Product Reviews

The latest update to Equinux's TV viewing software is a free update for existing users. Over the past few months, a host of new features have been added, culminating in this version, which refines the chatroom functionality and lets iPhone and iPod touch viewers watch recordings over the Internet.

TubeTalk is the heart of the social viewing features, providing each channel with its own chatroom. Each channel has its percentage of viewers shown in the channel list and the most popular highlighted with a star. It's perfect for programmes that invite discussion, such as Big Brother and Question Time, and we're sure viewers who don't enjoy talking while watching will put it to good use too.

Viewers can be tagged as friends so you can quickly find them, and Buddy Surfing lets

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them control what you're watching while you chat. It's a little bemusing to place so much focus on the chat though.

While these features require being seated at the Mac, The Tube can be controlled in full-screen mode with an Apple Remote. There's no fancy electronic programme guide, making channel hopping an old-fashioned, one-by-one affair that quickly becomes tedious.

TubeToGo brings remote access to recordings by publishing them to .Mac, an FTP server or a local web server on your Mac. A dedicated URL linked to your Equinux account lists published recordings and allows new ones to be scheduled - they're automatically published and uploaded when complete. It's an invaluable feature if you've ever left home and forgotten to schedule a recording - which we're sure most people have done.

The Tube's social features distinguish it from the competition, but their appeal really depends on your personality and viewing habits. The same goes for watching movies remotely, but it's good to see Equinux tailoring features to different groups. Chat functionality is less useful to anyone for whom TV is a retreat from the world, and in that respect we'd like to see full-screen mode developed to solidify the feature for the most basic group of users - those who want to use their Mac as a remote-controlled TV with all the bells and whistles of a modern set-top box.