Floppyhead – Digital Media and Streaming

BeyondTV will start supporting recording in h.264 and a rss feed that makes getting shows into iTunes automatic. Unfortunately, these features will cost you extra, similar to the DVD burning plugin they offer. From the announcement:

The plugin allows recompression to the h.264 format and an rss feed that makes getting shows into iTunes automatic (which then can sync to your iPod video, iPhone or Apple TV). The plugin will be bundled for sale/trial with the DVD burning plugin. Any user that already bought the DVD burning plugin will get h.264 at no charge.

I am all for different compression formats being covered. I think this is a good strategy for BeyondTV. They need to continuously add more features to compete with Vista Media Center. Since BeyondTV is a smaller application than a full blown operating system, frequent updates could really help BeyondTV. They do need to get away from the “nickel and diming aspects” of releasing plugins for a price.