BT Live Update: NAMM Archive, Guitar Winner, and Biomimicrant & VJ Kai this Friday

January 26, 2012 – 12:35 pm

Did you catch the show? This past weekend BitTorrent partnered with Dean Guitars and the National Association for Music Merchants (NAMM) to stream live from the NAMM Jam concert and NAMM conference in Anaheim California. The event was incredible! If you didn’t see it, catch up with the archived stream here.

With the help of our partner Dean Guitars, BitTorrent Live testers had the opportunity see heavy metal legends Testament and Jackyl, plus the chance to win a Dave Mustaine VMNT Fear Signature Dean Guitar.

We’re excited to announce that Kathy N. of Phoenix, Arizona is our contest winner. She writes, “I am so beyond excited for winning this guitar contest!  I want to thank everyone at BitTorrent and Dean Guitars for the chance to win this guitar. I am surprised that I can even type right now I’m bouncing around my living room and I am headed for Facebook, Twitter and my cell to let everyone know the great news!”

A big congrats to Kathy from all of us here at BitTorrent. We love to be able to give back to our fans that continually help us test and improve our technology.

The BitTorrent Live tests have been building a solid audience every Friday, so it was a nice change to be able to host a live Web cast on the road, introduce ourselves to more fans and be a part of such an incredible concert. Thank you to Dean Guitars for the support.

This Friday (January 27th) we are back up in San Francisco for our weekly live Web cast in the BitTorrent Live Studio. You can tune in and be part of the live session featuring Biomimicrant & VJ Kai by going to http://live.bittorrent.com at 8:00 PM PT (4:00 GMT).

And as always, check out more info and stay up to date on our weekly live sessions as well as special events at our Live Studio page on Facebook.

Read More »

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Live Streaming from NAMM Jam with Dean Guitars! (Win a free guitar too)

January 18, 2012 – 1:31 pm

This weekend is the legendary NAMM Jam concert event, and guess what? We’ve partnered with the iconic Dean Guitars to live stream the entire concert straight to you! Tune in and check out Testament, Jackyl and other metal favorites as they rock The Grove of Anaheim.

To celebrate, we’re giving away a free Dean guitar during the concert. Fans can enter the contest here and can watch the live stream to see if they have won.

Plus, we will stream live from the Dean Guitar’s booth at NAMM (Booth 5466B) on Saturday and Sunday, also at live.bittorrent.com/deanguitars. There will be autograph signings and other surprises…you can watch all the fun from anywhere in the world.

“Live streaming continues to be a challenge for musicians to do at scale over the Internet and it can be a very expensive undertaking at a business and tradeshow level. BitTorrent is building a solution not only for massive events, but to make live streaming available and accessible to anyone,” said Curse Mackey, Director of Marketing at Dean Guitars. “Dean Guitars has always pushed to stay ahead of the curve and we’re excited to help BitTorrent break new ground for the good of musicians around the world.”

“Dean Guitars are legendary and the NAMM Jam is an iconic event,” said Bram Cohen, BitTorrent’s founder. “While the live protocol is still in the testing phases, it’s proving to be incredibly stable. We need to push the limits and see what happens when large numbers of people join a live swarm. If anyone can do it, it’s metal fans. Jump on and see if you can’t help us break it.”

Live Streaming Schedule:

  • Friday, January 20 (6:45 p.m. – midnight) – NAMM Jam live from The Grove of Anaheim
    • Featuring: Testament, Jackyl, Vinnie Moore, Wayne Static, and more.
  • Saturday, January 21st (10 a.m. – 6 p.m.) – Live webcast from the Dean Guitars booth
    • Artist signings, interviews, demos, and more.
  • Sunday, January 22nd (10 a.m. – 5 p.m.) – Live webcast from the Dean Guitars booth
    • Artist signings, interviews, demos, and more.

This effort is part of BitTorrent’s ongoing scalability testing of the company’s upcoming live peer-to-peer streaming protocol invented by Cohen, our founder and chief scientist. The newly architected protocol promises to solve fundamental challenges of live streaming media over the Internet by eliminating the need for expensive server infrastructure and dramatically reducing latency (or delays).

