Splashtop Remote Brings Internet Video to iOS Devices

[Wiley John Wright]

MMi Live @ MacWorld

Splashtop Remote Desktop ($1.99) has just been released and allows you to remotely access a computer from just about any iOS device. Now you might be thinking, isn’t this just another VNC app? Well it is, but with one key difference. Splashtop Remote lets you watch video content from the internet, including Hulu, on your iDevice. It’s compatible with iPhone 3GS, 4, iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation) and the iPad. It requires iOS 3.2 or later.

Using Splashtop Remote is just like sitting in front of your computer. It has almost no latency issues and you can even watch Flash video from the internet, full screen. I’ve tested it on my iPhone 4 and was able to stream a Fringe episode without any problems. The experience is quite similar to watching video with the Netflix app. You can also listen to your entire music library as well.

Controlling Splashtop Remote is very intuitive, using familiar finger gestures to navigate the computer on your iOS screen. The entire Mac OS desktop almost fits on an iPhone screen, but this app really shines on an iPad. The larger screen lets you navigate the Mac OS more easily and pinching to zoom is supported as well. This feature is particularly handy on an iPhone’s smaller screen.

This app, like many others, requires you to download the Splashtop Remote desktop server application for your home computer. The setup is minimal and you’ll be up and running in no time. Splashtop Remote does require Wi-Fi at home. It also works over 3G, but you’ll have to set up port forwarding. Complete setup instructions are available on the company website.

One feature not yet included in Splashtop Remote is video out capabilities via the dock connector, however, developers are planning to include this feature in the next update. You might want to grab this app now because when I talked to developers, they informed me that a price hike was coming in the near future. At 2 buck though, what’s stopping you?

Source: Splashtop

[steve-z17]

Finally, someone else that likes to watch Fringe! +1! This looks excellent, going to buy it and try it.

[mrblader]

wow... good streaming??? im in!!

[jbardi]

Streaming sucks. If you are planning to buy this for hulu, etc, forget it. At $2, if you can't watch video without lag, it is too expensive. I have a 12 Mbps connection and even on my local network with a gigabit port it lags, with the appearance of skipped frames, because like it or not, it uses the same technologies as vnc, except for audio. Not worth it for videos, but maybe music, and if so, there are much better apps for streaming audio from your computer.

[MBCMDR]

Humm this is not new, I been doing this for months with PlayOn first beta load was Web load now Apple has it at store can watch steam video on road or hand it of to child to keep them entertained I think PlayOn offers much more as you can apply addons to your server to get more channels. I also like Air Video Server but missing the hulu so only plays my stored AVI.

[psilocybin]

ya this has been out for a while...i bought it when it was first introduced

[davidmaiden18183]

Just released! I've been using this since November!

Awesome on iPad

[DinoDrew]

Wonder if it's better than logmein

[santacruzlocal]

1. Does it work on PC?
2. Is it better than Logmein?
3. Fringe sucks, pick something better .. JK but seriously

This one has been out a while did they pay you to write this? Hmm what people will do for money !!!

[klouud]

2 questions:

1. Performance on 3GS?
2. Performance on 3GS + OSX 10.6.6 running on 1.6gHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM?

--end

[obtrunco]

This app is similar to Orb.

[andsoitgoes]

Just released? WTF? Mmi, do not make me lose this much respect for you. The app has been out for eons.

I bought it on a 99 cent sale. It SORT of works for video. But yes, it drops frames, sometimes.

I have been able to use it successfully, but don't expect it to work on anything even slightly near hd. Chances are good quality 480p won't work without driving you batty as hell.

But it does work. Its not a bad RDP app and it is a ton cheaper than most other options. It OS faster than Jump, iTeleport, Logmein for most medium quality video, flash games, etc.

The software itself however Isn't as intuitive as its more expensive counterparts, you have to be logged in and not have a locked desktop, which can be frustrating if you have multiple users on the same computer.

For 1.99 if you need a good, cheap VNC type software to stream some video, audio, basic flash games... It is worth it.

MAKE SURE you have this set to video mode, as it makes ALL the difference in video quality

3 finger tap, make sure the far left icon shows the video icon. It smooths the screen and smooths the video playback, making it less choppy.

1. Does it work on PC?
2. Is it better than Logmein?
3. Fringe sucks, pick something better .. JK but seriously

This one has been out a while did they pay you to write this? Hmm what people will do for money !!!

1 - yes, it is PC friendly
2 - yes for video, but don't expect any fancy features to the same extent as Logmein.


Anyway, those are my 15 cents.

[EskimoRuler]

This sounds really cool, never heard of it. I'll give it a try