Video Sharing News
Did you think that the YouTube/Google deal, or other YouTube deals are the only things happening in video sharing? Sorry, it's not quite that simple.Dozens of new video sharing websites have sprung up, with some of them offering addictive features for would-be video and movie producers:
Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, CA, recently acquired Jumpcut after looking at the trajectory of Internet video, says Jason Zajac, general manager of social media at Yahoo. He says that more people are participating in online content creation than ever before, from publishing photos on Flickr to sharing bookmarked webpages on Delicious (both companies are owned by Yahoo). For Yahoo, Zajac says, Jumpcut had the best approach and technology to effectively stir the average person to put together personal movies.
Jumpcut has "enabled real-time video editing through the Web browser," says Mike Folgner, cofounder of the company. Using an advanced Flash-based application, people can preview changes while editing. "This real-time feedback mimics the desktop editing experience that people are used to," Folgner says.
Using the software is straightforward. You can upload your own video clips (each up to 100 megabytes in size) and then play around by changing their order, speeding up time, and adding special Flash effects that, for instance, make butterflies flutter across the screen. If the thought of starting a project with a blank slate seems daunting, there are plenty of clips and videos already available on Jumpcut, just waiting to be remixed. The preexisting clips are provided by other users and sponsors.
Other companies have raised the stakes in video quality for full screen video--far and above YouTube and even better than DVD video!
Available at Zudeo, users can upload, download and comment on videos in a manner similar to other video sharing sites like YouTube, Metacafe and Revver. But instead of the low-resolution video offered by competing services, the Azureus system promises internet video at better than DVD quality, thanks to BitTorrent's ability to distribute huge video files speedily.
"Try watching a YouTube video in full-screen mode," says Azureus CEO Gilles BianRosa. "You can't make out the details of what's going on. We've changed all that."
Azureus is best known for its popular file-sharing client of the same name, which allows users to download big files from each other using the peer-to-peer BitTtorrent protocol.
BianRosa says his company's video service is more than just another YouTube clone.
"Our main target is high-definition video, which is a whole new market online," he says. "People will be able to post any kind of quality on our platform, but on top of that, we also make it possible to post videos that exceed DVD quality."
BianRosa says the company, which is based in Palo Alto, plans to add television shows and full-length feature films to the service later this month. Azureus has inked distribution deals with 12 television, film and media companies, he says.
If Azureus can bring HDTV to online fullscreen video, and provide a quality service to online customers using a workable online business model, they may be able to stick around long enough to compete with the Google and Yahoo machines.
Online video is just now appearing on the radar screens of old media. For them, it could be too late.
posted by al fin at 3:28 pm
3 Comments:
Al, being a firewall administrator and responsible for my company's Internet access this stuff is killing me. For one, people spend way too much time at work doing this stuff - that's just my opinion (as I sit here type this comment at work). Two, even though this stuff is pretty well compressed and transfers over udp rather than the more bandwidth intensive tcp protocol it is still clogging the tubes, eerrr I mean , pipes needed for legitimate business. The Internet is becoming absolutely business critical as a data transport mechanism via VPN tunnels - it's not just for recreational surfing anymore.
The bottom line is that video and IP phones are going to force companies to reevaluate the Web usage policies. But I do have to admit that I have seen some of the most fascinating and funny things on YouTube and the other video hosting sites.
Craig, I think internet convergence has so much momentum that businesses will need to find ways to use it to increase worker productivity. If you think of a way before other people, it could make you a lot of money.
Agreed, when we put in Internet access enterprise wide 6 or 7 years ago upper management said to us (as we building out the infrastructure) no more than 300 people would EVER need Internet access. Well, we have about 7,000 users now and have rebuilt the infrastructure 3 times. We use Internet as a major business tool not the least of which is allowing remote workers access to the network from around the world. It saves tons of money on travel and hotel costs. When a decent video conferencing system like the one Cisco Systems [http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns669/networking_solutions_solution_segment_home.html]
is touting there would be no need to fly the bigshots around for their face to face meetings. But if the Internet infrastructure is being beaten down by people playing TV and movies at their desks those same bigshots are going to come down on people like me. That's why management will have to actually THINK about their Internet Usage Policies.
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