn, find the PlayMark folder, click on it and --- in a few seconds you’re watching that same web video you PlayMarked earlier…right on your TV!
It’s in beta now, and if you want to be one of the first lucky ones to give it a test drive – check out the details at www.playon.tv/playmark.
 
PlayTo
PlayMark has this other cool feature integrated into it called PlayTo. Instead of simply bookmarking it for later -- if you have a Roku, Xbox 360 or Google TV (or any Digital Media Renderer (DMR)), you can just click “send to…” and the video will start playing on your TV (well, so long as the Roku/Xbox/GoogleTV is connected to that TV). You can also use PlayTo from your mobile phone or tablet. Just browse through the PlayOn app on your phone or iPad, click the play button, then select the device you want the video to play on and it’ll start playing on your TV, instantly. I know – cool, right?
 
RecordTo
It gets even better. We’re also including, for your convenience, at no extra cost…RecordTo. RecordTo is for PlayOn users who also have PlayLater, or “Bundlers”, as we like to call you guys. It lets you select a video from your phone’s PlayOn app and record it via PlayLater. As long as your PlayOn app is paired with your PlayLater PC and PlayLater is running, it will just add the video to the recording queue on your PC. How convenient is that? Now, using your phone, you can:

1. Watch on your Phone (PlayOn)
2. Send to your Roku (PlayTo)
3. Record in PlayLater (RecordTo)

Yeah baby – all of this right from your phone or tablet.
So – welcome to our feature triplets: PlayMark, PlayTo and RecordTo – we hope you enjoy our new babies!

We Did It! We Launched a Brand New MyMedia Channel in Roku!

Many folks have started noticing that there is a new channel in the Roku store called MyMedia. There seems to be some confusion and questions about it. Well - I am here to set the record straight. MyMedia was indeed developed by the developers of PlayOn, but is a FREE channel + FREE PC software app that lets you stream your media from your PC to your Roku (or other device). You can learn more about it here: www.playon.tv/mymedia.
 
The MyMedia Roku channel contains only the “MyMedia” functionality from PlayOn and no additional functionality. While PlayOn has recently made a number of enhancements to the MyMedia functionality, MyMedia is no different in the MyMedia channel on the private PlayOn channel. Recent enhancements include:

• Improved fast forwarding functionality for transcoded content
• Ability to include iTunes music playlists (check the Show iTunes playlists box in My Media Options)
• Better support for sharing media on network shares (NAS, etc.)
• Include embedded or external subtitles in transcoded output (check the Include subtitles box under Subtitles in My Media Options)
• Better hierarchy and structure of media file folders and categories
• Ability to specify file extensions that should be served directly to devices, without transcoding (provided your device supports the format)
• Generate dynamic cover art for all media, if possible to acquire from online sources
• Improved efficiency of metadata extraction from media files
• Checking parental control metadata
• Samsung TVs: show thumbnail images as well as the ability to directly serve .srt subtitle files

We are excited to have a product in the official Roku channel store and hope that folks find it useful in getting the most out of their Roku experience - and did I mention, it's 100% FREE?!
 

Take That Big Cable!

We at PlayOn have been cranking away for almost 10 years now (can you believe it?) on giving consumers a way to watch the vast content available on the Internet on their TV's....mostly so they can cut the cord and have an alternative to shelling out thousands of dollars each year to the greedy cable companies.
We're not the only ones -- Boxee and Plex have been at it for a while as well, and new entrants like Roku, Hulu, and Netflix have been changing the game as well in the past 5 years or so. Our aggregate efforts are finally making some headway! When we surveyed PlayOn customers 2 years ago, about 60% used PlayOn to augment their cable or satellite service, while 40% cut the cord with PlayOn. In 2013, that completely flipped -- now 60% of PlayOn customers are cord-cutters. It seems that is bearing out in the macro numbers as well. Variety reports that in Q1 2013, subscriber adds were less than 1/2 what they have been in the prior 3 Q1's.

So - finally we can say - Take that Big Cable!

