For Downloader Users - HQ / HD video downloading! (read more)

iPhone ringtones downloading - turn any YouTube video into a personal ringtone in just a few clicks (read more)

Custom Players owners also have lots of new features to discover:

External Playlists - Stream your own videos on your OWN server to a Custom Player (read more)

Track videos using Google Analytics (read more)

Add Share button on your players - let your visitors talk about your videos

Also we have created a new registration and purchase process. Credit cards are now accepted and we have added a set of cheap Daily Passes for those who don’t want to commit to monthly payments with the Downloader Monthly Plan. (read more)

Go, log in your account and discover the rest of new stuff we have prepared for you!

The Changes and New Features:

• High Definition Video downloading - Now you can download YouTube videos in HD format and enjoy the best quality videos!
• High Quality Video downloading - HQ is also supported from now on
• We have significantly improved the downloading process
• 10 free Bonus Download Credits – we gave each currently registered user 10 bonus download credits
• 3 daily download credits (previously only 2) – now everyone can download up to 3 videos a day
• WMA (Windows Media Audio) download format is now supported
• AAC (Advanced Audio Encoding) download format to store music videos on your player
• Faster loading of Embedded Custom Players - we improved the loading process of custom players and made it faster!
• True shuffling feature for playlists
• Various bug and performance fixes – general fixes of some bugs and problems from previous versions of iDesktop.tv

With these excellent new features and updates we hope to keep all our users satisfied and to attract more and more iDesktop.tv fans!

Log in at http://www.idesktop.tv to try it now!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tech-media-invest-100/top-100

The list, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Kemp Little, showcases the top 100 most innovative entrepreneurial companies in the UK, and was chosen by an Advisory Board which includes many of the country’s leading investors in technology and media.

Davendra Patel, the CEO said:

“We are very pleased and excited to make it into the top 100 Tech companies in the UK. The hard work and effort put into iDesktop.tv is being noted and we hope to continue to build on our success as we work to our goal of being the number 1 home for creating Custom Embeddable Video Players”

For more information about the Tech Media Invest Top 100 list, see:

http://guardian.co.uk/techmediainvest100 and http://www.e-unlimited.com/tmi

Pop out Players

iDesktop.tv allows users to open up their video/playlist into another window.

iDesktop.tv Pop-out window

YouTube now has a button to open the video in another window.

YouTube Pop-out window

Lights out Feature

iDesktop.tv Lights out Feature

YouTube have now released the feature to turn the lights out around the video.

Are YouTube keeping a close eye on iDesktop.tv and our features? - We would like to hope so

TechCrunch Europe once again have heaped praise on the new version of iDesktop.tv

Here is what they wrote..

“We last covered iDesktop.tv (formerly YouTube Desktop) in February, when they launched a new version of their player. But that was a relatively incremental update by comparison to this total relaunch of the service, the result of two years’ research and beta testing.

In case you missed our previous coverage, iDesktop.tv is a web-based interface for YouTube that allows greater customisation and control. It also allows videos to be saved locally and watched offline in customisable players.

The new features include a cleaner design, easier embedding, branding and customisation options, new player types, themes, faster downloads (now including MP3), playlists and a bunch of things under the hood to make the whole service run more smoothly.

The legal and moral implications of this service remain unanswered, though it seems clear that iDesktop.tv is moving in quite a different direction to Nick Bell’s Quick.tv, which was originally perceived as a competitor. ”

You can read the article in full at TechCrunch Europe

Embedding Videos has become increasingly more popular on websites as the whole process to embed videos is a whole lot easier. Users can now grab embed code from websites and add it to their website code. The embedded video then appears in the website, steaming the videos from a hosting server.

With iDesktop.tv you can now create Custom Players that embed right into your websites. After you have chosen how your player looks in our step guide we then provide you with the embed code for you to embed your video.

The great advantage of using iDesktop.tv to embed YouTube videos is that you can change which videos are shown or how the player looks without re-embedding your code again. When you make any changes to your custom players and hit save, the player dynamically updates in your website.

With iDesktop.tv you can embed videos from YouTube video channels, results of a video search, favorite videos, YouTube video categories and video playlists.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to create Custom Players and embed them into your website.

1. Click on “Custom Players” found in the top menu

2. This is the window where your Custom Players are stored. To get started click “Create a new player”

3. Through this wizard you will be able to create and customize your player to your exact needs. In this first window you will need to choose exactly where you want your videos used in the player, to come from. When you have chosen your video source, hit Next

4. You will now need to create a name for your player and choose your player and playlist type. Hit Next

5. In this window you can customize exactly how the player looks and feels. (Please note depending on which player type you chose this window will look different). When you are finished here hit Next

6. The next screen is where you specify what your playlist in the player looks like. Change the settings to your needs and click Next

7. If you are on a Business Plan you can add advertising to your video here. You can choose from pre, mid and post roll adverts

8. Click Preview to see your Custom Player

9. A new tab will open that will show the Custom Player you have created. If you need to edit this Custom Player further repeat steps 3 – 8 until you are happy with your player

10. Click “Save and get code”

11. This window will give you the Embed Video Code. Copy and paste this code and embed it into your website. Any changes to your player through iDesktop.tv will dynamically change your player in the website

12. You will now find your Custom Player in the Custom Player Window (Step 1). From here you can edit your Custom Player, duplicate it, preview it or generate the embed code again

For a step by step guide on how to embed video into 3rd Party Platforms see our Embed Video into 3rd Party Guide.

