Beta-5 now available with web-based content management and delivers content to Yahoo Connected TVs

The Zinc Beta 5 release isn’t really an update… it’s more like a metamorphosis. Of course there are some very cool new features, but more importantly Zinc now lives in the cloud- that means you can access your Zinc account over the web, from any Zinc-enabled device. You can see your personal Favorites, your viewing History, or use the new Queue feature wherever you happen to be. In short, Zinc Beta 5 gives you a personalized internet video manager you can get to any time, from anywhere.

So what’s a Zinc-enabled device? The most obvious one is your computer with Zinc installed on it. But that’s only the beginning, because for Beta 5 we’ve created a Zinc TV widget that can be run on HDTVs and other devices powered by the Yahoo! Widget Engine. We built the widget because we thought, “Why buy more internet-connected devices, when you can simply make the devices you already have more powerful?” For example, with the Zinc TV widget on your HDTV, you’ll be able to access your personal Zinc Queue on-screen, using your HDTV’s remote control.

The Queue is one of those cool new features mentioned above. It functions like a scratch pad, or a video corral- when you find a video you might want to see at some point, you drop it into your Queue, so it’s easy to find when you’re ready to watch. Imagine sitting down in front of your HDTV, opening your Zinc Queue, and finding videos you know you want to see.

We’ve also changed the Zinc home page by adding Featured sites, and by creating a “Categories” section that segments videos by genre. It’s all an attempt to reduce the amount of time it takes you to start enjoying internet video. Which you might want to do right now by downloading the new Zinc Beta 5!

Let us know what you think… we’re already back to work making the next round of improvements, and your feedback is key.