Get me my Miro

I am continuing my TV for free series today with the final entrant, Miro. Miro wasn’t originally going to be part of the testing, but I included it after it was recommended to me by a reader. Thanks Herbert.

I should note that Miro is different from the other services I’ve reviewed since it is a full featured media player. Miro is also different since files must be downloaded before they can be played, as opposed to using streaming media like the other services. Miro works with Windows, Mac OS X, Ubuntu, and Linux systems.

I’m still grading on the same key aspects of video quality, show selection, user interface, and commercial interruptions. So without further ado, let’s see what Miro has to offer.

Video quality on Miro differs greatly since you are downloading whatever the provider offers. This can give you an alphabet soup of formats, resolutions, and file sizes.

Some channels offer both a standard and high definition version of a channel. The Systm channel offers three versions. It’s good to have this option since you have to download the video before watching it, and the higher the video quality is, the longer the download time is. I was pleased to find that the HD channels I tested were able to fill up my monitor and still look good.

Miro has a large selection of channels, but let me make something clear: Don’t come looking for all your mainstream cable TV. I would bet money it won’t be there. OK, so there are a few like Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Adult Swim, G4TV, and HBO comedy (audio only), but don’t get your hopes up because I don’t see the prospect for any other mainstream networks.

But don’t count Miro out just because it lacks the mainstream content found on the other services. While you might have to dig through the channel guide (which is excellent by the way) to find something to watch, it’ll be well worth your time when you find something you love on Miro. The indie shows are often a little on the short side but still much better than the standard YouTube fare (dancing teens and stupid stunts).

I love Miro’s user interface. Slick, stylish, simplistic, and clean are all words that come to mind. Miro is so easy to just pick up and use, especially compared to iTunes or Windows Media Player.

With Miro’s color-coded design it’s easy to see what you have to watch, what’s downloading, and what’s available to download (coded green, orange, and blue respectively). Miro uses this color scheme to easily separate videos into lists for each channel. Miro also uses colored bubbles to show you the number of unwatched videos and new videos for each channel. Since Miro is based on the new video RSS technology, it’s easy for Miro to alert you when new content becomes available for one of your channels.

You can easily set up auto download settings for each channel so you will always have a fresh stream of videos. Of course your computer will fill up fast if you keep downloading the new and don’t get rid of the old. Miro thought of this too. By default the videos expire and are deleted after six days unless you choose to keep them. You can also reserve space on your drive so that Miro won’t fill up the whole thing. I think these features are so cool.

Besides downloading from RSS channels, Miro can also download content from popular video sites such as YouTube, Google Video, Yahoo!, Revver, and more. Miro can even save a search as a channel (with update alerts) so you can easily refer back to it and see when new videos that match that search are uploaded.

Miro is a full-featured media player so you can also play your own media if you already have some saved on your computer. You can tell Miro to add content in certain folder, such as My Videos, to your library. You also have the option of making it appear as a channel. Miro is also oblivious to the format wars so it supports nearly all of the major formats.

In addition to using channels for organization, Miro allows you to create playlists like other media players. The difference between playlists and channels is that the playlists are created and modified by you while the channels are not.

Commercial interruptions differ by publisher like video quality does. Miro itself has no commercial interruptions or advertisements, but some video providers have them in the video. While this is annoying, they are usually short. You also have the power to skip them, but they are usually so short that it takes more time to skip them than to watch them. But thank you to the video providers who don’t make us endure any commercials!

Finally it’s time for the complaints. They’re minor but there’s always room for improvement, right? My first complaint is lack of streaming capabilities. Downloading videos isn’t a big deal, but can be a hassle if you don’t plan ahead. Then again I’d also be whining if was streaming only too. I guess I want it both ways, but I know I can’t have it that way so I have to choose. In that case the downloading works just fine.

Another complaint is the shortage of mainstream content. While there is quite a bit of good user created stuff, this lack is going to hurt Miro’s appeal to some users.

Another minor complaint is that the audio on an mp4 video on my computer was distorted while playing in Miro. The same file played fine in Quicktime.

My final complaint is Miro’s lack of help documentation. The FAQ is apparently lost, and the only assistance that leaves you with are the forums and the Using Miro channel (which you might not be able to use if you can’t figure out Miro in the first place).

I know I’ve said a lot already, but I want to end on a high note by telling some of the cool features that make Miro unique. The first is an ever-present search box that lets you look up videos in your library, the guide, in a channel, or on the internet. The other great feature is the elegant simplicity of Miro. It’s simple and stylish. I don’t any other way to say it.

If you are interested in publishing your own content, try Miro’s Make Internet TV guide. You can view the gallery of screens I took while using Miro here.

Miro is a great media player. Give it time and I think that the video content available will increase and the features of Miro will improve. I really recommend that you give Miro a chance. I think that if you use it for a while, you’ll be suspired how much good content is out there in cyberspace. So go ahead and check it out and tell me what you think.