[iOS App] Giant Bomb Video Buddy

Do you like Giant Bomb's one-of-a-kind video content? Do you own an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch? If you answered "yes" to both of those questions then I might have something of interest to you: Giant Bomb Video Buddy! Available right now from the App Store, it's designed to help make it easy to watch Giant Bomb videos when and where you want. It does that by letting you:

• Stream all non-member-exclusive videos
• Save your place in a video and resume from that spot later
• Send video to AirPlay-capable devices like an Apple TV

Premium account holders are also able to:

• Access the subscriber-only videos
• Access HD streams for every video
• Download videos to watch later

Gallery

Gallery

One limitation you should be aware of is that videos can only be streamed over WiFi. Apple's App Store policy effectively requires that Giant Bomb Video Buddy use HTTP Live Streaming when using the cellular network for data and Giant Bomb does not currently support HLS. For those interested in details, see section 9.4 of the App Store Review Guidelines and the "Requirements for Apps" section in the "Using HTTP Live Streaming" portion of the HTTP Live Streaming Overview.

If you own a device running iOS 5.0 or better and are a fan of Giant Bomb's video content then I encourage you to head on over to the App Store to check it out. If you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Some of you may be familiar with another project of mine, Whiskey Media Video Buddy. Following the move to CBSi and BermanBraun, having all five sites in one app has become more complicated and, although I plan on keeping Whiskey Media Video Buddy around for the foreseeable future, if you're primarily a Giant Bomb user I think that Giant Bomb Video Buddy is the way to go.

Android users: I currently have two ways to help you get your Giant Bomb fix on the go. I recommend installing the Android version of Giant Bomb Video Buddy, but my older app, Whiskey Media Video Buddy, is also available if you'd prefer to go that route.

Thanks duder, downloading now. If it works as advertised I'll give you 5 stars no worries!!!

No Android version yet? You've forgotten your roots, man.

i've been using the whiskey media video buddy app for all the times that i've wanted to watch gb videos on my phone while i'm not at the computer. great app. everyone should download this~

App works great. I like how it remembers your position, even when you switch video quality. Background downloads are cool too. Thanks duder. I hope this gets posted on the front page so more people know about it.

All I need now is an easy way to stream videos on the PS3. The standard website works using the download link but it's clunky since the videos auto play when you click on them and Flash on PS3 is slow.

The app is awesome! *bump*

Amazing app. I've been using Instacast to get the Premium RSS, but there have been weird authentication problems as of late. However, this thing works like a charm. Keep up the great work. Just downloaded a bunch of Quick Looks in HD, AirPlaying to Apple TV thanks to your work.

I love this concept app.

thank you, this is exactly what i was looking for!

@LordAndrew: You wound me, sir.

I'd like to work on an Android version at some point, but I don't have any specific plans just yet. Maybe somewhere on down the line.

Been using this for a while now, great little app.

Handy app for any Giantbomb fans, I highly recommend it.

Need android version.

@tranquilchaos: Although there isn't an Android version of Giant Bomb Video Buddy, there IS an Android version of Whiskey Media Video Buddy, my earlier app. It may not have that new-app smell, but it'll still help you get your Giant Bomb fix while on-the-go.

Just recorded a video ish review, should be up today or tomorrow.

THis app os great. I got it on my iPad 3 and it works like a dream. I gave a 5 srat review on the App store.

@soup_menu: Video review!

@Hizang: Very cool! Thanks!

I'd also like to thank ShadowSkill11 and everyone else who's tried out the app and left a review. You guys are alright in my book.

Fantastic app man (fantastapp!). I always wanted a giant bomb app on my phone, and with the amount of video content on the site (almost all the content really) this is basically perfect for the job. Videos play fast, download fast, and everything is super slick.

My only suggestion would be to add some spacing between the videos in the list, maybe just giving each one a small margin, to increase readability. That being said it's not that hard to read anyway, so awesome work duder. Have you thought about adding the articles from the site as well?

@dennisthemennis: Thanks! Giant Bomb's API doesn't provide access to the articles, so there isn't any really good way to get at them right now. If that were to change I'd give it another look, but for the foreseeable future it's going to be video only.

Just download this app a few days ago. It works great!

@soap_menu: Hey great app good sir! Thank you! Btw, is there a way to view premium live streams on ios? Been having trouble since it doesnt show up on the twitch ios app when they go live...:/

Just came in to say I really like your Android app. I use it quite often while on the toilet. Take that as a compliment.