So what’s new in this version?

Custom Players

Our BIG new feature. You can now create your own branded YouTube Custom Player and embed them right into your websites using our embed code - no manual coding requried!

• Skin your Video Player with your own branding including splash screens, custom logos and custom backgrounds
• You can take videos from users, channels, playlists, favorites or even results of a search.
• No Bandwidth/Hosting Costs for you to worry about
• 15 Players and playlists types to give you a wide variety of ways to attract the attention of your website visitors
• Over 300 options to customize to make your Player stand out from the crowd!
• Fully customisable advertising allows you to place certain videos at the start, between or the end of videos in the  playlist.
• Great for eBay and ecommerce websites.
• Supports all major 3rd party blogging platforms

Click to see our Custom Player showcase for examples of Custom Players you can create in iDesktop.tv

Faster and easier downloading

We have re-written our download engine to ensure faster downloads and added notifications to guide you through the download process

MP3 Downloads

We have added the option to download YouTube videos in MP3 format!

New Design

We have completely changed the way iDesktop.tv looks to make it more user-friendly and at the brink of Web 2.0.

Playlists Upgraded

We have upgraded the way you create , save , edit and view your playlists so the process is faster and easier

Quick Search/Save

You can now save your favorite searches to come back to later with the touch of a button

More themes

We have added more themes so you can find the right iDesktop.tv look to match your mood.

And Much more

Plus many other Features and Performance upgrades you ensure you achieve a fantastic iDesktp.tv experience.

Sign up now or Take the Tour

or for more information please see our What Can I Do page.

Best Regards

iDesktop.tv Team

Since online video has arrived, unleashed from the networks, cable companies, and media giants, it is continuing to spread across the world. Thanks to growing bandwidth, easy access to the means of production, and cheap storage, it’s exploding all around us and becoming a very real, very different way to experience news and entertainment.

Online video is quickly becoming one of the newest trends in media. Watching videos from web is not just an entertainment but also a great way of promoting products and services. In order to keep up with this fast paced trend and stay ahead of the competition, many businesses are deciding to use online video as part of their promotional strategies. Using this form of media can create several advantages for a business.

Online video creates a more personal interaction between a business and its customers. The use of both visual effects and sounds is an effective way of gaining a viewers attention. In today’s fast paced world, it is much more efficient for someone to click on a video link than it is for them to read a page of text. People want fast and easy information, and web video allows them to have that.

A recent study conducted by the Online Publishers Association, found that 69 percent of online users have watched a video online, and 24 percent do so at least once a week. Out of those surveyed it was found that 66 percent have viewed an online video ad.

When an ad contains a link to a website, or the name of a company website, it is quite likely that the viewer will visit that site. Studies have found that of the 69 percent of internet users viewing online video ads, 40 percent visited a web site mentioned in the video ad, and 15 percent requested product information.

Businesses may also gain high recognition for their brands by having their ads circulating on the web. A good video can be the best way to spread a message, product, or brand. Placing videos on search engines, and using strong keywords and taglines, can be a successful way of getting video recognition.

Sharing videos with other people is very common among most web users. Having web videos passed along through e-mails, social networks or other programs is another excellent way to gain brand recognition. Thirty-eight percent of those who watch web video say they pass it along to others, usually through e-mail.

With the right content and the right recognition, using the video through the internet can be a powerful tool to any business.

Custom players are similar to other existing embeds, in that you get a code snippet which can be pasted into any website. The main difference is that custom players are more flexible - you can choose from several different layouts and color schemes, and also fill them from your videos, favorites, or playlists.

iDesktop.tv is a dynamic web 2.0 application that gives you a convenient way of making your own custom players and managing them through a modern, flexible interface. You can save every custom player you create in your account and edit or use it whenever you need.

The idea behind iDesktop.tv is to bring normal desktop application experience to the browser - windows that can be dragged, resized, minimized in a tray, drag’n'drop of videos between players and results, standard menus - all with one goal - to make the richest web application for viewing and managing video content.

Each registered user of iDesktop.tv, even those without any coding skills, is able to create custom embeddable players and use them in his website. The simple to use website environment premises a pleasant and trouble-free experience for every user.

Custom players can be produced taking videos from YouTube’s users, channels, results of a search, featured videos, top rated, your favorites and playlists created in iDesktop.tv.

There are many types of players and video widgets to select from - video wall, list box, horizontal box, pop-out players, fixed player even simplest flash-only player. Extensive options for customizing are available to ensure users can create the perfect player that matches the style and design of their websites.

Fully customizable advertising also allows users to place certain videos at start, between or the end of videos in the playlist.

.Net Magazine write in Issue 188 (May 2009):

“YouTube may seem like the reason the web was invented but it ain’t pretty. iDesktop.tv fixes that problem by providing a more usable and visually ppealing interface to the site’s content.

This new release adds the ability to make custom players that can be embedded in external sites. You can now show your visitors’ YouTube content without wrecking your site’s aesthetic”

Simplicity

The site itself improves the YouTube experience by enabling users to customise their viewer, import playlists and even download movies in an assortment of file formats. By giving developers and designers the chance to create their own players, it opens up the field even further. iDesktop.tv plans to charge a subscription fee for access to its design tools based on bandwidth and number of players created

.net rating

For:

• Simple to use
• Customisable players
• Download and convert video

Against

• Subscription may put developers off

A great idea, well executed with an eye to making developers’ and designers’ lives easier

4/5 Stars ”

Thank you .Net Magazine for such a great review