ZeeVee’s Zinc 3.0 Gets Rave Reviews

ZeeVee launched the next version of its free Internet TV browser this week. Zinc 3.0, formerly known as Zviewer, is already getting rave reviews as a robust alternative to Boxee. Like Boxee, Zinc is designed to provide a “big screen interface” for navigating Internet video content on your HDTVs. It works great for use on a PC, and looks even better on an HDTV connected to your PC directly or through their ZvBox or another PC-to-TV device. Zinc works with their own ZvRemote and is also optimized for Media Center remote controls and keyboards.

Zinc improvements include more content, adding Netflix and CBS to a lineup that includes Hulu, ABC, ESPN, and range of other sites. ZeeVee now claims over 15,000 movie titles available for download and tens of thousands of TV shows new and old. ZeeVee has also added more detail to its show descriptions, including release date and ratings. Continued from the previous version is the ability to tag your favorite shows and get alerts when new content is available.

Zinc was recently honored with the Consumer Electronics Association’s Gold Tech Home Mark of Excellence award. Engadget HD’s Darren Murph was ebullient in his praise for Zinc, exclaiming: “The interface is spectacular. We mean, it's just downright pretty. It's simple to navigate, not confusing at all, and easy to find content to consume. Quite refreshing, actually.” He was also impressed with how quick the screen transitions were, expecting a lag that is common to Internet browsers. Robert Archer from Electronic House and Xconomy’s Wade Roush also covered the story.

Zinc can be installed as a PC application or as a Mozilla Firefox extension (XP or Vista support for now, Mac is coming soon). This second configuration might make it harder for content sites such as Hulu to restrict access to Zinc users. Hulu pulled the plug on Boxee last month by blocking access to its site from Boxee’s browser. Since Zinc can “hide” as a Firefox extension, this would require the Hulus of the world to employ different (probably legalistic) methods to do the same thing to ZeeVee.

While ZeeVee’s software user interface seems to be rolling along, the company’s hardware refocus to the commercial market is going “extremely well”, according to CEO Vic Odryna. I had a chance to catch up with Vic at the recent TV of Tomorrow show, and he told me that demand for their recently launched ZvPro 250 is very strong, with applications for the hotel and digital signage markets among others. According to recent ZeeVee press, while the $499 ZvBox price might have been a bit steep for average consumers, the $2499 ZvPro 250 is a “game-changing” cost reduction for HD video distribution in the commercial market. I will be sitting down with Vic soon for a podcast to get a more detailed update on the company’s strategy and plans.

Editorial note: As I have mentioned before, I helped to launch ZeeVee to the market and own stock in the company, but I always strive to be impartial.