“Dean Guitars are legendary and the NAMM Jam is an iconic event,” said Cohen. “While the live protocol is still in the testing phases, it’s proving to be incredibly stable. We need to push the limits and see what happens when large numbers of people join a live swarm. If anyone can do it, it’s metal fans. Jump on and see if you can’t help us break it.”

Our live streaming protocol delivers Internet media by distributing the workload amongst peers viewing the stream. Because the peer-based architecture takes advantage of the computing, storage and network resources of each person, the more people who join a stream the better it performs. We’re currently testing the protocol every Friday night at 8 p.m. with live DJs from the company’s headquarters in San Francisco at live.bittorrent.com. Check it out, and don’t forget to tune into the NAMM Jam and the Dean Guitars booth over the weekend!

By BitTorrent | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Experience the BitTorrent Live Studio Webcast With Johnny 5 and VJ Musashii

January 11, 2012 – 3:09 pm

Our BitTorrent Live studio tests that run every Friday are really starting to pick up steam. The feedback we’ve had from those of you that have already joined us has been invaluable in helping us perfect the protocol, and define the future of live streaming technology. If you haven’t had a chance to become a tester it isn’t too late. Every Friday night is your chance to become a part of this one-of-a-kind experience, and hear some of the best live music around.

This week Friday, January 13th at 8:00 PM PT (4:00 GMT) we have producer and co-founder of San Francisco’s “Ritual Dubstep,” Johnny 5, webcasting from the BitTorrent Live Studio along with the extremely talented VJ Musashii.
This studio session is not to be missed. Do your ears and eyes a favor and join in!

Check out the BitTorrent Live studio Facebook page and Web site for more info and you can also RSVP to this Friday’s event here

About the Artists

Johnny 5 
If you reside in Northern California and frequent dubstep/bass music events, you almost certainly recognize the face behind the layers of wobbling bass, crunchy drums, and hypnotic melodies. An Oakland, CA resident, by way of Chicago, Johnny 5 cut his teeth as an MC and hip-hop producer in both cities, sharing stages with the likes of independent legends Typical Cats as well as major acts including Raekwon and Devin the Dude.

Upon moving to Oakland in 2005, Johnny5 began to take in the diverse, quickly evolving sounds pulsating throughout the Northern California music scene. With an already extensive background in hip-hop, reggae, and electronic music, it was only natural that Johnny would embrace the dubstep genre and begin to cultivate his own sound, taking elements from each of these musical cultures. After a series of mixes that remained vastly unheard, the world began to take notice after his first official release, “Johnny 5 Alive.”

In May of 2010 he co-founded San Francisco’s most popular dubstep weekly, “Ritual Dubstep,” every Thursday starting at Anu bar, and now residing in the catacombs at Temple night club. This event unexpectedly blossomed from a small, intimate party, featuring mainly locals, into a massive nightclub production each week – that still remains true to the gritty and grimy sounds that made the party what it is. Ritual has been honored to host international dubstep stars such as Truth (New Zealand), Ajapai (Japan), and Wedge (UK), as well as Bay Area legends including Antiserum, Matty G, and DJG.

Besides handling booking, promotion and organization for Ritual, Johnny 5 has kept busy by doing two Northwest tours (with Bay Area heavyweights Megalodon and Los Angeles DJ/producer Bodie), releasing several mixes (available at www.soundcloud.com/johnny5dubstep), and polishing up his production, both as a solo artist and as a member of the duo Splatterface (alongside Chris “Audiobomb” Rice).
With an arsenal of forthcoming original tunes, a vast collection of rare and exclusive tracks, and uncanny ability to read a crowd’s mood, Johnny 5 continues to spread his unique blend of filthy bass music styles to dance floors and festivals around the West Coast and worldwide!

VJ Musashii
Musashii (Chris Crismond) is a 3D artist, animator, coder, and performer. Once he put the swords down and picked up an Edirol, he started to melt the fabric of space and time. He is currently working on Kinect-based interactive projects, projection mapping using TouchDesigner, as well as constantly honing his 3D skills. Musashii’s sets are dark, abstract and technical, melding many different layers into a tempo-synched feast for the eyes.