FREE on GOOGLE TV

That’s right – we’ve decided to make PlayOn COMPLETELY FREE on Google TV. Why? Well - Hulu and the Networks have been discriminating against Google TV owners by not creating apps that enable folks to watch their content on Google TV – so Roku has Hulu Plus, PS3 and Xbox 360 have Hulu Plus, but poor Google TV = no dice. That means you won’t be able to get content from CBS, ABC, Fox, and Comedy Central on your Google TV.
 
Don't take my word for it -- this has been going on for a couple of years:
http://www.gtvhub.com/2012/08/09/will-hulu-plus-ever-make-it-to-google-tv/
“So the question still remains: why is Hulu Plus [STILL] not available on Google TV?”

So…..we at PlayOn thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if we enabled Google TV folks to have Hulu, ABC, CBS, Fox, Comedy Central, MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and 50+ more channels for FREE?” So, forget paying $7.99/month for Hulu Plus or $49.99 for a PlayOn license. Use PlayOn and get Hulu.com content on your Google TV – for FREE! Plus 60+ other network and premium channels – all for FREE. So tell your friends, shout it from the tree tops (ok – that’s a little overboard, it’s not likely a Google TV owner will hear you), but do spread the word. Just go to www.playon.tv/googletv and you can download PlayOn to your PC from there. No need to buy a license key – the non-licensed software will just magically work on Google TVs. Then, from your Google TV, go into the Google Play Store and get the PlayOn app. That’s it! [Ok, there are more detailed instructions here www.playon.tv/googletv ].

If you have any suggestions as to how we can spread the word – let us know at google@playon.tv. We want every Google TV owner to be able to watch their favorite TV shows for free!

Small print: This FREE offer is for a limited time only….

Redbox Instant on PlayOn and PlayLater

We did it again! Bringing channels to your Roku, PS3, Wii, etc. before they are natively available - that's PlayOn. This time it's Redbox Instant - Redbox's new streaming service similar to Netflix. While Xbox Live Gold subscribers get it natively, if you don't want to fork out the $ for a Gold account - no worries - you can get Redbox on your Xbox 360 with PlayOn!
 
Yup - Redbox on Roku through PlayOn.
 
Redbox on PS3 and Redbox on Wii or WiiU through PlayOn.
 
And - you can record Redbox Instant movies with PlayLater and then watch them on your iPad or iPhone or tablet or PC when you fly off to Spring Break. We're headed up north to British Columbia to hit the slopes for some spring skiing, and thank goodness for PlayLater - since we can't get Hulu, Redbox or Netflix in Canada with our US accounts. Got the recording queue filled up and cranking away so we can watch Redbox movies every night!
 
So - whether you're headed to the beach or the slopes, whether you're flying or driving - with Redbox Instant, PlayOn and PlayLater - we've got you covered - rain or shine!
 
We hope for shine!

PlayOn Newsletter

The first ever PlayOn Newsletter went out this week - check it out: http://tinyurl.com/7mpy5yh

My favorite part:

Most Popular in the Plugin Channel Store

1. TV Land
2. The WB
3. HGTV
4. Disney Junior
5. Kids WB
6. CBS Local
7. History
8. VH1
9. CBS College Sports
10. Qubo Kids Shows

Featured Show

Starcade Plugin - Check it out!

Super Zaxxon...Robotron...Berzerk...Jungle Hunt...Dragon's Lair...Dig Dug

If these names ring a bell then check out the Starcade plugin for a trip down memory lane...The first ever(and only) arcade game show brought to you in all its pocket protector glory...retro goodness...This week's plugin showcase from the PlayOn Plugin Channel Store...Starcade, yo!

http://www.playon.tv/channel-store/channel/starcade

Plugin Pick of the Week: RollerCoasters!

Looking for big time thrills when you hit the amusement parks this summer? Know what you're getting yourself into with this week's plugin pick: http://www.playon.tv/channel-store/channel/rollercoaster-pov-theatre
 
You can virtually ride rollercoasters from the safety of your own living room... and you won't even spill your popcorn.
 
Rollercoaster POV Theatre
www.playon.tv
Rollercoaster POV Theatre is a collection of front seat rides on some of the hottest coaster's in the world sit back grab your popcorn and a barf bag and enjoy!