Users start by clicking on File > Search in the menu to open the search interface which can be used to list all available channels or filtered channel lists either by keyword or pre-selection (e.g. sports, top 100). It is also possible to enter a keyword which will search for and return all channels matching that keyword. A good start is probably the top 100 channel list.

It takes a few seconds to populate the channel list which displays one channel per row. Each row includes the name, bitrate, quality, audience and other values. The most important are the bitrate, quality and audience as these are indicators on the quality of the picture and the bandwidth that is needed to watch the channel fluently.

A click on a channel with open an internal viewer that is connecting to the selected tv channel. This process can also take some time as the StreamTorrent begins the buffering process.

The player offers basic status information and controls including a buffer bar, changing to full screen and changing the volume.

Watching tv is probably the most popular use of StreamTorrent. It is possible to add new channels to the application and to start a live stream from the local computer system.

Update:

Streamtorrent is no longer available on Google Code. The project has been pulled citing terms of service violations. We have uploaded the latest working version of the program to our servers. You can download StreamTorrent from the following link: StreamTorrent (516)

Users will be able to access HBO on Broadband without charges if they have HBO On Demand and Time Warner’s Road Runner high speed online service in their homes. Shoes can be downloaded and watched on up to five computers running Windows Vista or Windows XP Service Pack 2 32-bit and Macs running Windows. Each movie minute roughly translates to 10 Megabytes of download which means that movies will have a size of 1.2 Gigabytes while tv shows one between 300 and 600 Megabytes.

A movie player developed in house has to be used to watch the movies and tv shows which seems to point at some sort of DRM in action. Shows will eventually expire and automatically be deleted from your computer when that happens.

Available for downloading this month will be select episodes from many of HBO’s original series, including the current (and final) season of “The Wire” and the debut season of “In Treatment,” plus “Rusell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam” and “Real Time with Bill Maher,” as well as past seasons of “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Entourage,” “Six Feet Under,” “Big Love,” “Deadwood,” “Flight of the Conchords” and more. One HBO original series each month will have all episodes from all its seasons available on the service.

Click for larger image: HBO on Broadband Films offered for download each month will include most of the titles currently airing on HBO, plus many from their extensive library. Among the films available in January are “We Are Marshall,” “Norbit,” “Breach,” “Smokin’ Aces,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Superman Returns,” “The Last King of Scotland” and the documentary “Baghdad Hospital: Inside The Red Zone.”

Individual titles will be available on the service for 4 – 12 weeks, with episodes of HBO original series generally available for longer periods than theatrical films. When a title reaches its “expiration date,” it will automatically be deleted from your computer.

No link to the website is circulating yet. Users who would like to access the service and are not subscribed to HBO / Road Runner will be out of luck though because computers and users have to be registered to be able to access the service. via DVD Dossier.