Hiro Media on Tuesday announced the launch of the Mac version of its video download software. The technology lets Mac users watch free, ad-supported video downloads on their systems.
Hiro employs a system that embeds advertisements into video programming. The software’s already available or Windows users and launches on the Mac first in Israel, home of Hiro Media, where it’s being used by “a leading terrestrial broadcaster, several sports and children’s channels.” The company expects the Mac service to roll out to other territories, including the USA and Australia, later in 2008.
Hiro’s technology provides unskippable mid-roll advertisements that are displayed each time a video is viewed. The company claims this enables the video to be distributed over Web sites, P2P networks and other systems without the provider needing to worry about piracy, as the ad revenue is generated, whenever and wherever the content is viewed. It works on both Windows Media Player and QuickTime.