Zattoo

Almost everyone who lives in a house with their family and a television in the living room, sooner or later has encountered the discussion about the channel we want to selectReaching pitched battles when “historic” sports moments are at stake.

A solution that comes from Switzerland is an IP Television platform (Internet) that was inaugurated in 2006 called Zattoo, which allows you to watch dozens of channels on devices as varied as an iPhone, or an iPad or any Android system.

There is also the client for Windows 7 and for Windows Phone 7/8. And in this article I'm going to do a brief analysis of the capabilities of the recent arrival in the ModernUI environment of Windows 8.

Perfect for watching the Dakar at the same time as Sálvame

As I mentioned earlier, this application works pretty much on any multimedia device connected to the Internet, so the ModernUI version should include all or most of the capabilities of the desktop program.

The first thing we find is the welcome screen where, through Tiles, we see the different channels to which we have access with a static preview of the program that is currently being broadcast .

If we select one, TVE HD for example, the screen is divided in two, leaving the list of channels and the title of the current program on the left, and the broadcast of the chosen channel on the right .

When you pull out the contextual menu, either with the mouse or by touch, we will see that we have two options, either pause the reception or view it in full screen.

Another thing that I have found very useful is being able to use the program's ability to run in parallel. That is to say, in the left column you can see how I have a thumbnail where I see the chain that I have selected, the list of chains and the programming; while in the right column I have the desktop with the article I'm working on.

When I want to give more attention to what's happening on the TV, I drag the vertical bar that separates the apps to the other side and I get a much bigger view. Finally, if I want to focus on the show that's on, I drag the vertical bar to the edge of the screen and I have Zattoo full screen.

Free in its basic services, for HD you have to subscribe

In the free download and use version, we will have practically the same channels as in the Premium version, except for the channels of high definition (HD), but with a lower quality and with the application itself.

In addition, according to the company itself, agreements are expected to be reached soon with more channels in Spain, as well as other international stations, to be able to access from the Zattoo platform. For example, the Deluxe music channel will start broadcasting shortly.

This application, both in its Windows 8 Modern UI and Windows Phone 7 versions, has been made by a single person, José María Villagrá , Zattoo External Consultant. And to whom I have asked about the new features that are going to be added to the application to which he has responded.

Conclusions

Personally I have started using Zattoo to see the daily reports of the Dakar on TDP, at a time when wanting to see it on the television in the living room would imply arguments, requests and anger.

I must admit that I have other television signal platforms as a comparison, and Zattoo is by far the one that gives me the best quality both in the free versionas in the trial Premium that they have temporarily enabled (thank you very much) for the writing of this article.

If I had to find a but, it would undoubtedly be that the channel offer is very small and almost all DTT. But, it seems that they are currently working on improving the font grid.

About the application, I have nothing but goods. It is an application that is comfortable to use both with a touch screen and with a mouse. Simple, simple, direct and does what it has to do, and does it well.

And if we add the characteristics that José María mentioned, in my opinion, it is worth having it in our catalog of applications. Oh, and it's great on Windows Phone, too.

More information | Zattoo.com