Zattoo
Encyclopedia
Zattoo
is an Internet Protocol Television
system, with offices located in Ann Arbor, Michigan
, and in Zurich
, Switzerland. It is available on computer, iPhone
, iPod Touch
and iPad
and runs on the operating system
s Windows XP
, Windows Vista
, Mac OS X
and Linux
. The basic resolution
for channels is 352×288, in wide screen 480×288, and the downstream rate amounts to 500 kBps
. In high quality, the resolution amounts to 576×528 and the downstream rate to 1.2 MBps. In opposition to the standard channels, the high quality possess the video codec
H.264.
in Switzerland. On 20 April 2007, Zattoo launched in Denmark
with ten channels and started piloting in the United Kingdom
. On 4 October 2007, Zattoo reached one million registered users in Europe.
Zattoo has been available in Spain since 10 June 2007. Zattoo has been available in France since 16 January 2008.
On 5 August 2008, Zattoo asked its Spanish users for a €2.40 charge by SMS in order to continue with the service during August and September. In March 2009, Zattoo removed its services from Belgium in an attempt to keep its costs down. Despite this removal of services from Belgium, Zattoo would return if it found a suitable marketing partner.
In May 2009, lawyers for Universal and Warner Bros. instigated legal proceedings against Zattoo claiming that the Swiss website - which rebroadcasts a number of television stations live online - is adding advertising to films that are shown on German TV via its online service. In June 2009, the Linux version of the Zattoo client was silently dropped. No official reason was provided by Zattoo for dropping this version of the client application. In June 2009, UK country manager Alex Guest, left Zattoo to launch TV Pixie
.
As of February 2010, a new Linux version of the Zattoo client has been made available, but as before, only in the Deb
file format. On 23 April 2010, Zattoo dropped all the BBC channels from their UK channel list, after ongoing pressure from the BBC to remove them. On 15 June 2010, Zattoo dropped ITV1, Channel 4 and Five from their UK channel list, leaving none of the main UK channels; however, ITV's Northern Ireland (UTV
) and Scottish (STV) franchises, as well as the Welsh Channel 4 (S4C
), remain.
, Denmark
, Spain
, Germany
, Norway
(closed again in 2008), United Kingdom
and France
, but was in 2007 expected to expand to other European countries, (with Austria
and Poland
being at the top of that list) then to Canada
and the US
while adding fee-based channels to its list. It is also designed to only allow specific audiences to watch specific channels, thanks to geolocation
of the IP address
assigned to the user's computer (hence the restriction to a few countries for the time being). This restriction prevents, in theory, British users from watching French channels. While BBC World
is available to Swiss IP addresses, it is not available to British ones.
On 19 December 2009, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive regarding watching TV online from other EU countries came into force. This does not affect Zattoo or other P2PTV providers at all, since the directive only changes the jurisdiction where a country does not allow the reception of a foreign TV channel due to different laws. But the reason why P2PTV channels are not available all over the EU is not that the country of the viewer would not allow it, but that the TV channel itself cannot allow it due to licensing restrictions of the TV programs.
Zattoo
Zattoo is an Internet Protocol Television system, with offices located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and in Zurich, Switzerland. It is available on computer, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and runs on the operating systems Windows XP, Windows Vista, Mac OS X and Linux. The basic resolution for channels is...
is an Internet Protocol Television
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
system, with offices located in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, and in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Switzerland. It is available on computer, iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPod Touch
IPod Touch
The iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
and iPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
and runs on the operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
, Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
. The basic resolution
Display resolution
The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection...
for channels is 352×288, in wide screen 480×288, and the downstream rate amounts to 500 kBps
KBPS
KBPS is a high school radio station run by Benson Polytechnic High School students enrolled in the radio broadcasting program. It is owned by Portland Public Schools...
. In high quality, the resolution amounts to 576×528 and the downstream rate to 1.2 MBps. In opposition to the standard channels, the high quality possess the video codec
Video codec
A video codec is a device or software that enables video compression and/or decompression for digital video. The compression usually employs lossy data compression. Historically, video was stored as an analog signal on magnetic tape...
H.264.
History
Zattoo was created to stream the 2006 FIFA World Cup2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
in Switzerland. On 20 April 2007, Zattoo launched in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
with ten channels and started piloting in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. On 4 October 2007, Zattoo reached one million registered users in Europe.
Zattoo has been available in Spain since 10 June 2007. Zattoo has been available in France since 16 January 2008.
On 5 August 2008, Zattoo asked its Spanish users for a €2.40 charge by SMS in order to continue with the service during August and September. In March 2009, Zattoo removed its services from Belgium in an attempt to keep its costs down. Despite this removal of services from Belgium, Zattoo would return if it found a suitable marketing partner.
In May 2009, lawyers for Universal and Warner Bros. instigated legal proceedings against Zattoo claiming that the Swiss website - which rebroadcasts a number of television stations live online - is adding advertising to films that are shown on German TV via its online service. In June 2009, the Linux version of the Zattoo client was silently dropped. No official reason was provided by Zattoo for dropping this version of the client application. In June 2009, UK country manager Alex Guest, left Zattoo to launch TV Pixie
TV Pixie
TV Pixie is an award-winning UK website about television programmes founded in 2009.-History:TV Pixie was founded by Alex Guest after he left Zattoo, where he was the UK country manager, in 2009...
.
As of February 2010, a new Linux version of the Zattoo client has been made available, but as before, only in the Deb
Deb (file format)
deb is the extension of the Debian software package format and the most often used name for such binary packages. Like the "Deb" part of the term Debian, it originates from the name of Debra, erstwhile girlfriend and now ex-wife of Debian's founder Ian Murdock.Debian packages are also used in...
file format. On 23 April 2010, Zattoo dropped all the BBC channels from their UK channel list, after ongoing pressure from the BBC to remove them. On 15 June 2010, Zattoo dropped ITV1, Channel 4 and Five from their UK channel list, leaving none of the main UK channels; however, ITV's Northern Ireland (UTV
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
) and Scottish (STV) franchises, as well as the Welsh Channel 4 (S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
), remain.
Availability
The service is currently restricted to SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
(closed again in 2008), United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, but was in 2007 expected to expand to other European countries, (with Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
being at the top of that list) then to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
while adding fee-based channels to its list. It is also designed to only allow specific audiences to watch specific channels, thanks to geolocation
Geolocation
Geolocation is the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a radar, mobile phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal...
of the IP address
IP address
An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...
assigned to the user's computer (hence the restriction to a few countries for the time being). This restriction prevents, in theory, British users from watching French channels. While BBC World
BBC World
BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...
is available to Swiss IP addresses, it is not available to British ones.
On 19 December 2009, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive regarding watching TV online from other EU countries came into force. This does not affect Zattoo or other P2PTV providers at all, since the directive only changes the jurisdiction where a country does not allow the reception of a foreign TV channel due to different laws. But the reason why P2PTV channels are not available all over the EU is not that the country of the viewer would not allow it, but that the TV channel itself cannot allow it due to licensing restrictions of the TV programs.