Media Center Extension for Firefox using ZViewer Beta

When I was following the coverage for CES on the ZeeVee device, a QAM local broadcaster, I noticed they were giving away their software for free called Zviewer Beta. This software was developed to make a nice interface for when one streams the pc to the HDTV. The ZeeVee application does not need the ZeeVee box to run. Better yet this was built on top of Firefox 3 which you can download a stand alone installer or just install the extension just as any other Firefox plugin.


Below is a list of the plug-in bundle that is installed


When the install is finished (6.8Mb) Firefox needs a restart and then the launching icon is in the upper right hand corner. Below is an example of what the UI looks like. Of course one can full screen Firefox. Another advantage of running as a Firefox plugin is the ability to run this extension in a tab. As you can see from the screen shots I am running Windows XP in a virtual machine and taking screen shots of that because my main system is a Mac Pro.

This highlights one of the weaknesses of the program. As of yet this will only run on Windows with Firefox 3. Because of the platform choice of Firefox, one would expect other OS's to be supported in the future.
This is drilling down into the menu system which looks really good. Hulu is well supported.

One of the better things about the software is the unified search function over all of the streaming media. This works well. I would like to see a step further with integration. Right now when you choose a show it takes you directly to the webpage of the episode and starts it streaming. It would be nicer if it integrated the stream similar to the way Boxee does this.

Local media folders are supported.






And the result of is beautiful layout with automatic screen shots of random parts of the movie.


Supported Applications
This application is great for organizing your streaming experience all into one interface. It feels very lightweight and well thought out. The interface would be well used on a media center pc as a 10ft display for all of your streaming television watching.