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BitTorrent at CES: Outstanding Consumer Electronics Partners + 150 Million Users (and Counting)

January 9, 2012 – 10:00 am

Team BitTorrent is at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas! It’s been a busy morning. Not only are we setting up our demo suite at the Las Vegas Hilton, but we’ve just announced a bunch of company news.

First and foremost…we’ve just announced four new strategic consumer electronics partnerships, designed to enable you to discover, play, share and move all types of personal media, regardless of size, type or format, so that you can play high-quality content in your living room. The partners announced today will offer a variety of “BitTorrent Certified” devices including TVs, set-top boxes, media adapters, and Blu-ray players in key markets:

  • - BBK: Developing BitTorrent Certified devices for the Russian market, including TVs, Blu-ray/DVD players and media adapters. Press release
  • - Dune HD: Designing, developing and marketing BitTorrent Certified Dune HD media players in Europe and Asia. Press release
  • - AirTies: Certifying network-attached storage devices (NAS), set-top boxes, and popular home router lines for sale in Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey; will also provide existing customers with an easy software upgrade for devices already in the field. Press release
  • - Antik: A Slovakia-based manufacturer of IPTV devices that has launched the first BitTorrent Certified set-top box. The Juice product line is able to download, share and play torrent files directly on the TV. Press release 
If you are at CES and would like to stop by our suite to see a demo, please RSVP to rsvp@bittorrent.com.

Second, we’ve surpassed the 150 million active monthly user mark! (Press release here).

In December 2011, the classic BitTorrent Mainline client boasted over 20 million active monthly users, while the legendary tiny-but-mighty µTorrent client grew to over 132 million active monthly users. The numbers represent an aggregate count of both software clients running on Windows, Mac, Android and Linux platforms.

In the press release, our CEO Eric Klinker said,

“This marks an amazing milestone for our company and we want to thank our loyal users and partners for their support. Our protocol and software clients have become some of the most pervasive pieces of technology in Internet history,” said Eric Klinker, CEO of BitTorrent. “We look forward to another exciting year of growth and we continue expanding our product lines to meet the needs of consumers creating and consuming high-quality personal media files on a broad range of consumer electronics devices.”

We’d just like to say a huge thank you to all of our partners and users across the world. We’re looking forward to a very prosperous 2012. Happy New Year!

By BitTorrent | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Now in Alpha: Fast, Free and Unlimited Personal Media Sharing Powered by BitTorrent

January 5, 2012 – 11:59 am

Have you ever been stuck trying to send an HD home movie to a friend over the Internet? Or a batch of high-resolution photos? How about longer smartphone videos?

It’s not easy. You can try a complicated FTP service. Or pay big fees for a file sharing or cloud service. Or dramatically reduce the size, quality or length of your creation to send via email or social networks.

Today, we are very excited to preview an entirely new alpha software client – built from the ground up by the same engineers who develop BitTorrent and µTorrent. It’s fast, free, and totally unlimited. No limits on the file size or the number of files, or even the number of recipients. No hidden fees. Just you, your friends, and your media.

It doesn’t yet have a name (during the alpha, we’re calling it “Share”), and it is available for immediate download here.

Share’s power, speed and “unlimited” philosophy are possible thanks to the ultra-efficient BitTorrent protocol. Instead of requiring users to store files in remote data centers, Share users seed files from their own computer and recipients may download them directly. Once downloaded, a recipient also seeds a file. If multiple members of a group actively seed files, download speeds are dramatically increased thanks to the distributed nature of the sharing protocol. To ensure quality of service and file availability, we will also initially host and remotely seed a file for a limited time.

Features:

  • No Limits: With no limits on number of sends, file size/quality, or number of recipients, users may send HD videos, high-res photo collections, and other oversized files – with no fees.
  • Ultra Fast Downloads: Share is built on top of an innovative file-sharing technology that is already used by over 100 million people every month. Friends may now download the biggest files without the endless wait.
  • Private: Choose exactly who may access shared files. Set up groups to share with friends, family and co-workers, or just send a file to one person.
  • Social and Fun: Friends may comment on the files in real-time. Share is interactive, conversational and social.

