In preparation for the release today I did some testing last night the the first build on Windows 7... After a few kinks in the installer not allowing you to run the install on Windows 7 (It was looking for specific versions of Vista) I was able to get SecondRun.tv to run and install fine on Windows 7!  So when the release comes out today any of you early adopters shouldn't have any problems using the app in Windows 7...

 

My testing was done on a Windows 7 install on a VM as well so there shouldn't be any problem with a real install on a PC.

I mis-judged how much side work would need to be done to actually put out a download of the app tonight... It's almost 1:00am and I just don't have enough left in the tank tonight to get this thing out the door tonight!  I dont want to rush it and forget to do something or leave something out of the distribution... So some time early tomorrow I should be posting the first BETA build!

 

I have the install done for the release that I will be putting out tomorrow and I am just working on cleaning up somethings on the website along with doing some install testing on mulitiple machines... there wont be much debugging in this first release either... we will just have to play it by ear with any errors that people run into during install and use.

 

I will say... I have been doing all my development and testing on my laptop (an HP mobile workstation) and hadn't yet used the add-in on my big screen through my everyday Media Center PC... well... I tested the install package by installing it on my Media Center PC and let me just tell you... ITS AWESOME!  There is still a good deal of content missing and alot of the artwork isn't out there yet but I have it setup so I can add that after the release is out and users don't have to download another copy of the app to get the new content or artwork... but again... THIS THING IS AWESOME!  I sat down with my remote and just started browsing away at REAL tv content in a nice attractive full screen display!  No interaction with the mouse AT ALL!!!

 

It's funny... I know I am the one developing this so there is a pretty neat sense of accomplishment when I saw it running on the TV for the first time but it was even more than that... It was almost like "finally... its about time something like this was available for Media Center"... with the addin's attractive interface and the fact that it would force the player full screen all by itself really made it feel like I was just watching TV!!!! TRUELY AWESOME!!!

 

I hope I haven't let down too many people by not getting the app out tonight but I give you my word that it will be available tomorrow during the day!

 

I am heading to bed to finally get a little more sleep than I have been but I am really looking forward to an exciting release day tomorrow!

I did a simple test on my XBOX 360 extender last night... The main interface of the add-in works fine (with the exception of some overscanning that I need to deal with on the backgrounds) and when you launch an episode on the extender it opens the page from hulu and starts playing the flash video BUT its slow and choppy and there is no audio.

 

I just tried to run it... I haven't tried to change any settings on my laptop or 360... both are using wireless connections during the test so it may work better if I cable both devices... I will test the extender a little more... but I just wanted to give everyone a little update.

 

I will most likely have to do some kind of transcoding of the flash video but I am sure that is possible... other apps like vmcNetflix do this so it should be doable... I will dig through the source code of vmcNetflix and see what I can figure on how they do it.  Extender support WILL be in the app... its just a question of when.

I made some great progress last night and I should have a BETA build up sometime late tonight!!!! I am talking like probably no earlier than mid-night EST... but I feel pretty confident that I will have the first build wrapped up and ready to go!  I am going to be working on some content issues and website services for the application tonight so it can be run and pull in some data from the SecondRun.tv website... I have some initial plans in the works that will allow the community to add channels and content from other providers!  Could be pretty exciting!

 

I will keep everyone posted!

OK... I have the network screens in and fully functional now!  This was the last piece I wanted to get in for the intial release.. basically the add-in is fully functional in a sense that you can browse the different networks (like FOX, ABC, CBS, etc) and select one of those networks... that will bring you into a screen with the show posters for that network... Then clicking on a show will bring you into the show screen and allow you to select episodes and watch them.

Tomorrow I will spend as much time as possible on getting together the network logos and show artwork and I will try to package up a release and get it out for everyone to start messing with some time on Friday!  I haven't messed with the install builder yet so I will need to do some testing with that as well... I have a second Media Center PC here that I will do a test download and install with before releasing it out into the open.

 

After the inital release I will be looking at expanders, etc... and see where we stand with the ability to stream the flash content to them... I would imagine that we are going to have to do some kind of transcoding of the flash video in order to use this on an extender but again... that will be one of the things I test after the initial release!

Tonight I will be working implementing the network screens that allow you to browse though the logos of the different TV networks out on hulu along with some other networks that are not out on hulu (like ABC, CBS, Nickelodeon, etc..)... I am kind of working on the back end of things as I go... I have a pretty good general idea of how I want everything to work but I will also get a pretty good handle on what I will need to put in place to ensure that content in my database is updated automatically and new shows from the different networks are added to my system automatically... I hope to have some more screenshots to put up after I have this implemented and possibly another video.  Again... I don't get started working on SecondRun until later in the evening so if your up into the wee hours of the night be sure to drop in and see if I have updated anything!

 

I will be putting an RSS feed on the site in the next few days as well so people can stay updated on my progress without constantly checking in on the site.

Like I said in my post on thegreenbutton.com... I wanted to take some time today to get a website for SecondRun.tv launched... and here we are!  Don't mind the messy appearence... I just wanted to get something out there so I threw this site together tonight.  I plan on posting most of my updates here but I will continue to update the thread that I started at TGB to keep the community over there in the loop.  I haven't the time or the desire to run a forum or even comment management system here... maybe in the future but surely not right now so most of the discussion will go on in forum over at TGB.

 

I am hoping to have the website out of the way tonight as it is a necessary evil that is required to get this add-in released... but then I will put more focus back into the app... I am still committed to getting a version of it out there this week!