Media @ Home

Niveus Software Labs today released a new free Beta software called Niveus Search for limited testing by general public. Niveus Search is a plug-in for Windows Vista Media Center application that allows you to search across all your local media (including Music, Photo, Video, Recorded TV and even TV Guide) as well as few on-line sources such as Flickr, NetFlix and Live365.com.

The distribution consists of two components - the Niveus Control Server that allows remote access to Media Center and the actual Niveus Search plug-in, which after installation will show up in the main Media Center strip alongside TV+Movies, Sports, Music, etc.

The search process is very simple - select New Search from Niveus Search strip and type a few characters on your remote control or select keypad button to show “a-la iPhone” on-screen keypad (it has specific “.com” and “@” buttons, though I’m not quite sure why would you need them for searching your media files).

The Niveus Search strip also provides a Resent menu for quick access to your previous searches.

All in all Niveus Search could be a very useful little gadget especially for people with large media libraries.

The Niveus Search is available for 60 day trial download from Niveus Software Labs Forum. Free registration on the forum is required to download the file.

See the gallery for screen shots after the jump.
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Amazon is jumping to VOD (video on demand) bandwagon with its new service. With Amazon Video On Demand, customers can now instantly watch movies and television shows commercial-free on Macs or PCs. With this new service, customers will have the ability to enjoy instant playback of hit Hollywood movies and the latest TV shows.

To make it even easier for you to decide to rent or purchase a movie or TV show, the first two minutes of videos automatically play at no charge when you visit the product detail page. At any time during this 2-minute viewing period, you can choose to purchase or rent the title to watch it in its entirety.