By Kyle Monson
If the new TV.com app for the iPhone represents a network’s vision of the iPhone as media-streaming device, then AOL’s Truveo app represents a vision of the iPhone as search portal. Both apps have their advantages and drawbacks. TV.com is technologically innovative but needs more compelling content, while Truveo aggregates loads of great content but isn’t quite as slick. That said, of the two I like Truveo better.
The breadth of Truveo’s iPhone-accessible catalog is in marked contrast to the limited selection offered by TV.com’s iPhone app, or even the enormous selection on YouTube’s app. TV.com is owned by CBS, and its catalog is limited mainly to CBS clips and promos, with a few full-length shows thrown in (for instance, CSI and the original Star Trek series). YouTube, of course, is YouTube; it specializes in user-generated videos, not professionally produced ones.
Truveo, on the other hand, claims to have access to 133 million searchable videos. They’re aggregated from such disparate sources as CNN, FOX, MSN, ESPN, Hulu, Revision 3, CNET, Break.com, Yahoo, and, yes, YouTube, among many others. You’ll find full episodes of NBC shows like Heroes, 30 Rock, CSI, and The Office, though these longer videos are broken up into more manageable chunks (the most recent Heroes episode is split into six parts, but it’s all there).
Video quality varies depending on the source, but most of the videos I watched looked terrific. As with any streaming app, load times will vary depending on your connection speed. When I was connected over a weak 3G signal, there was quite a bit of video stuttering and pausing if I didn’t let the stream buffer a bit. One bummer unique to the iPhone is that you can’t minimize a window and come back to it, so I wasn’t able to multitask with my iPhone while my videos were loading.
Truveo provides the sleek search functions you’d expect from what is essentially a video search engine. When you start typing, Truveo presents a list of results that it refines as you continue, so you don’t have to do much actual typing. And the app uses what Truveo calls "Intelligent Query Completion," which recommends related content not just by search term but also by the meaning of that term. For instance, I searched on "star" and got back results related to Star Wars and Star Trek, but also celebrity clips that didn’t even have "star" in the title.
If you just want to browse instead of search for specific videos, check out Truveo’s most popular lists, like "Most Twittered This Week" and "What’s Hot." Want to avoid questionable content? You can turn on the Family Filter in your iPhone’s Settings menu (Truveo reps assured me that they "take a conservative view" of what they flag as adult content). There’s also an option in there to turn on/off the ability to connect over a cellular network, or go Wi-Fi only.
Another marked difference from TV.com, and one that bodes well for the future of Truveo, is the small ads sprinkled throughout the interface—a good sign that Truveo is invested in providing more and better content to make the most ad revenue.
So what’s missing? I really wish there was a way to bookmark favorites and add shows or channels to a feed, as I can with TV.com. There are also some little design issues I’d like to see corrected; for instance, the search results don’t present quite enough info on each video clip, so you have to click through for details. Over a cellular connection, that takes time.
Overall, Truveo is a good way to watch video on the iPod, particularly when you have a Wi-Fi connection. And it’s free, so there’s no barrier to trying it out. What are you waiting for?
Raon Vega Fan Zone 