Cinema Mac

Brandon Holland has just released Couch Surfer 0.3.

Here are some new features:

• accelerated scrolling holds up and down
• improved Bookmark support, now with support for adding current page
• history support
• back menu
• USB keyboard support for text entry dialogs.

The best part is that once Couch Surfer 0.3 is installed, USB keyboard feature is available to all other plug-in’s.

You can get the new software update from Brian’s software page here.

Adobe launched the Adobe Media Player 1.0 today. Adobe’s Media Player is a standalone Video Jukebox application that runs under their AIR platform. The Media Player is compatible with both PCs and Macs.

In many ways, the Adobe Media Player mimics iTunes Video and Podcast functionality by providing users with an all-enclosed application that provides access to network shows and podcasts. Content is sparse at the moment, but Adobe has partnered with a number of content providers such as CBS, PBS, MTV and more. Unlike iTunes, however, Adobe’s Media Player is not presently a “store” and offers free and ad-supported content. Adobe, however, has said that it plans on adding payment systems later to offer purchase and rental options.

The player supports playback for FLV and h.264 encoded content at up to HD quality (1080p, 720p). Content may be available for streaming or download with and without DRM depending on the rights granted by the content providers.

Predictably, there will be many iTunes users who don’t see the point of transitioning to a different player, but what this represents more than just another media player is the first effective cross-platform Digital Rights Management (DRM) video platform alternative. As much as end users dislike DRM, the lack of an additional cross-platform video DRM has hindered some features on Mac. Notably, Netflix stated that the lack of a publicly-available Mac DRM solution was what prevented them from offering their streaming service to the Mac. It’s not clear if Netflix will necessarily adopt Adobe’s DRM, but this may open up additional alternatives to Apple’s iTunes for content delivery on the Mac.

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If your looking for software to perform a particular task like streaming audio to your airtunes, or recording TV shows, or syncing your iTunes to your XBOX 360, check out this site with a great list of apps to suit your needs:
http://www.pure-mac.com/mediacenter.html

If your an Eye-TV user and are sick of the big clunky eyetv remote app on your desktop, you’ve got to check this out.

http://www.tracyvalleau.com/itvr

iTVRemote replaces the eyetv controller with a small, easy to use and simple controller. Check it out

Switch Plus audio file converter is a sound file converter for Windows or Mac. It can convert audio files from many different file formats into mp3, wav and many other file formats.Switch Plus audio file converter is very easy to use. Just add the files you want to convert to the list, select the format you want to use, and then click the convert button.

• Converts a variety of different audio file formats including wav, mp3, ogg, flac, aac, wma, au, aiff, ogg, msv, dvf, vox, atrac, gsm, dss and other formats into mp3 or wav.
• Import multiple file formats at the same time and convert to one output format.
• Automatically normalise audio while converting.
• Import and convert a playlist (m3u and pls).
• MPEG Layer-3 encoder supports constant or variable bit rates from 8 to 320kbps with optional error correction and stereo modes.
• WAV encoder support sample rates between 6000 and 196000Hz in PCM or a number of other codecs.
• Up to 32000 files can be converted in one batch.
• Optimized CPU usage and efficient code for fastest conversion times.
• Switch Sound File Converter integrates directly with other sound software programs including Express Burn for CD Recording, Express Rip for Direct CD Ripping, WavePad for Sound File Editing, RecordPad for Professional Sound Recording and Express Scribe for Typing Voice Recordings.
• Can be run from the command line for automation and other programming applications.
• Switch audio file converter is intuitive and easy to use interface.