@dennisthemennis said:

Fantastic app man (fantastapp!)

apptastic

@GaspoweR: Unfortunately not. I think I might be able to infer when a stream is running by seeing if the chat page is open, but there wouldn't be a way for me to actually play the associated video, so it wouldn't be terribly useful.

@soup_menu: Have you got in touch with any of the staff, this would be worth showing to them if not already.

@Hizang: I think I got some retweets back when I launched Whiskey Media Video Buddy, but I'm not sure that I ever pointed out Giant Bomb Video Buddy.

As far as that sort of promotion goes, I'm never sure how effective it is when coming from the author, but if you guys wanted to drop the staff a line and let 'em know that you like the app I certainly wouldn't complain. It might even be useful for them to know if people like apps so that they can keep that in mind as they work on the redesign.

Did you make this, nice job dude. Can you give the xcode sourcecode to the community or is that against apple's rules, I would love to work with it to learn more about xcode.

Thanks so much for this app, I use it before I go workout so I can watch the videos as I use the elliptical.

@Brunchies: Thanks. I'm not looking to open source it at this point, but if you have any specific questions I might be able to point you in the right direction. If you're just looking for a starting point for iOS and you have some C/C++ experience then Stanford's CS 193P is a great option. The class notes, assignments, and even whole lecture videos are available online and in iTunes U.

Version 1.0.1 is now available

• Added better handling when there isn't enough space to complete a download
• The "News & Updates" window in the iPad version now refreshes automatically when on wifi
• Minor display changes

Version 1.0.2 is now available

• Added support for the iPhone 5's larger screen.
• NOTE: Some iPads are seeing minor display issues. If you don't have an iPhone 5 you may want to wait for the next update.

Version 1.0.3 is now available

• Fixed rotation lock on iOS 6 devices
• Fixed a display bug on iOS 6 iPads

Thanks for the app! It's showing some of the latest videos as being released in 2011 instead of 2012.

@jdbloom: Thanks for the heads-up. I've found the bug, so it'll be fixed in the next version.

Glad to know I wasn't imagining it to be the year 2012! :)

Should be called Video Duder.

Just got a Thanksgiving account, so this will come in handy. Thanks.

This app seemed to break with the API change. No videos are showing up.

Streaming only works over wifi, but I can oddly enough download using cellular data.

Hey guys, developer here.

I haven't had a lot of time to devote to side projects lately and one of the consequences of that is that WMVB / GBVB haven't been updated to work with the new site yet. My calendar is pretty booked for at least the next few weeks which unfortunately means that the apps are likely to remain broken for a while. I'm really sorry about leaving you guys high and dry, but I hope you'll bear with me and pick back up with the apps once they've been revised.

In the mean time, you guys should give the new mobile site a try. The engineers have done a bang-up job and, although it's not quite the same as a dedicated app, I think you'll find that it's a fine way to access Giant Bomb's video content.

Thanks for the update Soup, sad to hear that you you don't have time for the app currently, understandable, but too bad never the less. It's my most used ipad app and hope you will be able to get back to it eventually, thanks for all your hard work on it.

Hope that made some sense, currently intoxicated.

@soup_menu Sad to hear it, but thanks for the update. Hope to see it return soon it was great for watching videos on my phone.

Thanks for the update.

I use the app all the time to catch up on the videos on my ipad when I'm on the road (I'm ALWAYS on the road!)

It's really really good and I hope you manage to get it working again soon!

@soup_menu: thanks for the update and special thanks for making the excellent app in the first place, it has been really handy for a long time!

Hi @soup_menu! I know nothing of how the App Store works, but if you put up a version for $10 I'll buy it in a second. Or just post a PayPal link. Of all the apps on my phone, I only use Mail and twitter more. It's absolutely fantastic. Considering most of my time spent watching giant bomb content is spent away from wifi, and I don't want to use their mobile site on my limited data plan, your app is how I consume the site normally. Update whenever you have a chance!

Would love to check this out, but cannot access it from the Australian ios store, is it possible to fix that?

I'd pay for this app if you wish to do that. It's the best way to watch GB vids on the go. Hope you can get a fix out soon.

Oh man! This is one of my most used ipad apps! It was awesome the way it would remember where I left off in longer videos . I hope your be able to come back sooner then later, Thanks!