“Share is the culmination of over a year’s research into personal media sharing. We have always known that BitTorrent is one of the fastest ways to send or receive a large file. With today’s consumer cameras/video recorders producing stunning quality, traditional media sharing requires concessions,” said Shahi Ghanem, our chief strategist. “With Share, you don’t have to crop photos, reduce resolutions or cut video length to easily share something with your friends, family and colleagues. It’s much faster than traditional ‘cloud’ solutions and easy for anyone.”

Share can trace its origins back to the BitTorrent Mainline ‘Project Chrysalis’ experimental software released last May. Continued Ghanem, “We believed personal media sharing would be an ideal extension to our existing µTorrent and BitTorrent software. After evaluating the user response and feedback, we realized we had the right goal, but users identified challenges with the implementation. Ultimately, we took what we learned and started again from scratch. Share was born.”

Share will also be integrated into all BitTorrent and µTorrent software clients following alpha testing.

Will you check it out and let us know what you think? We really value community feedback for all of our software clients, and we hope that you all will give us a hand and help us build the best personal media sharing service ever.

Many thanks for all of your support -

Catherine Meek, Director of Product Management, Share (powered by BitTorrent)

By BitTorrent | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (25)

Join Us in the BitTorrent Live Studio with DJ Dragon Fly and VJ Kai

January 4, 2012 – 3:17 pm

As you have probably heard by now we are conducting live studio tests every Friday in order to improve and scale what we think will be the next generation of live streaming technology. Bram Cohen’s protocol (currently in testing phase) lets a user stream live content in real time over a peer-to-peer network with no storage and no latency. Our BitTorrent Live studio tests are done in a way to entertain our test audience with local and national well-known artists while gathering feedback we use to continuously improve.

Check out the live streaming test this Friday January 6th at 8:00 PM PT (4:00 GMT) in the BitTorrent Live Studio for a live video streaming session featuring DJ Dragon Fly and VJ Kai K4change.

For more info about BitTorrent Live and our live studio events check out our BitTorrent Live Facebook page and check out our Web site.

About the artists for Friday January 6th

DJ Dragon Fly

Tearing up the tribal vibe with a unique amalgamation of bass culture’s Dubstep, Glitch, Hard Downtempo, Breaks, House and Drum n Bass, his mixes are solidly fused to the Third World with sounds that can best be described as Transblobal Ghetto Bump

Now in his second decade on the circuit he has opened for many of dance scene’s most pioneering and resilient producers: Bassnectar, Ott, Krafty Kuts, Opiuo, Phuture Primitive, Atomic Hooligan, Tipper, Gaudi, Vibesquad, Freq Nasty, Cheb I Sabbah, Bluetech, Heavyweight Dub Champion, Random Rab, Nicodemus, Dreadzone, and many more!

SF Bay Area dance enthusiasts consistently place him in the top percentile at the DJ polls for his unique sounds, enhanced by added live percussion.

As a full time DJ, music and event producer he is found booking, producing, DJing and creating content throughout the West Coast event, festival and club scene. Look for him at Earthdance, Harmony Festival, Beloved, Mystic Garden Party, Shambala, SolFest, Techno Tribal, Bioneers, Anon Salon, Groove Garden, Symbiosis, Wanderlust, Worldly Sights & Sounds, East Bay Ecstatic Dance, Burning Man, Yoga Journal Conference, Wanderlust Festival, Beloved Festival, ANDC, Harbin Hotsprings, the West Coast yoga.

http://www.facebook.com/Martin.DJDragonfly

www.Facebook.com/DJ.Dragonfly.DJ

About VJ Kai

K4change (VJ Kai) is an Visual artist with a focus on live video performance and generative visual art. As a trained New Media and Video Effects, interactive softwares, as well as develops hardware solutions using Jazz Lemur multi-touch and touch OSC technology. Since 2009, he has VJed at clubs, events, and participated in festivals around the North American including Burning Man, Opulent Temple and Opel productions. His work also includes music video, art installation, stage design, video mapping, facade visual, and theater.

