SecondRun.tv 2.6 Released
SecondRun.tv received an update over the weekend, bringing one of the more ambitious Windows Media Center plugins in recent memory up to version 2.6. The new features enhance the Movie and TV Show Views that were added with the 2.5 release and focus on improving and expanding the search funtionality built into SecondRun.tv. The most obvious change is the new optional interface for the Views which looks similar to the NXE interface update for the Xbox 360. Scrolling up and down moves through the different genres that are available in your collection and moving left and right scrolls through the titles in each genre.
Another new feature is the option to use an embedded Hulu video player that will automatically switch to a full screen view, but it does operate at a lower resolution than the standard player. The more ambitious features are search related. The first new search feature is on the back-end in the Process Guide. There is now a search function that will attempt to locate an RSS feed for a show based on its title. On the front-end there is a new “search tv beta” feature. According to the SecondRun.tv website the goal is to build a searchable database of the shows available on Netflix, Hulu, and their ilk to enable users to find shows that have not been added to their guide already.
I have not had much time to try out this new version, but I will be playing with it this week and will put together a more detailed write-up in the near future. I’ve already run into a few issues and want to take the time to see what is going on and perhaps reach out to Yaggs, SecondRun.tv’s creator, for some assistance. I have noticed that my most requested feature still is not included, but there are always future updates to look forward to.
Version 2.6 now includes a new TV Show search interface… we are in the process of building an extensive database of the TV shows available on sites like Netflix and Hulu and this search interface makes it easy to find shows even if they are not in your existing guide setup. Now you can watch any show easily from media center without going into the Channel Builder to add the show. Again… this feature is in BETA and will be expanded on in future releases!
I was excited about this
I was excited about this until I read this about the Hulu plugin: “ it does operate at a lower resolution than the standard player“
I had a similar reaction when
I had a similar reaction when I was reading about it. I’ve played with it a bit and it is obvious, but not tremendous. A little softer image and some background blockiness. The bigger issue is that although the new player goes full screen automatically, it still does not offer remote control as nice as the Hulu desktop app.