By BitTorrent | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Direct from the future – WAY TOO SICK arrives on BitTorrent

December 28, 2011 – 5:47 pm

This just in from the future, a musical chronicle of NCB’s epic relocation to the greatest city mankind has ever seen – San Francisco. Out today, WAY TOO SICK brings you some wild new sounds of new wave, folk-tech and dragon slaying metal as a featured artist bundle. You can also grab the torrent here.

You may be asking yourself, “What the heck is WAY TOO SICK”? We think it’s time you found out. Claiming to come from the future, the new record label positions itself as an entity, aware of the trends that lie ahead, while providing a discerning voice, critical of what it sees as the tired clichés of the current era. “Music from the future” is their tag line. It’s promise: a selection of music–true to its timeless roots–ironically positioned against the ever-changing landscape and context of today’s popular music.

Is it electronic? Alt-rock? Folk-tech? Rap?? Does it matter? The fact that it might be hard to pin down is what makes artists like NCB and DOT BOMB so awesome. Perhaps the only conclusion is that the shape-shifting pastiche will likely leave you wondering what will come next. And we at BitTorrent are extremely excited to be working with them.

When asked “why BitTorrent?,” WAY TOO SICK artist and co-founder, NCB simply exclaimed, “What we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE about BitTorrent is that we can put together a collection of curated items and share it with as many people in the world as we want. The fact that the media is infinitely scalable, yet remains a finite collection that’s originally curated by us, makes us totally into using it as the primary means of distributing our art.”

Take a look at WAY TOO SICK’s featured page here to find out more info, download the bundle and immerse yourself in the sounds of the future.

Inside the bundle you will find cool things like:

  • New NCB LP “Fixed Noise” (Exclusively released on BitTorrent)
  • The Blissless EP by DOT BOMB
  • The epic re-release of the Sal’s Paradise RED and BLUE sessions
  • The tune “A white rabbit”  – a rap song about “The Matrix”

For more information on WAY TOO SICK check out their other sites:

Facebook

http://www.waytoosick.com

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Kick Off the Holiday in the BitTorrent Live Studio w/ Vitamin Devo and VJ Musashii

December 22, 2011 – 11:18 am

Kick off your holiday weekend with some awesome music from the Live studio!  This week’s BitTorrent Live Studio session featuring the talented and unique sounds of Vitamin Devo and VJ Musashii.  Join us tomorrow night (Friday, December 23rd) at 8:00 PM PT (4:00AM GMT) at http://live.bittorrent.com/!

What’s the purpose behind our Live studio? It’s twofold. One, we are testing scaleabiity of BitTorrent inventor Bram Cohen’s new live peer-to-peer streaming protocol. It’s an amazing technology that has the potential to transform live streaming of video over the Internet. By joining the test (and providing feedback!), you have a chance to be a play a role in a breakthrough technology.

Second, we are big fans and supporters of indie music, and many of us here at BT HQ in San Francisco are also fans of EDM music. It’s a perfect fit…we get to test the protocol and support artists, and you have a chance to tune in to a great show every week, from anywhere in the world.

Check out the event invite for more info and we will see you Friday!

About Vitamin Devo
VITAMINDEVO has been dropping his original acid techno flavored tracks up and down the west coast of California, collecting a following everywhere he goes. With loads of original music, remix’s and exclusives VITAMINDEVO really Brings It ON! And if you dig his music and you happen to live in the Boise Idaho area, go see Vitamin Devo LIVE on New Years Eve at NYE PUNKS N PIN-UPS.

http://vitamindevo.com/
http://soundcloud.com/vitamindevo
http://soundcloud.com/vitamindevomusic

VJ Musashii
Musashii(Chris Crismond) is a 3d artist, animator, coder, and performer. Once he put the swords down and picked up an Edirol he started to melt the fabric of space and time. He is currently working on Kinect based interactive projects, projection mapping using TouchDesigner, as well as constantly honing his 3d skills. Musashii’s sets range towards the dark, abstract and technical, melding many different layers into a tempo synched feast for the eyes.

By BitTorrent | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)

Other Worlds Collection of Sci-Fi Shorts is Here!

December 20, 2011 – 10:29 am

Today, in partnership with our friends at VODO, we welcome you to first edition of Other Worlds– our newest Featured Content offering to our BitTorrent audience. Download here!

Other Worlds is a collection of HD Sci-Fi short films brought together by VODO’s own curators. These seven slices of heaven bring talent from award winning filmmaker and effects guru Grzegor Jonkaty grim and Nikita Ovsyanniko to name a few.

With the finale release of Pioneer One behind us, we think it is a fantastic time to offer BitTorrent users another series new sci-fci series. The first installment of Other Worlds includes:

  • The Third Letter (Grzegor Jonkatys)
  • Perspective (Mehment Can Kocak)
  • The Return of John Frum (Christian Sschlaeffer)
  • Candy (Nikita Ovsyannikov)
  • Dimentional Meltdown (Ofer Pedut)
  • Kitty-Kitty (Michael Medalgia)
  • ITD (Framescape)

You can check out more information and download all Other Worlds shorts here.

And remember if you like what you see support the artists who support BitTorrent by donating here (even a little means a lot!).

By BitTorrent | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

BitTorrent Live Returns This Friday with DJ Amar and VJ K4

December 14, 2011 – 4:23 pm

We are gearing up for the holidays this Friday in the BitTorrent Live Studio by bringing in some extra entertainment for all the testers and participants.

Join us this Friday, December 16th at 8:00 PM PT (3:00 GMT) in the BitTorrent Live Studio (http://live.bittorrent.com/) for a live video streaming session featuring DJ Amar, VJ K4 and Belly dancers. It is easy to install. Just make sure you have the latest update and go to http://live.bittorrent.com/ when the event starts.

As we test to scale the new live streaming protocol, remember your feedback is very important. We would not get anywhere without the constructive comments from our users so thanks for all of your help thus far! If you have not yet joined in for one of our test events, it is never too late.

You can also check out the BitTorrent Live Facebook page to stay up to date on all future live events and updates.

See you Friday!
About DJ Amar

Amar is amongst a handful of local DJs whose taste cuts a path through an abundance of musical selections and leads dancefloors into a hypnotic sway like snakes before the charmer. In this instance the muse is a masala that brews sounds from the Middle East and Balkans with rhythms of the Asian underground and electric Brazilian vibes. Whether its breaks, bhangra, house, drum & bass or downtempo the global nature of Amar’s sets bridges a multi-culti span from the world to the Bay Area.

As a DJ and promoter, he has collaborated and shared the stage with some of the Bay Area’s & world’s most innovative Musicians, DJs and dance troupes including DJ Dragonfly DJ Sep, Dr. Israel, Freyja, Maneesh the Twister, Giamma Cheb i Sabbah, Ultra Gypsy, Soulsalaam, Urban Tribal
Ariellah, SooozhyQ, Dub Gabriel, Dhol Rhythms, Lorin Nitin Sawhney, Unmata, Nader, Midival Punditz, Shabaz Sila and the Afrofunk Experience, Zoe Jakes, Ansuya Lady Ra, Third Eye Tribe, DJ Layla, Karsh Kale, Janaka State of Bengal, Dr Das & Ramjac, Jimmy Love Frederique, Rachel Brice, Glitch Mob and others.

Producer and resident of the bay area’s Global Gypsy night ELECTRIC VARDO, Amar regularly performs at SFs hottest venues
including Club Six, DNA Lounge, Nickie’s, 1015 Folsom, Temple 111 Minna, Roe, 12 Galaxies, Amnesia, Bollyhood, Mighty, El Rio, Underground SF, Elbo Room and Rickshaw Stop with Dhamaal, Nonstop Bhangra, Surya Dub, Worldly, Opel Dance Jam, Triple Power, & the Groove Garden
plus other ongoing and special events & festivals across the US, Canada and Europe.

VJ K4
http://k4change.com/

K4change (VJ Kai) is an Visual artist with a focus on live video performance and generative visual art. As a trained New Media and Video Effects, interactive softwares, as well as develops hardware solutions using Jazz Lemur multi-touch and touch OSC technology. Since 2009, he has VJed at clubs, events, and participated in festivals around the North American including Burning Man, Opulent Temple and Opel productions. His work also includes music video, art installation, stage design, video mapping, facade visual, and theater.

By BitTorrent | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (1)
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